Specification Framework for Engineering Adaptive Web Applications

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/dept. of mathematics and computer science

TU/e eindhoven university of technology

May 2002 1

wwwis.win.tue.nl/~hera

Specification Framework for Engineering Adaptive Web

Applications

Flavius Frasincar

Geert-Jan Houben

Richard Vdovjak*

Databases & Hypermedia Group

Department of Computer Science

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Overview

• Introduction, Motivation and Goals• Hera Design Methodology• Conceptual Design • Application Design • Adaptation Design• Prototype/Rendering • Summary and Future Work

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Introduction1436 Printing Press (Johan Guttenberg)

- facilitated storing and exchange of information/knowledge on a larger scale

…1989 WWW (Tim Berners-Lee)

- information/knowledge exchange boost - “everything is on the Web” !?

- huge success vs. huge mess

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Motivation

• There are several methodologies for manual hypermedia presentation design but not so for automated design.

• The need for presentation automation is justified by the fact that most WIS are data driven

• There is an increasing need for presentation adaptation for different users/user platforms.

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Goals

Develop a framework that supports automated hypermedia presentation design for WIS:– Integrates heterogeneous data sources.

– Facilitates presentation (server/client-side) adaptation:• Network (T1, 128K, 56K etc.)

• Display (PC, Palm, WAP Phone etc.)

• User (preferences, interaction history etc.)

– Enables semi-structured data queries.

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Hera Design Methodology

• Originates from RMM (Relationship Management Methodology).

• Suggests a sequence of design steps to be taken when designing a web application.

• Supports – integration of heterogeneous information

– automated presentation design

– user/platform adaptation

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Design Methodology Steps, Models, and Processing Engines

Hera Suite

Design Methodology

RequirementsAnalysis

ConceptualDesign

IntegrationDesign

ApplicationDesign

AdaptationDesign

PresentationDesign

(Search)Agent

inforequest

(meta) data

ConceptualModel Application

Model

info request(slice)

presentation

End User

RQL / RDF XSLT / XML

UserModel

PresentationModel

PresentationEngine

ApplicationEngine

IntegrationEngine

CuypersEngine

AdaptationEngine

info request HTML/WML

IntegrationModel

Semantic Layer Application Layer Presentation Layer

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Conceptual Model (CM)

• Provides a uniform semantic view over different data sources that are integrated within a given Web application.

• Consists of hierarchies of concepts relevant within the given domain, their properties, and relations.

• Encoded in RDF(S).

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Conceptual Model Example

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CM Example RDF(S) Syntax

<rdfs:Class rdf:ID="Artifact"/><rdfs:Class rdf:ID="Painting"> <rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#Artifact"/></rdfs:Class><rdf:Property rdf:ID="name"> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Artifact"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#String"/></rdf:Property><rdf:Property rdf:ID="year"> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Artifact"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#Integer"/></rdf:Property>

<rdf:Property rdf:ID="picture"> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Painting"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#Image"/></rdf:Property><rdf:Property rdf:ID="created_by"> <sys:cardinality rdf:resource="#single"/> <sys:inverse rdf:resource="#creates"/> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Artifact"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#Creator"/></rdf:Property>...

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Application Model (AM)• Describes hypermedia aspects of the presentation.• Captures the navigational view over the CM• Consists of (nested) slices and slice relationships

– Slices - meaningful presentation units• Associated to concepts from the CM• Contain properties and possibly other slices (nesting)

– Slice relationships:• Aggregation relationships: index, tour, indexed guided tour…• Reference relationships: link with an anchor specified.

• Encoded in RDF(S).

