Software Robot in Java

Question

Hi
I'm trying to write create a Software Robot. Its functionality is to examine a webedge and follow the URLs it encounters in that webpage. It would then process those webpages.
I'm trying to delegate this task of processing to the target machine instead of my host machine (something like remote execution). After processing, the target machine results will be delivered to my host machine. How is this possible in Java assuming that there is no environment setup done prior to my Robot visiting that site.
Thanks,
Manish.

Answer 1

Agents are loosely defined (my definition) as semi-autonomous programs that can operate in a network fashion (migrate from one place to another), gathering data/results and reporting back to a centralized controller.
Now, if this is the case, how do these agents
operate?They operate in a "cooperative" environment - in other words, there's a set of "friendly" environments that are running something (e.g. server) that accepts agents.
What kind of language do they use ? Just about any kind. Java works especially well since an agent can be just a Class that extends Runnable and can, therefore, be executed in a Thread in just about any location that has a JVM.
I mean, how do they auto execute themselves on remote
machines ?This is actually a pretty deep subject. I'd suggest Googling for "java agents" and/or look at the IBM Aglets toolset - if it's still available, that is. Be careful - this can drag you off the deep end into AI and that can really make your head hurt.