ED-MEDIA 1999 Proceedings Book - Association for the ...

To address this problem Webfuse draws on the micro-kernel architecture approach used in many modern
operating systems. The advantages of the micro-kernel approach include a more modular system structure and a
system which is more flexible and tailorable (Liedtke, 1995).
The Webfuse "kernel" is a collection of abstractions and services including authentication, access control,
HTML validation, presentation and data storage. These abstractions and services are drawn upon by a collection of
hypermedia templates and other higher level services which are used by authors to develop web sites.
At any time a new hypermedia template can be written to provide Webfuse with added functionality. New
templates generally wrap around new software or technology (e.g. a Java based chat room, a Web-based mailing list
manager etc) as it becomes available. It is significantly easier to create a new hypermedia template than to create the
software from scratch.
Usually the use of a large collection of software created by different people would increase the authoring
complexity due to the large amount of variety and duplication in user interfaces. Webfuse addresses this problem via
the Webfuse "kernel" which provides a single common administrative interface used by all hypermedia templates.
The "kernel" integrates the eclectic templates behind a common interface.
All of the existing Webfuse hypermedia templates are written around either existing open source software
(e.g. MHonarc, Ewgie, WebBBS) or applications written specifically for use at CQU (e.g. an assignment submission
tied to CQU's student database system). The hypermedia template approach allows the quick integration of most
Web-based software into a common management framework. The eclectic and integrated approach has been
particularly useful in allowing Webfuse to draw on the large collection of open source software for the Web. This
ability to use almost any open source software has further increased the ability of Webfuse to adapt to changes and
provide additional functionality.
Conclusions
The creation and management of Websites is a difficult task which can suffer from a bottleneck as
authoring responsibility is restricted to a few individuals. Hypermedia templates are an approach which allow
content experts to become responsible for creating and managing websites. Webfuse uses hypermedia templates to
ease the authoring bottleneck. Hypermedia templates, in conjunction with a collection of support services, also
enable Webfuse to have an integrated and eclectic structure which enables it to adapt quickly to changes in
requirements and the Web.
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