Developing and Learning Web Services with Open Source Software: An Experience Report

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Developing and Learning Web Services with Open
Source Software An Experience Report

• Matthew W. Reed
• Benjamin A. Balogh
• David C. Miller
• Chia-Chu Chiang
• Department of Computer Science
• University of Arkansas at Little Rock

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Outline of the Talk

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Project Overview
• 3. Student Backgrounds
• 4. Leadership Roles
• 5. Project Management Plan
• 6. Project Development Process
• 7. Technological Hurdles

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Outline of the Talk (Cont.)

• 8. Open Source Software
• 9. Scheduling Difficulties
• 10. Lessons Learned
• 11. Conclusion

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1. Introduction

• Present the experiences of undergraduate students
  developing and learning web services with open
  source software

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2. Project Overview

• Develop a prototype of a telephone directory web
  service

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3. Student Backgrounds

• Junior- and senior-level undergraduate students
• Completed the course prerequisites
• C/C Programming
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• File Structures
• Database Design

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3. Student Backgrounds (Cont.)

• No experience with Java
• No experience with web services
• Limited exposure to team-based software
  development
• Not claimed as professional programmers

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4. Leadership Roles

• A hierarchical structure assumed
• The only student with experience in a team-based
  development environment lead during the Project
  Management Planning and Requirements and
  Specification Phases
• Other students alternate lead role in the
  remaining development phases

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5. Project Management Plan

• Waterfall Model used
• Product built with reusable, open-source tools
• Uncertainty and discomfort with Java and the
  concept of web services

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6. Project Development Process

• Phase I Requirements and Specification
• Most difficult phase of project
• Understanding the product to be developed
• Locating open source tools for development and
  deployment
• Final version of specifications document was not
  completed until after implementation phase

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6. Project Development Process (Cont.)

• Phase II Design
• Deadline extended a week beyond project plan
• Difficulties understanding web service structure
• Learning how the client and server sides interact
• Resulted in reduction of time frames for
  implementation and testing phases

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6. Project Development Process (Cont.)

• Phase III Implementation
• Teams inexperience caused not only difficulty
  but total confusion
• Distributing code to teammates proved difficult
• Brought in an IBM WebSphere consultant to assist

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6. Project Development Process (Cont.)

• Phase IV Testing
• Smoothest and most trouble-free phase
• Deadline pressure forced the team into a divide
  and conquer mentality
• Used open source software to test the performance
  of the product

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7. Technological Hurdles

• Ignorance of the design and programming needed to
  complete the project
• Installation and configuration issues with the
  open source software needed to develop and
  implement the web service
• Hosting server configuration issues based on
  applications already installed

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8. Open Source Software

• Advantages
• Low Cost
• Highly Flexible
• Reliable
• Reduced Development Risks

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8. Open Source Software (Cont.)

• Risks
• Limited Support
• High Technological Knowledge Needed
• Difficult to Choose among Options
• Uncertainty

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9. Scheduling Difficulties

• Considerable deviation from the planned project
  schedule
• Design went more than a week past schedule
• Implementation completed a mere six days before
  the projects deadline
• Testing Phase cut by nearly two weeks
• Final version of Specification and Design
  documents was not submitted until after
  implementation was completed.

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10. Lessons Learned

• Workload were heavy on some particular team
  member
• Initial Project Plan
• Coding
• Expect to have a more thorough and detailed
  education in web services development

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10. Lessons Learned (Cont.)

• Practical issues with the open source software
  for developing web services
• Students left with a feeling of completion when
  the project is done
• The project as a good contender for a
  senior-level capstone course

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11. Conclusion

• Intense, self-directed style of learning
  overwhelmed the students.
• Steep learning curve
• Students satisfied with experience gained through
  an intense and thorough education in software
  engineering

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11. Conclusion (Cont.)

• Pride in the final product
• Reported that never learned more from any other
  single course in computer science
• Highly recommend the course to other
  undergraduates