Evaluation of end-user web mashup development

Abstract

Mashup End-User Programming (EUP) paradigms leverage tools that enable users to customize web content from various data sources, offering a potentially simple, effective, and efficient method for developing end-user applications. Although it is hypothesized that mashup technology is easy to use for individuals without programming skills, this paper examines this claim through an experiment. Using two Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) from Flickr and Google Maps as test cases, participants were tasked with creating meta-applications using one of three mashup tools: Yahoo! Pipes, Intel Mash Maker, or Dapper. The research methodology, measurement methods, and findings are presented, revealing that mashup development is not as accessible for non-programmers as widely believed, highlighting key challenges in end-user application development. The results showed that while participants found mashup tools engaging and transformative in their approach to web development, they struggled with complexity, particularly non-programmers and even some confident programmers. The findings emphasize the need for intuitive, user-friendly mashup tools that simplify development and support effortless end-user programming. This is a research and development challenge mashup facilities should offer in a seamless manner with new supportive paradigms.

Keywords

• End–user development
• Mashup
• Mashup tools
• Meta–applications
• Web 1.0 to Web 5.0

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