Performance Comparison of Hibernate and EclipseLink Technologies for Mapping an Object-Oriented Model to a Relational Database

Different tiers of modern applications are built using object-oriented programming for implementing business logic and the relational database model for data storage. To solve the impendence mismatch issue that arises between the object model and relational schema, various Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tools have been designed. In this research, the performance of two open source ORM technologies, namely Hibernate and EclipseLink, is investigated. Hibernate is a well established middleware solution while EclipseLink, which stems from Oracle’s TopLink, is a new product on the persistence landscape. For the purpose of this research, a web-based application was developed and used as a test system. The performance test facilities were integrated into design of the application. The abstract layer introduced into application’s architecture with the Spring Data Access Object (DAO), made the system highly modular allowing easily switching between persistence technologies with no alterations in the rest of the application code

UncertWeb processing service:making models easer to access on the web

Models are central tools for modern scientists and decision makers, and there are many existing frameworks to support their creation, execution and composition. Many frameworks are based on proprietary interfaces, and do not lend themselves to the integration of models from diverse disciplines. Web based systems, or systems based on web services, such as Taverna and Kepler, allow composition of models based on standard web service technologies. At the same time the Open Geospatial Consortium has been developing their own service stack, which includes the Web Processing Service, designed to facilitate the executing of geospatial processing - including complex environmental models. The current Open Geospatial Consortium service stack employs Extensible Markup Language as a default data exchange standard, and widely-used encodings such as JavaScript Object Notation can often only be used when incorporated with Extensible Markup Language. Similarly, no successful engagement of the Web Processing Service standard with the well-supported technologies of Simple Object Access Protocol and Web Services Description Language has been seen. In this paper we propose a pure Simple Object Access Protocol/Web Services Description Language processing service which addresses some of the issues with the Web Processing Service specication and brings us closer to achieving a degree of interoperability between geospatial models, and thus realising the vision of a useful 'model web'

A cost engine system for estimating whole-life cycle cost of long-term digital preservation activities

This research paper presents a cost engine system that estimates the whole life cycle cost of long-term digital preservation (LTDP) activities using cloud-based technologies. A qualitative research methodology has been employed and the activity based costing (ABC) technique has been used to develop the cost model. The unified modelling language (UML) notation and the object oriented paradigm (OOP) are utilised to design the architecture of the software system. In addition, the service oriented architecture (SOA) style has been used to deploy the function of the cost engine as a web service in order to ensure its accessibility over the web. The cost engine is a module that is part of a larger digital preservation system and has been validated qualitatively through experts’ opinion. Its benefits are realised in the accurate and detailed estimation of cost for companies wishing to employ LTDP activities

A generic framework for the development of standardised learning objects within the discipline of construction management

E-learning has occurred in the academic world in different forms since the early 1990s. Its use varies from interactive multimedia tools and simulation environments to static resources within learning management systems. E-learning tools and environments are no longer criticised for their lack of use in higher education in general and within the construction domain in particular. The main criticism, however, is that of reinventing the wheel in order to create new learning environments that cater for different educational needs. Therefore, sharing educational content has become the focus of current research, taking e-learning into a whole new era of developments. This era is enabled by the emergence of new technologies (online and wireless) and the development of educational standards, such as SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) and LOM (Learning Object Metadata) for example. Accordingly, the broad definition of the construction domain and the interlocking nature of subjects taught within this domain, makes the concept of sharing content most appealing. This paper proposes a framework developed to describe the various steps required in order to enable the application of e-learning metadata standards and ontology for sharable learning objects to serve the construction discipline. The paper further describes the application of the proposed framework to a case study for developing an online environment for learning objects that are standardised, sharable, transparent and that cater for the needs of learners, educators and curricula developers in Construction Management. Based on the framework, a learning objects repository is developed incorporating educational and web standards. The repository manages objects as well as metadata using ontology and offers a set of services such as storing, retrieving and searching of learning objects using Semantic Web technologies. Thus, it increases the reusability, sharability and interoperability of learning objects

Technologies for teaching mathematics via the world wide web

Published ArticleThis paper tries to find answers to the question concerning the availability of suitable technologies to accommodate the teaching and learning of mathematics by means of the World Wide Web. It addresses three standards for the presentation of content mark-up and touches on the importance of adequate browser applicability with respect to MathML as one of the standards. Various tools for rendering MathML on the web, as well as plug-ins and extensions and other combinations of technologies, are discussed. The paper concludes with the introduction of a dynamic mathematics object model (DMOM) by Robert Miner from Design Science Inc. Requirements for a DMOM are formulated and its implementation is discussed

Integration of Web Browsers and Interactive TV

Interactive TV(ITV) technologies enhance the conventional TV services and enable user--content interaction. The World Wide Web is currently the most popular approach to information exchange. The ``Integration of Interactive TV and web browsers'' project studies the convergence of the two areas which is important since both areas can benefit each other. We focus on an ITV extension for an existing web browser. The ``Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Experts Group'' part 5 (MHEG-5) standard is selected as representative for the ITV area, and the Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Document Object Model (DOM) standards for the web browsers area. We present the design and implementation of an MHEG extension for a web browser and integrate the MHEG and DOM event models in order to achieve an easier and more compact MHEG event model implementation. Our study provides the foundation for the convergence of the two technologies by a thorough study, implementation and evaluation of ITV and browser integration

VRIA: A Web-based Framework for Creating Immersive Analytics Experiences

We present, a Web-based framework for creating Immersive Analytics (IA) experiences in Virtual Reality.is built upon WebVR, A-Frame, React and D3.js, and offers a visualization creation workflow which enables users, of different levels of expertise, to rapidly develop Immersive Analytics experiences for the Web. The use of these open-standards Web-based technologies allows us to implement VR experiences in a browser and offers strong synergies with popular visualization libraries, through the HTMLDocument Object Model (DOM). This makesubiquitous and platform-independent. Moreover, by using WebVR’s progressive enhancement, the experiencescreates are accessible on a plethora of devices. We elaborate on our motivation for focusing on open-standards Web technologies, present thecreation workflow and detail the underlying mechanics of our framework. We also report on techniques and optimizations necessary for implementing Immersive Analytics experiences on the Web, discuss scalability implications of our framework, and present a series of use case applications to demonstrate the various features of . Finally, we discuss current limitations of our framework, the lessons learned from its development, and outline further extensions

Towards the integration of digital library applications via web services for use in a scientific workspace

"Our project 'Generic Portals' focuses on the possibilities and problems created by the usage of web-technologies to support web-based Digital Library applications. We observe a divergence of services in the sphere of structured resources and scientific libraries' services. Publications in the form of digital resources have introduced new dynamics into the information exchange in the scientific communities. The changes in the publication process are formed by so-called structured resources, whereas the resource can be seen as an encapsulated object. For the exchange of information we have only to know the interface of the structured resource in detail. W3C has published a working draft which includes a language named Web Service Description Language (WSDL) for describing interfaces of services. A Web service interface is a shared connection between functional components of applications. We consider the requirements for the integration of DL-applications via Web services. We present an adapted process model for supply of DL-oriented Web services. Further we present a component-based approach to relate researchers' activities to so-called DL-oriented Web services. We obtain criteria for the description of DL-oriented Web services based on the researchers' working process. Finally, we present a brief overview what kind of Web technologies might be reused for a prototypical implementation of DL-oriented Web services." (author's abstract