WWW 7 Trip Report

1
WWW 7 Trip Report

• Brian Kelly Email Address
• UK Web Focus B.Kelly_at_ukoln.ac.uk
• UKOLN
• University of Bath
• http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/

UKOLN is funded by the British Library Research
and Innovation Centre, the Joint Information
Systems Committee of the Higher Education Funding
Councils, as well as by project funding from the
JISCs Electronic Libraries Programme and the
European Union. UKOLN also receives support from
the University of Bath where it is based.
2
Contents
See ltURL http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/gt
for trip report, these slides, etc.

• Introduction
• Tim Berners-Lee's Keynote talk
• W3C Tracks at WWW 7 Conference
• Developer's Day
• Keynote on Java
• Papers
• Search engines Metadata
• Characterisation Markup
• Question

3
About the Conference

• WWW 7 Conference
• Held in Brisbane, Australia from 14-18 April 1998
• About 1,400 participants
• Exciting new technology - RDF
• See ltURL http//www7.conf.au/gt
• Conference papers online for short period

4
Evolvability (1)

• Tim Berners-Lee's opening keynote talk talked
  about "evolvability" of the web
• Evolution of markup languages and data
• Goal version 1 software partially understands
  version 2 data.
• Based on "we will be smarter in the future"
• Goal version A software partially understands
  version B data.
• Based on "Others will be smarter than us"
• Use web as the registry (decentralised evolution)

5
Evolvability (2)

• RDF (Resource Description Framework )
• See a document as a combination of logical
  assertions
• Draw conclusions by combining many documents
• Global reasoning engines, based on RDF could be
  "devastating"
• "Is there a green car for sale for around
  15,000 in Queensland?"
• "Get involved in RDF, XML, Schemas"
• "Design for evolvability"
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks/1998/0415-Evolv
  ability/slide1-1.htmgt

6
W3C Tracks

• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
• Gives update on W3C activities in the W3C Track
  at WWW Conferences
• Covers
• User Interface Domain
• Architecture Domain
• Technology and Society Domain
• Talks available at ltURL http//www.w3.org/Confe
  rences/WWW7/W3CTrack.htmlgt

7
W3C - HTML Futures

• HTML Futures
• Talk given by Dave Raggett
• HTML 4.0 now complete. Need to look at HTML
  futures.
• Workshop in US in May. See details, including
  position papers at ltURL http//www.w3.org/MarkUp/
  future/gt
• See Dave's slides at ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks
  /1998/0416-WWW7-HTML/gt

8
W3C - HTML Futures (2)

• Mobile Computers
• Importance of mobile computers (PDAs, phones, car
  computers, etc.) NOTE Dearing report
• Relationship with accessibility issues
• Challenges
• Small screens Long round trip times
• Limited processing power / memory
• Solutions
• Abbreviations for headings
• Use of styles (rather than, e.g., tables)
• Expanding and collapsing outlines
• Aural and visual media (headings spoken, read
  body)
• HTML 4.0 and CSS 2.0

9
W3C - Maths

• MML
• Math(s) Markup Language
• An XML Application
• W3C Recommendation agreed on 7 April 1998
• Java and ActiveX renderers
• Dave Raggett has writtenan authoring tool
  (Windows 95)
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Math/gt

10
W3C - Architecture

• Architecture Domain
• Promote coherent Web architecture
• Automate information management - If a decision
  can be made by machine, it should
• Working on
• HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/NG
• Jigsaw server (in Java, freely available)
• XML
• SMIL
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks/1998/04/WWW7-Ar
  ch/gt

11
W3C - XML

• XML
• Extensible Markup Language
• Addresses HTML's lack of evolvability
• XML 1.0 Recommendation in Feb 1998
• Note well-formedness
• Make end-tags explicit ltLIgt...lt/LIgt
• Make empty elements explicit ltIMG .../gt
• Quote attributes ltIMG SRC"logo" HEIGHT"20"..
• Use consistent upper/lower case
• and valid
• Need DTD

12
W3C - XML

• Extensible
• ltPARTgtM-471lt/PARTgt
• Multiple names spaces
• lt?xmlnamespace ns"http//foo.org/1998-001"
  prefix"i"gt
• ltPgtInsert ltiPARTgtM-471lt/iPARTgtlt/Pgt
• Sharing document structures
• It's hard
• It's necessary
• It's worth it
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks/1998/04/WWW7-XM
  L/gt

13
XML - Further Information

• Ariadne issue 14 includes article on "What Is
  XML?"
• Describes how XML support can be provided
• Natively by new browsers
• Back end conversion of XML - HTML
• Client-side conversion of XML - HTML
• Java rendering of XML
• Examples of intermediaries

See http//www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue15/what-is/
14
W3C - HTTP

