Web Modelling Languages: The Gap Between Requirements and Current Exemplars

For the development of Web systems to be effective, we need to consider two aspects of technical architecture: the information architecture and the functional architecture. Web modelling languages, used in the development of these systems need to be able to capture and communicate both these aspects. Specifically, a WML must provide sophisticated functions to facilitate the understanding, specification, documentation, visualisation, communication and construction of important architectural, detailed design and implementation decisions. In this paper, we identify the requirements for WMLs for these elements and, using this proposed requirements framework, evaluate six of the leading WMLs. We conclude that a number of gaps exist in existing modelling approaches, particular with regard to the level of support for modelling of: the link between information and functional designs, primarily at the architectural level;