Declarative GUI descriptions for device-independent applications

Jacek Chmielewski,Adam Wójtowicz,Jakub Flotyński,Dariusz Rumiński

doi:10.1007/s00779-016-0903-2

Jacek Chmielewski, Adam Wójtowicz + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-016-0903-2

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Abstract

The increasing number and diversity of devices connected to the Internet open new research challenges in the field of cross-platform and device-independent applications. One of the approaches to this problem is the Device-Independent Architecture, which provides application logic and application data device independence. It enables also usage of user interface (UI) adaptation middleware to support application UI device independence. Potentially, device-independent descriptions of application UI can be implemented with existing user interface description languages (UIDLs). In this paper, we present an analysis of eight popular UIDLs that are assumed to be suitable for device-independent GUI descriptions, along with a summary of evaluation results and lessons learned. The selected UIDLs were employed to describe a set of GUI views based on an existing mobile application. The gathered results confirm our research hypothesis that the analyzed popular declarative UIDLs are not capable of describing mobile GUI in a device-independent manner. Therefore, using the knowledge gathered from the reported experiment, we propose a set of guidelines for an optimal device-independent UIDL.

Highlights

Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group predicts that by 2020 there will be about 50 billion devices connected to the Internet [8]
We present an analysis of eight popular user interface description languages (UIDLs) that are assumed to be suitable for device-independent graphical UI (GUI) descriptions, along with a summary of evaluation results and lessons learned
Using the knowledge gathered from the reported experiment, we propose a set of guidelines for an optimal device-independent UIDL

Summary

Introduction

Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group predicts that by 2020 there will be about 50 billion devices connected to the Internet [8]. The rapid growth in the number of devices will be followed by tenfold increase in mobile data traffic [9] This trend builds the need for solutions that enable users to access their data and applications in a deviceagnostic way—i.e., no matter what device type or software platform they use. To provide fully device-independent applications it is necessary to overcome three major obstacles: device independence of application logic, device independence of application data, and device independence of application user interface (UI) Researchers usually approach these issues separately, but there are solutions that have the ability to address them all at once. Each end-device, be it a laptop or a smartphone, provides: resources, services, and user interaction channels. In DIA, the separation of application from end-devices, which enables the device independence, is achieved by:

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Discussion

Conclusion