Disclosed is a method and Declarative
Web Application (DWA) for creating an
abstraction layer between a
web page and the complicated
syntax required to access data to display on the
web page. The
abstraction layer is implemented with
eXtensible Markup Language (
XML) tags that permit a
web page using simple, non-compiled custom
XML tags embedded in Hyper Text Markup Language (
HTML) formatting commands to call complex data storage and
search engine queries using a simple, declaratory statement via a
XML tag. Use of the simple, declaratory XML statement removes the need for any scripting or other complex code from the web page that may require compilation and / or extensive
verification testing for changes to the web page code. The resulting web pages and query definitions are easier and less expensive to maintain and extend. Further, the data returned from the
data storage system is formatted to be name and content addressable such that the
HTML commands to display the data are implemented using a simple, declarative
syntax of XML tags. Again, the use of simple, declarative XML tags allows the web page code to be restricted to simple
HTML code, thus, avoiding the need to compile and / or perform extensive
verification testing when a change is made to the HTML code. The
system deskills the expertise necessary to create a data rich web page such that a graphic web designer is capable of creating a web page without the assistance of a
Java or Structured
Query Language (
SQL)
programmer. Also, the
SQL programmer may create and then make queries available without the assistance of a
programmer and without the need to use a
programming language other than
SQL.