PageSpace: An architecture to coordinate distributed applications on the web

Abstract

Most applications on the Web require active processing and coordination of services and components. Today, activity within the Web is tied to server machines and there is no integrated mechanism that allows it to coordinate activity located at clients, such as applets. In order to allow for really distributed application in the Web, such coordination platforms have to be built. The PageSpace is a platform to support open distributed application on top of the Web. It utilizes Java to execute distributed agents that coordinate their exchange of services by Linda-like coordination technology. The PageSpace architecture comprises a set of agent classes. The user-interfaces is manifested are Alpha agents displayed in Web browsers. The representation of the user on the net is its homeagent, called Beta, which uses services on behalf of the user. Applications are formed by Delta agents that offer and use services. The coordination amongst agent is performed using a shared space of information and Linda-like primitives that operate on it. With the PageSpace architecture, distributed applications on top of the Web and the Internet are enabled, as the platform decentralizes activity. By combining coordination technology with the Web and Java, the centralized, server-bound structure of todays Web-applications is replaced with a truly open distributed system.