A need-oriented assessment of technological trends in web engineering

Abstract

As Web technologies change and multiply fast, their comprehension, assessment, selection and adoption are likely to be increasingly difficult, accidental and sub-optimal. Most often, needs are both important elements in technology assessment/selection and drivers of technology proliferation and evolution. We believe a need-oriented organization of Web technologies, as presented in this paper, is a useful starting point for comprehending the multitude of existing and emerging Web technologies from an essential and stable perspective. We identify important technological needs in relation to a reference architecture for Web Applications, and show how different technological trends address each need. We hope the paper will be of interest to those who want to get a grasp of the Web technology landscape and understand major trends. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.