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Application Model Example

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AM Example RDF(S) Syntax<rdfs:Class rdf:ID="Slice.technique.main"> <rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#Slice"/></rdfs:Class><rdfs:Class rdf:ID="Slice.painting.main"> <rdfs:subClassOf rdf:resource="#Slice"/></rdfs:Class><rdfs:Class rdf:ID="Link_exemplified_by" rdfs:subClassOf="#Link"></rdfs:Class><rdf:Property rdf:ID="source"> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Link_exemplified_by"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#Image"/></rdf:Property><rdf:Property rdf:ID="destination"> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Link_exemplified_by"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#Slice.painting.main"/></rdf:Property><rdf:Property rdf:ID="slice.painting.main"> <rdfs:domain rdf:resource="#Painting"/> <rdfs:range rdf:resource="#Slice.painting.main"/></rdf:Property>

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Adaptation/User Model• Captures two kinds of adaptation

– Adaptability takes into account the situation in which the user will use the presentation (e.g. the browsing platform).

– Adaptivity means that the presentation changes itself according to the “state of the user’s mind” while being browsed.

• Consists of – Device/User Profile captures “static” visual and platform preferences

encoded in CC/PP.– User Session represents the dynamic user’s state, e.g. did the user visit

(learn) this slice (concept). – Application and Update Rules describe the behavior of the

presentation (e.g. conditional slices in AM) and keep the User Session up-to-date (AHAM rules).

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Adaptation Model Example

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Adaptation Model Syntax• Adaptability Condition

• Adaptivity Condition<rdfs:Class rdf:ID=“Slice.painter.main”

slice:condition=“us:Biography =false”>

<rdf:subClassOf rdf:resource=“#Slice”/>

</rdfs:Class>

<rdfs:Class rdf:ID=“Slice.painting.picture”

slice:condition=“prf:ImageCapable=Yes”>

<rdf:subClassOf rdf:resource=“#Slice”/>

</rdfs:Class>

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Profile Example

• Device/User Profile (CC/PP encoding)Screen size: 100x80, preferred language: English

<ccpp:component>

<up:UserPreferences>

<up:Language>English</up:Language>

…

</up:UserPreferences>

</ccpp:component>

</rdf:Description>

<rdf:Description rdf:about=“Profile”>

<ccpp:component>

<prf:HardwarePlatform>

<prf:ImageCapable>No</prf:ImageCapable>

<prf:ScreenSize>100x80</prf:ScreenSize>

…

</prf:HardwarePlatform>

</ccpp:component>

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Update Rule (AHA) Example

Update the Biography record in the User Session table to true after the user visited “Slice.painter.main”.

<us:Slice.painter.main”>

<aha:updatelist>

<aha:SetOfConcepts>

<aha:item><us:Biography aha:update=“true”/></aha:item>

…

</aha:SetOfConcepts>

</aha:updatelist>

</us:Slice.painter.main>

US Value

us.Biography(“Rembrandt”)

…

false

…

US Value

us.Biography(“Rembrandt”)

…

true

…

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Presentation Model Example

Bookcase regions

Screen rendering

bookcase

shelf

P.picture

painting

P.picture

P.name

…

Region

Attribute

(Associated to a certain painting P)

xy

right

below

Navigational Relationship

Spatial Relationship

0

1

2 0

P1 P2 P3

P4 P5 P6

P7

P1

‘Stone Bridge’ 1638 …

…

Priority (Priority 0 is always fulfilled)

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XSL

Prototype• XSLT code generation

• Two code generators:– HTML for PC Web browsers– WML code for WAP phone browsers

XSL

<xsl:template match=“slice-instance”>

<TABLE>

<xsl:apply-templates select=“*”/>

</TABLE>

</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match=“slice-instance”>

<CARD id=“{@id}”>

<xsl:apply-templates select=“*”/>

</CARD>

</xsl:template>

HTMLWML

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Rendering

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Summary

Hera methodology originated from RMM suggests a sequence of design steps.

Our framework supports – integration of heterogeneous information (CM

populated from several heterogeneous data sources)– automated presentation design: AM serves as a

presentation blue print from which a concrete presentation is derived (wrt. a query)

– user/platform adaptation (adaptability and adaptivity)

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Future Work

• Adaptation in all design steps including the Conceptual Model and Integration Model.

• Experiment with higher ontology languages (e.g. Oil) as the basis for the CM.

• Further development of tools for presentation rendering.

• Authoring tools that would help the designer to build specification models in all design steps.

Specification Framework for Engineering Adaptive Web Applications

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