Readings in Agents (Paperback)

The world of agents comprises a broad range of intelligent programs that perform specific tasks on behalf of their users. Agents are distinguished from other types of software by their status as independent entities capable of completing complex assignments without intervention, rather than as tools that must be manipulated by a user. Largely the province of speculation before the early 1990s, agent research has flourished since the advent of the Internet, which has created an ideal operating environment.  
 
 
This important collection unifies the extensive recent literature on agent technology, presenting a wealth of the finest published papers on both theory and applications. Huhns and Singh have drawn on research communities in AI, databases, distributed computing, and programming languages to assemble the most comprehensive overview of the agent world available. The editors add a summary of the field and its terminology, history, and major issues, together with introductions to each of the thematic chapters and discussions of the significance and context of the individual papers.  
 
 
Focuses on:  
 
* applications of agents  
* classical techniques for agent construction  
* theory for modeling and understanding agents  
* intellectual frontiers in agent science.  
 
 
Researchers, practitioners, and students will gain the essential background and perspective needed to understand and appreciate current and future agent research

Contents

Chapter 1 Agents and Multiagent Systems: Themes, Approaches, and Challenges  
Chapter 2 Applications  
Chapter 3 Architectures and Infrastructure  
Chapter 4 Models of Agency

代理人的世界包含了一系列智能程式，它們代表使用者執行特定任務。代理人與其他類型的軟體不同，它們是獨立實體，能夠完成複雜的任務而不需要使用者介入，而不是需要使用者操作的工具。在1990年代初之前，代理人研究主要是理論上的探討，但隨著互聯網的出現，代理人研究得到了蓬勃發展，因為互聯網為其提供了理想的運行環境。

這本重要的專著匯集了關於代理人技術的大量最新文獻，提供了豐富的理論和應用的研究論文。Huhns和Singh整合了人工智能、資料庫、分散式計算和程式語言等研究社群的成果，編輯出了目前最全面的代理人世界概述。編輯們還對該領域及其術語、歷史和主要問題進行了總結，並對每個主題章節進行了介紹，討論了各個論文的重要性和背景。

本書的重點包括：
- 代理人應用
- 代理人建構的傳統技術
- 代理人建模和理解的理論
- 代理人科學的前沿

研究人員、從業人員和學生將獲得必要的背景和觀點，以理解和欣賞當前和未來的代理人研究。

目錄如下：
- 第1章 代理人和多代理系統：主題、方法和挑戰
- 第2章 應用
- 第3章 架構和基礎設施
- 第4章 代理人模型