Tools and approaches for developing data-intensive Web applications: A survey

The exponential growth and capillar diffusion of the Web are nurturing a no vel generation of applications, characterized by a direct business-to-custo mer relationship. The development of such applications is a hybrid between traditional IS development and Hypermedia authoring, and challenges the exi sting tools and approaches for software production. This paper investigates the current situation of Web development tools, both in the commercial and research fields, by identifying and characterizing different categories of solutions, evaluating their adequacy to the requirements of Web applicatio n development, enlightening open problems, and exposing possible future tre nds.