Integrating specification of human-computer interface with Jackson system development

Procedures for integrating task analysis and design of the human-computer interface (HCl) with a structured system development method, Jackson system development (JSD), are described. Process structure diagrams (PSDs), the major modelling notation of JSD, described tasks, and task specifications were evaluated for cognitive complexity. Task complexity analysis helped allocation and design of human tasks and to produce computer task support specifications. The cognitive dimension of task analysis highlighted the need for task support actions, especially information display support for working memory. Dialogue specification for a direct manipulation interface design was based on the JSD entity/event model from which the interaction metaphor, screen design, and permissible manipulations were derived. Further PSDs were constructed to specify interface object management processes. Preliminary evaluation of the method was carried out using JSD analysts. Results showed the method proved easy to learn even for non-HCl specialists.     

User interface—application communication in the Chimera user interface management system

Until quite recently, perhaps the least appreciated part of user interface management system (UIMS) architecture has been the interface to the application. A number of approaches to interface-application communication have been attempted, but these have suffered as a result of being non-programmable, unstructured and/or static. This paper presents the user-interface-application communication system developed for the Chimera UIMS, which attempts to address these problems. This system enables interprocess communication between user interface and application via an explicit, programmable UIMS component—an application linkage, which is structured, dynamic and reconfigurable at run-time. The internal structure of the linkage is described, along with the mechanism for communication with dialogue control and application. An extensive example is developed in order to illustrate the communication process to and from the user via dialogue control and linkage to the application.     

Abstract data views: an interface specification concept to enhancedesign for reuse

The abstract data view (ADV) design model was originally created to specify clearly and formally the separation of the user interface from the application component of a software system, and to provide a systematic design method that is independent of specific application environments. Such a method should lead to a high degree of reuse of designs for both interface and application components. The material presented, extends the concept of ADV's to encompass the general specification of interfaces between application components in the same or different computing environments. This approach to specifying interfaces clearly separates application components from each other, since they do not need to know how they are used, or how they obtain services from other application components. Thus, application components called abstract data objects (ADOs), are designed to minimize knowledge of the environment in which they are used and should be more amenable to reuse     

An Approach to User Interface Specification with Attribute Grammars

An approach to supporting user interfaces using an attribute grammar combined with an event model is described.The main emphasis is how to represent a multi-thread dialogue model in direct manipulation user interfaces.It is shown that control sequence within dialogues,communication with other dialogues, and some computations for applications can be specified with a syntactic and semantic notation.The attribute grammar specification can be implemented using an attribute grammar intepreter embedded in the run-time structure supporting communication,synchronization,and dialogue executon.     

A general-purpose natural language interface to an operating system

One of the most difficult tasks facing new computer users is the management of data and programs through an operating system (OS) interface. Both command languages and graphical interfaces can impede a user unfamiliar with the terminology and organizational techniques of modern file management systems. Various attempts have been made in recent years to develop systems that will enable users to interact with the computer in natural language. By simplifying the form of user input to an OS, such interfaces allow the user to concentrate on file management tasks rather than on the means of expressing OS-specific instructions. The Informational Network for a Natural Talking (INFANT) System was originally developed as a conversational system for communication at the level of a small child. It has since been adapted for use as a general-purpose English language interface for standard OS file management operations. The INFANT System reduces an input sentence to a hierarchy of standardized propositional forms, which are mapped through a propositional knowledge base and a compositional semantics process into a high-level representation of meaning. Its effectiveness as a working natural language interface has been verified in a pair of experiments performed in a college computer lab. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An approach to clone detection in sequence diagrams and its application to security analysis

Duplication in software systems is an important issue in software quality assurance. While many methods for software clone detection in source code and structural models have been described in the literature, little has been done on similarity in the dynamic behaviour of interactive systems. In this paper, we present an approach to identifying near-miss interaction clones in reverse-engineered UML sequence diagrams. Our goal is to identify patterns of interaction (“conversations”) that can be used to characterize and abstract the run-time behaviour of web applications and other interactive systems. In order to leverage existing robust near-miss code clone technology, our approach is text-based, working on the level of XMI, the standard interchange serialization for UML. Clone detection in UML behavioural models, such as sequence diagrams, presents a number of challenges—first, it is not clear how to break a continuous stream of interaction between lifelines (representing the objects or actors in the system) into meaningful conversational units. Second, unlike programming languages, the XMI text representation for UML is highly non-local, using attributes to reference-related elements in the model file remotely. In this work, we use a set of contextualizing source transformations on the XMI text representation to localize related elements, exposing the hidden hierarchical structure of the model and allowing us to granularize behavioural interactions into conversational units. Then we adapt NICAD, a robust near-miss code clone detection tool, to help us identify conversational clones in reverse-engineered behavioural models. These conversational clones are then analysed to find worrisome interactions that may indicate security access violations.     

