Kris Luyten, Marc Abrams, Jean Vanderdonckt and Quentin Limbourg In proceedings of the first international Workshop on Developing User Interfaces with XML: Advances on User Interface Description Languages Developing User Interfaces with XML: Advances on User Interface Description Languages 2004 May Workshop of Advanced Visual Interfaces 2004 These informal proceedings contain the accepted papers for the "Workshop on Developing User Interfaces with XML: Advances on User Interface Description Languages". We received 27 submissions, and 21 papers were accepted. The high number of accepted papers reflects the quality of the submissions; many of them actually are high-quality full papers describing the state-of-the-art in XML-based UIDLs. Dynamically generated multimodal application interfaces Stefan Kost xmlui2004 This work approaches dynamic multi-modal application interfaces from a new point of view. The ongoing diversification of the user base and technology lays the foundation for the need of an holistic adaption infrastructure. Only designing individual adaption methods is not sufficient anymore. Providing such an infrastructure along with an open reference implementation is the objective of the Generalized Interface ToolKit (GITK) project. The software can generate, adapt and exchange interfaces at runtime. It works on various platforms and comes with several interface renderers. The solution is based on XML technology and defines an own markup language called Generalized Interface Markup Language (GIML). Incorporating UIDLs into Model-Driven Development Xiaoping Jia, Adam Steele xmlui2004 In Model-Driven Development (MDD) the focus in on defining an abstract model of the program rather than the program's code. MDD has the potential to deliver greater cost savings to software developers by automating much of the most time-consuming and error-prone aspects of software development including code-generation and testing. However, there are obstacles to realizing the full benefits of MDD. The most critical of these is that current modeling notations are incomplete in that they do not support important aspects of the program such as the user interface (UI) and extra functional requirements (XFRs). We propose set of formal notations to describe a loosely coupled model of three aspects of an application (structural, behavioral, and UI) and an event-based framework to tie the model together. We will also develop knowledge-based tools to automate the compilation of the model. The key to our approach is capturing a human expert's knowledge of software architecture and design principles, so that we can codify and represent this knowledge in automated model compilation tools. Adaptation for Device Independent Authoring Guido Menkhaus, Sebastian Fischmeister xmlui2004 The impact of device independent authoring on software engineering manifests itself mainly at the middleware level. Until recently middleware platforms were targeted at vertical coverage of specific scenarios. Consumer devices with integrated Internet-access are becoming more popular and their diversity grows with their market penetration and with the extension of the mobile communication infrastructure. This requires software architectures that are capable of supporting horizontal coverage of a wide range of devices and scenarios. This paper presents the Multi User Interface, Single Application project. It provides a feasable approach for multiplatform support through the introduction of an adaptable and abstract interaction-oriented user interface language. Best of both worlds - linking of XUL to x3usgp Andreas Muller, Peter Forbrig xmlui2004 In this paper we discuss an approach linking XUL specifications to our own X3USGP (XML-based User Interface Specification and Generation Process, 3 languages) concept. This linking is intended to combine the main advantages of both approaches. On the one hand it will be presented how the real device independence of the X3USGP concept and the easy handling concrete specifications by XUL can be combined. On the other hand it will be shown that she disadvantages of both solutions: the restriction to virtual GUI s of the XUL approach and the complicacy of specification of the interaction behavior on a very abstract level of the X3USGP concept can be eliminated. The main focus is on the device-independent result of the specification of user interfaces and on a simple humanlike handling of the specification process. Furthermore a transparent generation process to the resulting user interface without the necessity of proprietary generation tools for each possible target-device is supported. VRIXML : A User Interface Description Language for Virtual Environments Erwin Cuppens, Chris Raymaekers, Karin Coninx xmlui2004 When modeling virtual environments, the designer has to consider the interaction of the user within the generated world, next to the appearance of the environment. Part of this interaction is supported by a user interface, which can be used to manipulate the objects that are contained in the environment. This paper investigates the possibility of using a XMLbased user interface description language in order to design a user interface and specify its behavior within the virtual environment. Some existing languages are examined and compared, and afterwards the syntax and features of our own description language, called VRIXML, are presented. Into the mangle, Software engineers run creases through a user interface metaphor Simon Crowle xmlui2004 This paper presents some of the lessons learned from a software engineering case study that adopted a formal approach to the modeling, development and implementation of a user interface metaphor. The application of metaphorical concepts in human-computer interaction is wide spread but informed by only a few high-level design processes or abstractions. As a result, the integration of these concepts with other design views is often both weakly specified and only tacitly understood. In an attempt to better understand this design activity, this paper reports on the use of ISML (an XML-based GUI specification framework) within the context of a streaming media software engineering project. An analysis of the engineers' modeling and development experiences using the ISML framework reveals valuable insights regarding the use of some model-based design views and their realisation in an interactive application. Extending XML UIDLs for MultiDevice Scenarios Elmar Braun, Max Mühlhäuser xmlui2004 Device independent user