Trends in Web Applications

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	Trends in Web Applications Stephen Savitzky Chief Software Scientist Ricoh Innovations, Inc. <steve@rii.ricoh.com>
	Trends in Web Applications

<< 1 >> contents start	The Triumph of the Web
	The web is the preeminent medium for communication between people and businesses as well as between people and people    people and machines    (a chat site) (a router)
	Trends in Web Applications

<< 2 >> contents start	Many challenges facing application developers
	Multiplication of platforms/clients Applications growing in complexity Increasing interaction between applications Maintenance and customization Need for new design methodology Based on common standards and open source that supports open source development.
	Trends in Web Applications

<< 3 >> contents start	Proliferation of Servers, Languages, OS'es
	Embedded Applications Appliances Mainframes Where applications might be deployed.
	Trends in Web Applications

<< 4 >> contents start	Proliferation of Clients
	With a wide range of capabilities ... and more Mobile clients Thin clients Specialized clients
	Trends in Web Applications

<< 5 >> contents start	Increasing Interaction and Customization
	Many applications support interaction between users. user contributions (e.g. Linux Today) discussions (e.g. Slashdot) collaborative writing (e.g. Wiki Wiki Web) form-based applications (e.g. Linux Firewall Tools)   or give personalized views/access to information customizable portals (e.g. My Yahoo) with a trend towards fully customized processing customizable intranet applications (e.g. the RSV Forms Server )
	Trends in Web Applications

<< 6 >> contents start	Open Source supports shared development
	Apache holds 60% Market Share for Web Servers Source: Netcraft Web Server Survey, http://www.netcraft.com/survey/ Open Source operating systems and languages favored for Web development ...but the market is fragmented
	Trends in the Web Infrastructure

<< 7 >> contents start	The Rise of XML
	eXtensible Markup Language is the successor to HTML Standard format for exchanging text content and data Widespread support in web authoring tools, scripting languages, databases, servers, clients Easy to process Easy to translate to HTML for legacy clients
	Trends in the Web Infrastructure

<< 8 >> contents start	Challenges for Web Application Developers
	Which platform? How to collaborate? Which development environment? How to maintain / customize?
	Challenges for Web Application Developers

<< 9 >> contents start	Which platform?
	platform = ( server, OS, language ) Developers must choose a web server, operating system, and implementation language before building an application.   Merging apps on a website or choosing another platform may require substantial re-engineering.
	Challenges for Web Application Developers

<< 10 >> contents start	How to Collaborate? Develop? Maintain?
	Many people involved in the design, development, and maintenance writers artists application designers web designers program designers users (3rd party customization) Each brings their own tools and skills.
	Challenges for Web Application Developers

<< 11 >> contents start	Conventional Web development
	Application consists of documents, and some separate code
	Challenges for Web Application Developers

<< 12 >> contents start	PIA-based Web Development
	Application consists almost entirely of XML documents with a portable, standard processing engine.
	The PIA Solution: an XML-based framework

<< 13 >> contents start	The PIA's Answers: cross-platform XML
	Which platform? Whichever one you prefer: PIA applications are portable. Open Source processing engine eliminates dependence on proprietary technology can be integrated with any server engine or approximated with existing XML support How to collaborate? Shared editing of XML documents using domain-specific tags provided by programmers Integrating applications by merging documents Which development environment? Whichever one makes sense for each collaborator. How to maintain / customize applications? Modify, extend the XML documents supported by mainstream editors and specialized clients
	The PIA Solution: an XML-based framework

<< 14 >> contents start	PIA Features
	Uses a single XML-based language for : document markup (content) data -- the ``conventional'' use for XML behavior -- very unconventional in a way, we are abusing a stylesheet language to make it interpret scripts Applications consist entirely of XML documents Makes applications portable Supports collaborative (open source) development Small, simple document-processing engine Versatile site-description package easily integrated into many platforms Open source code available on the net RiSource.org to coordinate open source community development
	The PIA Solution: an XML-based framework

<< 15 >> contents start	Table of Contents
	The Triumph of the Web Many challenges facing application developers Proliferation of Servers, Languages, OS'es Proliferation of Clients Increasing Interaction and Customization Open Source supports shared development The Rise of XML Challenges for Web Application Developers Which platform? How to Collaborate? Develop? Maintain? Conventional Web development PIA-based Web Development The PIA's Answers: cross-platform XML PIA Features
	The PIA Solution: an XML-based framework