Architectural support for context-aware applications: from context models to services platforms

Context-awareness has emerged as an important and desirable feature in ubiquitous applications. This feature deals with the ability of applications to utilize information about the user’s environment (context) in order to tailor services to the user’s current situation and needs. This thesis aims at providing an integrated solution for the development of context-aware systems. The main objective is to facilitate the development of context-aware applications, focusing on two aspects: on offering context modelling abstractions and on providing infrastructural support by means of a context handling platform. The context modelling abstractions provide application developers with proper conceptual foundations that can be extended and specialized with specific application requirements. The context handling platform allows application functionality to be delegated to the platform, which reduces application development effort, time and, therefore, costs. This allows application developers to focus on their core business, instead of being bothered with application realization details.