A general methodology for context-aware data access

Abstract

In this paper, we present an extensible approach to the adaptation of Web information delivery according to different and possibly heterogeneous contexts. The approach is based on a general notion of profile that can be used to represent a variety of contexts at different level of details. Each profile is associated with a configuration that specifies, in abstract terms, how information has to be delivered by taking into account the requirements of adaptation for the profile. We present a general and extensible methodology for content adaptation based on the generation and management of configurations. The genericity of the approach guarantees that different types of contexts and orthogonal requirements of adaptation, possibly not fixed in advance, can be taken into account in the adaptation process. We also describe architecture and functionality of a prototype implementing the proposed methodology. We finally provide a number of experimental results of the system to support the effectiveness and efficiency of the approach.