Model Driven RichUbi - processo dirigido a modelos para a construção de interfaces ricas de aplicações ubíquas sensíveis ao contexto

Abstract

Web 2.0 allowed users more interactivity with Web applications. The so-called Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) have transposed the boundaries of simple interfaces built only in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Through the adoption of technologies that enable the creation of more advanced interfaces, RIAs resemble the appearance and behavior of desktop applications. On the other hand, the demand for software in Ubiquitous Computing, in which access to applications occurs anywhere, at any time and from different devices, has raised new challenges for Software Engineering. One of these challenges is related to the adaptation of the contents of an application to the numerous devices that can access it in distinct contexts. Given the diversity of devices, access networks, environments and possible contexts, providing applications that meet the peculiarities of each access device, while keeping a consistent appearance and behavior in view of the changes occurring in the surrounding environment, has become a difficult task for software engineers. In applications that use rich interfaces in Web 2.0 for improving the interactivity, this task becomes even more complex due to the need of preserving the interaction aspects that afford users a richer experience with the application. This task can be facilitated using a software process that guides developers in building a ubiquitous application, considering the different contexts involved in its execution. Faced with these challenges, this work proposes a software process, named Model Driven RichUbi, aiming at supporting the development of rich interfaces for ubiquitous applications that adapt themselves when viewed on different types of devices. Based on the Model Driven Development and Domain-Specific Modeling conceptions, in the process are defined activities and artifacts that help in modeling and partial code generation of rich interfaces for different platforms. Besides, dynamic content adapters that refine the produced interface versions are also employed in the process, so that the developed interfaces can adapt to the peculiarities of the access device identified from the interaction context at runtime. The computational support focused on the Rich Interfaces Domain employed in the process is advantageous since it can be reused to simplify the development of adaptive rich interfaces for ubiquitous applications of several fields, which contributes to effort reduction and productivity increasing.