• HTTP/0.9 and HTTP/1.0
• Made the Web popular
• Design flaws and implementation problems caused
  poor performance
• HTTP/1.1
• Addresses some of these problems
• Performance benefits!
• Is acting as fire-fighter
• Poor usage counting
• Not sufficiently flexible or extensible

15
W3C - HTTP/NG

• HTTP/NG
• Based on convergence of Internet protocols
• Two W3C Working Groups
• Protocol Design Redesign Web as distributed
  object application
• Web Characterisations Study Web usage and form
  requirements
• New log format for easier collection and
  anonymisation
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks/1998/04/WWW7-HT
  TP-NG/gt

16
W3C - WAI

• WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative)
• Ensures web specs address accessibility issues
• Authoring
• First draft of Page Author Accessibility
  Checklist and Guidelines available at ltURL
  http//www.w3.org/TR/1998/WD-WAI-PAGEAUTH-0203gt
• Software
• User agent / Authoring tools guidelines being
  produced
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks/1998/04/WWW7-WA
  I/gt

17
W3C - Technology and Society

• Domain activities cover
• PICS
• Digital Signature Initiative
• Privacy (P3P)
• Metadata (RDF)
• Security Interest Group
• Public Policy Interest Group
• Electronic Commerce Interest Group
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks/1998/04/WWW7Tan
  dS/gt

18
W3C - Privacy

• P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences)
• Privacy concerns are a current barrier to Web
  development (Note Tim Berners-Lee's interview in
  Australian press)
• P3P project developing methods for exchanging
  Privacy Practices of Web sites and user
• Documents on architecture and vocabulary
  available
• P3P1.0 draft spec released on 19 May 1998
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/P3P/gt

19
W3C - RDF

• RDF (Resource Description Framework)
• Highlight of WWW 7
• Provides a metadata framework ("machine
  understandable metadata for the web")
• Based on ideas from content rating (PICS),
  resource discovery (Dublin Core) and site mapping
  (MCF)
• Applications include
• cataloging resources resource discovery
• electronic commerce intelligent agents
• digital signatures content rating
• intellectual property rights privacy
• See ltURL http//www.w3.org/Talks/1998/0417-WWW7-
  RDFgt

20
W3C - RDF
RDF Data Model

• RDF
• Based on a formal data model (direct label
  graphs)
• Syntax for interchange of data
• Schema model

PropertyType
Resource
Value
Property
page.html
Cost
0.05
Cost
ValidUntil
page.html
0.05
11-May-98
PropObj
InstanceOf
Value
Property
ValidUntil
PropName
11-May-98
Cost
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W3C - RDF Example

• Example of Dublin Core metadata in RDF
• lt?xmlnamespace ns"http//www.w3.org/TR/WD-rdf/"
  prefix"rdf"?gt
• lt?xmlnamespace ns"http//purl.org/dublin_core/s
  chema/" prefix"dc"?gt
• ltrdfRDFgt
• ltrdfDescription RDFHREF"page.html"gt
• ltdcCreatorgtJohn Smithlt/dcCreatorgt
• ltdcTitlegtJohns Home Pagelt/dcTitlegt
• lt/rdfDescriptiongt
• lt/rdfRDFgt

22
Browser Support for RDF
Trusted 3rd Party Metadata

• Mozilla (Netscape's source code release) provides
  support for RDF.
• Mozilla supports site maps in RDF, as well as
  bookmarks and history lists
• See Netscape's or HotWired home page for a link
  to the RDF file.

Embedded Metadata e.g. sitemaps
Image from http//purl.oclc.org/net/eric/talks/www
7/devday/
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W3C - RDF Conclusion

• RDF is a general-purpose framework
• RDF provides structured, machine-understandable
  metadata for the Web
• Metadata vocabularies can be developed without
  central coordination
• RDF Schemas describe the meaning of each property
  name
• Signed RDF is the basis for trust

24
Developer's Day - XML

• "So You Want To Be An XML Developer"
• Talk by Tim Bray, Textuality
• See ltURL http//www.textuality.com/WWW7/gt
• Useful resources
• Annotated Spec at ltURL http//www.xml.com/axmls/a
  xml.htmlgt
• XML FAQ at ltURL http//www.ucc.ie/xmlgt
• Other pages at ltURL http//www.sil.org/sgml/xml.
  htmlgt

25
Developer's Day - XLink

• XLink
• Aims to provide sophisticated hyperlinking
  functionality missing in HTML
• Formerly known as XML-LINK and XLL
• See ltURL http//sil.org/sgml/xll.htmlgt
• XLink working draft is stable, though new
  versions due out

