Model-Driven Development for End-Users, too!?

Elicitating the requirements and creating a model of a software system are standard activities in the development process of professional software development. The talk discusses whether these two development phases are also present in end-user software development and how they could look like. It is argued that one has to distinguish between at least two types of end-user software developers. Those, who are not professional software developers, but work in an engineering domain and follow stepwise development processes. They are used to have requirements specifications as well as models, too. But, non-professional, non-engineering end-users, e.g. spreadsheet developers, don\u27t and would not like to distinguish between different steps in the development process. Therefore, we propose to hide the distinction between these different steps by closely interconnecting requirements specification, models and code, and by putting them into one development box. By offering appropriate interface functions like create, adapt, refine, etc. to the box, the end-user is supported in developing software without being aware that he is undergoing a stepwise refinement process from requirements specifications towards concrete code

The remote configuration of devices within home entertainment networks

This thesis examines home entertainment network remote configuration solutions. It does so by inspecting four home entertainment networking solution specifications - HAVi, Jini, AV/C and UPnP. Two of these (AV/C and UPnP) are implemented partially for a system allowing a TV to configure an AudioNideo Receiver (AV/R) remotely on the network (a process known as remote configuration). The two implementations are then more closely investigated and several implementation differences in the approach between the remote configuration method of device configuration and other methods of device configuration are discerned. These different approaches are then categorised into one of two theoretical models of communication for configuring devices on home entertainment networks - the Rendering model and the Programmed model. By classifying a particular method of device configuration into one of the two models, manufacturers can quickly determine the inherent strengths and weaknesses of that methodKMBT_363Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-i

Investigation of a Novel Formal Model for Mobile User Interface Design

Mobile user interfaces are becoming increasingly complex due to the expanding range of functionalities that they incorporate, which poses significant difficulties in software development. Formal methods are beneficial for highly complex software systems, as they enable the designed behaviour of a mobile user interface (UI) to be modelled and tested for accuracy before implementation. Indeed, assessing the compatibility between the software specification and user requirements and verifying the implementation in relation to the specification are essential procedures in the development process of any type of UI. To ensure that UIs meet users‘ requirements and competences, approaches that are based on interaction between humans and computers employ a variety of methods to address key issues. The development of underlying system functionality and UIs benefit from formal methods as well as from user-interface design specifications. Therefore, both approaches are incorporated into the software development process in this thesis. However, this integration is not an easy task due to the discrepancies between the two approaches. It also includes a method, which can be applied for both simple and complex UI applications. To overcome the issue of integrating both approaches, the thesis proposes a new formal model called the Formal Model of Mobile User Interface Design (FMMUID). This model is devised to characterise the composition of the UI design based on hierarchical structure and a set theory language. To determine its applicability and validity, the FMMUID is implemented in two real-world case studies: the quiz game iPlayCode and the social media application Social Communication (SC). A comparative analysis is undertaken between two case studies, where each case study has three existing applications with similar functionality in terms of structure and numbers of elements, functions and colours. Furthermore, the case studies are also assessed from a human viewpoint, which reveals that they possess better usability. The assessment supports the viability of the proposed model as a guiding tool for software development. The efficiency of the proposed model is confirmed by the result that the two case studies are less complex than the other UI applications in terms of hierarchical structure and numbers of elements, functions and colours, whilst also presenting acceptable usability in terms of the four examined dimensions: usefulness, information quality, interface quality, and overall satisfaction. Hence, the proposed model can facilitate the development process of mobile UI applications

NASA Tech Briefs, January 1999

Topics include: special coverage sections on sensors and data acquisition and sections on electronic components and circuits, electronic software, materials, mechanics, bio-medical physical sciences, book and reports, and a special section of Photonics Tech Briefs

NASA Tech Briefs, April 2000

Topics covered include: Imaging/Video/Display Technology; Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer Programs; Mechanics; Bio-Medical; Test and Measurement; Mathematics and Information Sciences; Books and Reports