Mashup Ecosystems: Integrating Web Resources on Desktop and Mobile Devices

The Web is increasingly used as an application platform, and recent development of it has introduced software ecosystems where different actors collaborate. This collaboration is international from day one, and it evolves and grows rapidly. In web ecosystems applications are provided as services, and interdependencies between ecosystem parts can vary from very strong and obvious to loose and recondite. Mashups -- web application hybrids that combine resources from different services into an integrated system that has increased value from user perspective -- are exploiting services of the Web and creating ecosystems where end-users, mashup authors, and service providers collaborate. The term "resources" is used here in a broad sense, and it can refer to user's local data, infinite content of the Web, and even executable code. This dissertation presents mashups as a new breed of web applications that are intended for parsing the web content into an easily accessed form on both regular desktop computers as well as on mobile devices. Constantly evolving web technologies and new web services open up unforeseen possibilities for mashup development. However, developing mashups with current methods and tools for existing deployment environments is challenging. First, the Web as an application platform faces numerous shortcomings, second, web application development practices in general are still immature, and third, development of mashups has additional requirements that need to be addressed. In addition, mobility sets even more challenges for mashup authoring. This dissertation describes and addresses numerous issues regarding mashup ecosystems and client-side mashup development. To achieve this, we have implemented technical research artifacts including mashup ecosystems and different kinds of mashup compositions. The artifacts are developed with numerous runtime environments and tools and targeted at different end-user platforms. This has allowed us to evaluate methods, tools, and practises used during the implementation. As result, this dissertation identifies the fundamental challenges of mashup ecosystems and describes how service providers and mashup ecosystem authors can address these challenges in practice. In addition, example implementation of a specialized multimedia mashup ecosystem for mobile devices is described. To address mashup development issues, this dissertation introduces practical guidelines and a reference architecture that can be applied when mashups are created with traditional web development tools. Moreover, environments that can be used on mobile devices to create mashups that have access to both web and local resources are introduced. Finally, a novel approach to web software development -- creating software as a mashup -- is introduced, and a realization of such concept is described

Developing front-end Web 2.0 technologies to access services, content and things in the future Internet

The future Internet is expected to be composed of a mesh of interoperable web services accessible from all over the web. This approach has not yet caught on since global user?service interaction is still an open issue. This paper states one vision with regard to next-generation front-end Web 2.0 technology that will enable integrated access to services, contents and things in the future Internet. In this paper, we illustrate how front-ends that wrap traditional services and resources can be tailored to the needs of end users, converting end users into prosumers (creators and consumers of service-based applications). To do this, we propose an architecture that end users without programming skills can use to create front-ends, consult catalogues of resources tailored to their needs, easily integrate and coordinate front-ends and create composite applications to orchestrate services in their back-end. The paper includes a case study illustrating that current user-centred web development tools are at a very early stage of evolution. We provide statistical data on how the proposed architecture improves these tools. This paper is based on research conducted by the Service Front End (SFE) Open Alliance initiative

Niche Formation in the Mashup Ecosystem

Mashups enable end-users to "mix and match" data and services available on the web to create applications. Their creation is supported by a complex ecosystem of i) data providers who offer open APIs to users, ii) users who combine APIs into mashups, and iii) platforms, such as the ProgrammableWeb or Mashape, that facilitate the construction and publication of mashups. In this article, we argue that the evolution of the mashup ecosystem can be explained in terms of ecosystem niches anchored around hub or keystone APIs. The members of a niche are focused on an area of specialization (e.g., mapping applications) and contribute their knowledge to the value proposition of the ecosystem as a whole. To demonstrate the formation of niches in the mashup ecosystem, we model groups of related mashups as species, and we reconstruct the evolution of mashup species through phylogenetic analysis

Modeling the dynamics of web-based service and resource-oriented digital ecosystems

The notion of digital species is broadened to include services and resources, special issues arise in modeling the dynamics and workflows with representations associated with these services and resources. To address these issues, this paper explores two different yet related approaches: the traditional BPEL-based workflow modeling approach and the Mashupbased Web approach. In this paper, we first demonstrate two examples of service-oriented and resource-oriented digital ecosystems on the Web. We then identify key issues pertinent to both types of DES. We discuss formal definition, specifications and issues of BPEL-based approach and Mashup-based modeling techniques with computational formalisms. Finally, we propose a hybrid approach to deal with modeling the dynamicsin processes associated with such Digital Ecosystems

Visualizing the Geography of Platform Boundary Resources: The Case of the Global API Ecosystem

Platform boundary resources play an increasingly transformative role in the global digital ecosystem. In this study, we focus on one type of platform boundary resource, namely application programming interfaces (APIs). Guided by two competing assumptions—1) that geographic boundaries are blurred and potentially less important in a digitally connected world, and 2) that geographic proximity matters for co-innovation—we investigate the global footprint of APIs. Using a data-driven visual network analysis approach to examine more than 15,000 APIs and mashups, we first map the global locations of where APIs are being created. We then examine how API mashups connect these locations globally and regionally. Our results show that while APIs are globally distributed, they are mainly concentrated in major entrepreneurial regions. We also find that there is a skewed distribution, with the U.S. and Silicon Valley in particular leading the way. We conclude with both theoretical and managerial implications

A Middleware for Mobile and Ubiquitous Learning Ecosystems Based on a Reconfigurable Plug-and-Play Architecture: Application to Mashups

This paper describes a middleware intended to support the development of mashup applications in mobile and ubiquitous learning environments. It is based on a framework that integrates different contextual information (e.g. geographic location, profile, history) and services from e-learning platforms or other learning tools. The integration of the services into the middleware is carried out through a reconfigurable plug and play architecture based on Web Services. It provides a better and more flexible management of the involved services in the system

Supporting End-User Development through a New Composition Model: An Empirical Study

End-user development (EUD) is much hyped, and its impact has outstripped even the most optimistic forecasts. Even so, the vision of end users programming their own solutions has not yet materialized. This will continue to be so unless we in both industry and the research community set ourselves the ambitious challenge of devising end to end an end-user application development model for developing a new age of EUD tools. We have embarked on this venture, and this paper presents the main insights and outcomes of our research and development efforts as part of a number of successful EU research projects. Our proposal not only aims to reshape software engineering to meet the needs of EUD but also to refashion its components as solution building blocks instead of programs and software developments. This way, end users will really be empowered to build solutions based on artefacts akin to their expertise and understanding of ideal solution

Visualizing the Maturing Global API Ecosystem

Platform boundary resources are prominent digital strategy tools for companies to disclose business assets to partners and consumers. However, the platform boundary resources of API ecosystems are dependent on API usage and characteristics as well as the social environment around them. This study focuses on the global API ecosystem guided by two assumptions: 1) geographic proximity is distorted, and the global API ecosystem is decentralized in a digitally connected world, and 2) open co-innovation is somewhat prone to geographic nearness and centralized. A data-driven network analysis was utilized to depict the global and regional geolocation of more than 22,000 APIs and 6,000 mashups. First, the global locations of API providers were examined. Next, the connectivity of API mashups at global and regional levels was studied. The findings suggest that APIs are distributed globally, and the API ecosystem has moved from emerging to mature; however, the distribution is skewed towards entrepreneurial regions in North America. Finally, the theoretical and managerial implications are discussed