Context-Aware Pervasive Systems: Architectures for a New Breed of Applications

The concept of aware systems is one of the most exciting trends in computing today, fueled by recent developments in pervasive computing. This book introduces a new breed of computer applications that are termed "context-aware pervasive systems" and provides architectural blueprints for building context-aware behavior into applications. It reviews the anatomy of context-aware pervasive applications, including mobile services, and discusses the integration of context-aware computing with software agents and the Web. It also explores the use of context-awareness for addressing and communications. This text distills general design principles and a generic architecture for context-aware applications.