Declarative interfaces for dynamic widgets communications

ABSTRACT

Widgets are small and focused multimedia applications that can be found on desktop computers, mobile devices or even TV sets. Widgets rely on structured documents to describe their spatial, temporal and interactive behavior but also to communicate with remote data sources. However, these sources have to be known at authoring time and the communication process relies heavily on scripting. In this paper, we describe a mechanism enabling the communication between widgets and their dynamic environment (other widgets, remote data sources). The proposed declarative mechanism is compatible with existing Widgets technologies, usable with script-based widgets as well as with fully declarative widgets. A description of an implementation is also provided.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Asynchronous interaction

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Web-based interaction

  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.3 COMPUTER GRAPHICS
      I.3.2 Graphics Systems
          Subjects: Distributed/network graphics

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Standardization

Keywords:
communication interface, declarative languages, rich media, scripting interface, widget