• User agency: The self-perceived abilities of users to operate and control their devices.
• Device agency: The capacities that users attribute to their smart devices.

The study introduces four agency profiles that characterize different types of human-smart device relationships:

1. Controller: High user agency, low device agency
2. Collaborator: High user agency, high device agency
3. Victim: Low user agency, high device agency
4. Detached: Low user agency, low device agency

Figure below presents an intuitive idea of the research:

The researcher is validated by conducting an exploratory factorial analysis, tag cloud analysis, and sentiment analysis on survey data to investigate these agency profiles. In this work we examined also how various background variables (such as age, gender, education, and device type) relate to user and device agency.

Key findings include:

1. The type of smart device significantly affected user agency, with household cleaning device users reporting the highest user agency and personal assistant device users reporting the lowest.
2. Most background variables (age, gender, education, professional field, work experience) did not significantly impact user or device agency.
3. The tag cloud analysis revealed distinct patterns of language use associated with each agency profile, providing insights into how users perceive their relationships with smart devices.

This research contributes to the fields of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Information Systems (IS) by offering a framework for understanding the varied ways humans interact with and perceive smart devices. The findings have implications for designing more effective and user-friendly smart device interfaces and experiences. The impact of this paper on human-smart device relationships and related fields includes:

1. Theoretical contribution: The study introduces a novel framework for understanding human-smart device relationships through the lens of user and device agency. This conceptualization provides a new perspective for researchers in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Information Systems (IS).
2. Design implications: The findings can inform the design of smart devices and their interfaces. By understanding different agency profiles, designers can create more user-friendly and effective devices that cater to various user perceptions and needs.
3. User experience enhancement: The research helps in identifying factors that influence user satisfaction and engagement with smart devices. This knowledge can be applied to improve overall user experience.
4. Industry relevance: The study’s insights are valuable for companies developing and marketing smart devices. Understanding user perceptions can guide product development and marketing strategies.
5. Educational impact: The research provides a foundation for educating users about their relationship with smart devices, potentially leading to more informed and empowered consumers.
6. Future research directions: The paper opens up new avenues for research in human-smart device interactions, encouraging further exploration of agency concepts in technology adoption and use.
7. Societal implications: By shedding light on how people perceive and interact with smart devices, the study contributes to broader discussions about the role of technology in society and its impact on human behavior.
8. Methodological contribution: The combination of exploratory factorial analysis, tag cloud analysis, and sentiment analysis provides a multi-faceted approach to studying human-smart device relationships, which can be applied in future studies.

This research has the potential to influence how we design, use, and think about smart devices, ultimately advancing our understanding the human-technology interactions. Overall, you should read this paper for several compelling reasons:

• Novel perspective: The paper introduces a unique framework for understanding human-smart device relationships through the concepts of user agency and device agency. This approach offers a fresh perspective on how people interact with and perceive their smart devices.
• Practical implications and industry relevance: The research has direct applications for designers and developers of smart devices. By understanding different agency profiles, they can create more user-friendly and effective products that cater to various user perceptions and needs. Thus facilitating the development and marketing of smart devices.
• Insight into user experience: The study provides valuable insights into factors that influence user satisfaction and engagement with smart devices. This knowledge can be applied to enhance overall user experience across different types of smart devices.
• Societal impact: The research contributes to broader discussions about the role of technology in society and its impact on human behavior. It helps us understand how people perceive and interact with increasingly prevalent smart devices.
• Methodological innovation: The paper employs a multi-faceted approach combining exploratory factorial analysis, tag cloud analysis, and sentiment analysis. This methodology provides a comprehensive understanding of human-smart device relationships and could be applied in future studies.
• Future research directions: The study opens up new avenues for research in human-smart device interactions, encouraging further exploration of agency concepts in technology adoption and use.

In summary, by reading this paper, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationships between humans and smart devices, which is increasingly relevant in our technology-driven world. The insights provided can be valuable whether you’re a researcher, designer, industry professional, or simply interested in how technology shapes our daily lives.

