用UML和Object-Z描述交互式系统的接口规格说明

随着图形用户界面的普及，交互已成为目前软件系统的一个重要特征。与传统的基于字符界面的软件系统相比，基于图形用户界面的软件系统，从某种程序上可看作是一个交互式系统。形式化的规格说明具有精确性，无二义性和一致性等优点，用形式化说明语言来描述交互式系统用户接口的规格说明有很强的实用价值。由于形式化的规格说明的可读很差，因此可以采用标准的对象建模UML来帮助对形式化规格说明的理解。     

Constructing Programs from Example Computations

An autoprogrammer is an interactive computer programming system which automatically constructs computer programs from example computations executed by the user. The example calculations are done in a scratch pad fashion at a computer display using a light pen or other graphic input device, and the system stores a detailed history of all of the steps executed in the process. Then the system automatically synthesizes the shortest possible program which is capable of executing the observed examples. The paper describes the computational environment provided by the system, proves that the program synthesis technique is both "sound" and "complete," describes the design of the system, and gives some programs it was used to create.     

3D input for CAAD systems

It is often acknowledged that the main advantage of computer aided architectural design (CAAD) systems is that they can be used by architects to quickly and accurately evaluate alternative design solutions using a variety of performance measures which would be too time consuming to apply by hand calculation.To gain the full advantage of interactive CAAD requires the architect to use a computer terminal with graphic capabilities so that he can create and modify his design geometry in a form which can also be directly interpreted by the evaluate routines within the CAAD system. However, it is suggested that it is often difficult for the user of such conventional, graphic, CAAD systems to conceptualise the building being designed by only inspecting and manipulating drawings displayed on the terminal screen.This problem may be accentuated when building users who are not professional architects wish to use a CAAD system so as to participate in the design process.A computerised building block system (BBS) is proposed with which the designer can physically build a model of his design as he would if he was using ‘Lego’¹ blocks. Such a physical representation may allow him to evaluate many of the visual and spatial qualities of his design in a more direct way than could be achieved using computer graphics. However, because the electronic system can ‘read’ the arrangement of blocks and input this information into a computer, the user's design can be evaluated with the same performance measures that are used in existing CAAD systems.     

基于Matlab／Simulink的滤波器设计仿真技术的实现

建立滤波器设计系统的Simulink仿真模型，进行仿真分析，实现滤波器设计仿真技术。本文主要介绍使用Matlab的SignalProcessingToolbox工具箱中可视化滤波器集成设计环境一滤波器设计及分析工具（FilterDesignandAnalysis Tool）．借助于FDATool强大的交互式图形用户界面，可以直接设置滤波器的性能指标、直接赋值滤波器系数来进存滤波器设计．然后用Simulink对系统进行可视化建模及仿真。     

Video-graphic query facility for database retrieval

The goal of this project was to develop a prototype to demonstrate the use of video and graphic techniques applied to the human-machine interface for data retrieval from a typical computerized database. Data is presented to a user via video and graphic means; queries are formulated in one of several graphic formats; control operations are handled through joystick, touch panel, or single-keystroke maneuvers. To accomplish this, we made use of videodisc, interactive computer graphics, and relational database technologies. Still pictures, video segments, and pictures of text are used as visual cues to a user who indicates interest in a data item in a pointing gesture by touching the panel through which the item may be seen. The user may find the actual data item s/he desires, then pose a query for additional information in one of four graphic query formats. A specially designed database was developed to handle the video and graphic data needed for this user facility.     

Digi D ürer — a digital engraving system

A variety of halftone methods for reproducing gray-level images on bilevel display media have been proposed. The output of even the best of these falls far short of the quality achieved on similar resolution media in man-made engravings. We introduceDig ⁱ _Dürer — a digital engraving/halftoning system. For a gray-level image input, the system produces a bilevel (black and white only) picture, which has the appearance of an engraving of the input. The system produces high-quality output, even when the graphic elements of the halftone are visible, and both the quality and style of the output can be improved or customized either by using further information on the image content or by interactive user intervention. The heart ofDig ⁱ _Dürer is a curve evolution algorithm generating halftones by controlling the density of line elements, which are the level contours of a potential field induced by the image via an Eikonal equation. Since the basic version of the system produces rather rough results, further capabilities were added to allow for user intervention and the use of image content information. Extensions to graphic elements other than lines are also feasible.     

