The general design plan for the implementation of a common user interface to multiple remote information systems within a microcomputer-based environment is presented. The intent is to provide a framework for the development of detailed specifications which will be used as guidelines for the actual development of the system

Dominick, Wayne D.

Hall, Philip P.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

PC-BASED IWLTIPLE INFORMATION 
SYSTEM INTERFACE ( P C M  S I 
DESIGN PLAN 
Philip P. Hall 
The University of Southwestern Louisiana 
Computer Science Department 
Lafayette, Louisiana 
(LASA-CR-184547) PC-€ASED CCLSlELE N89- 149 87  
I b P O R I ¶ A I I C N  SYSlEf IB'IEBPACP ( E C / U X S I )  
CESIGG €LAN P i o a l  R e p U K t ,  1 J u l .  1S65 - 31  
Lcuisiaca. Lafayette, Center for Advanced 63/82 0 1 8 3 5 g 5  
b t c .  1987 ( O r i v e r s i t y  of southwestern U n c l a s  
January 13, 1985 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19890005616 2020-03-20T05:05:54+00:00Z
ABSTRACT 
T h e  general design plan for the implementation of a colpaon I 
~ 
user interface to multiple remote information systems on a 
microcomputer i s  presented. T h e  intent is to provide a framework 
for the development of detailed specifications w h i c h  will be used 
as guidelines for the actual implementation of this system. 
I 
KEwKlRDS I 
Information Storage and Retrieval Systems, User/System 
Interaction, Man/Machine Interface, Personal Computer, 
Microcomputer, Casual User, Interface Design, Specifications. 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Pllne 
I. BASIC SYSTIM DES1 ................................... 4 
1.1 Comnunications .................................. 4 
1.2 Administrative Subsystem ........................ S 
1.3 Translator/Interpreter Subsystem ................ 7 
1.4 User Interface..... ............................. 8 
1.5 Evaluation ...................................... 11 . 
11. RESOURCE REQU1R"TS ............................... 12 
APPENDIX A SYSTEM DATA FW............................. 14 
PC-BASED MJLTIPLE INFORMATION SYSTHM INTERFACE 
(PC/MISI) DESIGN PLAN 
I. BASIC SYSTEM DESIGN 
T h e  major technical problems w h i c h  m u s t  be solved in order to 
implement the PC-Based Multiple Information S y s t e m  Interface 
( P C M S I )  have been organized into five basic components as 
follows: 
1. Provide Necessary Comnunication Capabilties 
2. Provide Capabilities for Incorporating N e w  Systems and Making 
3. Provide Mechanisms for Translating User Comnands into 
4. Provide a Three-Level User Interface into the S y e t e m  
5 .  Provide T o o l s  for Collection and Interpretation of Evaluation 
Changes to Existing Systems. 
Host S y s t e m  Conmands and Interpreting Responses 
Informat ion 
T h e  remainder of this section will describe the capabilities 
w h i c h  will be required of each of these components. A chart 
describing the data f l o w  within the system is included as 
A p p e n d i x  A. 
1.1. Colrmunications 
T h e  functionality w h i c h  m u s t  be provided by the 
comnunication interface involves the transmission of comnands 
generated by the translator to either the conmunication 
intermediary or the host system and the retrieval and subsequent 
storage of responses in a file w h i c h  will be read by the 
interpreter and used to determine the appropriate next action to 
be taken. D a t a  f l o w  between the comnunications subsystem and the 
other components will be handled by the creation of standard 
input and output files. T h e  comnunications interface system must 
be capable of detecting error conditions w h i c h  have occurred in 
establishing the proper comnunications protocol parameters with’ a 
host s y s t e m  and taking steps to rectify these problems to 
establish proper data comnunications. If the interface is unable 
to accomplish this for some reason, i t  m u s t  have the capability 
of notifying the user of these problems and accepting 
user-initiated parameters to m a k e  the corrections. T h e  system 
m u s t  also have capability of automatic re-dialing w h e n  a line 
into the host system i s  not available. 
1.2. Administrative Subsystem 
T h e  addition of n e w  systems, the modification of existing 
systems, and the manipulation of access rights will be handled by 
an administrative subsystem. Access to this subsystem in systems 
w h i c h  will be available to multiple users m u s t  be restricted to a 
single user and this user will be referred to, in the remainder 
of this document, as the primary user. T h i s  subsystem will 
provide a step-by-step prompt driven procedure for the addition 
of n e w  systems. T h e  use of this procedure will result in the 
creation of three files as follows: 
1. A c c e s s  Sequence - contains the sequence of comnands 
w h i c h  will bring the user to a state w h e r e  the 
host system is ready to accept search comnands. 
2. Coxnnand Table - this file will contain a table w h i c h  
will m a p  the comnands issued by the user into the - 
appropriate host system syntax. 
3. S y s t e m R e s p o n s e  File - this file will be used by the 
interpreter to identify the response f r o m  the host 
s y s t e m  and perform the appropriate function based on 
this response. 
T h e  access sequence file will be created directly by the user 
based on his knowledge of these access procedures. T h e  comaand 
table will be generated by prompting the user with the required 
system function and allowing the user to enter the appropriate 
system conmand with a standard convention indicating w h e r e  
variable values are to be placed. After creation of these first 