Link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030090

Dataset for the study of Human and Device Agency

The relationship we have with our smart devices is more complex than we think! This research reveals how user and device agency influence our interactions. #TechResearch #HCI #IoT #AI
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Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary field that explores the interaction between humans and computers, emphasizing especially the design and use of computer technology. Within this domain, the notion of sense of agency, usually defined as the users perceiving their actions as influencing the system, is of crucial importance. Another central notion is that of socio-technical systems, referring to the interplay between social and technical elements. In this work, we delve into users’ perceptions of their interactions with smart devices, drawing insights from a dataset collected during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

The dataset, gathered through an expansive survey, was distributed in professional and personal networks, offers a window into the perspectives of 587 respondents, predominantly highly educated professionals with significant technological familiarity. While the sample’s specificity limits the generalizability of findings, it offers valuable insights into how tech-savvy users perceive their interactions with smart devices, illuminating the nuanced dynamics of HCI within socio-technical contexts.

One of the survey’s notable aspects was its focus on users’ choice of a single smart device to consider throughout their responses. This deliberate framing encourages a deeper exploration of users’ relationships with specific technologies, shedding light on the intricacies of their interactions. For respondents who did not own multiple smart devices, the instruction was to choose their primary device, such as a computer or mobile phone, thus ensuring consistency in the examination of user experiences.

Within the dataset, various dimensions of users’ interactions with smart devices emerged, encompassing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects. Users’ perceptions of agency, defined as their sense of control and influence over the device, are particularly intriguing. Analysis of the dataset reveals diverse manifestations of agency, ranging from feelings of empowerment and efficiency to frustrations stemming from perceived limitations or complexities in device operation.

Moreover, the socio-technical lens allows us to delve deeper into the contextual factors shaping users’ interactions. The dataset captures not only users’ individual experiences but also the broader socio-cultural and technological landscapes influencing these interactions. Factors such as educational background, professional expertise, age, and gender are among the variables examined, offering insights into how these socio-demographic factors intersect with users’ perceptions of smart device interactions.

The dataset’s utilization in previous research endeavors underscores its significance in advancing our understanding of human-computer interaction, user behavior analysis, and agency. By building upon existing research and leveraging the data available, researchers can uncover deeper insights into the complexities of smart device interactions and contribute to the development of more user-centered technologies.

The COVID-19 context during which the data were collected adds another layer of complexity to the analysis. Due to the increased time spent at home and the increase in remote work, the global pandemic catalyzed increased reliance on technology for work, education, and socialization. Understanding users’ interactions with smart devices within this unique context provides valuable implications for designing technologies that accommodate evolving user needs and preferences.

In conclusion, users’ notions of their interactions with smart devices offer a rich tapestry of insights that intersect with key concepts in HCI, including agency and socio-technical systems. Through the analysis of a dataset collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, we gain valuable insights into users’ perceptions, behaviors, and experiences with smart devices within the context of a rapidly evolving technological landscape. This dataset serves as a springboard for further exploration in the field, driving forward our understanding of human-computer interactions in an increasingly digital world.

Where to find more:

• Agency in Human-Smart Device Relationship: A work in progress description of a research done with this dataset

Initial call for collecting the responses

Link to the dataset (Open Access)

https://doi.org/10.3390/data9040056

https://doi.org/10.34894/traony

Main Personal Related Publication

https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030090

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It was a really fun and formative experience where we had the possibility to interact with many colleagues across Europe. We can clearly declare the workshop successful as we had to cap the contribution to only 11 despite the very large contribution that we received (total 22, acceptance rage 50%). If that is not enough for declaring it a success, it also was the largest (most participated) event of the conference.

A big thanks also goes to our sponsors and keynote speaker that stimulated the conversation as well as provided a valuable industrial experience.

