Telescript

Abstract: Sun's announcement of the programming language Java more that anything popularized the notion of mobile code, that is, programs traveling on a heterogeneous network and automatically executing upon arrival at the destination. We describe several classes of mobile code and extract their common characteristics, where security proves to be one of the major concerns. With these characteristics as reference points, we examine six representative languages proposed for mobile code. The conclusion of this study leads to our recommendations for future work, illustrated by examples of ongoing research.

Abstract: Telescript is a software technology for building distributed applications using the mobile agent paradigm. Telescript mobile agents are migrating processes capable of being executed on any Telescript service host. Currently, Telescript incorporates safety and security features sufficient for deploying the first generation of mobile agent applications, subject to certain operating restrictions. The ultimate goal is the safe hosting of arbitrary, previously unseen programs, or "programming the network".

Abstract: An open problem in mobile agent research is the interaction between agents in different ‘worlds’. In this paper, we survey various approaches to agent interaction and discuss the interoperation between Telescript and ffMAIN agents through the use of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and the shared information space provided by ffMAIN.

Abstract: Mobile agents are software programs which can move themselves around in computer networks to "do their job". Telescript is a technology specifically designed as a platform for such agents. This paper describes how Telescript agents can be created and controlled via ordinary web browsers and how they can interact with Java applets.