The document provides information about the Web Information Systems course taught by Professor Beat Signer at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It outlines the course structure, schedule, assignments and exams. The course covers topics such as web architectures, HTML, XML, web application frameworks, semantic web, web search and future trends. Students will complete a group assignment to build a web application and will have an oral exam.
3. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 3September 26, 2014
Prerequisites
Note that this is an advanced Master's level
course and the official course description lists
the following required previous knowledge
basic programming skills
basic knowledge in modelling and querying data (e.g. design
and use of databases)
It is not impossible to follow the course without these
prerequisites, but in this case you should not complain
about the potential additional workload!
4. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 4September 26, 2014
Exercises
The course content is further investigated in
the exercise sessions
the topics covered in the exercise sessions will
also be helpful for the assignment
Weekly exercise sessions
assistant: Reinout Roels, (rroels@vub.ac.be)
2 groups (starting on October 1); send an email with your
preference to Reinout Roels until Monday, September 29
- Wednesday 10:00–12:00 in E.1.04
- Friday 15:00–17:00 in E.1.04
Additional content may be covered in exercise sessions
strongly recommended to attend all exercise sessions!
exam covers content of lectures and exercises
5. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 5September 26, 2014
Course Material
All material will be available on PointCarré
lecture slides, exercises, research papers, tutorials, ...
Make sure that you are subscribed to the
Web Information Systems course on PointCarré
http://pointcarre.vub.ac.be/index.php?application=web
lcms&go=course_viewer&course=2473
Handouts are on PointCarré the day before the lecture
slides from the previous year are already available on SlideShare
- http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=head
er&q=%22web+information+systems+2013%22
Similar information is also available on the WISE website
http://wise.vub.ac.be/content/web-information-systems
6. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 6September 26, 2014
Lecture Schedule
Exercise 1: Bush Paper & Assignment
3
4
5
6
Lecture 2: Web Architectures
Lecture 3: HTML5 and the Open Web Platform
Exercise 2: HTTP
Lecture 4: XML and XML Applications
Lecture 6: Web 2.0 Basics
Exercise 5: Web Application Frameworks
E.0.06
E.0.06
E.0.06
E.0.06
E.1.04
E.1.04
E.1.04
7
8
Interim Project Presentations TBA
Lecture 1: Introduction
2
No Exercises
Exercise 3: Java Servlet Technology E.1.04
E.0.06
Lecture 5: Web Application Frameworks
Exercise 4: XML/XSLT
E.0.06
E.1.04
7. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 7September 26, 2014
Lecture Schedule …
Lecture 8: Mobile Web Information Systems
Exercise 8: Google Maps and Geolocation API
10
11
12
13
14
Lecture 9: Semantic Web
Lecture 10: Web Search
Exercise 9: Semantic Web
Lecture 11: Security, Privacy and Trust
Exercise 7: Mashup Tools
9
Exercise 10: Web Search and PageRank
Lecture 12: Future Trends
Exercise 11: Security
Exercise 6: Web Services
Final Project Presentations TBA
Lecture 7: Web 2.0 Patterns and Technologies E.0.06
E.1.04
E.1.04
E.1.04
E.1.04
E.1.04
E.1.04
E.0.06
E.0.06
E.0.06
E.0.06
E.0.06
8. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 8September 26, 2014
Assignment
Web 2.0 Web Application
application about topic of your choice
- a number of functional and technical requirements
- create, view, manage, search and share information
- integration of existing web resources
- map-based interface
- examples: movie application, fitness application, games, ...
