World Wide Web Consortium Publishes CC/PP 1.0 as a W3C Recommendation
W3C's new standard profiling language aids in delivering Web content to broad range of devices
http://www.w3.org/ — 15 January 2004— The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announces the release of the Composite Capability/Preference Profiles (CC/PP): Structure and Vocabularies 1.0 Recommendation. CC/PP 1.0 is a system for expressing device capabilities and user preferences, using the Resource Description Framework (RDF). Used to guide the adaptation of content, a CC/PP profile describes device capabilities and user preferences.
A W3C Recommendation is the equivalent of a Web standard, indicating that this W3C-developed specification is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who favor its adoption by the industry.
Making a Device-Independent Web Requires Improved Communication Between User Devices and Web Servers
One of the W3C's primary goals is Universal Access. Users must be able to use their choice of devices to access Web content, in ways that are appropriate for their hardware capabilities, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical abilities. CC/PP provides a standardized format of the description of information that will allow Web-enabled devices to effectively communicate their capabilities to the desired server.
In simple terms, it's been clear that there needed to be a standard way for a cellphone or a personal digital assistant with Web access to be able to say to a Web server, "I am a cellphone. My display size will not allow me to see a framed site. Please deliver the content in detailed lists instead." This is an example of what is known as a "delivery context," where the device characteristics, user preferences, and constraints put requirements on how content can be effectively displayed on the device for the user.
CC/PP Provides a Foundation for Device Independence, Device Empowerment
This is precisely the purpose of CC/PP. CC/PP is an extensible framework that can be used for communicating the delivery context from a device to a Web server, resulting in the delivery of Web content that is usable on a given device.
"CC/PP plays a vital role in supporting the ability of people to access the Web from an increasingly diverse range of devices," explained Rhys Lewis, Chair of the W3C Device Independence Working Group (DIWG) where CC/PP is being developed.
"There is now a huge variation in capability between, on the one hand, the smallest, most portable, Web-enabled devices and, on the other, the typical personal computers and workstations that we've traditionally used. Between these extremes are many other types of devices that can access the Web, including interactive television systems, personal digital assistants, smart phones and domestic appliances."
"By providing a stable framework for devices and Web servers to optimize content delivery, CC/PP provides a foundation for a device independent Web, and actual device empowerment," explained Lewis. "As CC/PP uses RDF for the actual descriptions, we can foresee ease in sharing existing profiles, and more easily combining and creating new ones as new devices appear on the market."
CC/PP Resolves Web Content Negotiation Problems
Content negotiation has been part of the Web for a long time as part of the HTTP protocol. Its practical uses in content adaptation have often been limited because HTTP was designed for browser descriptions and not user, context and device descriptions. By allowing complex and complete descriptions of all aspects of the delivery context, CC/PP provides comprehensive information for the process of customizing Web content to user needs.
CC/PP was designed at a time when mobile phones were emerging. The specification takes into account their specific features, particularly in bandwidth restriction. Thus, clients have the choice of providing their CC/PP information as a link (URI) to a description available on the Web, instead of providing the information itself.
CC/PP Leverages the Semantic Web
CC/PP uses RDF, one of the key specifications of the Semantic Web. It is the first W3C Recommendation that is also an RDF application. The use of RDF for CC/PP has many advantages, including
- Extensible vocabularies: In previous efforts to develop global vocabularies it was very difficult to fix a set of terms that could be used to describe all possible devices in advance - there is always a device with capabilities that the language designer cannot foresee. CC/PP solves exactly this sort of problem through the use of the Semantic Web and RDF. With the CC/PP framework, any device manufacturer can define a vocabulary description that can be reused and extended easily.
- Non-centralized vocabularies: Another problem with traditional device description languages is the need for central registries for vocabularies - a device manufacturer has to go through a registry to be able to use new device capabilities in device descriptions. This may include a lengthy registration and standardization process. With CC/PP and the Semantic Web, there is no need for a central registry. New device capabilities can be defined by anyone, and work seamlessly with existing capability definitions.
- Simple integration of information from different sources: When adapting Web content for a specific user, the information that is needed for the adaptation can come from different sources - the network, the device, the environment or the user's preferences. The server receives these different pieces of information separately, and needs to merge the information into one model before doing content adaptation. Based on the Semantic Web and RDF, CC/PP makes this data integration easy.
CC/PP Already Playing a Crucial Role in the Mobile Web
CC/PP has been designed in cooperation with other related standardization organizations.
The User Agent Profile (UAProf) specification developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (and formerly by the WAP Forum) is a CC/PP vocabulary dedicated to mobile phone description. Today, mobile phones complying with the UAProf specification provide CC/PP descriptions of their capabilities to servers - literally millions of devices are already using CC/PP.
