Treffer: Java-based Mobile Agents.

The article discusses why Java is such an effective implementation language for mobile agents in e-commerce. Java is the language of choice for mobile agent systems. Multiplatform support and the promise of write-once, run-anywhere operation make Java extremely well suited for mobile agent technology. Java has several features not found in any other language that directly support implementation of mobile agents. Java object serialization accomplishes the conversion and reconstruction of an agent and its state almost transparently for agent mobility. Some Java-based and other mobile agent systems also provide persistent agent state information. Moreover, Java facilitates migration of code and state via its class-loading mechanism. All code loaded by Java's class loaders is subject to security restrictions, which are very useful for mobile agent systems that have to protect their agents from unauthorized access. Java's security management supports development of fine-grain, highly configurable security policies.