Combining Formal Methods and Functional Strategies Regarding the Reverse Engineering of Interactive Applications

Abstract. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) make software easy to use by providing the user with visual controls. Therefore, correctness of GUI’s code is essential to the correct execution of the overall software. Models can help in the evaluation of interactive applications by allowing designers to concentrate on its more important aspects. This paper describes our approach to reverse engineer an abstract model of a user interface directly from the GUI’s legacy code. We also present results from a case study. These results are encouraging and give evidence that the goal of reverse engineering user interfaces can be met with more work on this technique.

Using visual spatial search interface for WWW applications

Most Internet search engines are keyword-based. They are not efficient for the queries where geographical location is important, such as finding hotels within an area or close to a place of interest. A natural interface for spatial searching is a map, which can be used not only to display locations of search results but also to assist forming search conditions. A map-based search engine requires a well-designed visual interface that is intuitive to use yet flexible and expressive enough to support various types of spatial queries as well as aspatial queries. Similar to hyperlinks for text and images in an HTML page, spatial objects in a map should support hyperlinks. Such an interface needs to be scalable with the size of the geographical regions and the number of websites it covers. In spite of handling typically a very large amount of spatial data, a map-based search interface should meet the expectation of fast response time for interactive applications. In this paper we discuss general requirements and the design for a new map-based web search interface, focusing on integration with the WWW and visual spatial query interface. A number of current and future research issues are discussed, and a prototype for the University of Queensland is presented. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Models for the Reverse Engineering of Java/Swing Applications

Abstract. Interest in design and development of graphical user interface (GUIs) is growing in the last few years. However, correctness of GUI's code is essential to the correct execution of the overall software. Models can help in the evaluation of interactive applications by allowing designers to concentrate on its more important aspects. This paper describes our approach to reverse engineering abstract GUI models directly from the Java/Swing code.

GUI Behavior from Source Code Analysis

When developing interactive applications, considering the correctness of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) code is essential. GUIs are critical components of today's software, and contemporary software tools do not provide enough support for ensuring GUIs' code quality. GUIsurfer, a GUI reverse engineering tool, enables evaluation of behavioral properties of user interfaces. It performs static analysis of GUI code, generating state machines that can help in the evaluation of interactive applications. This paper describes the design, software architecture, and the use of GUIsurfer through an example. The tool is easily re-targetable, and support is available to Java/Swing, and WxHaskell. The paper sets the ground for a generalization effort to consider rich internet applications. It explores the GWT web applications' user interface programming toolkit.

A Generic Library for GUI Reasoning and Testing

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) make software easy to use by providing the user with visual controls. Therefore, correctness of GUI's code is essential to the correct execution of the overall software. Models can help in the evaluation of interactive applications by allowing designers to concentrate on its more important aspects. This paper presents a generic model for language-independent reverse engineering of graphical user interface based applications, and we explore the integration of model-based testing techniques in our approach, thus allowing us to perform fault detection. A prototype tool has been constructed, which is already capable of deriving and testing a user interface behavioral model of applications written in Java/Swing.

Towards a Catalog of Usability Smells

This paper presents a catalog of smells in the context of interactive applications. These so-called usability smells are indicators of poor design on an application’s user interface, with the potential to hinder not only its usability but also its maintenance and evolution. To eliminate such usability smells we discuss a set of program/usability refactorings. In order to validate the presented usability smells catalog, and the associated refactorings, we present a preliminary empirical study with software developers in the context of a real open source hospital management application. Moreover, a tool that computes graphical user interface behavior models, giving the applications’ source code, is used to automatically detect usability smells at the model level.

Desenvolvimento de recursos educativos em dispositivos móveis - RealHiBook

Nos últimos anos têm existido bastantes pesquisas e um grande investimento quer na área da educação à distância quer ao nível das tecnologias móveis. A dada altura percebeu-se que cada vez mais poderiam ser utilizados dispositivos móveis no contexto da educação e de que estes já seriam capazes de responder às exigências necessárias para que fosse possível criar ou melhorar cenários com recursos educativos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor um modelo que facilite a aprendizagem em dispositivos móveis. Nesse sentido, decidiu-se que seria uma mais-valia adicionar a este projeto, a utilização da Realidade Aumentada como potenciador de melhorias no processo de aprendizagem. A Realidade Aumentada, a par do que acontece com a educação à distância e com as tecnologias móveis, é uma área alvo de constantes investigações e inovação. Apresenta como principal capacidade a interação do utilizador com vários modelos virtuais incluídos numa cena real. Esta capacidade proporciona experiências que podem contribuir para o aumento da motivação e da perceção por parte dos alunos. A forma como o utilizador interage com as aplicações móveis é vista com extrema importância, principalmente na área da educação. Aliar uma boa interação à utilização da Realidade Aumentada, é parte integrante deste trabalho. Foram estudados exemplos de interações e formas como o utilizador vive a experiência durante a utilização de aplicações que partilham o mesmo tipo de tecnologias utilizadas neste projeto. O objetivo final foca-se na criação de uma aplicação, capaz de fornecer uma experiência enriquecedora no âmbito do ensino, ligado ao tema história e que consiga fundamentar a criação de um modelo que facilite a aprendizagem utilizando plataformas móveis. Os objetivos são corroborados por um conjunto de testes efetuados à aplicação e pelos resultados obtidos através de um questionário feito a um grupo de pessoas que testaram o protótipo.

