Approaches To Web Site Development
For The 21st CenturyBrian Kelly
UK Web FocusUKOLN
University of Bath
Bath, BA2 7AY
UKOLN is supported by:
[email protected]://www.ukoln.ac.uk/
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Why Am I Here?
Why have you invited me to Leeds?
What do you want to get out of today’s seminar?
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Contents
• Where Are We Now?• Standards and the Web• The Original Web Architecture• Architectural Developments• Deployment Issues• Discussion
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About Me
Brian Kelly:• UK Web Focus – a JISC-funded post to advise HE
and FE communities on Web developments• Based in UKOLN - a national focus of expertise in
digital information management based at the University of Bath
• Involved in Web since 1993, while working in Computing Service at University of Leeds
• Close links with Computing Service and Library communities
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The Web At Leeds
History
9 Dec 1992Half-day SIG on network tools (e.g. Gopher, WAIS, etc.) introduced Web (Viola!) to University
Jan 1993UCS installs institutional Web service
1 Mar 1993Robert Cailliau visits Leeds(see How the Web Was Born)
1993Early adopters of Web include Admin, Music, Fine Art, Physics, CBL Unit and Computer ScienceWeb used to announce Open Day on 8 May 93
May 1994WWW 1 conf at CERN
By the end of 1994:• Web services provided by Arts depts• Web used by research community (preprints
by Chemistry dept)• Web used in teaching & learning (initially in
Chemistry, then Web wins TLTP shootout)• Web used for admin and marketing • Involvement in Web research (Andrew Cole
et al)• Central support from UCS• Political support from PVC-IT
By the end of 1994:• Web services provided by Arts depts• Web used by research community (preprints
by Chemistry dept)• Web used in teaching & learning (initially in
Chemistry, then Web wins TLTP shootout)• Web used for admin and marketing • Involvement in Web research (Andrew Cole
et al)• Central support from UCS• Political support from PVC-IT
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What Happened?
Exploitation
By the mid 1990s Leeds University was in a position to exploit the potential of the Web
• Did it?• If not, why not?
The UCS
The PVCs
The SLAs & the funding model
Failure of communications
Lack of strategic thinking
Personalities involved
Are you likely to make the same mistakes again?Are you likely to make the same mistakes again?
Other reasons
Who Was To Blame?Who Was To Blame?
The users
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The Web At Leeds Today
Exercise ResultNos. of Web servers 115Nos. of pages indexed by AV 34,932Size of entry point 30.93 Kb (Bobby)
70,309 b (NetMechanic)Nos. of links to main Web site 21,561Nos. of links to all sites 431,172Site accessibility Accessibility issues…
Benchmarking Results For Leeds
Numbers may be interesting, but are more useful when (a) measured over time and (b) compared with peers (e.g. other Yorkshire Univs).
See <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/webwatch/articles/#latest> for comparisons
See <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/seminars/leeds-jul-2001/> for above results
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Look Back at Web Conferences
W3C Advisory Committee Meeting – June 1998• Held at CERN, Switzerland• W3C staff and AC Reps (from computing
companies) using mobile phone and laptop for Internet access during talks
WWW9 Conference – May 2000• Laptop and mobile, digital cameras are mainstream
(e.g. Weblogs for realtime trip reports)WWW10 Conference – May 2001
• Wireless LANs and laptops• Web access pervasive (free 5 mins at Heathrow,
unlimited access throughout Hong Kong – shopping malls, cafes, etc)
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About Our Community
Shared Concerns
XML File formats
What’s happening to HTML?
MaintenanceWhen is it going to stabilise?
Content Management Systems
Performance
Resources
Authoring Tools
Web browsers
Netscape or Microsoft?Web Standards Web Applications
Web Services
Open source vs licensed apps
Database Integration
Leeds University is not alone – as can be seen from the themes addressed at annual Web Management workshop
Leeds University is not alone – as can be seen from the themes addressed at annual Web Management workshop
Strategies
Intranets
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Where Are We Now?
Current position:• Awareness that resource management is critical?• Integration with legacy systems?• E-learning and e-business seen as important?
But:• Have we yet grasped importance of pervasive
networking?• Is our institutional decision-making processes
hindering developments? Will we lose out to: Microsoft .net (or Sun’s ONE) and Web services Harvard-online, MIT-online, etc. Student Web sites, or Web services aimed at students
• Are we still too institution-centric, and missing out on distributed “Web services”?
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Standards, Architectures, Applications, Resources
This talk touches on several areas
Architectures: models for implementing systemsArchitectures: models for implementing systems
Applications: software products used to implement systems
Applications: software products used to implement systems
Standards: concerned with protocols and file formatsStandards: concerned with protocols and file formats
Open standards vs. Proprietary HTML / XML vs. PDFCSS / XSL vs. HTML
Which standards are applicableNT / UnixFile system / database applicationHTML tools / content management
Apache / IISFrontPage / DreamweaverOracle / SQLServerColdFusion vs ASP
Development vs. Migration costsUse of in-house expertiseIn-house vs. out-sourced Licensed vs. open source
Resources and Strategies: financial & staff costs, prioritisation
Resources and Strategies: financial & staff costs, prioritisation
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How Does The Web Work?The Web has 3 fundamental concepts:
• 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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Acronym SoupThe W3C acronym factory is very productive!The W3C acronym factory is very productive!
