JADE (Java Agent DEvelopment Framework) is a software framework fully implemented in Java language. It simplifies the implementation of multi-agent systems through a middle-ware that claims to comply with the FIPA specifications and through a set of tools that supports the debugging and deployment phase. The agent platform can be distributed across machines (which not even need to share the same OS) and the configuration can be controlled via a remote GUI. The configuration can be even changed at run-time by moving agents from one machine to another one, as and when required. JADE is completely implemented in Java language and the minimal system requirement is the version 1.2 of JAVA (the run time environment or the JDK). Recently, JADE has been integrated with the results of the LEAP project. The synergy between the JADE platform and the LEAP libraries allows to obtain a FIPA-compliant agent platform with reduced footprint and compatibility with mobile Java environments down to J2ME-CLDC.
