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Authors:
Calvary,
G., Coutaz, J., Thevenin, D., Limbourg, Q., Bouillon, L., Vanderdonckt,
J.
Title:
A Review of
XML-Compliant User Interface Description Languages.
Journal:
Interacting with Computers. Vol. 15, No. 3, June 2003, pp. 289-308.
Abstract
This
paper describes a framework that serves as a reference for classifying
user interfaces supporting multiple targets, or multiple contexts of use
in the field of context-aware computing. In this framework, a context
of use is decomposed in three facets: the end users of the interactive
system, the hardware and software computing platform with which the user
have to carry out their interactive tasks and the physical environment
where they are working. Therefore, a context-sensitive user interface
is a user interface that exhibits some capability to be aware of the context
(context awareness) and to react to changes of this context. This paper
attempts to provide a unified understanding of context-sensitive user
interfaces rather than a prescription of various ways or methods of tackling
different steps of development. Rather, the framework structures the development
life cycle into four levels of abstraction: task and concepts, abstract
user interface, concrete user interface and final user interface. These
levels are structured with a relationship of reification going from an
abstract level to a concrete one and a relationship of abstraction going
from a concrete level to an abstract one. Most methods and tools can be
more clearly understood and compared relative to each other against the
levels of this framework. In addition, the framework expresses when, where
and how a change of context is considered and supported in the context-sensitive
user interface thanks to a relationship of translation. In the field of
multi-target user interfaces is also introduced, defined, and exemplified
the notion of plastic user interfaces. These user interfaces support some
adaptation to changes of the context of use while preserving a predefined
set of usability properties.
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