Migrating Traditional Web Applications to CMS-based Web Applications

AbstractIn recent years, Content Management Systems (CMS) have proven to be the best platforms for maintaining the large amount of digital content managed by Web applications. Thus, many organizations have experienced the necessity to base its Web applications on these CMS platforms. To do this, they start a migration process which is complex and error prone. To support this process, we propose a method based on the principles of Architecture-Driven Modernization (ADM) which automates the migration of Web applications to CMS-based Web applications. This article focuses on the implementation of two artifacts of this method: 1) the DSL ASTM_PHP, a modeling language for defining a model from PHP code (ASTM_PHP model) and 2) the model-to-model transformation rules which generate automatically a KDM model from a ASTM_PHP model. To show the feasibility of this implementation, we use a case study based on a widget implemented in PHP which lists the online users of a Web application

model driven reverse engineering approaches a systematic literature review

This paper explores and describes the state of the art for what concerns the model-driven approaches proposed in the literature to support reverse engineering. We conducted a systematic literature review on this topic with the aim to answer three research questions. We focus on various solutions developed for model-driven reverse engineering, outlining in particular the models they use and the transformations applied to the models. We also consider the tools used for model definition, extraction, and transformation and the level of automation reached by the available tools. The model-driven reverse engineering approaches are also analyzed based on various features such as genericity, extensibility, automation of the reverse engineering process, and coverage of the full or partial source artifacts. We describe in detail and compare fifteen approaches applying model-driven reverse engineering. Based on this analysis, we identify and indicate some hints on choosing a model-driven reverse engineering approach from the available ones, and we outline open issues concerning the model-driven reverse engineering approaches

BlogForever D2.6: Data Extraction Methodology

This report outlines an inquiry into the area of web data extraction, conducted within the context of blog preservation. The report reviews theoretical advances and practical developments for implementing data extraction. The inquiry is extended through an experiment that demonstrates the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing some of the suggested approaches. More specifically, the report discusses an approach based on unsupervised machine learning that employs the RSS feeds and HTML representations of blogs. It outlines the possibilities of extracting semantics available in blogs and demonstrates the benefits of exploiting available standards such as microformats and microdata. The report proceeds to propose a methodology for extracting and processing blog data to further inform the design and development of the BlogForever platform

Developing an online database of experts for the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce as part of their mission to attract business to the Worcester area, want to create an online searchable database of industry experts made up of faculty members of the Colleges and Universities in the Worcester area. This online database will be placed on the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Higher Education – Business Partnership page on their website. The limitations placed on this request are that the Regional Chamber as of this moment have no monetary or Information Technologies resources to provide for the realization of this request. The proliferation of as A Service Information technology offerings provide a number of options for satisfying the request for an online searchable database of individuals, and some services are geared more specifically for this type of need and are intended for the nonprofit sector as well. The recommendation of this report is for the Worcester regional Chamber of Commerce to consider these options even if it requires a small investment of funds on their part

Web Data Extraction, Applications and Techniques: A Survey

Web Data Extraction is an important problem that has been studied by means of different scientific tools and in a broad range of applications. Many approaches to extracting data from the Web have been designed to solve specific problems and operate in ad-hoc domains. Other approaches, instead, heavily reuse techniques and algorithms developed in the field of Information Extraction. This survey aims at providing a structured and comprehensive overview of the literature in the field of Web Data Extraction. We provided a simple classification framework in which existing Web Data Extraction applications are grouped into two main classes, namely applications at the Enterprise level and at the Social Web level. At the Enterprise level, Web Data Extraction techniques emerge as a key tool to perform data analysis in Business and Competitive Intelligence systems as well as for business process re-engineering. At the Social Web level, Web Data Extraction techniques allow to gather a large amount of structured data continuously generated and disseminated by Web 2.0, Social Media and Online Social Network users and this offers unprecedented opportunities to analyze human behavior at a very large scale. We discuss also the potential of cross-fertilization, i.e., on the possibility of re-using Web Data Extraction techniques originally designed to work in a given domain, in other domains.Comment: Knowledge-based System