Here you can find a set of useful links in case you would like to profit of the outcomes:

• Call for paper for the first workshop on AI Beyond Efficiency
• Modafferi, S., Nuñez, M. J., Lelli, F., & Dalle Carbonare, D. (2022). Artificial Intelligence beyond Efficiency. CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 3214

Full report can be downloaded here: PDF Version of the report on the workshop

The paper that where discussed are available at the following links:

• Introducing Building Blocks for Industry 4.0, an Analytics Application for the Federated EFPF Platform
  Jose Maria Gonzalez Castro Robert Sanfeliu Prat, Francesc Bonada, Fernando Gigante Valencia
• AI Ethics for Industry 5.0 – From Principles to Practice
  Alexandru Constantin Ciobanu, Gabriela Meșniță
• A Practical Experience of AI Solution Used to Improve Varnishing Process Efficiency in Furniture Manufacturing
  Juan Del Agua, Gabriel Modia
• Industry5.0 and Sociotechnical Theory: Theoretical Underpinnings
  Nicholas Fair
• Relevance of Visualization and Interaction Technologies for Industry 5.0
  Ander Garcia, Marco Quartulli, Igor G. Olaizola, Iñigo Barandiaran
• Teaming.AI: Enabling Human-AI Teaming Intelligence in Manufacturing
  Thomas Hoch, Bernhard Heinzl, Gerald Czech, Maqbool Khan, Philipp Waibel, Stefan Bachhofner, Elmar Kiesling, Bernhard Moser
• On Exploring the Possibilities and the Limits of AI for an Interoperable and Empowering Industry 4.0
  Francesco Lelli
• Artificial Intelligence from Industry 5.0 perspective: Is the Technology Ready to Meet the Challenge?
  Igor García Olaizola Marco Quartulli, Ander Garcia, Iñigo Barandiaran
• Towards Zero-Defect Manufacturing: Machine Selection through Unsupervised Learning in the Printing Industry
  Sotirios T. Spantideas, Anastasios E. Giannopoulos, Nikolaos C. Kapsalis, Angelos Angelopoulos, Stamatis Voliotis, Panagiotis Trakadas
• Towards Industry 5.0 – A Trustworthy AI Framework for Digital Manufacturing with Humans in Control
  Usman Wajid, Alexandros Nizamis, Victor Anaya
• On Developing Human Centric Digital Twins in Industry 4.0 and Beyond
  Akpofure A. Enughwure, Francesco Lelli

As organizer I hope that the connections that the participants build will remain strong, will grow, and will materialize in a tangible advance of the field.

First Workshop on AI Beyond Efficiency: proceedings of the event. #ArtificialIntelligence #workshops #interoperability #Industry40 #BigData #MachineLearning
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Abstract:
With technology in reach of everyone and the technology sector in ascendance, it is central to investigate the relationship people have with their devices. We use the concept of agency to capture aspects of user’s sense of mastery and control in relation
to their device. This study gives preliminary evidence of the existence of two dimensions of agency for modelling the interaction between humans and smart devices: (i) user agency and (ii) device agency. These constructs emerged from an exploratory factorial analysis conducted on a survey data collected from 587 participants. Mapping the users’ dynamics with their devices into user agency and device agency advances our understanding of how digital technology shapes human cognition and emotion and how
users interact with technology. This approach can assist in designing interfaces that match the beliefs users have regarding their capabilities and the capacities of their devices.

Key words: Agency, Human-Computer Interaction, smart devices, user agency, device agency, exploratory factorial analysis, survey.

we show that agency in human-smart device interactions is a twofold and graded construct, consisting of user agency and device agency. The attributing of agency to themselves and to their device frames how the users are perceiving and leveraging the affordances of the smart device. The attribution of user and device agency can be used as a measure for understanding if the user masters the device’s potentials to the fullest or not. Thus, user agency and device agency can be used as proxies for understanding how users experience their relationships with their devices.

The conceptualization of agency proposed here should be further refined in relation to other existing constructs. We should investigate whether user and device agency act as mediators for other factors of human-device interaction such as anthropomorphism and other concepts mentioned in this article. Furthermore, our exploratory study should be developed further to a point where we can perform confirmatory factor analysis. As the next step, an expert panel will be summoned to review the items used in this study, in preparation for refining the survey before collecting new data for the second set of statistical analyses. Furthermore, we should continue exploring the nuances of agency in different contexts of smart device use, such as work vs. personal.
Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1999) states that “the things you own end up owning you”. In the context of smart devices, this is true only if we are unaware of the agency we attribute to our devices and to ourselves. Perhaps the secret of a balanced relationship with our gadgets is in making an aware decision of when and how to be “owned” by the device and when not.