A case study using lightweight formalism to review an information system specification

This paper presents an approach using derivation of a formal model to review the diagram‐and‐text specification of an information system specification, based on concepts from the formal and structured integrated method, SAZ. Extraction of the formal model is outlined, and the approach is illustrated with a simplified extract from an industrial trial. Some empirical findings from the trial, which reviewed a pre‐existing commercial specification, are presented, and the general applicability of the review approach is discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Data communication between an expert system shell and a conventional algorithmic program with application to cam motion specification

Although more and more expert system shells have begun to provide communication interfaces to conventional procedural languages, the interfaces are basically shell- and language-dependent. This paper presents a simple, shell- and language-independent data communication technique between a shell and a procedural language via a concept analogous to the handshake data transmission used in microprocessors. A control file is used for the action of handshake. The communication interface is between two data files in two different language environments. A program written in a LISP-based expert system shell, OPS 5, and one written in a procedural language, FORTRAN, were tested to verify the presented technique.An expert system for cam motion specification, which needs the following three tasks—symbolic representation, numerical computation, and their communication—is described as one of the possible applications of the technique. These three tasks are essential to automated engineering design and analysis.     

A preliminary specification of an on-line expert help system

Although research has suggested a number of desirable characteristics for on-line help systems, traditional design approaches have resulted in software containing many inadequacies and limitations. Here the deficiencies of current help systems are discussed and an expert system design approach to on-line help is outlined. The main components of such an expert help system are introduced.     

From a B formal specification to an executable code: application to the relational database domain

This paper presents a formal approach for the development of trustworthy database applications. This approach consists of three complementary steps. Designers start by modeling applications using UML diagrams dedicated to database applications domain. These diagrams are then automatically translated into B specifications suitable not only for reasoning about data integrity checking but also for the derivation of trustworthy implementations. In this paper, we present a process based on the B refinement technique for the derivation of a SQL relational implementation, embedded in the JAVA language (JAVA/SQL), from a B specification obtained by the first translation phase.     

A user-adaptive city guide system with an unobtrusive navigation interface

In this paper, we describe an intelligent location-aware city guide system, which adapts to each user’s preferences, and uses an intuitive “metal detector” interface for navigation. Our system analyzes each user’s past location data history to estimate individual preferences, and allows users to find shops that match their tastes in the same way a metal detector would be used to detect metal objects. The procedure with which the system picks out shops that match each user’s preferences includes a newly developed place learning algorithm, which can efficiently find frequented places, complete with their proper names (e.g. “The Ueno Royal Museum”). We have conducted a series of evaluation tests at a popular shopping district inside Tokyo, and the results validate the effectiveness of our overall approach.     

User interface design for decision support systems: A self-adaptive approach

This paper presents a self-adaptive approach to user interface design. The primary philosophy of this design is that the user interface must be aware of the changes in its user's behavior and then adapt to it. Three different default policies are proposed to control the adaptation of a user interface: fixed default, dynamic default, and no default. Performance of these policies are compared for various patterns of usage. Mechanisms that determine the optimal default value to reduce the unnecessary effort are also discussed.     

Dynamic Meta Modeling with time: Specifying the semantics of multimedia sequence diagrams

The Unified Modeling Langugage (UML) offers different diagram types to model the behavior of software systems. In some domains like embedded real-time systems or multimedia systems, it is necessary to include specifications of time in behavioral models since the correctness of these applications depends on the fulfillment of temporal requirements in addition to functional requirements. UML thus already incorporates language features to model time and temporal constraints. Such model elements must have an equivalent in the semantic domain.We have proposed Dynamic Meta Modeling (DMM), an approach based on graph transformation, as a means for specifying operational semantics of dynamic UML diagrams. In this article, we extend this approach to also account for time by extending the semantic domain to timed graph transformation. This enables us to define the operational semantics of UML diagrams with time specifications. As an example, we provide semantics for special sequence diagrams from the domain of multimedia application modeling.     

