Getting Started With Agents

This is a step-by-step tutorial to demonstrate the basic agent programming skills you need to write agents in the Java™ programming language using the Comet Way Agent Kernel. We will start with beginner topics and gradually progress to more advanced examples of agent useage. There will also be many useful tidbits for everyone along the way. The tutorial covers examples ranging from a classic "Hello, world!" agent, to agents that use advanced features such as scheduling, sessions,and object persistence.

Before You Continue

You need the following tools to write, compile, and run agents:

1. Java™ Virtual Machine installed (compatible with JDK 1.4 or later).
2. Tools for compiling Java source code (javac is included with your JDK). We have provided some tools for both Windows and Unix that make configuring and starting your agents easy.
3. ASCII text editor for editing agent source code and Props files (ie: vi, emacs, notepad).

Expert Note: Alternatively, you can use an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that supports Java development, such as JBuilder, CodeWarrior, XCode, or Eclipse. This tutorial will not go into using these environments and will assume that you will be able to translate command-line oriented procedures correctly to the IDE that you intend to use. Especially if you are new to programming, we recommend at least learning and understanding the basics of Java development from the command-line.

To successfully compile an agent, the ak.jar Java class archive (or the classes contained within it) must be on the compiler's classpath. See the installation instructions for more information on getting your agent to compile.