Full article available at this link.

Check out the presentation:

Your help in sharing the idea is very welcome!

Agency in Human-Smart Device Relationships: An Exploratory Study #HCI #IoT #smarthome #homeautomation #survey #softwaredevelopment #softwareengineering
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Toivonen, Heidi and Lelli, Francesco, “Agency in Human-Smart Device Relationship: an Exploratory Study” (2021). PACIS 2021 Proceedings. 145. https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2021/145

Check out the Related Dataset: Lelli, Francesco; Toivonen, Heidi, 2021, “A Survey for investigating human and smart devices relationships“,  https://doi.org/10.34894/TRAONY, DataverseNL, V1

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Abstract:
The growing synergy between Web Services and Grid or cloud based technologies is enabling profound, dynamic interactions between applications dispersed in geographic, institutional, and conceptual space. Such deep interoperability requires the simplicity, robustness, and extensibility for which XML has been conceived, making it a natural lingua franca for the network. Along with these advantages, there is a degree of inefficiency that may limit the applicability of XML.
In this paper, we investigate the limitations of XML for high-performance and high-interactive distributed computing. Our experimental results clearly show that focusing on parsers, that are routinely used for desterilize XML messages exchanged in these system, we can improve the performance of a generic the end to end web services based solution. Then we present a new parser, the Cache Parser, which uses a cache to reduce the parsing time by reusing information related to previously parsed documents/messages similar to the one under examination. Finally, we will show how our fast parser can improve the global throughput of any application based on Web or Grid or Cloud Services, or also RPC calls in general.

Key words: Web Service, Cloud Services, 3 tier architecture, SOA, RPC, Service Oriented Architecture

The may Web Services fully solve the “global enterprise integration” problem, but the proposed solution seems to exhibit a poor performance, and we believe that this could pose serious limitations on their actual applicability, as the number of commercial users will increase.
As shown in paragraph 2 we also believe that one of the limitations in using a full WS approach for implementing complex and highly interactive systems, comes from the large de-marshalling costs incurred on the receiver sides.
To solve this problem, we have designed a new parser: the Cache Parser. It is able to “well and quickly” retrieve information from XML documents, using previous knowledge about the document syntactic tree. In particular, our Cache Parser, which is used to de-marshal XML messages on the receiver side:

• Uses a checksum to detect if a new document is “well formatted”, and to know if it shares the syntactic tree with an already parsed one.
• Takes advantage of this XML-Document syntactic tree stored in a cache.
• It is based on a strict collaboration between sender and receiver.
• Consistently reduces the receiver parse time, without increasing the sender document creation time.

This algorithm is 25 time faster than a pull parser and if used in a WS scenario it can allow a 1.54 performance improvement factor in term of request handled per second. Finally it can be applied in any scenario where the client and the server decide to cooperate.

Full article available at this link.

Your help in sharing the idea is very welcome!

Improving the #performance of XML based technologies by caching and reusing #Information. #Webseries #RealTime #CloudComputing #API #APIs #programming #softwareengineering
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F. Lelli, G. Maron, and S. Orlando. Improving the Performance of XML Based Technologies by Caching and Reusing Information.. IEEE International Conference on Web Services (ICWS), Chicago, September 2006.

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Is it possible to achieve a Client Side Estimation of a Remote Service Execution?

Abstract:
Many use cases, concerning the monitoring and controlling of real physical instruments, demand deep interaction between users and services that virtualize the access to such instruments/devices. In addition, in order to realize high interoperable solutions, SOA-based Web/Grid Service technologies must be adopted. When the access to one of these services is performed via internet using a Web Service call, the remote invocation time becomes critical in order to understand if an instrument can be controlled properly, or the delays introduced by the wire and the serialization/ deserialization process are unacceptable. This paper thus presents methodologies and algorithms, based on a 2k factorial analysis
and a Gaussian Majorization of previous service execution times, which enables the estimation of a generic remote method execution time. Furthermore it suggests three different software architectures, where the developed algorithms and methodology could be integrated in order to automatically profile the end-to-end service. It is worth noting that our proposals are validated using suitable benchmarks and extensive tests coming out from a real (not simulated) environment. In addition, the outcome of this paper have been used in the realization of a service for remote control, monitor, and manage of a pool of instruments/devices.