XML
XML Schemas RDF
RDF Schemas
SVG
SMIL
PNG
WSDL
UDDISOAP
DOI
URI
CC/PP
CSS
XSLT
DOM
XLink
XPointer
HTML
XHTML
RSS
WML
ECMAScript
XML Family
Rendering HTML/XML
WebCGM
Metadata Framework XML Apps
MathML
Graphics Family
Identifiers
Web Services
• Oversimplified• Not all are W3C• Will not cover all!
• Oversimplified• Not all are W3C• Will not cover all!
URL
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Approaches To HTML
Emphasis on managing HTML resources inappropriate:• HTML is an output format, which cannot easily be
reused (e.g. WAP, e-Books, etc.)• Need to manage HTML fragments (only partly
achievable with SSIs)• Need to manage collections of resources• Need to have single master source of data• Need to support new developments such as
personalisation• Difficult to integrate with new formats
Issues• Should we stop giving HTML courses?• Should we stop buying HTML authoring tools?
Issues• Should we stop giving HTML courses?• Should we stop buying HTML authoring tools?
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The CMS To The Rescue
A CMS (Content Management System):• Allows fragments to be managed• Allows collections to be managed• Allows resources to be stored in a neutral format
(backend database)• Allows resources to be reused• Often provides access control• Often provides workflow processes and project
management
Issues• CMS can be expensive• CMS can be free but have support implications• Which one to choose?
Issues• CMS can be expensive• CMS can be free but have support implications• Which one to choose?
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Standards
Need for standards to provide:• Platform independence• Application independence• Avoidance of patented technologies • Flexibility ("evolvability" - Tim Berners-Lee)• Architectural integrity• Long-term access to data
Ideally look at standards first, then find applications which support the standards
Difficult to achieve this ideal!
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XML
XML:• Extensible Markup Language• A lightweight SGML designed for network use• Addresses HTML's lack of evolvability• Arbitrary elements can be defined (<STUDENT-NUMBER>, <PART-NO>, etc)
• Agreement achieved quickly - XML 1.0 became W3C Recommendation in Feb 1998
• Support from industry (SGML vendors, Microsoft, etc.)
• Support in latest versions of Web browsers
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XML Concepts
Well-formed XML resources:Make end-tags explicit: <li>...</li>
Make empty elements explicit: <img ... />
Quote attributes <img src="logo.gif" height="20"
Use consistent upper/lower case
XML Namespaces:Mechanism for ensuring unique XML elements:
<?xml:namespace ns="http://foo.org/1998-001" prefix="i">
<p>Insert <i:PART>M-471</i:PART></p>
There are several other XML goodies, such as XLink, XPointer, XSLT, etc which aren’t covered in this talk
There are several other XML goodies, such as XLink, XPointer, XSLT, etc which aren’t covered in this talk
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XHTML
XHTML:• Extensible Hypertext Markup Language• HTML represented in XML• Some small changes to HTML:
– Elements in lowercase (<p> not <P>)– Attributes must be quoted (<img src="logo" height="50">– Elements must be closed (< p >..</ p >)– Empty elements must be closed (<img src="logo" . />)
• Gain benefits from XML• Tools available (e.g. HTML-Kit from http://www.chami.com/html-kit/)
• See <http://www.webreference.com/xml/column6/>, <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XHTML-L/> and <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue27/web-focus/>
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Position Today
What should we be doing today?• Move away from creating new content in HTML• Move to XHTML as part of the migration• Deploying XML applications• Storing structured information in a neutral database• Using a CMS to manage our content• Deploying B2B applications to avoid human
bottleneck (such as RSS, …)
Note that these are aspirations. We will, of course, be constrained by existing systems, resource implications, vested interests, inertia, etc.
Note that these are aspirations. We will, of course, be constrained by existing systems, resource implications, vested interests, inertia, etc.
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RSS – Automated News FeedsRSS (Rich / RDF Site Summary):
• Now an RDF application
• Used for news feeds• Lightweight
approach we should be investigating
UKOLN RSS tool at <http://rssxpress.ukoln.ac.uk/>. Note this service uses CGI – a JavaScript solution is also being developed.See <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/webmaster-2001/sessions.html#b5> for exercises.
UKOLN RSS tool at <http://rssxpress.ukoln.ac.uk/>. Note this service uses CGI – a JavaScript solution is also being developed.See <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/webmaster-2001/sessions.html#b5> for exercises.