interface description languages are used to create concrete user interfaces for a multitude of devices from a single abstract user interface description. All current languages have in common that the target device for the concrete user interface is assumed to be a single selfcontained device. But what about ubiquitous computing environments, which are generously equipped with large number of publicly available devices that are associated on demand by users who roam among devices? In this case the set of devices currently near the user forms a virtual target device. This virtual device can have unusual properties. For example, it can have more than one screen. It also changes when the user moves in or out of context of a device. We explore how current XML-based single authoring languages can be extended to support such scenarios. Extensibility and Reusability of Web User Interface Components using XICL Jair C. Leite, Lirisnei Gomes de Sousa xmlui2004 Markup languages have proven successful and relatively easy at describing application user interfaces (UI). However, the most of markup user interface languages does not provide extensibility and reusability facilities to the creation of new and more powerful Web (browserbased) User Interface components. Developing new UI components using DHTML is a very hard work because of the lack of standardized models and application programming interfaces. Our work proposes XICL, an extensible XML-based markup language to user interface developments. XICL is a UI description language that provides extensibility and reusability of UI components. Using the XICL, it is possible to describe user interfaces and to develop new UI components to browser-based software applications. This language also defines a description format and a semantic model that standardizes UI components development to promote reusability and extensibility. The output of the XICL translation is a DHTML code the W3C recommended technologies that can run in every browser that follows that recommendation. useML: A Human-Machine Interface Description Language Detlef Zuehlke, Kizito Mukasa, Alexander Boedcher, Achim Reuther xmlui2004 This paper describes a XML based user interface description language called useML, which was developed at the Center for Human-Machine-Interaction at the Kaiserslautern University of Technology. The language allows a model based, task oriented and platform independent description of user interfaces in production environments. The main concept is the abstraction of user tasks and interactions into use objects and elementary use objects. The description forms one central document called use model, from which platform specific prototypes can be generated. useML supports the analysis, the structuring and parts of the design phase of the Useware development process, which is also introduced in this paper. The structure of useML is described and its usage is demonstrated with an example. An outline of some related languages has also been given. Practical experiences with device independent authoring concepts Oskari Koskimies, Michael Wasmund, Peter Wolkerstorfer, Thomas Ziegert xmlui2004 The development of web applications for mobile and other non-desktop devices using established methods often requires a tremendous development effort. A major challenge therefore is to find sound approaches enabling the cost efficient application development for multiple devices of varying technical characteristics. Newer approaches are based on a device independent mark up language, which is then adapted to meet the special characteristics of the accessing device. This paper describes our approach to single authoring, which was developed in a large European research project1. The CONSENSUS project has developed a device-independent language profile based on XHTML 2.0 and XFORMS 1.0 and implemented a compliant rendering engine. In this paper we will describe our approach to enable single authoring and summarise the lessons we have learnt. Extending an XML environment definition language for spoken dialogue and web-based interfaces Pablo A. Haya, Germán Montoro, Xavier Alamán, Rubén Cabello, Javier Martínez xmlui2004 In this work we describe how we employ XML-compliant languages to define an intelligent environment. This language represents the environment, its entities and their relationships. The XML environment definition is transformed in a middleware layer that provides interaction with the environment. Additionally, this XML definition language has been extended to support two different user interfaces. A spoken dialogue interface is created by means of specific linguistic information. GUI interaction information is converted in a web-based interface. Describing Appliance User Interfaces Abstractly with XML Jeffrey Nichols, Brad A. Myers, Kevin Litwack, Michael Higgins , Joseph Hughes , Thomas K. Harris xmlui2004 This paper describes an XML-based language for describing the functions of appliances, such as televisions, VCRs, copiers, microwave ovens, and even manufacturing equipment. Our description language is designed to be concise, easy to use, and contain no presentation information. It has been used to describe more than twenty diverse appliances. The functional descriptions written in our language are used to automatically generate remote control interfaces for appliances. We have used these descriptions to generate both graphical and speech interfaces on handheld computers, mobile phones, and desktop computers. Supporting Workflow in User Interface Description Languages Nicole Stavness, Kevin Schneider xmlui2004 XML-based user interface description languages (UIDLs) have been developed to support user interface portability across multiple platforms. UIDLs express various aspects of the user interface, including the abstract and concrete elements of the user interface, the tasks to be performed by the user, and the user interface dialogue. We have developed the progression model for expressing workflow aspects of an interactive system using an XMLbased language. The progression model considers workflow to be a sequence of scenes progressing towards an organizational goal. The model allows us to express workflow explicitly using a markup language. In this paper we present a prototype system, the progression analyzer that accepts a progression, renders the user interface described by a scene and provides the user with a mechanism to monitor, save, recall, reorder and coordinate the workflow. Abstract User Interface Markup Language Roland