two files, the user will be prompted to begin access to the 
system and the administrative subsystem m u s t  be capable of 
interacting with the comnunications subsystem through the 
----------- 
I N A S A  I ----------- 
translator. T h i s  will all o w  testing of the access sequence and 
correction of any errors w h i c h  have occurred and the s y s t e m w i l l  
then generate the required entries into the system response file 
by invoking the comnand w h i c h  should cause the appropriate 
response and then asking the user to identify if the response is 
the one required and to identify labels or standard indications 
w h i c h  identify the response. This procedure will also be used to 
identify labels of accessions to be downloaded and this 
information will also be placed into the response file. A unique 
set of three files will be generated for each host system w h h h  
is to be incorporated into PC/MISI. 
T h e  administrative s u b s y s t e m m u s t  also be able to access and 
m o d i f y  the system security file. This file will be initialized 
with a personal identifier and password w h i c h  will be given to 
the primary user of the system. T h i s  individual will have primary 
responsibility for the addition and maintenance of host system 
files and will be responsible for entering n e w  users into the 
security file if so desired and setting access to these users for 
any subset of host systems w h i c h  are available. 
T h e  administrative subsystem must also have the capability 
of activating the mechanisms w h i c h  collect and store evaluation 
data. 
1.3. Translator/Interpreter Subsystem 
T h e  mapping of user comnands to host system comnands and the 
interpretation of the host system responses involve somewhat 
dissimilar problems, but, in order to solve these problems most 
efficiently, there is a requirement for the sharing of certain 
data objects (i.e., the type of request submitted is valuable 
w h e n  attempting to interpret the response). T h e  two functions 
should, therefore, be implemented as one program with 
subprocedures to perform the different functions and global 
variables containing the information to be shared. The 
translator will accept input f r o m  the user interface subsyst'em 
and use this information to extract the correct host system 
comnand format f r o m  the comnand table, plug in the variable 
value(s), and send the string thus constructed to the input file 
to be read by the comnunications subsystem. T h e  conmunications 
interface will then transmit extract the string f r o m  the input 
file, transmit i t  to the host system and await a response. 
E a c h  line of the response will be stored in the output file 
as i t  i s  received. W h e n  the host transmission i s  complete, the 
conmunication subsystem will return control to the main program 
w h i c h  will then call the interpreter. T h e  interpreter will read 
lines f r o m  the output file and utilize information in the system 
response file to determine any processing required on the 
response, perform this processing, and then store the transformed 
lines in the user interface file. If the interpreter is unable to 
determine the type of the host system transmission, the line(s) 
of response are simply stored in the user interface file as 
received. 
1.4. U s e r  Interface 
T h e  user interface accepts input f r o m  the user and returns 
information to the user concerning system activity. There are 
three levels of interaction w h i c h  the user may choose: 
1. Menu-Driven Interaction 
2 .  Conmand-Driven Interaction 
3. Direct Interaction with the Host System. 
(utilizing PC/MISI conxnands) 
T h e  m e n u  s y s t e m w i l l  list choices w h i c h  are available to the user 
at a n y  given point in his interaction with the system and take 
appropriate action dependent upon the user’s response. T h e  user 
will also be required to enter such items as search variables 
directly u p o n  prompting f r o m  the system. T h e  choices available t o  
the user at level 1 t o  formulate conmands to the host s y s t e m w i l l  
basically consist of the full text of the abbreviated conmands 
available to the ~ ~ e r  at level 2. T h e  abbreviations will be 
highlighted in order to m a k e  the level 1 interaction a tool for 
learning to deal with the system at level 2. A possible m e n u  
m i g h t  be as follows: 
1) E L P d  Subject t e r m  
2) E L n d  A u t h o r  
3 )  -bine sets 
4) M s p l a y  reference 
T h e  user at level 1 w h o  w i s h ed to extract all references to 
microcomputers would enter a 1 and w o u l d  then be prompted for the 
subject t e r m  and w o u l d  enter ”microcomputers”. At level 2, the 
user w o u l d  accomplish the same action by entering “FIS 
microcomputers” w h e n  prompted by the system. At either level, the 
user will have the option of having each instruction sent to the 
host s y s t e m  as i t  is entered or formulating a series of queries 
offline and connecting to the host system to perform the entire 
sequence w h e n  query formulation i s  finished. T h e  processing of 
user input will be organized in such a w a y  that the search string 
sent to the translator will be the same for either level 1 or 2. 
T h e  level 3 interface i s  intended for the advanced user of a 
particular system and allows direct transmission of a comnand as 
entered by the user and direct display of the information 
returned by the system. A user at this level will also have the 
option of downloading accessions into the standard file format 
used at the other two levels or saving information into a 
sequential file exactly as i t  is transmitted f r o m  the host 
