Papers in PDF format

On-the-Fly
Web Pages Minus the HTML Files
Gerry Lebing, U.S. Geological Survey, USA, glebing@usgs.gov
Maura Hogan, U.S. Geological Survey, USA, mhogan@usgs.gov
Wesley Gurney, U.S. Geological Survey, USA, wgurney@usgs.gov
The demands of a data-driven distributed hypermedia environment drastically alter the development and production of
Web products. When these demands are combined with emerging publication priorities of authoring once and
distributing via numerous media for numerous audiences, it becomes apparent that coding documents with HyperText
Mark-up Language (HTML) is limited and singular in purpose.
A new paradigm for Web development is emerging in response to a constantly evolving information environment.
Data-driven, responsive, dynamic Web products will be landmarks in this digital terrain. Web spaces that provide
visitors the ability to customize the presentation and scope of information will further enhance this environment. These
challenges can be addressed integrating databases into on-the-fly production of Web pages.
Creating on-the-fly Web pages requires information providers to question the process and taxonomy of information
presentation, storage, and use. The role of HTML moves from a form of communication (i.e., how the content is
packaged) to a vehicle of communication (i.e., how the content is exchanged and delivered). The role of the Web page
as an autonomous lexia becomes paramount in order to achieve the multiplicity of context and purpose that can exist in
a hypertext "docuverse." A dynamic, data-driven Web site can be summarized as a "Web site that can construct Web
pages on the fly, based on customer inputs, data from databases, and collections of components that are all stitched
together at run time to build custom pages to answer users' questions and serve their needs and interests" [Scannell
1996]. Although these demands seems immense and unwieldy, emerging technologies will facilitate the automation and
maintenance of these dynamic Web environments. For example, the number of applications currently supporting
Web/database access is already substantial--48 at a recent count--and Web/database discussion groups already exist [1].
In the on-the-fly model, a database field can be viewed as a lexia as its content becomes a building block instead of part
of a predetermined Web page. These fields can be queried, retrieved from the database, and then sent to the Web
browser based on a template. The template, created with a common gateway interface (CGI) program, outlines how to
present the results in HTML. The same information can be used concurrently as building blocks for multiple pages, thus
eliminating the need to replicate the same content in more than one document.
This on-the-fly approach has implications for production and usability. In terms of production, the task of maintaining
and updating information stored in a database as opposed to HTML files is more manageable and efficient. Each update,
change, or correction is made once in the database, and all of the pages using that information are automatically and
instantaneously as current as the database. This capability eliminates the need of locating multiple HTML documents
where the change needs to be made and manually updating each file. This approach also supports the goals of
computer-support cooperative work [2]. Content specialists working in a distributed hypermedia environment can
update their portion of a database as needed, and these changes are immediately available to users of that information.
An example of this type of distributed work is ELIPS, the Electronic Library of Interior Policies for the Department of
the Interior (DOI), a collection of standards for the publishing of guidelines and regulations [3]. The content of the entire
ELIPS manual exists in multiple databases that can be queried, searched, and generated on the fly. Content specialists
use internal password protected fill-in forms to make changes to the databases. For example, WordPerfect files uploaded
to the database are automatically linked and indexed. Because ELIPS is data driven, as a change is made in the database,
a series of automated tasks take place. When a change is made, the "Chronological List of Changes to ELIPS" is
automatically updated to reflect the change.