Modeling heterogeneous context information in adaptive web based applications

Abstract

In this paper we propose a comprehensive framework for therepresentation and translation of context information in adaptiveWeb based applications.We consider the various formats used today to express context data (HTTPheader, XML files over specific DTD's, RDF, CC/PP, and so on) and show thatthe primitives adopted by all of them can be classified into a ratherlimited set of basic types. We then define, building on these basic types,a general formalism for context information called GPM that embeds theseheterogeneous formats. It turns out that GPM can be used to model a varietyof contexts in a uniform way and therefore provides a powerful toolsupporting the design and analysis of context aware applications.We also address the problem of translating context information from onerepresentation into another. This is achieved by using GPM as anintermediate representation level. Finally, we describe architecture andfunctionality of a prototype implementing the translation process andillustrate experimental results supporting the effectiveness of the overallapproach.