system. T h e  user at level 1 or 2 will also have the capability 
of sending a single conmand line directly to the host system if 
so desired. This capability i s  necessary in order to m a i n t a i n  
flexibility, recover f r o m  unusual error conditions, and to a l l o w  
users at any level to access unique system functions w h i c h  are 
outside the scope of PC/MISI. 
T h e  screen display w h i c h  the user at any level sees will be 
divided into three sections. T h e  upper section of the screen will 
be used by the system to display prompts or m e n u s  and receive 
input f r o m  the user. T h e  bottom section will be used to display 
information being returned f r o m  the system. T h e  last line of the 
screen will be used to display user orientation information such 
as time, date, system being accessed, etc. 
1 . S .  Evaluation 
T h e  evaluation subsystem will consist of collection 
m e c h a n i s m s  imbedded in the system code and activated by the 
primary user through the administration subsystem and the data 
files generated by these mechanisms. There is a necessity for 
two separate types of evaluation: S y s t e m M a n a g e m e n t  Evaluation 
and S y s t e m  Functionality Evaluation. These will be implemented as 
two separate components. 
T h e  S y s t e m M a n a g e m e n t  files will contain a collection of 
information concerning the activity of different individuals and 
the utilization of different host systems. T h i s  information will 
be used to track individual utilization for possible cost 
determination w h e n  a number of users utilize a system and to 
determine the cost-effectiveness of individual host systems. 
T h e  S y s t e m  Functionality files will be used to determine the 
learnability and usability of the system and the relative merits 
of the different interface levels. T h e  information contained in 
these files will be such things as error rates, volume of 
retrievals and online versus offline time. T h i s  type of 
information will be used in controlled and quasi-controlled 
experimental conditions to determine the relative merits of 
different interface configurations. 
11. Resource Requirements 
T h e  user interface implementation will require the use of a 
standard w i n d o w  generation library. T h e  evaluation subsystem wfll 
require a n  interface with a statistical package. Hardware 
requirements will include a s y s t e m w i t h  a minimum 256K me m o r y  and 
a hard d i s k  system for efficient file handling as w e l l  as floppy 
d i s k  capability. T h e  conmunications s y s t e m w i l l  also require a 
m o d e m  and this implementation will be based on compatibility with 
a Hayes-1200 Smartmodem. Capabilities will also be provided for 
the user to change conmunications configurations to utilize other 
types of modems. T h e  administration s u b s y s t e m w i l l  be designed 
so as to include the optional use of a light pen. A color monitor 
will be required to fully utilize the windowing capabilities to 
be incorporated into the system. 
T h e  programming time required for implementation is 
difficult to estimate since i t  is, to a great extent, dependent 
on the skill of the programmer w h o  will perform the 
4 
implementation. R o u g h  estimates 
p r o g r a m  size are as follows: 
1. Comnunication 
2 .  Administrative S u b s y s t e m  
3. InterpreterITranslator 
4. Us e r  Interface 
of implementation time and 
TIME 
30-40 H r s  . 
60-80 Hrs. 
40-60 Hrs. 
40-60 Hrs. 
T h e  time to implement the evaluation s y s t e m  is 
user interface time. 
SIZE 
4 0 , 0 0 0  Bytes 
30,000 Bytes 
40,000 Bytes 
30,000 Bytes 
included in the 
APPENDIX A 
SYSTEM DATA FUlW 
+------ + 
I USER I 
+--+---+ 
I 
+--------------- + 
I HOST I 
I SYSTEM I 
I I3ocuIIplnrATION I 
1. Report No. 
/N- 5 a  
10. Work Unit No. 
9. Performing Organization Name and Address 
2. Government Accession No. /83a4g6- 3. Recipient's Catalog No. 
7 7 %  %-% 
0 
University of Southwestern Louisiana 
The Center for Advanced Computer Studies 
P.O. Box 44330 
/ j  6 4. Title and Subtitle 
USL/NGT-19-010-900: PC-BASED MULTIPLE INFORMATION SYSTEM 
INTERFACE (PC/MISI) DESIGN PLAN 
7. Authorb) 
PHILIP P. HALL 
11. Contract or Grant No. 
NGT-19-010-900 
5. Report Date 
January 13, 1985 
6. Performing Organization Code 
8. Performing Organization Report No. 
Lafayette, LA 70504-4330 
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 
15. Supplementary Notes 
13. Type of Repor t  and Period Covered 
FINAL; 07/01/85 - i2/3i/a7 
14. Sponsoring Agency Code 
i6. Abstract 
7. Key Words (Suggested by Author(s)) 
Microcomputer-Based Environment, 
Common User Interface, Multiple 
Remote Information Systems, PC/MISI 
Design Plan, PC-Based Research and 
Development 
This Working Paper Series entry presents the general design plan for the implementation of a com- 
mon user interface to  multiple remote information systems within a microcomputer-based environ- 
ment. The intent is t o  provide a framework for the development of detailed specifications which will 
be used as guidelines for the actual implementation of this system. 
18. Distribution Statement 
This report represents one of the 73 attachment reports to the University of Southwestern Louisiana's 
Final Report on NASA Grant NGT-19-01GgOO. Accordingly, appropriate care should be taken in 
using this report out of the context of the full Final Report. 
Unclassified Unclassified 13 
*For sale by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield. Virginia 22161 


PC-based Multiple Information System Interface (PC/MISI) design plan

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