High-level Hypermedia Synthesis for Adaptive Web (AWEB)
Technology description
Today’s automatic website generators are domain-specific one-time processes to generate particular web applications. This invention, high-level hypermedia synthesis for adaptive web (AWEB), is a website generator that has a synthesis engine (SE) that is the same for all domains and applications, and the architecture has reusable components. Web pages are generated on-the-fly giving maximum flexibility to the development of adaptive websites.
The adaptation and description of the website is then achieved using a high level domain-dependent description language called the Adaptive Web Language (AWL). Various domain concepts, relationships and adaptation rules are the basic elements of the language. A domain-dependent compiler (required to translate the code) deciphers the site description and lays it out in an intermediate format. This format is known as the intermediate format vocabulary (IFV). The format encompasses page layout concepts and constraints, instructions to interact with data sources and other hypermedia concepts.
The SE reads the site description as described by the user and generates technology-dependent browser code. The structure of the website will differ based on user requests and depends on the specified data sources used to populate pages. It is able to incorporate necessary functions from an existing library of scripts (if the markup language supports scripts) to achieve more interactivity with the user and support simple operations.
The SE is compatible with desktop and handheld devices, it is able to resize images and cut down on the size of paragraphs to deliver the appropriate sized output depending on the device being used at the time. It is also able to make decisions for adaptation and can generate codes for various markup languages including XHTML and WML.
Advantages
The novel features of AWEB are:
- The synthesis engine is the same for all domains and applications.
- The architecture has reusable components.
- Web pages are generated on-the-fly (maximum flexibility).
- Adaptation is generated through high-level description language.
- Information is disseminated and adapted to meet personalized or specialized topical interests.
- The framework supports features such as profile management, group handling, automatic script incorporation, and asynchronous data exchange both at HDL and database levels.
- Domain experts are able to focus more on the application design rather than web aspects of the application.
AWEB can be of benefit for large organizations such as banks, e-commerce companies, government organizations, service industry proponents such as media, marketing and public relations companies and educational institutions.
Stage of development
AWEB framework development is at the beta version implementation stage. All the framework components have been developed and have undergone functionality and performance testing in the laboratory.
Intellectual property
- US Patent Pending
- Canadian Patent Pending
This technology is available for licensing.
Contact information
Office of Research Services, Industry-Government Services
University of New Brunswick
Phone: (506) 453-4674
partner@unb.ca
