Post on 18-Jan-2016
transcript
Future Web Trends
Brian Kelly
UK Web Focus
UKOLN
University of Bath
B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.ukUKOLN is funded by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from the JISC and the European Union. UKOLN also receives support from the University of Bath where it is based.
The Web is great!
Or is it?
This seminar will investigate limitations of the Web and possible solutions
The Web is great!
Or is it?
This seminar will investigate limitations of the Web and possible solutions
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How Does The Web Work?
The web is based on 3 protocols:• URLs: addresses of resources• HTTP: dialogue between client and server• HTML: format of resources
The Netsoft home page
1 User clicks on link to the address (URL)http://www.netsoft.com/hello.html
2 Browser converts link to HTTP command (METHOD):Connect to computer at www.netsoft.com
GET /hello.html3 Remote computer sends file
<HTML><TITLE>Welcome</TITLE>..<P>Welcome to <B>Netsoft</B>
Welcome toNetsoft
4 Local computer displays HTML file
Web Browser (client)
Web server
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What's It Used For?
The simplicity of the Web has resulted in little-used academic tool (50 servers in early 1994) now being widely used in a wide range of applications.
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Web Problem Areas
What difficulties have you encountered when using the Web?
What other problem areas can you envisage?
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Hands-On Exercise
Now spend some time accessing Web resources.
Make notes of any problem areas you come across.
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Review
What were the problems?
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1. Searching
• How many hits did you get for the term Digital Library using AltaVista?
• How useful is this result?
• Was Google any better?
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1. Searching - Comments
Results• AltaVista gives over
132,000 hits• Which ones are
important?• Google gives better
relevance
Developments• Google uses "citation
analysis" • Use of metadata, such
as Dublin Core, will also improve things in the future
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2. Web Technologies - Comments
The Flash file format:• Is proprietary• Requires a Flash
plugin• May not be visible in
old browsers• Text can't be copied
The W3C are developing an open format known as Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
See http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/See http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/
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3. PDFAdobe's PDF (Page Description Format):
• Provides control over appearance of document
• Is easily created• Viewers are freely
availableBut:
• Proprietary• Describes
appearance not document structure
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3. Comments on File Formats
CSS:• Cascading Style Sheets• An open standard
developed by W3C• Separates document
structure (defined in HTML/XML) from the appearance
• Makes maintenance of resources much easier
http://www.w3c.org/Style/CSS/http://www.w3c.org/Style/CSS/
<link rel="style" src="sty.css"<h1>Heading</h1><p>…</p>
<link rel="style" src="sty.css"<h1>Heading</h1><p>…</p>
body {background: blue;}h1: {font-family: arial} p: {font-family: times;
text-align: justify}
body {background: blue;}h1: {font-family: arial} p: {font-family: times;
text-align: justify}Imagine 10,000 HTML files .. With 1 CSS file
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4. E-commerce
Would you buy from an e-commerce site such as Amazon?
What are the implications of e-commerce?
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4. E-commerce Comments
E-commerce:• Requires trust• Requires security• Is there a viable business
model?
Developments:• Digital signatures• Public Key Infrastructure• Athens and Sparta in UK
HE
http://www.w3.org/Signature/http://www.w3.org/Signature/
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5. The Mobile Web
The mobile Web:• Much hype at present• Have you used it?• Is it usable on such a small
screen with slow network times?
• What about the resources need to build a WAP site and a Web siteComments:
• Resources need to build a WAP site and a Web site
• Store resources in neutral format and generate WAP and Web
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5. The Mobile Web CommentsStore resources in neutral format (XML) and generate WAP and WebXML: open storage formatXSLT: Transform XML
XML
WML filefor WAP
XHTML for Web
XSLTengine
XSLTrules
3G promises multimedia and faster networks
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6. Authoring
Authoring Web pages:• Was easy• Becoming more difficult as Web becomes more
complex• More difficult to maintain
For large Web sites there is a need for:• More sophisticated tools e.g. content
management systems• Tailoring content for devices?
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7. Size Issues
Nos. Of Web servers in HEIs
Institution No. of Links
Cambridge 231,339
Oxford 164,307
Edinburgh 125,603
Imperial 125,417
Leeds 99,801
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Question Time
Any questions?
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End of Presentation