3 Review(s)

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 ThisfeelingofdejavuledustoquestionthenatureofWeb-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. Wealsopresentalistofadditional, usefulresourceson WebEngineeringsuchasbooks, specialissues, articles, andWebsites. Ouraim istoprovideabookthatwillbeaconvenientandusefulreferencetoallthe researchers, practitioners, andstudentsinterestedinWebapplicationdevel- ment. WebEngineeringtakesitsinspirationfromSoftwareEngineering. Atthe sametime, itisalsoanexplicitacknowledgementofthemulti-dimensionalnature ofWebapplications, encompassingtechnicalcomputing, informationstruct- ing, navigationandmanagement, networkperformanceandsecurity, legaland socialissues, graphicdesign, multiplicityofuserpro?les, andthevariedope- tionalenvironments. Accordingly, thepapersinthisvolumecoverperspectives onWebEngineering, navigationandadaptivity, designaspects, acceptancec- teriaforWeb-basedsystems, developmentandmanagementofWebsitesand Web-basedapplications, Webmetrics, andcasestudies. Forconvenience, thepapersareorganizedin?vesections:1)Introduction andPerspectives,2)ManagingInformationontheWeb,3)Web-BasedSystems Development,4)DesignforPerformance, WebMetrics, andTesting, and5) WebMaintenanceandReuse. Intheirownways, allthepapersareforwa- looking, tryingtoanticipateproblems, creatingtools, experimentinginnovel ways, wideningtheareasofapplications, andre-examiningparadigms. Inother words, thepapersrepresentasharedattitudeofbeinginclusiveratherthan focusingnarrowly. WebEngineeringisaforwardlookingandcollaborativediscipline. The- persinthiscompendium, takenindividually, representonlythetipoftheiceberg ofworldwideWebdevelopment. Together, theymakeasigni?cantcontribution totheevolutionofamoresystematicapproachtoWebdevelopment. Thec- pendiumhasbeenmadepossiblebythemanypeoplewhosharetheseviews. We hopethereaderswilljoinusintheseendeavors. January2001 SanMurugesan YogeshDeshpande Table of Contents WebEngineering: IntroductionandPerspectives WebEngineering: IntroductionandPerspectives Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 WebEngineering: ANewDisciplineforDevelopment ofWeb-BasedSystems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 SanMurugesan, YogeshDeshpande, SteveHansenandAthulaGinige WebEngineering: BeyondCS, ISandSEEvolutionary andNon-engineeringPerspectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 YogeshDeshpande, SanMurugesanandSteveHansen WebEngineeringinAction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .