Catching the Boat with Strudel: Experiences with a Web-Site Management System.

@inproceedings{DBLP:conf/sigmod/FernandezFKLS98,
  author    = {Mary F. Fern{\'a}ndez and
               Daniela Florescu and
               Jaewoo Kang and
               Alon Y. Levy and
               Dan Suciu},
  editor    = {Laura M. Haas and
               Ashutosh Tiwary},
  title     = {Catching the Boat with Strudel: Experiences with a Web-Site Management
               System},
  booktitle = {SIGMOD 1998, Proceedings ACM SIGMOD International Conference
               on Management of Data, June 2-4, 1998, Seattle, Washington, USA},
  publisher = {ACM Press},
  year      = {1998},
  isbn      = {0-89791-995-5},
  pages     = {414-425},
  ee        = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/276304.276341, db/conf/sigmod/FernandezFKLS98.html},
  crossref  = {DBLP:conf/sigmod/98},
  bibsource = {DBLP, http://dblp.uni-trier.de}
}

Abstract

The Strudel system applies concepts from database management systems to the process of building Web sites. Strudel's key idea is separating the management of the site's data, the creation and management of the site's structure, and the visual presentation of the site's pages. First, the site builder creates a uniform model of all data available at the site. Second, the builder uses this model to declaratively define the Web site's structure by applying a ``site-definition query'' to the underlying data. The result of evaluating this query is a ``site graph'', which represents both the site's content and structure. Third, the builder specifies the visual presentation of pages in Strudel's HTML-template language. The data model underlying Strudel is a semi-structured model of labeled directed graphs.

We describe Strudel's key characteristics, report on our experiences using Strudel, and present the technical problems that arose from our experience. We describe our experience constructing several Web sites with Strudel and discuss the impact of potential users' requirements on Strudel's design. We address several questions: (1) when does a declarative specification of site structure provide significant benefits, and (2) what are the main advantages provided by the semi-structured data model.

Copyright © 1998 by the ACM, Inc., used by permission. Permission to make digital or hard copies is granted provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or direct commercial advantage, and that copies show this notice on the first page or initial screen of a display along with the full citation.

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