Web Engineering : Managing Diversity and Complexity of Web Application Development

by San Murugesan (Editor)

Inlessthanadecadeofexistence, theWebhasreachedatrulystaggeringstage, demonstratedbythescope, thereach, andthesizeofWeb-basedapplications andactivities. Concentratinginitiallyoninformationdissemination, thescopeof theapplicationsisnowlimitedonlybyourimagination. Thereachisconstantly expandingandsoarethenumberandsizeoftheapplications, alongwiththe underlyingcomplexity, rangeofpurposes, andthetimeneededtodevelopand maintainthem. Atthesametime, thedevelopmentandmaintenanceprocesses ofWebapplicationshavenotprogressedatasu?cientlyrapidpacetomeetthese challengesanddemands. Consequently, thelikelihoodisthatWebapplication developmentwillgetintoacrisisanditisnothardtoimaginethatthiswould dwarfthe'softwarecrisis'identi?edlongagointhe1960s. WebEngineeringaimstoavertthispotentialcrisisbygeneratingaproactive approachtothesuccessfuldevelopmentofWeb-basedsystemsandapplications. WebEngineeringinvolvestheuseofscienti?c, engineering, andmanagement principlesandsystematicapproacheswiththeaimofsuccessfullydeveloping, deploying, andmaintaininghighqualityWeb-basedsystemsandapplications. WebEngineering, initscurrentform, isanearlyattempttoidentifythes- ni?cantissuesandproblems, andtheirsolutions, indevelopingWeb-basedapp- cations. Asweseeit, WebEngineeringisnotyetestablishedasafulldiscipline norhasitdevelopedanidenti?ableorstableform, sinceeverythingconnected withtheWebisstillinastateof?ux. Oneonlyhastolookatthenumberof variedactivitiesthattheWorldWideWebConsortiumisengagedintorealise thatastableWebenvironment, andhenceprovenmethodsfordevelopmental activitiesbasedontheWeb, isstillsomedistanceaway. OurearlyforaysintotheWebarena, withtheconstantexcitementofnew developmentsandchallenges, forcefullybroughttomindourentryintothec- puting?eld, almostthreedecadesago. Atthattime, comparedtowhatthe technologycoulddo, oure?ortsincomputerizingpayrollandaccountingapp- cationsinrealityseemedpunyanddisappointing. TheWeb, ontheotherhand, didnotseemshackled, inawaythatearlycomputingwas, tothesebure- craticandunimaginativewaysofconductinghumanandorganizationala?airs. Itseemedthattheorganizational, spatial, andphysicalconstraintswereabout toloosen, ifnotdisappear, altogether. Andyet, whenwelookedaroundatthewayWebsitesandapplicationswere beingdeveloped, itseemedtousthattheearlypatternofhaphazarddev- opment, minimaltesting, andlackofattentiontothemaintenanceissuesthat characterisedthe'softwarecrisis'werestillverymuchwithus. Itwasasthough the'newgeneration'insistedonmakingthesamemistakesasitsparents! Thisfeelingofd´ej`avuledustoquestionthenatureofWeb-basedandW- relatedactivities. Ofcourse, wewerenotalone, aswesoondiscovered. The resultiswhatisbeingcalledWebEngineeringwhichhadits?rstintroduction inaworkshopattheSeventhWorldWideWeb(WWW7)conferenceinBrisbane in1998. IthasnowbecomeaserieswithmoreworkshopsatWWW8(Toronto, VI Preface 1999)andWWW9(Amsterdam,2000), andalsoattheInternationalConference onSoftwareEngineering(ICSE99)in1999inLosAngelesandICSE2000in Limerick, Ireland. AnotherworkshopisscheduledforWWW10inHongKong inMay2001. Themainpurposebehindtheseworkshopshasbeentoshareandpoolthe collectiveexperienceofpeople, bothacademicsandpractitioners, whoare- tivelyworkingonWeb-basedsystems. Theworkshopshavegenerallyconsisted ofkeynoteaddresses, peer-reviewedcontributedpapers, andsessionsofopen discussions. About This Book Inthisvolume, weprovideaconsolidatedviewofrecentwork, highlightingdev- opmentsandadvancesintheareaofWebEngineering. Thisselectionofpapers drawsmainlyfromthelastthreeworkshops, heldinconjunctionwithICSE1999, WWW9, andICSE2000. Wealsopres

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First published June 15, 2001