Java Framework for Database-

Centric Web Site Engineering

Beat Signer, Michael Grossniklaus and Moira C. Norrie

{signer, grossniklaus, norrie}@inf.ethz.ch

Institute for Information Systems

ETH Zurich

Outline

• Motivation

• OMS Database Development Suite

• XML Server Component

• Customised Applications

• Content Management Server

Motivation

• Current web interfaces to DB systems are

Based on HTML and related technologies

Optimised for large displays (> 640x480 pixels)

• Trend to new types of devices with different

browser capabilities

WebPads, Handhelds (Palm, Handspring,... ), WAP-

enabled mobile phones, NTT DoCoMo's I-Mode

phones, Digital TV, ...

Not suited for 1:1 rendering of most existing web sites

Motivation...

• Generic database interface instead of developing

a new interface from scratch for every device type

Use a technology which allows the separation of

content from its presentation (XML)

Rendering (XSL) based on the user agent type

requesting the data

OMS Database Development Suite

Application ModellingOM Semantic Object Data Model

Database & Application

Design

OMS ProRapid Prototyping System

and Lightweight DBMS

Implementation

OMS JavaData Management System

& Application Framework

DB-Centric Web Site Development

Information Model

Document Content

Document

DB with

Generic Browsers

DB with

Defaut Templates

DB with Customised

Templates

XML Server Component

OMS Java API

OMS Java Workspace

XML Servlet HTML Servlet WML Servlet

Main Entry Servlet

XML Server

XML

Browser

HTML

Browser

WML

Browser

Delegation

Builds XML

based on JDOM

XML + XSLT

Response

Example

XML Response

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

<oms>

<instance id="1132" type="person" >

<dressedWith type="person" />

<attribute name="forename" >

<string>Beat</string>

</attribute>

…<attribute name="picture" >

<photofile>/images/ETH/beat.jpg</photofile>

</attribute>

<method name="age" />

…<link idref="788" inv="false" name="Workplace" />

</instance>

</oms>

Attributes

Types

Methods

Links

Application Development

1. Prototype the OM model in OMS Pro

2. Export to OMS Java

• DDL (Data Definition Language), DML (Data

Modification Language)

3. Installation of XML Server with default XSL

stylesheets and servlets

4. Optional customisation of stylesheets and

servlets

Community Agenda

Existing Solutions

• Conventional content

management systems

• Document elements are

stored in a DB

• Databases brought to the

web

• Close relation between

database type and page

Document Based Approach Data Based Approach

Content Management Server

Application

Objects

CMComponentsCMTemplates

CMWorkflows CMGatekeepers

CMContents

Content Management Server...

CMPage

CMContainerCMNavigation

CMContainer

Content Management Server...

CMText

CMPicture

CMText

CMText

GlobisEvent

CMMixed

CMMixed

CMPicture

CMText

CMTextCMLink

Content Management Server...

Conclusion

• Database-Centric Web Engineering

Support entire development process

Manage document content and application objects

• OMS Java Framework

High-Level Data Management

XML Server

Content Management