A composition machine for web active documents
One of the centerpieces of interconnected systems is active documents. In contrast to traditionally passive documents, these documents store information drawn from different media and integrate software and data uniformly. They also deliver information in a form adaptable to the needs of the user. The basic idea is that users in a networked system should not just be able to communicate with other users, but also interact with documents. The EASYCOMP project aimed at the development of such a technology that will enable the construction of web applications from reusable and pre-tested components, rather than having them specially requested. Interactive WebPages, database-driven sites, e-commerce applications and additional web objects can be composed using pre-existing components and be freely customize instead of developing custom components and applications. In the recent years component models such as XML based components as well as software components that provide standards for component implementation and component interoperability have emerged. The present composition machine supports composition across multiple component models. These include programming language heitml/RADpage, an object oriented XML component that contains many features suitable for integration with components, and JavaBeans tag library. However, strict standards that predefine how a component has to be constructed and its dependency on the services provided by a certain component model are a limiting factor. The problem of accessing components across different models and the implementation of new components in a platform-independent way was addressed by using Vienna Component Framework (VCF). This unified composition machine could be beneficial for web applications designers without programming knowledge, while programmers can additionally create programs and components. The reuse of existing parts would lead to shorter development cycles, higher quality, and increased functionality, hence reduced costs. The copyrights protecting the developed unified composition machine have been registered and researchers are keen to form collaborative agreements with the aim of licensing and marketing the new software.