Assignment handed out in week 3
group project with 3 students per group
- send an email with the 3 group members to Reinout Roels by Friday,
October 3 (rroels@vub.ac.be)
- deadlines: final presentation (week of December 16), report (December 23)
assignment counts for 40% for the final grade
- students have some flexibility in distributing the grades (±2 points)
9. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 9September 26, 2014
Exam
Oral exam in English
covers content of lectures and exercises
counts 60% for the overall grade
5 mins questions about the assignment
15 mins questions about the course content (no preparation time)
Overall grade = oral exam (60%) + assignment (40%)
10. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 10September 26, 2014
Course Outline
1. Introduction
history of the Web
2. Web Architectures
HTTP protocol
client-side and server-side processing
multi-tier architectures
3. Hypertext Markup Language
HTML and CSS
HTML5 and the Open Web Platform
4. XML and XML Applications
XML, XPointer, XPath, XSLT, XQuery and XLink
XML-RPC
11. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 11September 26, 2014
Course Outline …
5. Web Application Frameworks
Model-View-Controller (MVC)
Apache Struts 2, Adobe Flex, Ruby on Rails, OpenLaszlo, …
6. Web 2.0 Basics
Web 2.0 basic terminology
Web 2.0 applications
7. Web 2.0 Patterns and Technologies
Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs)
mashups
Rich Internet Applications (RIAs)
collaborative tagging
12. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 12September 26, 2014
Course Outline …
8. Mobile Web Information Systems
Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
context and proximity
9. Semantic Web and Web 3.0
RDF, RDFs, OWL, SPARQL, …
Linked Data
semantic web applications
10.Web Search and Retrieval
search engine architecture
Google PageRank
search engine optimisation (SEO)
13. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 13September 26, 2014
Course Outline …
11.Security, Privacy and Trust
HTTP Authentication
public key cryptography
web logging and user profiling
12.Future Trends and Summary
Internet of Things
cloud computing
cross-media information systems
comments about the exam
14. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 14September 26, 2014
Reading Wheel (Bookwheel)
Described by Agostino
Ramelli in 1588
Keep several books open
to read from them at the
same time
comparable to modern
tabbed browsing
The reading wheel has
never really been built
Could be seen as a
predecessor of hypertext
15. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 15September 26, 2014
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)
Library classification
system
developed by Melvil Dewey
in 1876
Hierarchical classification
10 main classes with
10 divisions each and
10 sections per division
total of 1000 sections
After the three numbers,
decimals can be used for
further subclassification
16. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 16September 26, 2014
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) ...
Documents can appear in
more than one class
however, there is normally
only one physical copy
(one main class)
Different alternatives
Library of Congress (LC)
classification
Universal Decimal Classifi-
cation (UDC) by Paul Otlet
and Henri La Fontaine
17. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 17September 26, 2014
Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) ...
000-099 Computer Science, Information and General Works
000 Computer Science, Knowledge and Systems
000 Computer Science, Knowledge and General Works
...
005 Computer Programming, Programs and Data
...
009 [Unassigned]
010 Bibliographies
...
100-199 Philosophy and Psychology
200-299 Religion
300-399 Social Sciences
340 Law
341 International Law
400-499 Language
500-599 Science
600-699 Technology
700-799 Arts
800-899 Literature
900-999 History, Geography and Biography
18. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 18September 26, 2014
"As We May Think" (1945)
When data of any sort are placed in storage,
they are filed alphabetically or numerically,
and information is found (when it is) by
tracing it down from subclass to subclass.
It can be in only one place, unless duplicates
are used; one has to have rules as to which
path will locate it, and the rules are cumbers-
ome. Having found one item, moreover, one
has to emerge from the system and re-enter
on a new path. The human mind does not
work that way. It operates by association. ...
Vannevar Bush
19. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 19September 26, 2014
"As We May Think" (1945) …
... It affords an immediate step, however, to
associative indexing, the basic idea of which
is a provision whereby any item may be
caused at will to select immediately and
automatically another. This is the essential
feature of the memex. The process of tying
two items together is the important thing. ...
Vannevar Bush, As We May Think,
Atlanic Monthly, July 1945
Vannevar Bush
20. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 20September 26, 2014
"As We May Think" (1945) …
Bush's article As We May
Think (1945) is often seen
as the "origin" of hypertext
The article introduces
the Memex
memory extender
store and access information
follow cross-references in the form
of associative trails between pieces
of information (microfilms)
prototypical hypertext machine
trail blazers are those who find delight in
the task of establishing useful trails
Memex
21. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 21September 26, 2014
Scientist of the Future ...
22. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 22September 26, 2014
Video: Memex
23. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 23September 26, 2014
Hypertext (1965)
Ted Nelson coined the term hypertext
Nelson started Project Xanadu in 1960
first hypertext project
non-sequential writing
referencing/embedding parts of a document
in another document (transclusion)
transpointing windows
bidirectional (bivisible) links
version and rights management
XanaduSpace 1.0 was released as part of Project
Xanadu in 2007
Ted Nelson
24. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 24September 26, 2014
Digital Documents as a Paper Simulator?
Most people don't understand the logic of the
concept: "What You See Is What You Get" is based
on printing the document out ("get" means "get
WHEN YOU PRINT IT OUT"). And that means a
metaphysical shift: a document can only consist of
what can be printed! This re-froze the computer
document into a closed rectangular object which
cannot be penetrated by outside markings (curtailing
what you could do with paper). No marginal notes,
no sticky notes, no crossouts, no insertions, no
overlays, no highlighting - PAPER UNDER GLASS.
Ted Nelson, Geeks Bearing Gifts: How the Computer
World Got This Way, Mindful Press 2009
Ted Nelson
25. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 25September 26, 2014
Transpointing Windows Mockup (1972)
[http://www.xanadu.com.au/ted/TN/PARALUNE/paraviz.html]
26. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 26September 26, 2014
OpenXanadu (2014)
[http://xanadu.com/xanademos/MoeJusteOrigins.html]
27. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 27September 26, 2014
Video: Ted Nelson Explains XanaduSpace
28. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 28September 26, 2014
Hypertext Editing System, HES (1967)
Early hypertext system
developed at Brown University (1967)
by Andries van Dam and his team
Ted Nelson was a visitor at Brown
University a that time
Limitations
unidirectional links
non-overlapping links
only embedded links
File Retrieval and Editing System, FRESS (1968)
follow-up project taking ideas from HES and NLS
first system introducing 'undo' functionality
bidirectional links
29. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 29September 26, 2014
The Mother of All Demos (1968)
Douglas Engelbart and his colleagues
at the Stanford Research Institute
developed the oNLine System (NLS) as
part of the Augment Project
vision about the future of interactive computing
NLS was demonstrated at the Fall
Joint Computer Conference in 1968
showed first practical use of hypertext
computer mouse
remote collaboration (connected computers)
raster-scan video monitors
screen windows
...
Douglas Engelbart
30. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 30September 26, 2014
NLS Demo
31. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 31September 26, 2014
Aspen Moviemap (1978)
Early hypermedia system
developed at MIT by Andrew
Lippman and his team
hypermedia = extension of
hypertext with other media
types (e.g. images, sounds)
Virtual tour of Aspen
pictures taken every 10 feet
while driving through the city
additional linked media
(e.g. images and sounds)
Similar concept now used
in Google Street View
32. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 32September 26, 2014
HyperCard (1987)
One of the early widespread
hypermedia systems
Released by Apple Computer Inc.
(as part of System Software 6)
developed by Bill Atkinson
Information is stored in a series of
cards that are arranged into stacks
Links can be defined between different cards
HyperCards may contain text, pictures, audio and video
HyperTalk programming language is used to execute commands
and jump to other cards
33. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 33September 26, 2014
ARPANET (1969)
Advanced Research
Projects Agency Network
created by DARPA
(US Department of Defense)
first operational packet
switching network
first ARPANET link esta-
blished in November 1969
ARPANET applications
Email (1971), Ray Tomlinson
FTP (1973)
ARPANET Team
34. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 34September 26, 2014
ARPANET Map (March 1977)
35. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 35September 26, 2014
Worldwide Number of Hostnames
992‘117‘228 hostnames in August 2014, source: http://news.netcraft.com
36. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 36September 26, 2014
TCP (1974)
Transmission control protocol
replacement of Network Control
Protocol (NCP)
'A Protocol for Packet Network
Interconnection'
by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn
Reliable and ordered
transmission of byte stream
between two endpoints
Migration of ARPANET to TCP/IP in 1982
Vint Cerf Bob Kahn
37. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 37September 26, 2014
TCP/IP (1978)
4 abstraction layers
each layer offers functionality to the above layer
separation of concerns
Application layer
HTTP, FTP, POP, ...
Transport layer
TCP, UDP, ...
