Evolution of Web-Based Applications Using Domain-Specific Markup Languages

Abstract

The lifecycle of Web-based applications is characterized by frequent changes to content, user interface, and functionality. Updating content, improving the services provided to users, drives further development of a Web-based application. The major goal for the success of a Web-based application becomes therefore its evolution. Though, development and maintenance of Web-based applications suffers from the underlying document-based implementation model. A disciplined evolution of Web based applications requires the application of software engineering practice for systematic further development and reuse of software artifacts. In this contribution we suggest to adopt the component paradigm to development and evolution of Web-based applications. The approach is based on a dedicated component technology and component-software architecture. It allows abstracting from many technical aspects related to the Web as an application platform by introducing domain specific markup languages. These languages allow the description of services, which represent domain components in our Web-component-software approach. Domain experts with limited knowledge of technical details can therefore describe application functionality and the evolution of orthogonal aspects of the application can be de-coupled. The whole approach is based on XML to achieve the necessary standardization and economic efficiency for the use in real world projects.