One of the key problems of recent years has been the divide between theoretical work in agent-based systems and its practical complement which have, to a large extent, developed along different paths. The Paradigma implementation framework has been designed with the aim of narrowing this gap. It relies on an extensive formal agent framework implemented using recent advances in Java technology. Specifically, Paradigma uses Jini connectivity technology to enable the creation of on-line communities in support of the development of agent-based systems.