Automated Transformation of Template-Based Web Applications into Single-Page Applications

In a template-based web application (TWA), a template is used as a common structure or layout to dynamically generate web pages. The consistent structure helps users easily obtain information. However, TWAs still have an interaction problem: whenever a user clicks a hyperlink or submits a form, a new page is loaded. Therefore, we need to reduce communication between a browser and a server by avoiding loading the same template twice. This paper proposes a technique of transforming a Java-based TWA into a single-page application (SPA) with partial page refreshes. An Eclipse plugin is also presented for automatic reengineering of TWAs. Our technique is applied to typical TWAs and discussed with respect to quality attributes such as performance, bookmarkability, and backward navigation.