Customisation for ubiquitous web applications: a comparison of approaches

Abstract

Ubiquitous web applications adhering to the anytime/anywhere/anymedia paradigm are required to be customisable meaning the adaptation of their services towards a certain context. Several approaches for customising ubiquitous Web applications have been already proposed, each of them having different origins and pursuing different goals for dealing with the unique characteristics of ubiquity. This paper compares some of these proposals, trying to identify their strengths and shortcomings. As a prerequisite, an evaluation framework is suggested which categorises the major characteristics of customisation into different dimensions. On the basis of this framework, customisation approaches are surveyed and compared to each other, pointing the way to next-generation customisation approaches.