[MOBY-dev] Notice that the ever elusive agent will start curating in 2 weeks

[Edward Kawas]

Hi Martin,

> Eddie,
>    I have not seen an answer to the most pertinent question 
> that we always had about the RDF agent: How can we ask it to 
> come? And how often does it come if we do not ask?
>    And please do not tell me that I cannot ask - if that 
> would be the case, please do not start it yet.
You can indeed call the agent over to visit your signature url. 
Performing a register service call and only providing the url
will cause the agent to visit you right away.


> > In 2 weeks, the agent will attempt to read from the 
> signature url that 
> > you provided. If the agent cannot read from the url on 3 
> (maybe more 
> > or less - details will be revealed later) different consecutive 
> > occasions, then the agent will remove all services 
> described by that url.
> >
>    Again, this should not be done so rigidly. I simply need, 
> for example, few services, that are registered to the 
> localhost (so they will never be used by reasonably clever 
> clients) but they are used in tutorials, and they can be used 
> when a service is being developed (so it can be called via 
> registry by its author, because she has the service on her 
> local machine). There will never be many of such services, 
> but they should stay.
>    I also do not like your wording "details will be revealed 
> later". This sounds like a typical dictatorship.

I am going to create a test registry soon and you (and everyone else)
can use this registry for these types of services. I personally 
think that the main registry should not be used for testing, but
until we have a real test registry running production code I 
understand that there may be no other choice.

So details to be revealed later meant that I would consult for 
an appropriate number of times that the agent should have to visit 
someone before declaring the url invalid.

> > If the deregistration was in error, service providers will 
> be able to 
> > reregister their services very easily. Contained in the 
> email message 
> > to the provider is RDF-XML that describes the last known 
> footprint of 
> > their service. Using this RDF-XML, and a tool to be 
> released soon, you 
> > can re-register your service in any registry.
> >
>    This is a home-made addition to the Biomoby API - we have 
> never discussed it. We need a way that can be automatized - 
> so if I need to react to the email message, I need to know 
> first exact format of such email etc. This is doable but 
> needs to be discussed.
>  
You are right, this can be automated. I have created classes 
that parse RDF into MobyService objects and then using the api,
you can register them very easily. As for the message, the rdf 
is appended to the body of the message. Feel free to ask me more.

> > All questions and concerns regarding this agent should be posted to 
> > the list so that they can be discussed amongst us all.
> >
>    Thanks, that's encouraging.
>    Martin
> 

Eddie

> --
> Martin Senger
>    email: martin.senger at gmail.com
>    skype: martinsenger
> consulting for:
>    International Rice Research Institute
>    Biometrics and Bioinformatics Unit
>    DAPO BOX 7777, Metro Manila
>    Philippines, phone: +63-2-580-5600 (ext.2324)
> 
>