Research On Semantic Consistency In User Interface Model

As a communication and interaction bridge between users and the computer, the user interface is a core aspect that decides whether a system succeeds or not. Although having been supported by some visual interface design tools, the development of user interface remains a difficulty and time consuming work. The model based user interface environments (MB-UIDEs) has become the research focus in the field of human-computer interaction.In the model based software development, the quality of model has determined the quality of software product, and the semantic consistency of the model is an important aspect concerning model quality. Compared with other model errors, semantic consistency error has more concealment and destructiveness. Therefore, have to discover and deal with these errors during the model building.User interface model describes the characteristics about composition, function and presentation of user interface, and these characteristics usually have complex contact and complicated semantic restrict. In the user interface model increasing development, need to gradually add characteristics. Because exist possible requirements conflict, design antinomy, especially exist redundancy information that semantic influences mutually in the model, In every level of user interface model, may appear the characteristic description that has semaitic conflict. Then the model may existes semantic inconsistency.In the model based user interface design method, in consideration of the complexity, usually adopt and set up hierarchical models. But these models do not exist isolatedly, but interdepend, restrict each other, semantic restrict needs map and translate among different models. Incorrect mapping and translation will cause the semantic inconsistency among hierarchical models, and will influence the quality of the whole model too.In current model based user interface design researches, seldom involve the semantic consistency. The user interface model in the existing method remains isolated between models, and lacks clear and flexible translation and mapping. Even some researches propose methods of model mapping, but these methods can't remain formalizedly, the impact on semantic consistency among the models have not considered even more. Because of lacking effective semantic consistency description and detection means, the semantic consistency of user interface model depends on the designer's experience. So, in order to guarantee user interface model exactness and validity of itself, and offer exactness assurance for user interface model mapping, the construction of user interface model needs to consider the semantic consistency.This dissertation summarizes and absorbs the research results about the semantic consistency and the model based user interface environments, mainly aims at the present situation which model based user interface design methods lack the semantic consistency research, carries on further investigation and discussion on semantic consistency in the user interface model, sets up one user interface design method that can guarantees the model semantic consistency, improves the quality of the model, makes exactness of user interfaces design and validity intensity be improved. The main research contents of this dissertation are as follows:In order to combine user interface model describing and investigation of model semantic consistency organically, this dissertation regards category theory and algebraic specification as the theoretical foundation, puts forward a kind of unified formalized description mechanism for model composition and model semantics, this description mechanism can describes composition and semantics of user interface model accurately at the same time. Object specification corresponds to every model element, the morphism points out how put the elements of model together, hierarchical composition of object specification offers the foundation for construction of user's interface model and investigates the semantic consistency among the models. And semantic consistency within models determination is through checking own semantics of model compositions whether there is semantics conflict and whether all object specification morphisms meet definition of behavior morphism and structural morphism.Base on user interface model formalized description, mapping among the layer models of the user interface regards as the categories mapping, and this kind of mapping must guarantees semantic consistency between models. This dissertation studies the semantics of mapping among every layer models of the user interface through formalized model composition mapping with object specification mapping and through formalized model composition relation mapping with object specification morphism mapping. This dissertation also provides the judge method of semantic consistency between models. The model designer can investigate the semantic consistency between models through judge the semantic preservation between composite object specifications. These works do not only provide a theoretical guidance for the definition of mapping rules, but also provide a measure for the validation of mapping relations between models.Set up the construction method of user interface model. This method adopts the way of dividing layers, sets up domain model, extended object description, user interface interaction diagram and user interface presentation description, decomposes the complexity of user interface. In order to deal with the complexity of the interface overall arrangement, we built the interface template, adopt user interface design patterns in order to deal with the variety and reuse of forms, and regard it as the model element that the model is designed. This is a course begun from domain model, in construction and mapping of the models, must guarantee the semantic consistency. Therefore needs study the composition and semantics of every layer model, pay attention the under model mapping participation the upper model construction course, investigate the model mapping impact on semantic consistency and stduy model semantic consistency assurance method.Develop the model prototype tool, and study the method of support to semantic consistency in this tool. This tool can help designer build various layers of model in our design method and help finish the model mapping between models, and offers the assurance to the semantic consistency of user interface models by means of model semantics checking, keeping automatically and obligate etc.The main innovations of this dissertation are as follows:1. Have set up one user interface design method that can guarantees the model semantic consistency, can combine the user interface model construction and semantic consistency investigate, can more easily and more accurately carry out the model semantic consistency.2. Put forward a kind of unified formalized description mechanism of model composition and model semantics. Through formalization, composition and semantics of model can with accurate definition and research, and establish the foundation for describing the semantics and mapping relations among the models. It is a kind of new attempt to use category theory for studying the composition of user interface model and model semantic consistency, offers a kind of new thinking for other scholars.3. Through checking the semantic conflict of composite object judges the semantic consistency within model, checking the semantic preservation between composite object judges the semantic consistency between models, offer a new method for semantic consistency investigation of model.