Re-engineering an Online User Interface over Web Application Framework and Ajax
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Elektroniikan, tietoliikenteen ja automaation tiedekunta |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2010
Department
Major/Subject
Tietoliikennetekniikka
Mcode
S-72
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
[11] +76
Series
Abstract
Web development has changed dramatically since the introduction of the web application framework to this world. It lowers the barriers of entry to web programming, makes it possible for a single developer to construct powerful web applications in a relatively short time. However, in order to enjoy all benefits brought by the web application framework, traditional web development has to be adjusted at every phrase of the software engineering process. Furthermore, with the increasing popularity of Web 2.0 concepts and techniques, especially Ajax, questions like, for instance, whether a web application framework and Ajax may work together seamlessly or not, how the conflicts between them can be solved, and how to get the full benefits from their combination, all have to be addressed by web developers. This research tried to answer these questions in a practical way, by re-engineering a static web site with the help of a web application framework and Ajax techniques. Concepts and methods of software engineering and project management were used and evaluated during the research. The reconstructed web site managed to be more user-centric which was similar as some well-known social web applications. To encourage site user interactivity with other users and generating more content, the site user interface (UI) was re-designed from scratch and implemented with Ajax being applied. The re-engineered site with the new UI demonstrated the effectiveness of the web application framework and Ajax techniques. The new UI responds fast to user requests without the need for refreshing the page. An incentive mechanism works fine behind the compact UI to stimulate users to contribute more content. The new site has also a clearer code structure which, in turn, makes site maintenance much easier. The research answered also the questions concerning the combination of the web application framework and Ajax techniques. A few conflicts, however, were discovered when trying to combine them together in practice. Some were caused by a defective API hidden in the antiquated module of the selected web application framework, some by the limitations of Ajax functions in the selected JavaScript library for compatibility across discordant web browsers. These problems that emerged were, however, solved quickly by modification of a few pieces of code depending on the specific situations. But in general, the combination of the web application framework and Ajax techniques performed quite well. The experimental part was planned to support implementation with a moderate programming load such that the intended functionalities would still be fully supported. The re-engineered web site lacks support of some advanced Web 2.0 features such as own content tagging, RSS feeding, and IM integration, but the basic functionalities such as content sharing, content grading, and user authorization are supported. The actual service concept design was not within the scope of this study, this being an important reason why the re-engineered site has not yet gain increased popularity.Description
Supervisor
Korhonen, Timo O.Keywords
Web application framework, Ajax, JavaScript library, user interface, software engineering, Google App Engine, REST, JSON, Web 2.0