Theme Park Soil: A Case Study for Using Template Technology in Web-based Environmental Information Systems

Abstract

An essential requirement of larger information systems is that their content can be maintained by the information providers themselves. This is especially true for large webbased environmental information systems which contain information supplied by experts from various fields outside the domain of computer science. This paper shows how template technology helps in achieving this goal by separating design, content, and application logic. At the beginning, the Model 2 Architecture for web applications is explained, followed by an introduction to template frameworks. Then, the usefulness of the Model 2 Architecture and template technology is demonstrated based on a concrete system under development, the Theme Park Soil. The Theme Park Soil is a web-based environmental information system designed for the presentation of soil, soil protection, and landscape objects related to soil to the general public.