Web Engineering

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. Wealsopresentalistofadditional,usefulresourceson WebEngineeringsuchasbooks,specialissues,articles,andWebsites. Ouraim istoprovideabookthatwillbeaconvenientandusefulreferencetoallthe researchers,practitioners,andstudentsinterestedinWebapplicationdevel- ment. WebEngineeringtakesitsinspirationfromSoftwareEngineering. Atthe sametime,itisalsoanexplicitacknowledgementofthemulti-dimensionalnature ofWebapplications,encompassingtechnicalcomputing,informationstruct- ing,navigationandmanagement,...