Merrick, Brian Wood, William Krebs xmlui2004 The ever increasing variety of devices available to users means that it is not economically viable to develop tailored user interfaces for each device. This paper describes an XML Vocabulary, Abstract User Interface Markup Language (AUIML), which has been developed to allow some classes of interactive application to be developed once and adapted to run on a wide variety of device types. The language does not take the lowest common denominator approach while using abstraction to describe the user interface. This allows device dependent adaptation to take place when rendering. The AMF Architecture in a Multiple User Interface Generation Process Kinan Samaan, Franck Tarpin-Bernard xmlui2004 In the context of Multiple User Interface (MUI) generation, this paper presents the AMF architecture on which a method relies for the adaptation of interactive applications to the specific characteristics of a targeted context. In our model-based approach, we use a library of task patterns and interaction patterns to adapt the interaction model of the application. For the description of AMF architecture, we use an XML file that ensures the link between the tasks model and the functional core of the application. An engine parses and processes the file to run the application. Multimodal Dialog Description for Mobile Devices Steffen Bleul, Wolfgang Mueller, Robbie Schaefer xmlui2004 The provision of personalized user interfaces for mobile devices is a challenging task since different devices with varying capabilities and interaction modalities have to be supported. Multiple variants of different UIs for one application almost enforces the employment of a model-based approach in order to design one interface and to adapt to or render it on those devices. This position paper presents a new dialog modelling language named DISL (Dialog and Interface Specification Language) that is based on UIML and DSN (Dialog Specification Notation). DISL supports the modelling of advanced dialogs in a comprehensive way. The dialog descriptions are device- and modality-agnostic and therefore highly scalable with focus on limited devices, like mobile phones. The TERESA XML Language for the Description of Interactive Systems at Multiple Abstraction Levels Silvia Berti, Francesco Correani, Fabio Paternò, Carmen Santoro xmlui2004 The purpose of this paper is to report on the use of XML languages to support the TERESA tool. This is a tool for model-based design of multi-device interfaces. It considers three levels of abstractions (task model, abstract user interface and concrete user interface). For each of them a specific language has been defined and used. In addition, since the lowest abstract level (the concrete interface) is platform-dependent, there are different variants for each platform considered. USIXML: A User Interface Description Language for Context-Sensitive User Interfaces Quentin Limbourg, Jean Vanderdonckt, Benjamin Michotte, Laurent Bouillon, Murielle Florins, Daniela Trevisan xmlui2004 This paper presents USIXML (USer Interface eXtensible Markup Language), a User Interface Description Language aimed at describing user interfaces with various levels of details and abstractions, depending on the context of use. USIXML supports a family of user interfaces such as, but not limited to: deviceindependent, platform-independent, modality independent, and ultimately context-independent. This paper consequently details how context-sensitive user interfaces may be specified and produced from the USIXML specifications. USIXML allows specifying multiple models involved in user interface design such as: task, domain, presentation, dialog, and context of use, which is in turn decomposed into user, platform, and environment. These models are structured according to the four layers of the Cameleon framework: task and concepts, abstract user interface, concrete user interface, and final user interface. To support relationships between these models, a model for inter-model mapping is also introduced that cover forward and reverse engineering as well as translation from one context of use to another. Evaluation of High-Level User Interface Description Languages for Use on Mobile and Embedded Devices Jan Van den Bergh, Kris Luyten, Karin Coninx xmlui2004 Model-based design and the use of high-level user interface descriptions languages (HLUID) have been proposed for the design of multi-platform user interfaces. In this paper we present an analysis of required properties for HLUID so that they can be e ectively used for the design of multi-platform user interfaces that can be used on mobile and embedded devices. Two HLUID, SEESCOA XML and XForms basic profile, are evaluated. The former is used in a model-based design method, Dygimes, and the latter is a candidate recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium. Based on this analysis, adaptations to SEESCOA XML and an adapted structure for the use in a new version of Dygimes, supporting the design of context sensitive user interfaces, are presented. Retrospective on UI Description Languages, Based on 7 Years Experience with the User Interface Markup Language (UIML) Marc Abrams, Jim Helms xmlui2004 In this position paper, we reflect on the experiences of the project to develop and evolve the User Interface Markup Language (UIML), starting from its origin in 1997. We have two objectives in our discussion. First, we suggest one possible vision of what the community of researchers and practitioners working on User Interface Description Language (UIDL) could achieve. Second, we relate lessons that we learned from UIML in the hope that other UIDL researchers may avoid reinvention of the wheel. IM2L: A User Interface Description Language Supporting Electronic Annotation Daniela Fogli, Giuseppe Fresta, Andrea Marcante, Piero Mussio xmlui2004 The user interface description language IM2L (Interaction Multimodal Markup Language) - an XML compliant language - is introduced and its interpreter is discussed. The design of IM2L is motivated by the need to support the activity of electronic document creation, management and updating in scientific and technical fields. In these domains, annotation emerged as the basic operator for electronic document management. IM2L is a user interface description language in that an IM2L program defines an interactive environment - including its interface. An IM2L program can be interpreted by an XML processor and physically made active by an adequate application.