Key words: Web Service, Quality of Service, QoS, Grid, Cloud Services, Response Time

In this paper you will understand the state of the art on Quality of Service in today digital services with particular attention to Web Services. In this scenario, we proposes a set of solutions that enable a remote service invocation time to be predicted in a general scenario. The contribution of this paper can be divided in three different parts:

• Section 3 formalizes the problem while Sections 5 and 5.1 validate this formalization by providing a dataset for web service QoS study. In particular, the dataset consists of 2304000 samples (of 9 significant values each) organized in 2304 different tests.
• In the second part of this paper (Section 4, 6, and 7) we analyze the collected dataset in a more exhaustive way. Two variants of a methodology that utilizes a Gaussian approximation of the dataset distributions, in combination with a regression model of the key factors that influence the average and the standard deviation, have been developed in Section 4.
• Then, in Section 6 our estimators are validated with experimental results in several scenarios. In the last part of this paper (Section 7), we propose three different software architectures that can utilize the developed methodologies and algorithms. It is worth noting that the presented solutions have been already adopted in a Grid context during the design and implementation of our IE

We have also experienced that in case of server overload, the number of deadline misses increases. This suggests a possible approach for an automatic organization of the clients that balances the servers’ load, and that could be exploited to solve the use cases mentioned in the introduction of this paper. If the number of deadline misses is greater than the expected
ones, the server machine is probably overloaded. So clients could/should decide to use a different machine, in which an identical copy of the invoked service is deployed.

Full article available at this link.

Your help in sharing the idea is very welcome!

Client Side Estimation of a Remote Service Execution. #Webseries #RealTime (sort of) #CloudComputing #API #APIs #programming #SoftwareEngineering
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F. Lelli, G. Maron and S. Orlando. Client Side Estimation of a Remote Service Execution, 15th Annual Meeting of the IEEE International Symposium on Modelling, Analysis, and Simulation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems (MASCOTS), Istanbul, Turkey October 2007

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Abstract:
Software engineering is a complex sociotechnical activity, due to the need for discussing and sharing knowledge among team members. This has raised the need for effective ways of sharing ideas, knowledge, and artifacts among groups and their members. The social aspect of software engineering process also demands computer support to facilitate the development by means of collaborative tools, applications and environments.
In this paper, we present a survey of relevant works from psychology, mathematics and computer science studies. The combination of these fields provides the required infrastructure for engineering social and collaborative applications as well as the software engineering process. We also discuss possible solutions for the encountered shortcomings, and how they can improve software development

Key words: Social Software Engineering, Psychology, Collaborative tools, mathematical techniques.

In this paper you will see:

• a set of relevant works from psychological and social areas that could be integrated in modern software development.
• relevant works in building collaborative and social tools
• a set of references on mathematical techniques that have been or could be used in order to validate ideas around social software engineering.

We addressed the idea of Social Software Engineering by providing a survey of contributions in related areas. We identified and discussed two main subcategories: on the one hand the need to integrate results from social and psychological sciences in the software lifecycle; on the other hand, we outlined the need for engineering social networking services and collaborative tools. As a matter of fact, these applications have been developed independently but they share many use cases. Therefore, by approaching the problem in a systematic way we can try to formalize and improve these classes of applications.
Finally we presented a set of mathematical techniques that have been used for experimental validation of scientific contributions: these techniques may be used as basic blocks for understanding the ideas proposed for social software engineering

Full article available at the following link:

A Survey of Social Software Engineering https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4686304

PDF also available at this link.

Your help in sharing the idea is very welcome!

Writing #Software is a social endeavor: A #survey of #Social #SoftwareEngineering
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N. Ahmadi, M. Jazayeri, F. Lelli, and S. Nesic. A Survey of Social Software Engineering In the First International Workshop on Social Software Engineering and Applications, Vol. 1, No.1 pp. 1-12, L’Aquila, Italy, Sep. 2008.

