2 research outputs found
Using information visualization techniques to support web service discovery
The increasing number of web services published over the Web highlights the need for an effective method for users to find appropriate web services. Existing web service discovery methods do not effectively aid a user in finding suitable web services. The current methods provide textual lists of web services that the user is required to explore and manually evaluate. Thus, these methods lead to time-consuming and ineffective web service discovery. The aim of this research was to investigate using information visualization (IV) techniques to effectively support web service discovery. The node-and-link network IV technique was selected as the most appropriate IV technique to visualize web service collections. A prototype, called SerViz, was developed as a tool for interactive visualization of web service collections incorporating the node-and-link IV technique and an alphabetical list-based technique. SerViz used the Programmable Web web service collection as the sample web service collection. A usability evaluation was conducted to compare these techniques. Ninety percent of participants preferred the network IV technique for visualizing web service collections. The network IV technique was also faster for browsing. Several usability problems were identified with the network IV technique. This motivated a need for implementing an alternative IV technique in SerViz. The node-and-link tree IV technique was selected as it was more structured than the network IV technique. A usability evaluation was conducted to compare the network and tree IV techniques. Participants slightly preferred the tree IV technique as the technique to visualize web service collections. The tree IV technique was faster for browsing the web service collection while the network IV technique was faster for searching and filtering. This research has determined that IV techniques can be used to effectively support web service discovery. Future work will involve using IV techniques to support collaborative web service discovery. Keywords: Web Service Discovery, Information Visualization, Web Service Collections, Information Visualization Techniques
Recommended from our members
Hybrid intelligent decision support system for distributed detection based on ad hoc integrated WSN & RFID
This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonThe real time monitoring of environment context aware activities, based on distributed detection, is becoming a standard in public safety and service delivery in a wide range of domains (child and elderly care and supervision, logistics, circulation, and other). The safety of people, goods and premises depends on the prompt immediate reaction to potential hazards identified in real time, at an early stage to engage appropriate control actions. Effective emergency response can be supported only by available and acquired expertise or elaborate collaborative knowledge in the domain of distributed detection that include indoor sensing, tracking and localizing. This research proposes a hybrid conceptual multi-agent framework for the acquisition of collaborative knowledge in dynamic complex context aware environments for distributed detection. This framework has been applied for the design and development of a hybrid intelligent multi-agent decision system (HIDSS) that supports a decentralized active sensing, tracking and localizing strategy, and the deployment and configuration of smart detection devices associated to active sensor nodes wirelessly connected in a network topology to configure, deploy and control ad hoc wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This system, which is based on the interactive use of data, models and knowledge base, has been implemented to support fire detection and control access fusion functions aimed at elaborating: An integrated data model, grouping the building information data and WSN-RFID database, composed of the network configuration and captured data, A virtual layout configuration of the controlled premises, based on using a building information model, A knowledge-based support for the design of generic detection devices, A multi-criteria decision making model for generic detection devices distribution, ad hoc WSNs configuration, clustering and deployment, and Predictive data models for evacuation planning, and fire and evacuation simulation. An evaluation of the system prototype has been carried out to enrich information and knowledge fusion requirements and show the scope of the concepts used in data and process modelling. It has shown the practicability of hybrid solutions grouping generic homogeneous smart detection devices enhanced by heterogeneous support devices in their deployment, forming ad hoc networks that integrate WSNs and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The novelty in this work is the web-based support system architecture proposed in this framework that is based on the use of intelligent agent modelling and multi-agent systems, and the decoupling of the processes supporting the multi-sensor data fusion from those supporting different context applications. Although this decoupling is essential to appropriately distribute the different fusion functions, the integration of several dimensions of policy settings for the modelling of knowledge processes, and intelligent and pro-active decision making activities, requires the organisation of interactive fusion functions deployed upstream to a safety and emergency response.Saudi government, represented by the Ministry of Interior and General Directorate of Civil Defenc