Behavior Modeling for Application Software Using Hierarchical Automata
Zhang Li, E Cims · Acta Simulata Systematica Sinica · 2005
Behavior modeling facilitates inferring users’ intention in real time and offers context-sensitive helps about how to use application software to beginners. Petri Net, Finite State Automata (FSA), IDEF3 and State Charts are traditionally used for behavior modeling. Hierarchical Automata (HA), as an extension of FSA, are characterized by well-structuredness and ease to understand. Most application software has hierarchical graphic user interfaces, which gives full scope to the expressiveness of HA. The formal definition and implementation framework are proposed. A case study of Pro/E is conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of HA in modeling the behavior of application software.