WBI Development Kit for Java
A programmable HTTP proxy for developing and running intermediary applications on the Web.
Date Posted: June 4, 1999
|
|
 |
|
|
Update: March 25, 2004
New features (such as persistent connections to back-end servers), bug fixes, more programming examples. Plug-ins will run on WebSphere Transcoding Publisher.
What is WBI Development Kit for Java?
WBI Development Kit for JavaTM is a programmable HTTP proxy for developing and running intermediary applications on the Web. This programming platform can be used to implement all manner of intermediaries, from simple server functions to complex image- and page-editing and distributed applications. It is a full Java implementation of WBI and provides a convenient and flexible API.
Intermediaries are computational entities that lie along the HTTP stream and are programmed to tailor, customize, personalize, or otherwise enhance data as it flows along the stream. A caching Web proxy is a simple example of an HTTP intermediary. Intermediary-based programming is particularly useful for adding functionality to a system without modifying the data producer (such as the server or database) or the data consumer (such as the browser).
How does it work? One obvious set of applications for intermediaries on the Web is in transcoding applications, in which data of one form is transformed into another form; for instance, to transform XML into HTML to be viewed by a Web browser, or to transform images with millions of colors to ones with just a few for displays with limited color depth. The key is that the server need not deliver different content in these cases, but some intermediary process can operate on the usual data, transforming the data as needed. Applications developed with WBI Development Kit for Java, Version 4.5, can be used with IBM WebSphere® Transcoding Publisher (Version 3.5), with a few exceptions.
There are many applications of Web intermediaries for personalization of Web pages. For instance, the Personal History example shows how to use WBI to maintain a history of Web usage per user and also shows how to customize Web pages based on a user's history.
|
|
|
| | About the technology author(s):
The WBI Team: Mr. Meyer, Dr. Maglio, Dr. Barrett, Mr. Ihde, and Mr. Farrell emerge from behind their computers for a rare moment of sunshine and fresh air.
Rob Barrett holds BS degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and a PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford University. Dr. Barrett joined IBM Research in 1991, where he has worked on magnetic data storage, pointing devices, human-computer interactions in large information systems, and Web intermediaries. Rob Barrett
Paul Maglio holds an SB in Computer Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a
PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Maglio joined IBM Research in 1995, where he studies how people use information spaces such as the World Wide Web.
Jörg Meyer holds a Dipoma Engineer degree in Computer Science from the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, Germany. He joined IBM Research as an intern in 1996. Now an IBM employee, Mr. Meyer has worked on projects involving P3P (Privacy Preferences Project), automated negotiation, and WBI.
Steve Ihde holds a BS in Computer Science from Stanford. He joined IBM Research in 1995, and he has worked on projects including adaptive help systems and Trackpoint.
Stephen Farrell holds a BA in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine and an MS in Computer Science, both from the University of Chicago. He joined IBM Research in 1999 to work on cool projects such as WBI.
|
|
|
| |
