Resource-Oriented Framework for Representing Pervasive Context

Pervasive applications are by nature context-aware. However, building such applications is very challenging. The dynamics, heterogeneity and uncertainty of the pervasive environments induce many issues. This paper focuses on one of them: modeling the context. Indeed, the context is a first class entity in pervasive applications. However, dealing with it is complex. This paper proposes a resource-based representation of the pervasive context. Embracing the REST architecture style, it fulfills requirements identified during industrial pervasive application development. It proposes a universal and simple way to retrieve context data and to observe changes. Everest, the created framework, is successfully used in the iCASA pervasive platform.