TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Fabio Bellifemine, Giovanni Caire, Giosu Vitaglione, Giovanni Rimassa and Dominic Greenwood
Abstract. This paper draws a perspective about a software platform for multi-agent systems, called JADE. JADE is an Open-Source Java middleware very popular in the MAS research and development community, counting a lively and active user base. Here we will describe the JADE architecture, the main features provided by the platform, and some application domains from the Open Source community.
JADE [1] is a middleware for the development of distributed multi-agent applications. According to the multi-agent systems approach, an application based on the JADE platform is composed of a set of cooperating agents, which can communicate with each other through message exchange. Each agent is immersed within an environment that can be acted upon and from whom events can be perceived. Intelligence, initiative, information, resources and control can be fully distributed on mobile terminals as well as on computers in the fixed network. The environment can evolve dynamically and agents appear and disappear in the system according to the needs and the requirements of the applications.
JADE provides the basic services necessary for distributed peer-to-peer applications in the fixed and mobile environment allowing each agent to dynamically discover others and to communicate with them. From the application point of view, each agent is identified by a unique...
