Writing applications for digesting
web information is a rather complex task. In order to let programmers easily
build web-based applications we have developed a general purpose data-flow
visual programming environment that can be effectively used to find, collect
and manipulate information available on the web. The system was originally
devised to help the user to develop applications in a totally controlled
manner. However, the VIPERS environment, thanks to its modularity and its
flexibility, allows the easy integration of software modules that can even
be characterized by autonomous intelligent behavior, thus allowing simple
implementation of agent-based web applications. We therefore propose our
system as a useful platform for rapid prototyping and experimenting with
software agents.
| HTML version | zipped postscript (size 92.5 Kb) | PDF (size 57.8 Kb) |