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Integration with Databases and Existing Software Packages     

At present, all MagentA systems can be integrated with any databases supporting BDE, ODBC, ADO and MTS. The basis of the interaction with the existing software are COM and XML technologies.

In particular, the existing software can be integrated with MagentA systems by:

    XML via the file system (C++ and Object Pascal versions of the Run Time System are integrated in this way);

    XML via HTTP with external portals;

    COM interface (Ontology Development Toolkit was developed using this, with all wizards scripted; the integration with ColdFusion, ASP is also provided by 'native' support);

    HTML via HTTP, generating a part of a page to be inserted into a part of some other page, or vice versa. It is the way the system can be integrated with ColdFusion, ASP, Perl and any other system.

Support of CORBA/COM Objects     top

The technology of COM objects is intensively used in every runtime system. Moreover, there are all the necessary mechanisms for integration with other systems using both COM and CORBA interfaces.

For an application programmer, the support of COM provides a whole range of useful facilities:

    Use of existing COM objects from the scripting languages of the engine;

    Development of COM-objects for integration with external systems;

    Development of COM-objects for extending ontological facilities of the runtime system;

    Introduction of runtime systems into other software products (the Ontology Development Toolkit activates the runtime system to assign agents to concepts of the semantic network). For example, the i-Enterprise System contains a special object 'schedule' that allows agents to operate with time points, events and intervals.

Support and Import of XML Files     top 

XML forms a basic standard of information exchange between components of runtime Systems, their extensions and external extensions.

There are several ways of interacting:

    Exchange with the help of files. The principal advantage of this approach is the simplicity of implementation and customisation, and minimal dependence of applications on each other.

    Exchange at the level of an HTTP protocol. This approach is convenient for sending data to end-users in XML format. The availability of this mechanism allows interaction with sites of other companies that use SOAP technology.

    Exchange by means of inter-process communication and COM. technology. This approach provides maximum efficiency. Extensions on the basis of COM have already been developed for runtime systems. These allow the integration of a multi-agent engine with various servers for message-oriented Middleware (like Microsoft Message Queue Server), with the help of a COM interface.

An example of a successful integration of subsystems using XML is a demonstration version of the Knowledge Management System for the MagentA web site. Agents of the Web Dialogue Management System provide the initial data and clustering parameters following a dialogue with a user. After this, the clustering task is formed as an XML package and sent to the runtime subsystem of Knowledge Management. In the Knowledge Management System, a selected format of the message exchange is used, oriented for high efficiency. The results of clustering form an XML package sent to the Web Dialogue Management System.(To know more about Knowledge Management system press here)

Support of Peripherals (SMS, WAP, e-mail, fax and others)     top 

MagentA systems support all standard types of peripherals needed to send messages to users in realtime.

Furthermore, the system can autonomously select the optimal way of sending data to users by referring to the ontology of user preferences.

The page template mechanisms of the Web Dialogue Management System enable 'transparent' organisation of various data formats (HTML or WML page, e-mail messages).

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