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:
· A third linking structure has been added to the Service class. This stores full service paths, so that one service can know about other services without being part of any sort of permanent structure. The add / removeRemoteNetworkUri methods in the AutoServer have been removed and replaced with the new addServiceLink / getServiceLinks, etc. methods in the Service class.
· Metadata should now record these links/associations as well.
· The Service.getServicePassword method also needs the server password in the method calls, if the server pasword is not the default one. This has now been added. The test behaviour classes should now also work on servers with different passwords.