WWW8 Developer's Day -- Parallel Track Descriptions


1. Web-based Distributed computing (formerly: Distributed computing, CORBA/COM, and HTTP-NG) 2. XML, DOM and Related Technologies 3. Databases, Naming, Indexing, and Searching 4. Scalable Graphics		5. Style Sheets and Formatting 6. Accessibility: Software and Design 7. Web Scripting Language Forum 8. Open Source Software

D1. Web-based Distributed Computing -- Room 703, 8:30AM - 5:00PM
(formerly Distributed Computing, CORBA/COM and HTTP-NG)
Track Chair: Ian Brackenbury, IBM
Track Details...
Summary -- This track presents current experience with distributed computing technologies applied to applications running over the world wide web.
Technologies such as Java grew up with the Web; others like CORBA and Microsoft's COM+ have a different heritage but are being used to create applications serving the Web. There will be presentations that describe experience in using Java with CORBA and with COM+ as well as other emerging distributed object technologies.
The emphasis is on objects communicating across the web using remote method-call/procedure-call or messaging. Preference will be given to proposals that describe experience with live customer applications.
D2. XML, DOM and Related Technologies -- Room 705, 8:30AM -- 5:00PM
Track Chairs: Jon Bosak, Sun Microsystems and Lauren Wood, SoftQuad
Track Details...
Summary -- Leading developments in XML, DOM, and other core technologies and interfaces (XSL, XLink, Schemas, SAX, etc.) XML and related standards -- most importantly the DOM API, but also including XLink/XPointer, XML Schemas, and XSL -- constitute the future syntactic infrastructure of the Web. This track presents up-to-the-minute developments in Web-related technologies based on these standards.
D3. Databases, Naming, Indexing, and Searching -- Room 713A, 8:30AM -- 5:00PM
Track Chairs: Eric Miller, OCLC and Stu Weibel OCLC Research Office
Track Details...
Summary -- The W3C's Resource Description Framework plays an important role in enabling a whole gamut of new metadata applications including sitemaps, stream channel definitions, search engine data collection (web crawling), digital library collections, and distributed authoring. This track is designed to provide an overview of this initiative and present new and exciting metadata applications based on this initiative. Additionally, this track will provide the opportunity for dialog with several individuals who participated in the design of this initiative as well as a discussion of future plans and goals.
D4. Scalable Graphics -- Room 713B, 8:30AM -- 5:00PM
Chris Lilley, W3C
Track Details...
Summary -- 'Scalable Graphics' is one of those obvious missing pieces of the Web which has now started to happen. With the release of the WebCGM profile as a W3C Recommendation, and the initial drafts of the SVG namespace for XML, the prospects for Open, vendor-neutral scalable graphics are looking up.
This session will examine the implementation issues arising from these specifications, as previously high-end features such as antialiasing, true transparency, image filtering and clipping, and color management move into the mainstream and meet standard Web technologies such as XML, XLink, CSS and XSL to produce the high quality hypergraphics of tomorrow's Web.
One part of this track will be run jointly with the Style Sheets and Formatting track, to cover style sheets applied to vector graphics.
D5. Style Sheets and Formatting -- Room 715A, 8:30AM -- 5:00PM
Track Chair: Håkon Lie, Opera Software A/S
Track Details...
Summary -- This track will present the latest developments in style sheets for HTML and XML documents. Leading implementors will present how CSS is supported in their products today, and how they expect to see style sheets functionality extend in the future. The scope of this session includes the relationship between formating in CSS and XSL, and there will also be a session on test suites and how they can help developers ensure interoperable style sheets implementatons.
One part of this track will be run jointly with the Graphics track, to cover style sheets applied to vector graphics.
D6. Accessibility: Software and Design -- Room 715B, 8:30AM -- 5:00PM
Track Chair: Jutta Treviranus, University of Toronto
Track Details...
Summary -- Barrier Free design is a topic every developer will be compelled to attend to, if not because of the market incentives or the design advantages, then for legal reasons.
However, what constitutes barrier free access for emerging technologies or evolving standards is not well defined. Although the general principles of barrier free design are well documented, there is no systematic prescriptive process in place for designing accessible leading edge software. By necessity this is a ongoing participatory process.
This day long session will grapple with accessible design of emerging web-based standards and software. Developers are encouraged to present unsolved or partially solved access challenges for input or discussion during the session. Presenters are invited to discuss techniques that result in barrier free web-based products and case studies of successful or unsuccessful development strategies or business practices that are directed at barrier free design.
D7. Web Scripting Language Forum -- Room 717A, 8:30AM -- 12:00 NOON
Track Chair: Cameron Laird, Network Engineered Solutions
Track Details...
Summary -- How do language issues impact development of Web applications, both on the client and the server? How should language technologies be chosen for Web work? Have you pulled back a JavaScript code base from client-side to server-side? Does your language process international character sets transparently?
Presentations in this session will address these and related questions on the basis of development experiences and prospects, with balanced attention to the costs and liabilities of the technologies they employed.
The range of topics pertinent to this Forum is wide; other possibilities include:
- How do you alter/extend Web applications after deployment?
- How central a role does/should data storage play in Web applications?
- Should an organization use multiple (computer) languages in constructing Web applications?
- How does uses of open-source languages compare to proprietary ones?
D8. Open Source Software -- Room 717A, 1:30PM -- 5:00PM
Track Chairs:
Organizational co-chair: Brian Behlendorf, O'Reilly and Associates/The Apache Group,
On-site co-chair: Cameron Laird, Network Engineered Solutions.
Track Details...
Summary -- From the hype and press attention one might think that Open Source software will cure cancer and bring world peace. Well, not anytime soon; but not only has the open-source approach to development helped create a rich set of world-class applications for the Web, it has also helped ensure the interoperability of Web software through adherence to common, open protocols. Thus, it's important to consider open-source approaches to software development for any type of Web application. However, the OSS approach is not without its limitations or pitfalls, both for technological and for organizational reasons.
This day-long session will dive into the technical and operational aspects of an Open Source approach to software development for the Web. Project developers will give overviews and details of various projects, both on the Web client and Web server side; as well as discuss strategies for OSS development that have worked, or not worked, for their development teams.

Developer's Day -- Parallel Track Descriptions

Program Tracks