Skip to main content
Log in

Data-Intensive Web Sites: Design and Maintenance

World Wide Web Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A methodology for designing and maintaining data–intensive Web sites is introduced. Leveraging on ideas well established in the database field, the approach heavily relies on the use of models for the description of Web sites. The design process is composed of two intertwined activities: database design and hypertext design. Each of these is further divided in a conceptual phase and a logical phase, based on specific data models. The methodology strongly supports site maintenance: in fact, the various models provide a concise description of the site structure; they allow to reason about the overall organization of pages in the site and possibly to restructure it.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. P. Atzeni, S. Ceri, S. Paraboschi, and R. Torlone, Database Systems: Concepts, Languages and Architectures, McGraw–Hill: London, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  2. P. Atzeni, G. Mecca, and P. Merialdo, “To weave the Web,” in Internat. Conf. on Very Large Data Bases (VLDB'97), Athens, Greece, 26–29 August 1997, pp. 206–215.

  3. L. Baresi, F. Garzotto, and P. Paolini, “From Web sites to Web applications: New issues for conceptual modeling,” in Conceptual Modeling for E–Business and the Web, ER 2000 Workshops, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1921, Springer: New York, 2000, pp. 89–100.

    Google Scholar 

  4. C. Batini, S. Ceri, and S. B. Navathe, Database Design with the Entity–Relationship Model, Benjamin and Cummings: Menlo Park, CA, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  5. H. Baumeister, N. Koch, and L. Mandel, “Towards a UML extension for hypermedia design,” in UML'99: The Unified Modeling Language–Beyond the Standard, 2nd Internat. Conf., Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1723, Springer: New York, 1999, pp. 614–629.

    Google Scholar 

  6. A. Bonifati, S. Ceri, P. Fraternali, and A. Maurino, “Building multi–device, content–centric applications using WebML and the W3I3 tool suite,” in Conceptual Modeling for E–Business and the Web, ER 2000 Workshops, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1921, Springer: New York, 2000, pp. 64–75.

    Google Scholar 

  7. P. P. Chen, “The entity–relationship model: Toward a unified view of data,” ACM Trans. Database Systems 1(1), 1976, 9–36.

    Google Scholar 

  8. J. Conallen, “Modeling Web application architectures with UML,” Commun. ACM 42(10), 1999, 63–70.

    Google Scholar 

  9. O. De Troyer and C. J. Leune, “WSDM: A user centered design method for Web sites,” WWW7/Computer Networks 30(1–7), 1998, 85–94.

    Google Scholar 

  10. P. Fraternali and P. Paolini, “A conceptual model and a tool environment for developing more scalable, dynamic, and customizable Web applications,” in VI Internat. Conf. on Extending Database Technology (EDBT'98), Valencia, Spain, 23–27 March 1998, Springer: Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  11. F. Garzotto, L. Mainetti, and P. Paolini, “Hypermedia design, analysis and evaluation issues,” Commun. ACM 58(8), 1995, 74–86.

    Google Scholar 

  12. F. Garzotto, P. Paolini, and D. Schwabe, “HDM–a model–based approach to hypertext application design,” ACM Trans. Inform. Systems 11(1), 1993, 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  13. N. Güell, D. Schwabe, and P. Vilain, “Modeling interactions and navigation in Web applications,” in Conceptual Modeling for E–Business and the Web, ER 2000 Workshops, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1921, Springer: New York, 2000, pp. 115–127.

    Google Scholar 

  14. J. Gó mez, C. Cachero, and O. Pastor, “Conceptual modeling of device–independent Web applications,” IEEE Multimedia 8(2), 2001, 26–39.

    Google Scholar 

  15. T. Isakowitz, E. A. Stohr, and P. Balasubramanian, “RMM: A methodology for structured hypermedia design,” Commun. ACM 58(8), 1995, 34–44.

    Google Scholar 

  16. G. Kappel, W. Retschitzegger, and W. Schwinger, “Modeling customizable Web applications,” in Proc. of the Kyoto Internat. Conf. on Digital Libraries, 2000, p. 387.

  17. G. Mecca, P. Merialdo, and P. Atzeni, “Araneus in the era of XML,” IEEE Data Engrg. Bulletin 22(3), 1999, 19–26.

    Google Scholar 

  18. P. Merialdo, P. Atzeni, M. Magnante, G. Mecca, and M. Pecorone, “Homer: A model–based case tool for data–intensive Web sites,” in Proc. of the 2000 ACM SIGMOD Internat. Conf. on Management of Data, Dallas, TX, USA, 16–18 May 2000, ACM: New York, p. 586.

    Google Scholar 

  19. P. Merialdo, G. Mecca, and P. Atzeni, “Model–based development for data–intensive Web sites,” Rapporto Tecnico n. RT–DIA–54–2000, Dipartimento di Informatica e Automazione, Università Roma Tre, 2000.

  20. J. Nielsen, Designing Web Usability, New Riders: Indianapolis, IN, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  21. D. Schwabe and G. Rossi, “The object–oriented hypermedia design model,” Commun. ACM 58(8), 1995, 45–46.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Atzeni, P., Merialdo, P. & Mecca, G. Data-Intensive Web Sites: Design and Maintenance. World Wide Web 4, 21–47 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012456311864

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012456311864

Navigation