A Lightweight Presentation Model for Database User Interfaces
Phil Gray, Richard Cooper, Jessie Kennedy, Jo McKirdy, Peter J. Barclay, Tony Griffiths · Edinburgh Napier Research Repository (Edinburgh Napier University) · 1998
The Teallach project is building a system which eases the design and implementation ofuser interfaces (web-based or otherwise) to object-oriented database applications. Teallach takes a modelbased approach and is constructing its system around three main models – a domain model whichdescribes the database structures with which Teallach can cope; a task model, in which the user-involvedaspects of the application can be described; and a presentation model. The presentation model isintended to support the storage of user interaction objects, so that these objects can be found, customisedand composed into user interfaces suitable for the tasks. In seeking an appropriate presentation model,we have found that previous models are either those underlying toolkits, which are overly concrete anddetailed, or are abstract models based entirely around the look of the interaction objects, but not theirintended role. We are implementing a model which describes each interaction object in terms of itspurpose, the kinds of data with which the user is allowed to interact, constraints on its use, and adescription of configurable aspects of the interface in terms of the ways in which they supportinteraction. This paper describes this model and gives examples of its use.