Web Relational Blocks (WebRB), an alphaWorks Service, is a browser-based visual editor and run-time environment that enables developers to visually assemble Web applications without adding any imperative code. alphaWorks talked to the WebRB team about the benefits of using the technology as a CDE.
alphaWorks: What are the emerging aspects of online or browser-based CDEs?WebRB: The advantages of browser-based CDEs are as follows:
No installation required: People prefer not to have to install yet another application that might break their computer, be incompatible, require Windows patches, etc.
Browsers are ubiquitous; it's hard to find yourself on a computer without a browser anymore. So if you are using somebody else's computer, or your home computer, you already have access to the software you need.
Maintenance: Browser-based applications don't require client-machine upgrades, since there is no application-specific software installed. Any upgrades take place on the server, and are "Somebody Else's Problem."
Although browsers provide a more restricted user interaction model than what we called "rich client" applications in the past, this is in some ways a benefit: Users pretty much understand how to interact with a browser, and they don't have to learn as much new stuff to interact with a new browser-based application. For example, Gmail is probably easier to use than Microsoft Outlook if you have worked with browsers but not Outlook.
If the "application" you're developing is itself browser-based, you can immediately show the developer the results of any changes. For example, SourceForge appears to be source-file based, using Subversion. Users can check out files, update them, and check them in, but they don't really see the new "application" running right away. In constrast, when you edit a page on a Wiki (or WebRB), you immediately see the new page that you've created or edited.
alphaWorks: How is Web Relational Blocks a good example of an emerging technology that fits into the CDE services area?WebRB: There is no installation, it's browser based, there is no client maintenance, it has a familiar user interaction model, and you get immediate feedback on changes (you can immediately execute the page after changing it). In addition, there is a one-to-one correspondence between a design-page and an execution-page in the browser. Currently, we don't allow users to collaborate, because we don't have support for access-authorization between users.
Avraham Leff is a research staff member in the e-Business Frameworks department. He joined IBM in 1991. Dr. Leff's research interests include distributed components and distributed application development. He received a B.A. in computer science and mathematical statistics from Columbia University in 1984 and an M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from Columbia University in 1985 and 1992, respectively. Dr. Leff has been issued six patents and has eight patents pending.
James Rayfield is a research staff member in the e-Business Frameworks department. He joined IBM in 1989. Dr. Rayfield's research interests include transaction-processing systems and database systems. He received an Sc.B. in 1983, an Sc.M. in 1985, and a Ph.D. in 1988, all in electrical engineering from Brown University. Dr. Rayfield has seven patents issued and eight patents pending.
