Mario Bisignano

Expeerience: a JXTA middleware for mobile ad-hoc networks

The combination of personal computing devices and wireless ad-hoc networks allows the concept of mobile ad-hoc information system, consisting of a highly dynamic, decentralized and self-organizing network of autonomous and mobile devices that interact as peers [M. Hannicainen et al. (2002), L. Kleinrock, (2000)]. Here we define a middleware layer, named Expeerience. We have decided to adopt as a basic software framework, an emerging P2P open technology such as JXTA. The second issue we address in this work is the integration of some code mobility support in the developed middleware to allow the distribution and execution of services on peers that originally do not own the service code. This has been introduced in our platform by adding a mobile code service, which enables to download and install new services dynamically only if necessary.

P2P over Manet: a comparison of cross-layer approaches

Mobile ad-hoc networks (Manet) and peer-to-peer (P2P) systems are recently emerged technologies which share a common underlying decentralized networking paradigm. However, the two fields have been mainly investigated by different research communities, without catching several cross-cutting issues. Both systems share some common issues and relevant differences: however, similarities could be exploited in a more synergic way when coupling the two systems. In particular, very recently, some cross-layer approaches have appeared, trying to improve the overall performance of a P2P-Manet system: in this paper, we analyze them in order to identify some common guidelines and the most promising approaches. Indeed, since many combinations of Manet routing algorithm and P2P overlay network building are possible, our analysis also aims to minimize common pitfalls in designing such kind of applications.

An "intent-oriented" approach for Multi-Device User Interface Design

A large number of heterogeneous and computing devices, such as PCs, PDAs, and cell phones, nowadays are used to access the same information. Currently, designers designing such multi-device user interfaces have to design a UI separately for each device, which is a time consuming and error prone activity. This paper discusses our approach to the multi-device interface development. In particular we describe how abstract UI descriptions and task model management systems can be combined to develop adaptive UIs for a wide range of devices. The designed software framework allows generating the concrete user interface at runtime, by adapting it to the clients execution environment. As shown in the example application, three different environments have been the target of our implementation work: standard PCs, PDAs and mobile phones equipped with Java micro edition

A JXTA compliant framework for mobile handheld devices in ad-hoc networks

The availability of powerful personal computers and high bandwidth home connectivity is changing the way users cooperate and exchange information on the network. Peer to peer computing is becoming a common paradigm for many distributed applications, allowing for extensive resource sharing and direct communication among peers. Recently, the wide spreading of new wireless communication technologies and personal computing devices, enables the adoption of the P2P paradigm also in mobile environments. However, several questions arise when trying to develop such systems: existing solutions do not address all the requirements of these environments. In this paper we present a framework to develop mobile applications which exploits the P2P paradigm: it is designed to work on J2ME enabled mobile devices, interacting with each other in an ad-hoc fashion. The designed framework is also interoperable with JXTA, a well-known P2P open platform.

Dynamically adaptable user interface generation for heterogeneous computing devices

The increasing number of personal computing devices today available for accessing online services and information is making more difficult and time-consuming to develop and maintain several versions of user interfaces for a single application. Moreover, users want to access services they have subscribed, no matter the device they are using, always maintaining their preferences. These issues demand for new software development models, able to easily adapt the application to the client’s execution context, while keeping the application logic separated from its presentation. In this work we present a framework that allows to specify the user’s interaction with the application, in an independent manner with respect to the specific execution’s context, by using an XML-based language. Starting from such a specification, the system will subsequently ”render” the actual user’s application interface on a specific execution environment, adapting it to the end user’s device characteristics.

An infrastructure-less peer-to-peer framework for mobile handheld devices

Mobile handheld devices are becoming more and more widely common among users. Their increasing computing and storage capabilities together with the widespreading of new wireless communication technologies, enable these devices for new and useful applications. The peer-to-peer (P2P) paradigm, which has recently experienced a wide diffusion among internet users, seems to be very well suited to effectively support mobile applications. However, several questions arise when trying to develop such systems: existing solutions do not address all the requirements of these mobile environments. In this paper, we present a framework to develop mobile applications that exploits the P2P paradigm: it is designed to work on Java micro edition (J2ME) enabled mobile devices, interacting each other in an ad hoc fashion. One of the key features is to be interoperable with JXTA, a well-known P2P open platform, by extending the advantages of P2P computing to mobile computing environments. A simple but effective example of application is also provided showing the viability of the designed framework. Copyright

Mobile agent location management: a comparison between CORBA and P2P based systems

Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology has arisen as a simple and user-friendly mechanism not relying on a central server. In this paper an attempt to exploit this emerging technology in the area of centralization in a local region with flexibility of P2P mechanism on a broader level. The implementation of the proposed approach, which has been built on top of the MAP agent system, is compared with more traditional techniques for agent location, based on a naming service. Comparisons between the two approaches are presented together with some hints helping to identify the best approach in each considered scenario.