DEVELOPMENT OF THE OPTIMIZATION MODEL OF THE INTERFACE OF MULTIMEDIA EDITION

The aim of the research work is development of a model for optimizing the interface of a multimedia publication. In this research, five levels of interaction are identified for the interface of a multimedia publication – flat surfaces, layouts, structures, feature sets, strategies. The relationship between the levels of user interaction and interface properties of a multimedia publication is analyzed. It is proposed to select interface components based on the properties of the multimedia editions they provide. In order to construct models of optimization of elements of the interface of a multimedia publication, estimates of the interconnection of elements of the interface with functional capabilities by the total matrix are used. To combine the standard models into a single interface optimization model, an analysis of the relationship between the elements of the interface of the multimedia publication and the characteristics of the multimedia publication has been conducted. According to the results of the analysis, an economical tree is constructed, which allows to build a hierarchy of the stages of optimization of the interface of the multimedia publication and to determine the input data for the implementation of the task. The definition of the input data allows to show the principle of the interface optimization model in the form of a "black" box. An algorithm for optimizing the interface element of a multimedia publication is proposed. As a result of the practical implementation of the optimization model for the multimedia edition interface, a software product, created on the basis of HTML markup using cascading CSS style stylesheets and JavaScript language, was obtained. Adobe Device Central CS5 tested the created software on devices with different characteristics

Relations as patterns: bridging the gap between OBO and OWL.

BACKGROUND: Most biomedical ontologies are represented in the OBO Flatfile Format, which is an easy-to-use graph-based ontology language. The semantics of the OBO Flatfile Format 1.2 enforces a strict predetermined interpretation of relationship statements between classes. It does not allow flexible specifications that provide better approximations of the intuitive understanding of the considered relations. If relations cannot be accurately expressed then ontologies built upon them may contain false assertions and hence lead to false inferences. Ontologies in the OBO Foundry must formalize the semantics of relations according to the OBO Relationship Ontology (RO). Therefore, being able to accurately express the intended meaning of relations is of crucial importance. Since the Web Ontology Language (OWL) is an expressive language with a formal semantics, it is suitable to de ne the meaning of relations accurately. RESULTS: We developed a method to provide definition patterns for relations between classes using OWL and describe a novel implementation of the RO based on this method. We implemented our extension in software that converts ontologies in the OBO Flatfile Format to OWL, and also provide a prototype to extract relational patterns from OWL ontologies using automated reasoning. The conversion software is freely available at http://bioonto.de/obo2owl, and can be accessed via a web interface. CONCLUSIONS: Explicitly defining relations permits their use in reasoning software and leads to a more flexible and powerful way of representing biomedical ontologies. Using the extended langua0067e and semantics avoids several mistakes commonly made in formalizing biomedical ontologies, and can be used to automatically detect inconsistencies. The use of our method enables the use of graph-based ontologies in OWL, and makes complex OWL ontologies accessible in a graph-based form. Thereby, our method provides the means to gradually move the representation of biomedical ontologies into formal knowledge representation languages that incorporates an explicit semantics. Our method facilitates the use of OWL-based software in the back-end while ontology curators may continue to develop ontologies with an OBO-style front-end

Development of a client interface for a methodology independent object-oriented CASE tool : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science at Massey University

The overall aim of the research presented in this thesis is the development of a prototype CASE Tool user interface that supports the use of arbitrary methodology notations for the construction of small-scale diagrams. This research is part of the larger CASE Tool project, MOOT (Massey's Object Oriented Tool). MOOT is a meta-system with a client-server architecture that provides a framework within which the semantics and syntax of methodologies can be described. The CASE Tool user interface is implemented in Java so it is as portable as possible and has a consistent look and feel. It has been designed as a client to the rest of the MOOT system (which acts as a server). A communications protocol has been designed to support the interaction between the CASE Tool client and a MOOT server. The user interface design of MOOT must support all possible graphical notations. No assumptions about the types of notations that a software engineer may use can be made. MOOT therefore provides a specification language called NDL for the definition of a methodology's syntax. Hence, the MOOT CASE Tool client described in this thesis is a shell that is parameterised by NDL specifications. The flexibility provided by such a high level of abstraction presents significant challenges in terms of designing effective human-computer interaction mechanisms for the MOOT user interface. Functional and non-functional requirements of the client user interface have been identified and applied during the construction of the prototype. A notation specification that defines the syntax for Coad and Yourdon OOA/OOD has been written in NDL and used as a test case. The thesis includes the iterative evaluation and extension of NDL resulting from the prototype development. The prototype has shown that the current approach to NDL is efficacious, and that the syntax and semantics of a methodology description can successfully be separated. The developed prototype has shown that it is possible to build a simple, non-intrusive, and efficient, yet flexible, useable, and helpful interface for meta-CASE tools. The development of the CASE Tool client, through its generic, methodology independent design, has provided a pilot with which future ideas may be explored

Engineering Object-Oriented Semantics Using Graph Transformations

In this paper we describe the application of the theory of graph transformations to the practise of language design. We have defined the semantics of a small but realistic object-oriented language (called TAAL) by mapping the language constructs to graphs and their operational semantics to graph transformation rules. In the process we establish a mapping between UML models and graphs. TAAL was developed for the purpose of this paper, as an extensive case study in engineering object-oriented language semantics using graph transformation. It incorporates the basic aspects of many commonly used object-oriented programming languages: apart from essential imperative programming constructs, it includes inheritance, object creation and method overriding. The language specification is based on a number of meta-models written in UML. Both the static and dynamic semantics are defined using graph rewriting rules. In the course of the case study, we have built an Eclipse plug-in that automatically transforms arbitrary TAAL programs into graphs, in a graph format readable by another tool. This second tool is called Groove, and it is able to execute graph transformations. By combining both tools we are able to visually simulate the execution of any TAAL program

Adaptive development and maintenance of user-centric software systems

A software system cannot be developed without considering the various facets of its environment. Stakeholders – including the users that play a central role – have their needs, expectations, and perceptions of a system. Organisational and technical aspects of the environment are constantly changing. The ability to adapt a software system and its requirements to its environment throughout its full lifecycle is of paramount importance in a constantly changing environment. The continuous involvement of users is as important as the constant evaluation of the system and the observation of evolving environments. We present a methodology for adaptive software systems development and maintenance. We draw upon a diverse range of accepted methods including participatory design, software architecture, and evolutionary design. Our focus is on user-centred software systems

Deriving distributed garbage collectors from distributed termination algorithms

This thesis concentrates on the derivation of a modularised version of the DMOS distributed garbage collection algorithm and the implementation of this algorithm in a distributed computational environment. DMOS appears to exhibit a unique combination of attractive characteristics for a distributed garbage collector but the original algorithm is known to contain a bug and, previous to this work, lacks a satisfactory, understandable implementation. The relationship between distributed termination detection algorithms and distributed garbage collectors is central to this thesis. A modularised DMOS algorithm is developed using a previously published distributed garbage collector derivation methodology that centres on mapping centralised collection schemes to distributed termination detection algorithms. In examining the utility and suitability of the derivation methodology, a family of six distributed collectors is developed and an extension to the methodology is presented. The research work described in this thesis incorporates the definition and implementation of a distributed computational environment based on the ProcessBase language and a generic definition of a previously unimplemented distributed termination detection algorithm called Task Balancing. The role of distributed termination detection in the DMOS collection mechanisms is defined through a process of step-wise refinement. The implementation of the collector is achieved in two stages; the first stage defines the implementation of two distributed termination mappings with the Task Balancing algorithm; the second stage defines the DMOS collection mechanisms