26
Developer's Day - XLink
England France

• XLink provides
• Links that lead to multiple destinations
• Bidirectional links
• Links with special behaviors
• Expand-in-place (similar to ltIMG SRCgt)
• Replace (similar to ltA HREFgt)
• Create new window
• Link on load (similar to ltIMG SRCgt or redirect)
• Link on user action
• Link databases

ltcommentary xmllink"extended" inline"false"gt
ltlocator href"smith2.1" role"Essay"/gt
ltlocator href"jones1.4" role"Rebuttal"/gt
ltlocator href"robin3.2" role"Comparison"/gt
lt/commentarygt
27
Developer's Day - XPointer

• XPointer
• Based on TEI work
• XPointer specifies location in XML tree structure
• For example
• ID(foo).CHILD(4,SEC).CHILD(1,ABSTRACT)
• addresses the first XML ABSTRACT element within
  the fourth SEC element within the element with ID
  attribute "foo" in a document
• To use
• ltA HREF"http//www.xyz.comID(foo)CHILD(4,SEC)CH
  ILD(1,ABSTRACT)"gt
• Note the working draft is not stable
• Interesting IPR implications?

28
Random Thoughts on Software Development for the
Web

• Keynote talk by James Gosling
• Positive about Java futures
• "This is the year the performance problem
  disappears." JIT compiler performance is close to
  C. Betters JVMs available (e.g. HotSpot).
• Java ports to PDAs, phones, smart cards,
• Q. How serious are browser incompatibility
  problems?
• A. Netscape made serious error at one point.
  There are also bugs in IE. Java Plugin (was
  Activator) may enable a functioning JVM to be
  installed (note supports ltOBJECTgt tag). See
  http//www.javasoft.com/products/plugin/

29
Research Papers

• 218 papers submitted.
• 54 papers, 43 short papers, 13 posters, 5
  doctoral consortium papers and 6 panel abstracts
  published
• Brief comments on papers of interest to web
  software developers and information providers.
• General themes
• Java was widely used to implement ideas
• Several papers on analysis of link structures to
  improve searching
• "Intermediaries" seem to be an interesting
  concept
• See ltURL http//www7.conf.au/programme/fullprog.
  htmlgt

30
Metadata Systems

• Three papers.
• Specifying Metadata Standards for Metadata Tool
  Configuration by Andrew Waugh, CSIRO, Australia
• Excellent paper showing how the expense of
  producing metadata requires a generic metadata
  editor
• The Limits of Web Metadata and Beyond by Massimo
  Marchiori, MIT, USA
• This paper describes how fuzzy techniques can be
  used to automatically generate metadata for
  existing resources
• Structure Graph Format XML Metadata for
  Describing Web Site Structure by Liechto et al
• Producing site maps based on linking and
  directory structures

31
Markup

• An Extensible Rendering Engine for XML and HTML
  by Ciancarini et al, Bologna University
• Describes how Java can be used to provide browser
  support for new HTML / XML tags
• ltAPPLET archive"displets.zip"gt
• ltPARAM NAME"def" VALUE "
• ltTAG name'reverse' src'reverse.class'gt
• lt/TAGgt "gt ...
• ltPgtText is displayed as ltREVERSEgtwhite text on
  blacklt/REVERSEgt
• See http//www.cs.unibo.it/fabio/displet/
• Example of an intermediary

32
Search and Indexing Techniques
http//google.stanford.edu/

• The Anatomy of a Large Scale Hypertextual Web
  Search Engine Brin Page, Stanford Univ
• Describes Google, a large-scale search engine
  developed for research purposes
• Uses link information
• Use of service and feedback is encouraged

33
Characterisation

• Summary of Web Characterisation by Pitkow
• An excellent review of web characterisation
  studies, including
• Client studies
• Proxies and gateways
• Server
• Websites
• Some conclusions
• No. of page requests per site Mode of 1!
• Site popularity 25 of servers 85 traffic
• Document life span About 50 days

34
Web Management

• One paper, in Hypertext and Hypermedia session,
  on web management
• WSDM A User Centred Design Method For Web Sites
  by De Troyer et al
• This paper proposes a design methodology for
  web-kiosks.
• The paper gives references on methodologies for
  website design.

35
Observations

• The following comments are made
• There were several papers on how link information
  (e.g. "who is pointing to this page?") can be
  used to improve searching (e.g. Google) and user
  navigation (e.g. SGMapper).
• The possible importance of intermediaries for
  deploying new technologies to current browsers
• In proxies (e.g. WBI)
• In Java (e.g. displets, MML support)
• In JavaScript (e.g. XML -gt HTML / CSS)

36
Conclusions

• WWW 8 to be held at Toronto in May 1999
• WWW 9 to be held in Amsterdam in 2000
• Call for papers for WWW 8 shortly
• Closing date December 1998
• For information on WWW protocol developments see
  uk-web-focus-w3c_at_mailbase.ac.uk list