A New Classification Scheme for Software Agents

The field of software agents is a broad and rapidly developing area of research, which encompasses a diverse range of topics and interests. In order to study the various methodologies for agent design, a comprehensive classification scheme is required. This paper identifies the key aspects of software agents, then provides an overview of existing ontologies, and combines the best aspects of these schemes to propose a new all-inclusive classification scheme. In order to illustrate the classifications, the JACK Intelligent Agents architecture is described in the context of the scheme.