Agent-based data integration framework

Combining data from diverse, heterogeneous sources while facilitating a unified access to it is an important (albeit difficult) task. There are various possibilities of performing it. In this publication, we propose and describe an agent-based framework dedicated to acquiring and processing distributed, heterogeneous data collected from diverse sources (e.g., the Internet, external software, relational, and document databases). Using this multi-agent-based approach in the aspects of the general architecture (the organization and management of the framework), we create a proof-of-concept implementation. The approach is presented using a sample scenario in which the system is used to search for personal and professional profiles of scientists.