Title: A Survey on Transformation Tools for ModelBased User Interface Development
1A Survey on Transformation Tools for Model-Based
User Interface Development
- Robbie Schäfer Paderborn University / C-LAB
2Outline
- Motivation
- Transformations in Model-based User Interface
Development - Comparison of Transformation Approaches
- Conclusion
3Motivation Many Devices
- Different ways to access to the same service
(e.g. hotel booking) - Varying interaction modalities
- Different devices
- Different UI-toolkits
- How can different devices and modalities be
supported?
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
4Motivation Different Users in Varying Contexts
- User Interfaces have to be adapted to individual
preferences and capabilities - How can the users capabilities and preferences
be captured? - How can the user interfaces be adapted?
- How does the context of use control the
adaptation?
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
5Solution Model-based User Interface Development
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
6Transformations needed in Model-based User
Interface Development Approach
- Model Transformations
- Transformations of UIDLs
- Transformations for optimizations
- Profile Conversion and Evolution
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
7Selection Criteria for Transformation Systems
- Large number of transformation systems in
computing - Even if constrained to MDA gt20 systems
- UI-Development (still) has models and
transformation systems differing from Software
Engineering - Candidates selected because
- Allow generic model transformation
- And successfully applied for UI transformation
- And / or provide useful aspects for UI
transformation - Selected Graph Transformation, ATL, TXL, 4DML,
UIML peers, XSLT, GAC, RDL/TT
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
8The Selected Canditates (1)
- Graph transformations (GT)
- Formal approach for UI abstractions which are
specified with graphs - Embedded in UsiXML
- Allows transformation of almost all levels of
abstractions - Atlas Transformation Language (ATL)
- Hybrid approach with declarative matching rules
(patterns OCL expressions) - Imperative constructs for matching rules
- Works on models only
- Rule Description Language for Tree Transformation
(RDL/TT) - General XML transformation language
- Mainly used for UI adaptation
- Simple source matching, target defined with
Java-like constructs
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
9The Selected Canditates (2)
- TXL
- Broad Scope, also used for model transformations
- Specification of Structure with BNF
- Transformation rules (pattern / replace) and
functional programming - Allows for the transformation to concrete UI
instance - Four-Dimensional Markup Language (4DML)
- General purpose but used for UI adaptation
- Transformations between completely different
notations - Views Data as n-dimensional structures
- Declarative source matching and target definition
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
10The Selected Canditates (3)
- User Interface Markup Language (UIML)
- UIML is XML-based UI Description language
- Allows mapping to target interfaces
- Linear transformations
- Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations
(XSLT) - XML transformation language
- Used for UI transformations e.g. XHTML conversion
- Recursive application of template rules and
patterns - General Adaptation Component (GAC)
- XML transformation language
- Developed for adaptation of web content
- Transformations described with RDF
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
11Comparison of Different Transformation Tools
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
12Conclusion
- Looked at several systems for UI transformation
- Studied only language features, not real
performance - Decision for one approach largely depends on
- The modeling tasks
- The model representation formats
- The targeted application
- The developers familiarity with a certain
programming model - Transformations working on XML model
representations can help to bypass or improve
transformations in UI modeling tools
Motivation Transformation Comparison Conclusion
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