A lean specification for GADTs: system F with first-class equality proofs

Generalized Algebraic Data Types are a generalization of Algebraic Data Types with additional type equality constraints. These found their use in many functional programs, including the development of embedded domain specific programming languages and generic programming.     

A measurement method for sizing the structure of UML sequence diagrams

ContextThe COSMIC functional size measurement method on UML diagrams has been investigated as a means to estimate the software effort early in the software development life cycle. Like other functional size measurement methods, the COSMIC method takes into account the data movements in the UML sequence diagrams for example, but does not consider the data manipulations in the control structure. This paper explores software sizing at a finer level of granularity by taking into account the structural aspect of a sequence diagram in order to quantify its structural size. These functional and structural sizes can then be used as distinct independent variables to improve effort estimation models.ObjectiveThe objective is to design an improved measurement of the size of the UML sequence diagrams by taking into account the data manipulations represented by the structure of the sequence diagram, which will be referred to as their structural size.MethodWhile the design of COSMIC defines the functional size of a functional process at a high level of granularity (i.e. the data movements), the structural size of a sequence diagram is defined at a finer level of granularity: the size of the flow graph of their control structure described through the alt, opt and loop constructs. This new measurement method was designed by following the process recommended in Software Metrics and Software Metrology (Abran, 2010).ResultsThe size of sequence diagrams can now be measured from two perspectives, both functional and structural, and at different levels of granularity with distinct measurement units.ConclusionIt is now feasible to measure the size of functional requirements at two levels of granularity: at an abstract level, the software functional size can be measured in terms of COSMIC Function Point (CFP) units; and at a detailed level, the software structural size can be measured in terms of Control Structure Manipulation (CSM) units. These measures represent complementary aspects of software size and can be used as distinct independent variables to improve effort estimation models.     

Relating computer systems to sequence diagrams: the impact of underspecification and inherent nondeterminism

Having a sequence diagram specification and a computer system, we need to answer the question: Is the system compliant with the sequence diagram specification in the desired way? We present a procedure for answering this question for sequence diagrams with underspecification and inherent nondeterminism. The procedure is independent of any concrete technology, and relies only on the execution traces that may be produced by the system. If all traces are known, the procedure results in either “compliant” or “not compliant”. If only a subset of the traces is known, the conclusion may also be “likely compliant” or “likely not compliant”.     

Rubis: an extended relational system managing events Part I: specification

Dynamic aspects of information systems are taken into account in a lot of conceptual models. However, the dynamic concepts of these models have rarely been fully implemented in database management systems (DBMSs).Rubis is an extended relational DBMS which supports an extended relational schema (including event and operation concepts) and automatic control of the dynamic aspects of applications, i.e. event recognition, operation triggering and time handling.The first part of the paper contains a short presentation of the basic concepts and the specification language used for the extended schema. The second part focuses on the internal mechanisms: the temporal processor, which manages the temporal aspects of specifications and recognizes temporal events; and the event processor which manages events treatment and synchronization. These two mechanisms permit an automatic execution of the extended schema and so provide rapid prototyping capabilities. This last part will be covered in the December issue of this journal.     

A review of Multi-Agent Systems techniques, with application to Columbus User Support Organisation

This paper reviews an advanced Knowledge-Based Systems architecture based on multiple agents. An agent is a software entity with autonomous processing capabilities and a private database, which acts on its environment on the basis of information it receives from its environment, perceives, processes, retains and recalls. Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) are systems of agents which coordinate their knowledge, goals, skills and plans jointly to take action or to solve problems, including the problem of inter-agent coordination itself. This paper shows how such an architecture is being applied by a Dutch consortium to a part of the Columbus User Support Organisation (USO).

In the first part of the paper, Multi-Agent Systems techniques are placed into the context of Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI). Technical issues at the system architectural and agent structural levels are highlighted. The needs for intentionality (i.e. the ability of one agent to model another), acting, planning (both reactive and generative), and learning are identified.

The second part of the paper shows how MAS techniques may be applied to the In Orbit Infrastructure Ground Segment (IOI-GS) and, in particular, to the Columbus USO. The relevant features of the IOI-GS and the USO, including mission and experiment control hierarchies, are outlined, identifying potential applications of MAS techniques. The functions of a national User Support Operations Centre (USOC) are listed, and two functions are described in more detail, as they are expected to be implemented in The Netherlands' USOC (named the ‘Dutch Utilisation Centre’). A uniform MAS-based architecture is presented that is designed to support both functions. Prototype implementations of key parts of this architecture are described. Conclusions are drawn from the work performed so far.