Licas is a Java based application designed to provide a lightweight (Internet-based) communication for autonomic services. It is a software package that allows a user to build distributed service-based networks that can also self-organise/self-optimise.
Functionality is provided to allow for XML-RPC based message passing and dynamic linking between services. The framework is very lightweight and so may be used in mobile or sensor-based environments. The architecture and adaptive capabilities through dynamic linking add something new to what other similar systems provide.

· The capability to build distributed networks of autonomic service-based components.
· Permanent and dynamic linking mechanisms to construct the network architecture.
· Autonomic self-organisation through a dynamic (stigmergy) linking mechanism.
· Password protection of the services, providing some level of security.
· Remote communication capabilities through an XML-RPC message passing mechanism.
· Remote object loading through a Java UrlClassLoader.
· Service wrapper classes allowing legacy code to be loaded.
· Framework for adding metadata and negotiation through Service Level Agreements.
· Web Service invocation through SOAP and WSDL document parsing (J2SE only).
· Compatability with the Java mobile (J2ME) environment.

Requirements:
· Java

What's New in This Release:
· Examples of instant messenger and file sharing services have been added to the service package.
· New window to allow you to enter a packet size and communication ID for testing method executions. Can be opened in the Method panel.
· GUI updated again to try to parse the string values entered as parameters when testing service methods. Should parse to a simple type now.
· The Auto 'hasCompleted' method now returns a boolean reply. The file sharing was tried with smaller packet sizes, requiring the message to be split up and sent in parts. This only works with the blocking communication mechansim and so if the hasCompleted method is used, it needs to be blocking as well.
· If using this sort of autonomous communication, you need to make sure that you include the client service URI with the communication ID in the calling method info. This can be done using the MethodInfo constructor that requires the service that is making the call as a parameter.
· In the licas_xml package, cloning an Ele...