Re: Programming languages for remote agents

Jim Anderson (jim.anderson@fi.gs.com)
Fri, 12 Aug 1994 23:23:10 +0200

>> connolly@hal.com <insert pithy attribution here>

> In message <94Aug12.111423pdt.2761@golden.parc.xerox.com>, Larry Masinter write
> s:
>> What I would look for in a programming language for remote 'agents' to
>> be sent in mail, executed locally, etc.
>>
>> What I'm looking for is a language that includes, in the language, a
>> security model, with a full notion of an `agent' that operates on the
>> behalf of a `user', `group', or `service', where procedures are
>> exported, can examine the identity of the user on whose behalf they
>> were called, can dynamically or statically declare which operations
>> are available to which classes of users, or operate conditionally
>> depending on whose behalf they were called, and where there is no way
>> to cheat, since the agent is signed by the user securely. I don't see
>> this in Safe-TCL. The language doesn't have any simple way to
>> determine whose authority a procedure executes with. Maybe Safe-TCL is
>> a useful platform on top of which one could build this kind of
>> security model, but it isn't there, and it isn't obvious that Safe-TCL
>> actually provides 'an open framework on which you can build' such
>> applications.

> Cool idea... here are some relevant technologies:

>> From "Obliq Quick Start"
> http://www.research.digital.com/SRC/Obliq/Obliq.html

I get a 'no such host' error from Mosaic for this.

jim