Change detection and correction facilitation for web applications and services

Abstract

There are a large number of websites serving valuable content that can be used by higher-level applications, Web Services, Mashups, etc. Yet, due to various reasons (lack of computing resources, financial constraints etc.) they are unable to provide Web Service APIs to access their data. In their desire to incorporate the latest and greatest technologies, as well as to adapt layouts that are more preferred by users, websites undergo changes over time. These changes can range from minor, e.g. function name changes, to major, e.g., shifting the web platform to AJAX technologies. This paper addresses the problem of detecting layout changes for websites which are unable to provide any Web Service to access their content, yet do not mind others harvesting said content. © 2009 IEEE.