Internet layer
addressing hosts and packet routing
IP, ...
Link layer
38. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 38September 26, 2014
TCP/IP Layers
Link
Internet
Transport
Application
Link
Internet
Link
Internet
Transport
Application
Link
Internet
Ethernet EthernetSatellite,
...
39. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 39September 26, 2014
World Wide Web (WWW)
Networked hypertext system
(over ARPANET) to share in-
formation at CERN
first draft in March 1989
The Information Mine,
Information Mesh, …?
Components by end of 1990
HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
HTTP server software
Web browser called WorldWideWeb
First public "release" in August 1991
Tim Berners-Lee Robert Cailliau
40. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 40September 26, 2014
WordWideWeb Browser (1993)
41. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 41September 26, 2014
WWW and Hypertext
WWW is mainly a network-enabled version of the
HES hypertext model
unidirectional links between heterogeneous resources
is it more than just a digital version of paper documents
with links?
What about all the richer functionality researched by the
hypertext community?
bidirectional links
transclusion and external (non-embedded) links
version management
…
Is there something wrong with the WWW?
42. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 42September 26, 2014
Mobile Web
HTML markup language is
no longer sufficient
WML, VoiceXML, cHTML, …
New forms of connectivity
and information exchange
P2P networks
New requirements and
functionality
location-based services
Access the Web from
anywhere at anytime
43. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 43September 26, 2014
Web 2.0
User becomes an author
and shares information
tagging
Wikis
social networking
mashups
...
Not a new technology!
Why did some of these
things not happen earlier?
limitations of the original
World Wide Web?
44. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 44September 26, 2014
Semantic Web (Web 3.0)
Add explicit semantics
to web resources
Machine-interpretable
Web
Use of ontologies
Potential reasoning over
Web resources
Character set: UNICODE
Cryptography
Syntax: XML and XML Namespaces
Data interchange: RDF
Taxonomies: RDFS
Ontologies:
OWLQuerying:
SPARQL
Unifying Logic
Trust
User interface and applications
Proof
Rules:
RIF/SWRL
Based on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Semantic-web-stack.png]
Identifiers:
URI/IRI
45. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 45September 26, 2014
Internet of Things
Mark Weiser coined the term Ubiquitous
Computing while working at Xerox PARC
M. Weiser, The Computer for the 21st Century,
ACM Mobile Computing and Communications
Review, July 1999
Related terms are Disappearing Computing,
Pervasive Computing or Internet of Things
Physical objects with emedded computing functionality
that actively or passively participate in the Web
mobile phones, RFID-tagged objects, smart pens, …
Do we have to extend the current web infrastructure?
Mark Weiser
46. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 46September 26, 2014
Cross-Media Information Spaces
Information moves from
digital to physical space
and vice versa
e.g. paper-digital integration
Multimodal interaction
How should information
be stored and accessed?
use of web technologies?
is the desktop metaphor still
appropriate?
…
EdFest project
47. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 47September 26, 2014
Exercise 1
Read the paper As We May Think by
Vannevar Bush and try to answer the questions
formulated on the exercise sheet
Discuss your answers and the Bush paper with your
teaching assistant and classmates during the exercise
session
48. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 48September 26, 2014
References
Web Technologies: A Computer Science
Perspective, Jeffrey C. Jackson, Prentice
Hall, August 2006, ISBN-13: 978-0131856035
Vannevar Bush, As We May Think, Atlanic Monthly,
July 1945
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/194507/bush/
http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/Secondary.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c539cK58ees
Videos of the NLS demo
http://sloan.stanford.edu/mousesite/1968Demo.html
49. Beat Signer - Department of Computer Science - bsigner@vub.ac.be 49September 26, 2014
References …
Ted Nelson demonstrates Xanadu Space
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En_2T7KH6RA
Aspen Moviemap
http://www.naimark.net/projects/aspen.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w18MyqszIYc
Networking Technologies (TCP/IP, …)
Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Computer Networks,
Prentice Hall 2002, ISBN-13: 978-0130661029
Mark Weiser, The Computer for the 21st Century,
ACM Mobile Computing and Communications
Review, July 1999