[Paper Review] SSELab: a plug-in-based framework for web-based project portals

Christoph Herrmann, Thomas Kurpick+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jun 3, 2012

Advanced Software Engineering Methodologies12 references8 citations

TL;DR

SSELab is a plug-in-based framework that enables web-based project portals to host software development tools on servers while allowing seamless integration with desktop IDEs like Eclipse. It supports tool deployment via server-side plug-ins and provides multi-context access through clients for web, command line, and IDE environments, enhancing tool management and extensibility in software engineering workflows.

ABSTRACT

Tools are an essential part of every software engineering project. But the number of tools that are used in all phases of the software development life-cycle and their complexity is growing continually. Consequently, the setup and maintenance of current tool chains and development environments requires much effort and consumes a lot of time. One approach to counter this, is to employ web-based systems for development tasks, because centralized systems simplify the administration and the deployment of new features. But desktop IDEs play an important role in software development projects today, and will not be replaced entirely by web-based environments in the near future. Therefore, supporting a mixture of hosted tools and tools integrated into desktop IDEs is a sensible approach. In this paper, we present the SSELab, a framework for web-based project portals that attempts to migrate more software development tools from desktop to server environments, but still allows their integration into modern desktop IDEs. It supports the deployment of tools as hosted services using plug-in systems on the server-side. Additionally, it provides access to these tools by a set of clients that can be used in different contexts, either from the command line, from within IDEs such as Eclipse, or from web pages. In the paper, we discuss the architecture and the extensibility of the SSELab framework. Furthermore, we share our experiences with creating an instance of the framework and integrating various tools for our own software development projects.

Motivation & Objective

• To address the growing complexity and maintenance overhead of software engineering toolchains in modern development environments.
• To enable centralized deployment and management of software development tools via web-based portals.
• To support integration of hosted server-side tools with desktop IDEs like Eclipse, preserving developer workflow preferences.
• To provide a flexible, extensible architecture that supports multiple client interfaces (web, CLI, IDE) for tool access.
• To evaluate the framework's feasibility and practicality through real-world deployment and tool integration in software projects.

Proposed method

• Designing a server-side plug-in system to host software development tools as web services.
• Implementing a client-side API that supports access to tools from web browsers, command-line interfaces, and IDEs such as Eclipse.
• Defining a standardized interface for tool integration, enabling plug-in developers to extend functionality without modifying core components.
• Using a modular architecture to decouple tool hosting from client access, ensuring extensibility and maintainability.
• Deploying the framework in a real project environment and integrating multiple existing development tools into the portal.
• Leveraging existing web and IDE integration standards to ensure compatibility and reduce development overhead.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can a web-based framework be designed to host software development tools while supporting integration with desktop IDEs?
• RQ2 What architectural patterns enable effective plug-in-based extensibility for server-hosted development tools?
• RQ3 How can a unified client interface be implemented to support access from diverse environments such as web, CLI, and IDEs?
• RQ4 What are the practical challenges and benefits of migrating tools from desktop to server environments in real development projects?
• RQ5 To what extent can a single framework support both hosted tools and IDE-integrated tooling in a cohesive workflow?

Key findings

• The SSELab framework successfully enables hosting software development tools on centralized servers while maintaining compatibility with desktop IDEs like Eclipse.
• The plug-in-based architecture allows for modular and scalable extension of the portal with new tools and features.
• Multiple tools were successfully integrated into the framework, demonstrating its practical viability in real-world software development projects.
• The framework supports consistent tool access across web, command-line, and IDE environments, improving developer workflow continuity.
• The centralized deployment model reduces administrative overhead and simplifies tool maintenance and updates.
• The integration with Eclipse and other IDEs shows that server-hosted tools can be used seamlessly within familiar development environments.