Development of a virtual aquarium system interacting with a smart device

New applications of smart devices interacting with other computing devices are recently providing interesting and feasible solutions in ubiquitous computing environments. In this study, we propose an interactive virtual aquarium system that interacts with a smart device as a user interface. We developed a virtual aquarium graphic system and a remote interaction application of a smart device for building an interactive virtual aquarium system. We performed an experiment that demonstrates the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed system as an example of a new type of interactive application of a smart display, where a smart device serves as a remote user interface.     

An Environment for Rapid Prototyping of Interactive Systems

This paper shows an environment which supports the development of multi-thread dialogue interactive systems.The environment includes several tools and run-time support programs for the design and implementation of the user interface of an interactive system.First,methods of user interface specification with Elementary Nets are discussed.Then,the syntax of a user interface specification language based on Elementary Nets and the pre-compiler for the language as well as a graphic editor for Elementary Nets construction are described.Finally,an example is given to illustrate the design process of a user interface.     

Equation entry and editing via handwriting and gesture recognition

We describe a system for freehand entry and editing of mathematical expressions using a pen and tablet. The expressions are entered in the same way that they would be written on paper. The system interprets the results and generates output in a form suitable for use in other applications, such as word processors or symbolic manipulators. Interpretation includes character segmentation, character recognition, and formula parsing. Our interface incorporates easy to use tools for correcting interpretation errors at any stage. The user can also edit the handwritten representation and ask the system to reinterpret the results. By recovering the formula's structure directly from its handwritten form, the user is free to use common conventions of mathematical notation without regard to internal representation. We report the results of a small user study, which indicate that the new style of interaction is effective.     

MAPBOT: a Web based map information retrieval system

Many types of information are geographically referenced and interactive maps provide a natural user interface to such data. However, map presentation in geographical information systems and on the Web is closed related to traditional cartography and provides a very limited interactive experience. In this paper, we present MAPBOT, an interactive Web based map information retrieval system in which Web users can easily and efficiently search geographical information with the assistance of a user interface agent (UIA). Each kind of map feature such as a building or a motorway works as an agent called a Maplet. Each Maplet has a user interface level to assist the user to find information of interest and a graphic display level that controls the presence and the appearance of the feature on the map. The semantic relationships of Maplets are defined in an Ontology Repository provided by the system which is used by the UIA to assist a user to semantically and efficiently search map information interested. An Ontology Editor with a graphic user interface has been implemented to update the Ontology Repository. Visualization on the client is based on Scalable Vector Graphics which provides a high quality Web map.     

Equation entry and editing via handwriting and gesture recognition

We describe a system for freehand entry and editing of mathematical expressions using a pen and tablet. The expressions are entered in the same way that they would be written on paper. The system interprets the results and generates output in a form suitable for use in other applications, such as word processors or symbolic manipulators. Interpretation includes character segmentation, character recognition, and formula parsing. Our interface incorporates easy to use tools for correcting interpretation errors at any stage. The user can also edit the handwritten representation and ask the system to reinterpret the results. By recovering the formula's structure directly from its handwritten form, the user is free to use common conventions of mathematical notation without regard to internal representation. We report the results of a small user study, which indicate that the new style of interaction is effective.     

一种实时手写数学方程编辑器

该文所述的数学方程编辑器,用户可用笔和书写板输入手写的数学公式,系统通过实时字符、符号识别和图形语法分析软件产生与输入相对应的语法分析树,并由此转换成诸如Latex、数学的或LISP-like符号等输出形式,与基于特殊方程描述语言的编辑系统相比,该手写方程编辑器相对简单且使用方便。     

The feature chart: A tool for communicating the analysis for a decision support system

In developing information systems, analysts must communicate their understanding of the business problem to the user and must specify the proposed system to the designer. Over the years, various kinds of flow charts have been used to convey this information. Flow charts were originally developed when most programs either made scientific calculations or processed transactions. More recently, data flow diagrams have been used to document the analysis phase. A major point of this paper is that neither type of flow diagram is well suited to the development of interactive systems, particularly decision support systems. In an effort to address this problem, Sprague and Carlson developed the ROMC approach to the design of decision support systems. While their approach helps classify the components of a decision support system, it does not provide the analyst with a means of conveying the necessary information to the user or designer of a specific decision support system.The feature chart, which is a synthesis of the ROMC model and structured analysis, is proposed as a graphic tool for analysis and communication. It serves the purpose of analysis in that tasks are defined and user interfaces shown. It also shows the controls available to the user and the ways the user can navigate through the system. The use of the feature chart is discussed for two applications: a geographic decision support system and a financial application using a generator.     

