Access revolution

Current Web applications have widespread adoption, because they:

• are standards based
• work across browsers and platforms
• thin client means upgrades at server side

But as different contexts of Web access arise, how should Web applications evolve?

New considerations

Web applications can now be accessed over multiple bearers:

• Broadband
• Dial-up
• Cellular
• WiFi
• Digital broadcast

...with multiple devices:

• fixed desktops
• portable laptops
• numerous mobile phones
• PDAs
• TVs
• Kiosks
• Games devices

Delivery contexts

...in multiple contexts

• machine-to-machine
• location
• time
• premium rate
• etc.

The challenges

• UE: How to ensure a functional user experience regardless of context?
• Security & Authentication: How can you safely access an web application
• ... and how to safely share it among your friends?
• State: How can a Web application be restarted from where you left off?
• Development: authoring for multiple clients, OS, runtime environments
• Inertia: existing, competing proprietary systems

Standards initiatives

• Device independent authoring, mature forms models to reduce scripting
• Authentication and security frameworks
• Management and distribution of state
• Capture authorial intent

Declarative approaches

• Declaration maintains authorial intent
• It facilitates interoperability between different technical implementations
• It can be reused by other processes to check state and build workflows/pipes

The standards toolkit

• XMLHTTPRequestObject (dynamic pull)
• REX (dynamic push)
• DIAL + XFORMS (intent based HTML authoring)
• SCXML (state management)
• XBL (XML Binding Language: events to metadata/instructions)
• Identity/security frameworks
• ...etc...

Some use cases

• Watch TV at home, then restart watching from the point you left off on your mobile
• Share a Web document with friends/colleagues, using different clients, and keep track of differences
• Automated agents being notified of changing status and reacting accordingly.

Machine to machine comms to pull ahead of human clicks between 2009-11 - John Roese, CTO Nortel

The future

A declarative distributed Web application framework offers a foundation for network-network communications

• Web
• SMS
• SIP
• Broadcast
• RFID
• NFC
• WiFi
• Bluetooth

Examples

• Wi-fi and RFID used for tracking hospital patients
• Agents reporting back on the nutrients in soil, automatically setting up a purchase of fertiliser and mapping where it's needed
• Tracking cars via GPS and reporting machine failure to Web terminals