JCP (the Java Community Process) has developed, in their JSR 188 expert group, a Java API for CC/PP which allows a Java Web server to access and use CC/PP information provided by a client device. With the release of this work in October 2003, one can safely forecast a significant increase in the number of content servers understanding and using CC/PP information.
Next Steps Include Building Protocol and Processing Rules, and Updating to Include New RDF Datatyping
Upon their completion of the CC/PP Structure and Vocabularies 1.0, the Device Independence Working Group plans to continue work on a revision of the 1.0 specification to include the final version of RDF datatyping currently under development by the W3C RDF Core Working Group.
The Device Independence Working Group is also currently working on Protocol and Processing Rules. This document will standardize the way CC/PP information is transmitted to a server using different kinds of protocols such as HTTP and SOAP, how proxies can modify CC/PP information by adding their own characteristics, and other aspects of profile modification and processing.
Device Independence Working Group Includes Industry Leaders
The W3C Device Independence Working Group serves as the place where technology and industry leaders meet to study issues related to single authoring, adaptation and presentation of Web content. The Device Independence Working Group has included W3C Members and invited experts from Boeing; DaimlerChrysler Research; Ericsson; HP; IBM; INRIA; MobileAware Ltd.; Nokia; NTT DoCoMo; Panasonic; SAP AG; Sky Co., Ltd.; Sony Corporation; Sun Microsystems; and Volantis Systems Ltd.
About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]
The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run by MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France, and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 400 organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/
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Testimonials for W3C's CC/PP 1.0 Recommendation
Boeing | HP | MobileAware | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. | Sun Microsystems | Volantis
Boeing
The specifications/guidelines for profile descriptions of device capabilities and user preferences, as detailed in the upcoming W3C CC/PP Structure and Vocabularies version 1.0 recommendation document, are a major step forward towards the standardization of capabilities among devices. Such standardization is of direct benefit to companies such as Boeing that strive to maintain commonality of devices used within both the manufacturing and the knowledge worker areas for the retrieval of Web resources.
-- Carl Jones, Director Collaboration Services - Boeing Shared Services - Information Technology, The Boeing Company.HP
HP supports the implementation of systems that take into account the needs of their delivery context. This is particularly important for mobile applications. CC/PP Structure and Vocabulary 1.0 provides a consistent framework and representation for expressing device capabilities and user preferences and therefore is a significant step towards this goal. HP has actively contributed to the evolution of this Recommendation through participation in working groups and through DELI, an experimental open-source implementation of CC/PP. Our work on CC/PP complements the leadership role HP is playing in developing tools for the Semantic Web.
-- Per-Kristian Halvorsen, Vice-President and Center Director, Solutions and Services Research Center, HP LaboratoriesMobileAware
MobileAware Ltd is pleased to see the W3C DIWG bring CC/PP to the status of a W3C Recommendation. As a participant in the DIWG, we are acutely aware of the significant advance this represents. The ability to reliably convey contextual information from a variety of devices under a variety of usage conditions is essential to the development of mobile device-independent solutions. We will continue to support our W3C colleagues in the development of these standards, and commend the W3C for its leadership. MobileAware has long recognised the importance of CC/PP and has incorporated into the most recent release of our Mobile Interaction Server.
-- Brian Kinane, CTO MobileAware LtdMatsushita Electric Industrial Co.
CC/PP will take a very significant role in the universal Web access with digital home appliances in the era of ubiquitous networks. As one of the companies for digital home appliances, Panasonic highly expects that CC/PP will become the foundation for a wide variety of Web appliances.
-- Takatoshi Aoi, Director, Network Systems Development Center, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Sun Microsystems
CC/PP is essential to the realization of ubiquitous mobile Web access. Delivering on our commitment to provide secure access to data -- anywhere, any time, on any device -- Sun served as one of the editors of the CC/PP Structure and Vocabularies 1.0 specification and are delivering the Sun Java(tm) System Portal Server, Mobile Access with CC/PP support. In addition, Sun has further demonstrated its commitment to standards by leading a group of industry experts from 20 different companies through the Java Community Process to standardize a Java API for CC/PP processing with JSR 188.
-- John Fanelli, senior director, Network Identity, Communications and Portal Products for Sun Microsystems, Inc.Volantis
As a strong supporter of open standards and a founding member of the Device Independence Working Group, Volantis is delighted to see the publication of the CC/PP Structure and Vocabularies Recommendation. Volantis products support authoring and operation of web sites that can be accessed from a tremendous variety of types of device. The accurate provision of detailed information about device capabilities and user preferences is key in providing this support. By formalising the way in which such information is represented, CC/PP will play an important role in future versions of Volantis products.
-- Mark Watson, Chief Technology Officer, Volantis Systems Ltd.