Specification and rapid prototyping of user interfaces
Christopher Rouff · University of Southern California Digital Library · 2017
This thesis present a model for specifying and a system for rapidly prototyping user interfaces. The model represents the components, flow of control, constraints, and semantic feedback of an interface while the system allows an interface to be prototyped with little or no programming. As a user interface is prototyped, a model of the interface is built that represents its structure and functionality. This model can then be compiled into a stand alone program with calls to the X windows and Motif libraries. The generated program is compiled and linked to application functions to produce an executable program. The model, IRGs (Interface Representation Graphs) differs from previous user interfaces models in that it is designed for asynchronous multiwindow user interfaces. Other models force an explicit flow of control between states of the interface and do not take into account the implicit flow of control that occurs between windows and objects in asynchronous user interfaces. IRGs provides for this implicit flow of control as well as three other types of flow of control, a representation for the hierarchical structure of components, constraints between components, and interaction with an underlying application. The system, RPP (Reduced Programming Prototyper), differs from other user interface builder or UIMS systems in that it is based on a formal graph model, IRGs, while the others are based on programming languages. RPP also differs from other systems in that it allows complex sequencing, constraints, and the application interface to be defined interactively. Other systems restrict interactive definitions to layout only and specify the dialogue in a programming language, thus requiring a programmer to learn yet another language. (Copies available exclusively from Micrographics Department, Doheny Library, USC, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0182.)