Separating application functionality from the user interface in a distributed environment

Abstract

This paper describes a project whose aim is to design a user interface management system (UIMS) to support a distributed environment. The goal requires an architecture that separates the application from the user interface. After defining the role played by UIMSs, Middleware and the Object Bequest Broker (ORE) in separating the application components from their supporting user interfaces in a distributed environment an architecture for a UIMS in a distributed environment is introduced. The architecture facilitates the separation of the application from the user interface by attaching abstract data types to both the user interface manager and the application. Operations on the abstract data types within the application trigger user interface activities, while those operations on abstract data types within the user interface manager trigger application activities.