Authors in alphabetical order

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Current cloud service description languages envision the ability to automatically combine cloud service offerings across multiple abstraction layers, i.e. software, platform, and infrastructure service offerings, to achieve a common shared business goal. However, only little effort has
been spent in this direction. This paper formalizes the issue of automatic combination of cloud services showing its computationally intensive nature. In order to overcome this issue we propose a Resource Description Framework (RDF)- based prototype implementation that leverages a batch process for automatically constructing possible combinations of cloud services. Using this approach we are able to analyze possible combinations of cloud services that may fit particular customer needs in a timely fashion

Some relevant Key words: Cloud, Cloud Services, Service, Composition, RDF for Cloud

Cloud resources offered as services can be described using a common schema model and hence can be composed in order to achieve a common business goal. We present in this paper the issue of composing cross-layered cloud services to build a Service-based Cloud Application (SBCA), and formalize it as a tree navigation algorithm involving external approaches for matching cloud service descriptions.
Given the fact that there could be a huge number of cloud service offerings in a real marketplace, this algorithm may grow exponentially and become a computationally intensive task. For our prototype implementation, RDF is used to create a sample model containing sample cloud service offerings, a batch process is implemented to continuously scan the model and discover possible compositions of cloud services, and SPARQL is used to retrieve cloud services and their possible compositions in a timely fashion. In the future, we intend to continue investigating the issue of cross-layered cloud service composition in order to discover and quantify the benefits and the limits of this approach by providing experimental results.

Full article available at the following link:

Issue in Automatic Combination of Cloud Services:
https://doi.org/10.1109/ISPA.2012.71

Your help in sharing the idea is very welcome!

Cite this paper as:

D. K. Nguyen and F. Lelli, Issue in Automatic Combination of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS, 10th International Symposium on Parallel and Distributed Processing with Application ISPA 2012 track Clouds for Business and Business for Clouds, Spain, Madrid, July 2012

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• The Many Faces of the Integration of Instruments and the Grid

#issues in #automatic Combination of #Cloud #services for #CloudComputing #RDF and understanding meta-information
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In the past few years, the idea of extending the Grid to cover also the remote access, control, management of instrument devices has been explored in a few initiatives. Existing tools lack in generality and require advanced specialized computer science knowledge, thus making them difficult to be broadly adopted in the scientific community. In this paper we present a new open source initiative that is designed to overcome these problems. The Tiny Instrument Element project defines a high level architecture for plugging instruments into the Grid and provides the corresponding skeleton implementation. This lightweight approach, as opposed to existing middleware-based solutions, reduces the effort required to Gridify existing instruments. The paper evaluates the proposed abstraction with a case study from a pervasive computing scenario.

Some relevant Key words: IoT, Internet of things, smart devices, cloud computing, web service, ubiquitous computing, plugin.

In this paper we present the Tiny Instrument Element project showing our proposed novel approach to the integration between instruments and the Grid. Instead of building a new middleware we propose to use a semifinite artifact (i.e., a skeleton software) that can be tailored to meet the requirements of a specific instrument characteristics. This approach not only provides an uniform access to the Gridified instruments but also leaves the flexibility to customize and tune the Tiny Instrument Element for optimal monitoring and control of the instruments. From the case study we have seen that none of the code included in the Tiny Instrument Element release was redundant and that the time required in order to gain a good understanding of the API and the corresponding skeleton was quite small. This supports the idea of template-based software development. The Project has started full open source activities in September 2008. If we exclude our personal activity and the one performed by the case study participants, until the end of 2008, the project website attracted 304 unique visitors (7 Returning many times). The source code was downloaded 40 times and the authors were contacted with positive feedback by 2 users of the community. Whereas the project has been running for a relatively short time, these numbers are promising and show the benefit of a transparent development process to achieve wider dissemination of our research ideas

Full article available at the following link:

The Tiny Instrument Element:
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-01671-4_27

Read the paper at this link

Your help in sharing the idea is very welcome!

