In computer science

Computer science

Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...

, a mobile agent is a composition of computer software and data which is able to migrate (move) from one computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

 to another autonomously and continue its execution on the destination computer.
A Mobile Agent, namely, is a type of software agent

Software agent

In computer science, a software agent is a piece of software that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency, which derives from the Latin agere : an agreement to act on one's behalf...

, with the feature of autonomy, social ability, learning, and most importantly, mobility.

More specifically, a mobile agent is a process

Process (computing)

In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being executed. It contains the program code and its current activity. Depending on the operating system , a process may be made up of multiple threads of execution that execute instructions concurrently.A computer program is a...

 that can transport its state from one environment to another, with its data intact, and be capable of performing appropriately in the new environment.