The Answers Anywhere Agent Network is the mechanism that processes queries on behalf of UA. When a query is received by UA and passed to the Agent Network it is analyzed and broken into its constituent components in this way:
The Agent Network examines the command portion of the query to identify whether the query should be handled by the execute or send agent. This is done by comparing the command to the synonyms for each agent.
The Agent Network examines the application_name portion of the query and attempts to locate the application in the UA database. To locate the application, the Agent Network inspects up to four parts of each application: the application name, application synonyms, field names and field synonyms. The field names and field synonyms only apply if the application contains grid structured data.
The Agent Network processes the remainder of the query for parameter and/or filter information.
While this sequence of events is taking place the Agent Network is also building a structured XML representation of the query, known as the Intent XML, which is returned to UA. If the Agent Network successfully understands and processes the query, the Intent XML contains all the information the UA needs to execute the desired application, including any parameter and data filtering information specified in the query. See “Intent XML”.