Cite this paper as:

F. Lelli and C. Pautasso The Tiny Instrument Element Project In proc of 4th International Conference on Grid and Pervasive Computing (GPC) , Geneva, Switzerland, May 2009

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• The Many Faces of the Integration of Instruments and the Grid

The #tiny Instrument Element for integrating #IoT and #Cloud . An early precursor of #EdgeComputing
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Web 2.0 communities emerge regularly with the growing need for domain-specific programming over Web APIs. Even though Web mashups provide access to Web APIs, they ignore domain-specific programming needs. On the other hand, developing domain-specific languages (DSLs) is costly and not feasible for such ad hoc communities. We propose User Language Domain (ULD): an intermediate Web based architecture using a domain-specific embedded languages approach that reduces the cost of DSL development to plugging the Web APIs into a host end user programming language. We have implemented the proposed architecture in the context of smart devices, where we plug the functionality of different Lego Mindstorms devices into a Web-based visual programming language. We expect that several domains, such as smart homes or wearable computers can use the ULD architecture to reduce development effort.

Some relevant Key words: domain specific languages, Web 2.0 communities, end user programming, plugin architecture, smart devices, ubiquitous computing.

Our case study of smart devices helps to show the promise of separating functionality from the end user programming language in end user programming. Currently, web based artifacts are released together with a set of open APIs that can be used by their customers for building extensions. Our solution allows an efficient way of embedding these APIs into a customizable wed based end user programming environment. Based on this case study we note that:

• The idea of adopting a plugin architecture introduces a tradeoff between (i) having a standardized and uniform access to different APIs and (ii) having a completely free set of methods. In the first case the realization of the Application Domains Library is simpler and portable. However, the introduction of domain dedicated features is more complex.
• In the realized prototype we have considered the possibility of separating the functionality from the visualization. However, we could also embed in the APIs a set of metadata for the visualization of the instructions and this will result in a more uniform adoption across possible domain languages.
• The end user programming language developed in this case study runs completely on the client side of the Web browser. By using JavaScript as the assembly language of the Web, the underlying compiler of the programming language compiles the visual language into the complete JavaScript application. Since JavaScript is an event-based programming language, the compiler is forced to map the visual programming language to an event-based language.
• In our case study, the provided visual language consists of methods that can be treated as events and be triggered upon calling them; hence it is straightforward to map this language to an event-based language. However, in case of need for other programming paradigms, such as functional programming or data-flow programming, the mapping to an event-based language is more complex.
• Server-side execution of end user developed applications creates a trade-off between flexibility and interactivity. Although server-side compilation and execution increases the flexibility on possible technologies and methods to be used for compilation and execution, it hampers interactivity during application execution, which is important in domains such as scientific simulations and games. A hybrid solution between client and server-side execution has to be chosen according to the domain.

In this paper we propose ULD, a Web-based architecture to separate the domain functionality from the programming language to support programming in the highly dynamic ecosystem of Web 2.0 communities. We devise a plugin architecture for an end user programming language to be used as a host language into which the functionality of multiple domains can be plugged. We apply our architecture in the context of smart devices. As a result, end users are provided with a visual programming environment to program different Lego Mindstorms devices. The visual programming interface is automatically generated from the device functionality and embedded into the programming environment. The adoption of the Web for end user programming opens new frontiers for collaborative developments. The developed case study will serve as a testbed where we will evaluate different collaborative end user programming tools and methods in order to assess the potential of end user programming in online social environments and understanding their challenges.

Full article available at the following link:

Supporting Domain-Specific Programming in Web 2.0: a Case Study of Smart Devices: https://doi.org/10.1109/ASWEC.2010.36

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Cite this paper as:

N. Ahmadi, F. Lelli and M. Jazayeri Supporting Domain-Specific Programming in Web 2.0: a Case Study of Smart Devices, In proc of 21st Australian Software Engineering Conference (ASWEC), Auckland, New Zealand, April 2010

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• The Many Faces of the Integration of Instruments and the Grid

Supporting #domain Specific #programming in #Web 2.0: a #casestudy of #Smart Devices ( #IoT ).
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