Enhancement of math content accessibility in EPUB3 educational publications

ABSTRACT

The article presents methods of increasing mathematical content accessibility in educational e-publications using multimodal user interfaces (UI). Educational mathematical publications such as exercise notebooks and worksheets, require student's interactivity in problem solving. EPUB3, an open format for e-publications, has the possibilities of creating multimedia, interactive mathematics content. Among the programs that support EPUB3, only a few support the MathML format presenting formulas, and provides limited possibilities for user interactivity, insufficient in mathematical education. Our solutions in the PlatMat system increase the interactive accessibility of EPUB3 mathematical content for students with visual impairment. The solutions are based on concurrent multimodal alternative interfaces for exploring math content in EPUB3 publications. Students can read and modify formulas choosing preferred UI and device. Similarly, in different modes (visual, acoustic and touch) students can recognise function graphs and shapes of geometrical figures saved in scalable vector graphics (SVG) format. Teachers can create universal mathematical documents for all students. The system supports inclusive maths education and is designed according to the principles of universal design for learning (UDL). The article describes the system’s usefulness in relation to research conducted among maths teachers. Positive results have become the basis for the further development of the system.     

Engineering the Usability of a Visual Formalism for Real-time Temporal Logic

Visual formalisms merge the rigor of mathematical notations with the naturality of graphic representation. This increases usability of formal methods, and may also improve their verification power through a richer involvement of the user. To achieve this goal, development of the visual representation must fulfill a twofold requirement: on the one hand, the design must capture the inherent rigor of the underlying formalism; on the other, it must meet the final user intuition.In this paper, we introduce, motivate and evaluate a visual formalism for a real-time logic. The visual formalism supporting presentation of the logic was designed by joining heuristic design and user-based evaluation. Heuristic principles were applied to define a limited set of visualization metaphors supporting consistent representation of basic semantic constructs. Alternative representations were defined where multiple choices were possible with no obvious expected preference. Heuristic assumptions were then refined and alternative representations were selected by resorting to the judgment of a representative sample of target end-users. The resulting notation was implemented within an interactive syntax-directed editor, which was then used to carry out a competitive user-based evaluation of the usability of textual and visual representations.     

Resolution Adaptive Volume Sculpting

We propose a sculpture metaphor based on a multiresolution volumetric representation. It allows the user to model both precise and coarse features while maintaining interactive updates and display rates. The modelled surface is an iso-surface of a scalar field, which is sampled on an adaptive hierarchical grid that dynamically subdivides or undivides itself. Field modifications are transparent to the user: The user feels as if he were directly interacting with the surface via a tool that either adds or removes “material.” Meanwhile, the tool modifies the scalar field around the surface, its size and shape automatically guiding the underlying grid subdivision. In order to give an interactive feedback whatever the tool's size, tools are applied in an adaptive way, the grid being always updated from coarse to fine levels. This maintains interactive rates even for large tool sizes. It also enables the user to continuously apply a tool, with an immediate coarse-scale feedback of the multiple actions being provided. A dynamic level-of-detail (LOD) mechanism ensures that the iso-surface is displayed at interactive rates regardeless of the zoom value; surface elements, generated and stored at each level of resolution, are displayed depending on their size on the screen. The system may switch to a coarser surface display during user actions, thus always ensuring interactive visual feedback. Two applications illustrate the use of this system: First, complex shapes with both coarse and fine features can be sculpted from scratch. Second, we show that the system can be used to edit models that have been converted from a mesh representation.     

An interactive example-driven approach to graphics recognition in engineering drawings

An interactive example-driven approach to graphics recognition in engineering drawings is proposed. The scenario is that the user first interactively provides an example of a graphic object; the system instantly learns its graphical knowledge and uses the acquired knowledge to recognize the same type of graphic objects. The proposed approach represents the graphical knowledge of an object in terms of its structural components and their syntactical relationships. We summarize four types of geometric constraints for knowledge representation, based on which we develop an algorithm for knowledge acquisition. Another algorithm for graphics recognition using the acquired graphical knowledge is also proposed, which is actually a sequential examination of these constraints. In the algorithm, we first guess the next component’s attributes (e.g., size, position and orientation) by reasoning from an earlier found component and the constraint between them, and then search for this hypothetical component in the drawing. If all of the hypothetical components are found, a graphic object of this type is recognized. For improving the system’s recognition accuracy, we develop a user feedback scheme, which can update the graphical knowledge from both positive (missing) and negative (mis-recognized) examples provided by the user for subsequent recognition. Experiments have shown that our proposed approach is both efficient and effective for recognizing various types of graphic objects in engineering drawings. This paper is an extension of our papers published in ICDAR2003 and GREC2003.