A formal yet practical approach to electronic commerce

This work explores (semi-)automated EC on the WWW. The EContracts framework enables EC WWW sites and EC automated tools to present standardized information. This information (1) allows each party to decide whether it wishes to engage in an EC activity with the other party, (2) enables automated negotiation between the parties, and (3) enables the establishment of an electronic contract, i.e. a formal description of an agreed upon EC transaction. The EContracts framework defines the basic software components of an EC party and their interconnections. Based on the EContracts framework, various applications can be built. Examples are deal making applications, deal feasibility checkers, brokers etc. Furthermore, the definitions of the data structures and the algorithms enable a theoretical investigation of automated commerce.