Provides an in-depth introduction to the various technologies that are bringing intelligent agents into the forefront of information technology, explaining how such agents work, the standards involved, and how agent-based applications can be developed. (Author/AEF)

Focuses on natural language processing (NLP) in information retrieval. Defines the seven levels at which people extract meaning from text/spoken language. Discusses the stages of information processing; how an information retrieval system works; advantages to adding full NLP to information retrieval systems; and common problems with information…