From: <tr16_at_mail.inf.tu-dresden.de>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 18:45:53 +0200

On Tue, Jul 02, 2002 at 02:20:16PM +0100, George Styles wrote:
> What would be REALLY cool would be to abstract the UI into a defined API so
> it can be pulled out and replaced if people want, kinda like a limited
> version of 'skining up' WinAmp
>
> Looking at the code, it looks like the menus are already done like this...
>
> what d'ya think?

please, take a look at my previous post (UI modelling with petri nets).

the API is not the problem, it is how you specify the behaviour of the UI.
Obviously this needs more than some definitions of which button does what.
Petri nets are really useful to specify such things (it's like an
interaction protocol that is run...). We can feed it events (buttons, ...)
and the net reacts accordingly. The several Petri net classes have
well-defined semantics, so they are ready to use (if the places that interact
as interfaces (buttons, do this and that, bla) are properly defined).

You can find plenty of introductions and tutorials in your preferred language
on the web, or you could try this:
http://taylor.ces.clemson.edu/ie340/files/340-16.htm
Its compact and shows the P/T class of Petri Nets (IIRC). "skin" people will
need not more than this (or even less). It's quite simple, trust me, once
you get used to the place/transition/token notation it just requires
common sense (or logic :).


Torvald
Received on 2002-07-02