This is the first textbook to be explicitly designed for use as a course text for an undergraduate/graduate course on multi--agent systems. Assuming only a basic understanding of computer science, this text provides an introduction to all the main issues in the theory and practice of intelligent agents and multi--agent systems. The companion Web Site includes sample exercises, lecture slidest and hyperlinks to software referred to in the book Introduces agents, explains what agents are, how they are constructed and how they can be made to co--operate effectively with one another in large--scale systems Introduces the main issues surrounding the design of intelligent agents Introduces a number of typical applications for agent technology