Classification-based probabilistic modeling of texture transition for fast line search tracking and delineation

We introduce a classification-based approach to finding occluding texture boundaries. The classifier is composed of a set of weak learners, which operate on image intensity discriminative features that are defined on small patches and are fast to compute. A database that is designed to simulate digitized occluding contours of textured objects in natural images is used to train the weak learners. The trained classifier score is then used to obtain a probabilistic model for the presence of texture transitions, which can readily be used for line search texture boundary detection in the direction normal to an initial boundary estimate. This method is fast and therefore suitable for real-time and interactive applications. It works as a robust estimator, which requires a ribbon-like search region and can handle complex texture structures without requiring a large number of observations. We demonstrate results both in the context of interactive 2D delineation and of fast 3D tracking and compare its performance with other existing methods for line search boundary detection.

Taking advantage of contextualized interactions while users watch TV

While watching TV, viewers use the remote control to turn the TV set on and off, change channel and volume, to adjust the image and audio settings, etc. Worldwide, research institutes collect information about audience measurement, which can also be used to provide personalization and recommendation services, among others. The interactive digital TV offers viewers the opportunity to interact with interactive applications associated with the broadcast program. Interactive TV infrastructure supports the capture of the user-TV interaction at fine-grained levels. In this paper we propose the capture of all the user interaction with a TV remote control-including short term and instant interactions: we argue that the corresponding captured information can be used to create content pervasively and automatically, and that this content can be used by a wide variety of services, such as audience measurement, personalization and recommendation services. The capture of fine grained data about instant and interval-based interactions also allows the underlying infrastructure to offer services at the same scale, such as annotation services and adaptative applications. We present the main modules of an infrastructure for TV-based services, along with a detailed example of a document used to record the user-remote control interaction. Our approach is evaluated by means of a proof-of-concept prototype which uses the Brazilian Digital TV System, the Ginga-NCL middleware.

H-N2N : uma arquitetura hierárquica escalável para ambientes de realidade mista de grande porte

In this work, we propose a solution to solve the scalability problem found in collaborative, virtual and mixed reality environments of large scale, that use the hierarchical client-server model. Basically, we use a hierarchy of servers. When the capacity of a server is reached, a new server is created as a sun of the first one, and the system load is distributed between them (father and sun). We propose efficient tools and techniques for solving problems inherent to client-server model, as the definition of clusters of users, distribution and redistribution of users through the servers, and some mixing and filtering operations, that are necessary to reduce flow between servers. The new model was tested, in simulation, emulation and in interactive applications that were implemented. The results of these experimentations show enhancements in the traditional, previous models indicating the usability of the proposed in problems of all-to-all communications. This is the case of interactive games and other applications devoted to Internet (including multi-user environments) and interactive applications of the Brazilian Digital Television System, to be developed by the research group. Keywords: large scale virtual environments, interactive digital tv, distributed

Arquitetura para aplicações interativas imersivas de televisão digital

In this work, we propose a new approach to Interactive Digital Television (IDTV), aimed to explore the concepts of immersivity. Several architectures have been proposed to IDTV, but they did not explore coherently questions related to immersion. The goal of this thesis consists in defining formally what is immersion and interactivity for digital TV and how they may be used to improve user experience in this new televisive model. The approach raises questions such as the appropriate choice of equipment to assist in the sense of immersion, which forms of interaction between users can be exploited in the interaction-immersion context, if the environment where an immersive and interactive application is used can influence the user experience, and which new forms of interactivity between users, and interactivity among users and interactive applications can be explored with the use of immersion. As one of the goals of this proposal, we point out new solutions to these issues that require further studies. We intend to formalize the concepts that embrace interactivity in the brazilian system of digital TV. In an initial study, this definition is organized into categories or levels of interactivity. From this point are made analisis and specifications to achieve immersion using DTV. We pretend to make some case studies of immersive interactive applications for digital television in order to validate the proposed architecture. We also approach the use of remote devices anda proposal of middleware architecture that allows its use in conjunction with immersive interactive applications

Revisitando o problema de visibilidade para visualização tridimensional

We revisit the problem of visibility, which is to determine a set of primitives potentially visible in a set of geometry data represented by a data structure, such as a mesh of polygons or triangles, we propose a solution for speeding up the three-dimensional visualization processing in applications. We introduce a lean structure , in the sense of data abstraction and reduction, which can be used for online and interactive applications. The visibility problem is especially important in 3D visualization of scenes represented by large volumes of data, when it is not worthwhile keeping all polygons of the scene in memory. This implies a greater time spent in the rendering, or is even impossible to keep them all in huge volumes of data. In these cases, given a position and a direction of view, the main objective is to determine and load a minimum ammount of primitives (polygons) in the scene, to accelerate the rendering step. For this purpose, our algorithm performs cutting primitives (culling) using a hybrid paradigm based on three known techniques. The scene is divided into a cell grid, for each cell we associate the primitives that belong to them, and finally determined the set of primitives potentially visible. The novelty is the use of triangulation Ja 1 to create the subdivision grid. We chose this structure because of its relevant characteristics of adaptivity and algebrism (ease of calculations). The results show a substantial improvement over traditional methods when applied separately. The method introduced in this work can be used in devices with low or no dedicated processing power CPU, and also can be used to view data via the Internet, such as virtual museums applications

Televisão digital interativa: alternativa de design e usabilidade para o aplicativo som e prosa

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC

TV digital e convergência de mídias: estudo exploratório sobre narrativas interativas

Pós-graduação em Televisão Digital: Informação e Conhecimento - FAAC