Reverse Engineering Heterogeneous Applications

Nowadays a large majority of software systems are built using various technologies that in turn rely on different languages (e.g. Java, XML, SQL etc.). We call such systems heterogeneous applications (HAs). By contrast, we call software systems that are written in one language homogeneous applications. In HAs the information regarding the structure and the behaviour of the system is spread across various components and languages and the interactions between different application elements could be hidden. In this context applying existing reverse engineering and quality assurance techniques developed for homogeneous applications is not enough. These techniques have been created to measure quality or provide information about one aspect of the system and they cannot grasp the complexity of HAs. In this dissertation we present our approach to support the analysis and evolution of HAs based on: (1) a unified first-class description of HAs and, (2) a meta-model that reifies the concept of horizontal and vertical dependencies between application elements at different levels of abstraction. We implemented our approach in two tools, MooseEE and Carrack. The first is an extension of the Moose platform for software and data analysis and contains our unified meta-model for HAs. The latter is an engine to infer derived dependencies that can support the analysis of associations among the heterogeneous elements composing HA. We validate our approach and tools by case studies on industrial and open-source JEAs which demonstrate how we can handle the complexity of such applications and how we can solve problems deriving from their heterogeneous nature

Gully-Landslide interactions: an ecogeomorphic investigation

Gully erosion and landsliding are important geomorphic processes that shape the Earth’s surface, yet they pose significant hazards. Gully-induced landslides occur due to extreme gullying creating favourable conditions (e.g. bare and irregular surfaces) for expansion of already existing gullies (landslide-induced gully expansion). These gully-landslide feedbacks are facilitated by interactions among ecogeomorphic factors, yet little is known about the mechanism of these interactions. The aim of this study is to improve understanding of ecogeomorphic processes of gully-landslide interactions using examples from Southeast Nigeria. To achieve this aim, multi-method research methods were adopted: analysis of remotely sensed data, geotechnical investigations, quantitative and qualitative techniques and hydrological modelling. Gullies were mapped using high resolution data (0.61 – 5 m) acquired between November 2009 and December 2018 while supervised land-use classification was undertaken for both years. Geomorphic variables were acquired from the 30 m SRTM-DEM. Geotechnical investigations were conducted by Loraj Consortium, a partner of the Nigeria Environment and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) and results were made available for this research. Multiple regression analyses were used to establish associations between gully drivers and changes in gully sizes. Two focus group meetings were held and 192 copies of a questionnaire were distributed. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool model was used to understand effects of land-use changes on catchment hydrology and relate these changes with changes in gully sizes. Results showed that major land-use changes, especially, reduction in fallow-cover, were recorded during the study period and interactions among ecogeomorphic factors were found to be significantly associated with changes in gully sizes. The soils in the study area are mainly sandy with low cohesion values which predispose them to dispersion by surface runoff and high seepage erosion. Modelling results showed there have been increased volumes of surface runoff between 2009 and 2018 due to increased non-vegetated surfaces, a view supported by focus group meeting attendees. Twenty six gullies covering an area of 0.36 km2 were mapped in 2009 but in 2018, 39 gullies occupying 0.62 km2 were mapped. Also, modelling results indicated that despite similarities in soils and geomorphology, hydrological responses of gully catchments varied, thus pointing to the uniqueness of catchments and possible variations in driving processes of individual gullies. Results from focus group meetings indicated there were no gullies in the area before the Nigerian civil war that lasted between 1967 and 1970. Military activities including digging trenches were said to have led to the initiation of the oldest gully in 1968. Participants at focus group meeting said a lag existed between rainfall events and occurrence of gully-induced landslides, suggestive of effects of cumulative rainfall and groundwater as drivers of gullying. At visited gullies, presence of springs was observed suggestive of groundwater-driven gullying. Modelling results suggested high sub-surface flow in the study area, thus, fieldwork, focus group meetings and hydrological modelling all suggest that sub-surface flow is a potential driver of gullying in the study area. It has been suggested that in the design of gully-control, different gully catchments should be treated individually as no two catchments are the same. The multi-method research approach adopted in this research was helpful to understand gully-landslide interactions considering potential effects of ecogeomorphic processes. Adopting this research approach in future studies, especially in data-scarce regions, will improve understanding of geomorphic process in those regions and thus enhance design of management measures

Project-Team RMoD 2013 Activity Report

Activity Report 2013 Project-Team RMOD Analyses and Languages Constructs for Object-Oriented Application Evolutio