Emerging Technologies: De-mystifying Web 2.0

William Dana

Academic Support ResourcesAcademic Support Resources

danax002@umn.edu

William Dana

Lead Business Analyst

Academic Support Resources, Universi

ty of Minnesota

Not a developer, an analyst

Introductions

“Web 2.0”…what is it?

Source: http://store.muledesign.com/shirts/koolaid.php

Is this it?

“Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that newunderstand the rules for success on that new platform.” - Tim O’Reilly

source: http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/12/web-20-compact-definition-tryi.html

How about this?

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Or, maybe this….

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

Everyone de-mystified?

Key elements:

• User is in control

• Data driven

• The kind of computer does not matter

• The kind of browser does not matter

• Nothing is ever “done”

Of course, new tech means fun new words!

•Web Services•SOA•XML•WSDL •Social

•RSS•Mash-up•CSS

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_9000

Networking•Wiki•Blog•WYSIWYG•AVATAR

Disclaimer

• Web 2.0 definitions are open to interpretation.

• In fact, you can change the definition to suit your needsyour needs.

• Fair warning….if you have a phone with web access, you could probably change the definitions right now!

SOA – Service-Oriented Architecture

• Sometimes pronounced – “So-ah”

• Wikipedia. org: One can define a service-oriented architecture (SOA) as a group of services that communicate with each other. The process ofcommunicate with each other. The process of communication involves either simple data-passing or two or more services coordinating some activity. Intercommunication implies the need for some means of connecting two or more services to each other.

Web Service

• A mechanism developers use to share information/data between systems

• In geek: A Web service is defined by the W3C as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". Web services are frequently just Web APIs that can be accessed over a network, such as the Internet, and executed on a remote system h h d k dhosting the requested services. - Wikipedia

• Acronyms in this definition:=2 - Sweet!• Last 5 years:– we have seen an overwhelming adoption of “web

services” across IT vendors and products– This is established a “standard” language for

exchanging information

Why should we care about web services?

• SOA and services are revolutionizing how data is presented on the web.

• Services provide data in a way that is easily modified and shaped to conform to anmodified and shaped to conform to an interface.

• Services allow users to see consistent content, regardless of where they are.

• For example…

But first…Who can read XML?<Campus CampusCode="UMNTC" TermCode="Spring 2009">

−

<CourseInfo>

<Catalog>1001</Catalog>

<Subject>ANTH</Subject>

<SubjectDescription>Anthropology</SubjectDescription>

<Description>meets Lib Ed req of Biological Sciences/Lab Core</Description>

<Title>Human Evolution</Title>

Ever <Title>Human Evolution</Title>

−

<ClassInformation ClassNumber="" SectionNumber="001">

<ClassStatus>Active</ClassStatus>

<Component>LEC</Component>

−

<MeetingSchedule>

<StartAndEndTimes>11:15 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.</StartAndEndTimes>

<MeetingDays>Tu,Th</MeetingDays>

<StartAndEndDates>01/20/2009 - 05/08/2009</StartAndEndDates>

<Room>175</Room>

<Facility>WilleyH</Facility>

<Location>TCWESTBANK</Location>

yone!

XML - Extensible Markup Language

• XML, in combination with other standards, makes it possible to define the content of a document separately from its formatting, making it easy to reuse that content in other applications or for other presentation environments. Most importantly, XML provides a basic syntax that can be used to shareprovides a basic syntax that can be used to share information between different kinds of computers, different applications, and different organizations without needing to pass through many layers of conversion. –wikipedia.org

• SOAP – Simple Object Access Protocol• XML /SOAP is how all of this is possible….

Now our example…

• Question: Where do students need to see their adviser information?

• Answer: Everywhere!

P bl Ad i i f i li i• Problem: Adviser information lives in our central SIS database (PeopleSoft).

Adviser Service

• Questions we need the system to answer:– Student: Who are my advisers and members of my

advising committee(s).

– Adviser: Who are my advisees?Adviser: Who are my advisees?

• Service provides the information to developers using a WSDL.

• Great… what’s a WSDL?

WSDL – Web Services Description Language

• WSDL: (pronounced 'wiz-dəl' or spelled out, 'W-S-D-L') is an XML-based language that provides a model for describing Web services.- wikipedia.org

• To invoke a service, a consuming application must know the service’s interface including how to structureknow the service s interface, including how to structure content and which transport protocol to use. WSDL explicitly describes this interface in a standardized, machine-readable format fit for consumption by tools.

• We, as a central unit, created the rules to govern how adviser information should be returned in the WSDL.

What applications currently use the adviser service?

• Web Registration

• Graduation Planner

• APAS- degree audit

P tf li

Students and staff see the same information• ePortfolio

• College of Liberal Arts – Enrollment Tracking System

• University of Minnesota-Duluth: Adviser Connect

• MyU Portal

the same information no matter where they are in our system.

RSS - Really Simple Syndication

• RSS is one way to give control back to the user. • Through RSS, I control what information

displays on my page.• A family of Web feed formats used to publishA family of Web feed formats used to publish

frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. – wikipedia.org

• For example: https://www.lib.umn.edu/mylibrary/

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rss

Mash-up

• Web applications that combines data from one or more sources into a single integrated tool.

• implies easy fast integration frequently done• implies easy, fast integration, frequently done by access to open APIs and data sources to produce results that were not the original goal of the data owners.

• For example: http://www.polisci.umn.edu/

Couple more terms related to services:

• Widget – a feed with design elements built in to the code.

• Middleware - a piece of software that connects two or more software applications, allowing them to exchange data.

• Portal – a site designed to aggregate and personalize information.

• CSS – Cascading Style Sheet – a way to create web pages that makes it easy to change visual elements on the page.

Social Networking – Let the fun begin!

Social Networking

Avatar

• Sanscrit definition: incarnation

• In geek: an electronic alter-ego

http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html

Blog

• Simply put – an online diary

• (a contraction of the term weblog) is a website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions ofregular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. – wikipedia.org

Blogs and information dissemination

• Good for newsletters

• Good for RSS

• Good for self-indulgent, naval-gazing, social di i imedia narcissists

• Twitter: Micro-blogs. Anyone in the room using Twitter for work?

Wiki

• a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content.

• For example:• For example:

• http://wikipedia.org

• https://wiki.umn.edu/view/Wiki2/WebHome

WYSIWYG

• What you see is what you get.

• Allows a user to make changes to a web page without knowing a programming language.

Next…..

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

Emerging Technologies: De-mystifying Web 2.0

William Dana

Academic Support ResourcesAcademic Support Resources

danax002@umn.edu