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Model For News Feeds
Good For UserThe end user can choose her news feeds, including local news, news from JISC services and news from third partiesGood For ServiceThe service can chose its own informationflow model. Its news is disseminated automatically.
Good For UserThe end user can choose her news feeds, including local news, news from JISC services and news from third partiesGood For ServiceThe service can chose its own informationflow model. Its news is disseminated automatically.
RSS Institution (e.g. Bath)
RSSCommunity(e.g. MIDAS)
RSSExternal
(e.g. BBC)
Local News..JISC News..National News
XHTML converted to RSS
Structured database converted to RSS
Zope CMS outputs to RSS & XHTML
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What About Tomorrow?
Two interesting areas:
The Semantic Web• Will allow intelligent agents to know about
resources • AI and ontologists meet the Web• Uses RDF (Resource Description Framework) –
W3C’s framework for metadata• Some concerns over scale of problem• See <http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/>
Web Services• One of the highlights of the recent WWW10
conference
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Web Services
The Web:• Initially used for viewing static resources• Then interactive services built (e.g. e-learning)
We now want:• Programmable Web services which can be used by
other Web services using standards Web protocols
We have experience of the first generation of externally-hosted Web services (stats services, voting systems, etc.) - see <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/web-focus/>.
The next generation will be programmable and machine-understandable
Note that concerns over outsourcing may be an issue
We have experience of the first generation of externally-hosted Web services (stats services, voting systems, etc.) - see <http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue23/web-focus/>.
The next generation will be programmable and machine-understandable
Note that concerns over outsourcing may be an issue
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Example
Some examples at gotdotnet.com:
• Mailsender• Thumbnail
Generator
Concepts been around for some time (see Auditing & Evaluating Web Sites workshop)
Now being standardised (UDDI, WSDL, …) http://www.gotdotnet.com/playground/
services/thumbnailgen.aspx
http://www.gotdotnet.com/playground/services/thumbnailgen.aspx
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We’ve Been Here Before
Reusable components available on the network:• Sounds like COM/DCOM, CORBA, etc. for reusable
program components
Reusable network services:• Sounds like JISCmail, RDN, EDINA, MIMAS, BIDS,
Mirror Service and other JISC Services
Web Services And UK HE / FE CommunitiesSounds like a great idea:
• We’ve the organisational framework to develop national services (JISC, etc.)
• We’ve got the network• We’ve a community which is willing to exploit centrally-provided
services and wants to avoid reinventing the wheel (haven’t we?)
Web Services And UK HE / FE CommunitiesSounds like a great idea:
• We’ve the organisational framework to develop national services (JISC, etc.)
• We’ve got the network• We’ve a community which is willing to exploit centrally-provided
services and wants to avoid reinventing the wheel (haven’t we?)
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Currently...
End user
Local content National content International content
Web Web Web Web Web Web
We should be moving away from providing separate Web services with their own interfaces …
We should be moving away from providing separate Web services with their own interfaces …
How many local Web servers?
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Currently...
End user
Collection Description(e.g. Agora)
User Profile(e.g. Headline)
Authentication(Athens)
Local content National content International content
Web Web Web Web Web Web
… and separate metadata repositories and access services (which are sometimes centralised) …
… and separate metadata repositories and access services (which are sometimes centralised) …
Agora and headline are eLib Hybrid libraries
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Future...
Content
End user
User profile
Collectiondescription
Authentication
Metadata Services /Access Services
Application Services
Bookmarks
Spell-checker
.. and move to Web-accessible, machine-understandable Web services as well as seamless access to content
.. and move to Web-accessible, machine-understandable Web services as well as seamless access to content
Brokered access provide by
institutional portal(MLE, …)
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Thoughts on Applications
Today:• Dreamveaver vs
FrontPage vs …
Another Approach:
• Web-based authoring / CMS tools (e.g. Manilla, etc.)
http://manila.userland.com/http://manila.userland.com/
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Thoughts on Architectures
XML
RDBMS
XSLT
ScriptsExport functions
• XHTML• WML• Open-Ebooks
• PDF• …
• RSS• RDF• HERO DTD• SVG• IMS• SMIL• …
Formats for devices used by end users
Formats for reuse by other applications
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Thoughts On Collaboration
Some thoughts on collaboration:• You can’t do it all on your own• Attendance at Institutional Web Management
Workshop may be useful• Are there regional meetings for Web Managers?• Benchmarking exercise and followup discussions
might be useful in a regional context
Some thoughts on national initiatives:• Make sure you exploit deliverables from JISC and
other national initiatives• Look to participate in national initiatives
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Conclusions
To conclude:• HTML won’t do the job• XHTML is a useful transition• We’ll need a CMS to manage richly functional
institutional Web services• Web services should be important – and we
shouldn’t be too concerned about using remote services
• Standards are important• You can’t do it all yourself!
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Discussion
Time for questions and general discussion