The User Interface

An interpreter, or explanation system, forms the interface between the user and the core software. It interprets queries from the user so that the inference engine can make sense of them and presents the conclusions of the inference engine in language appropriate to the needs and level of knowledge of the user. It is also responsible for generating explanations of the reasoning that 

The dialogue in which the ES engages is not preprogrammed there is no set sequence of questions that the system is sure to ask, no matter how the user responds. Instead, after each response, the system analyzes the information that it now possesses and then decides what to do next. 

Although the user interface just acts as the messenger for the interpreter, sound and logical design of the interface is crucial in giving the user confidence in the system. The user interface employs a conversational format, so the interpreter and user interface must between them have some knowledge about how information should be presented to humans. In the most effective expert systems, the interactions between software and user take into account the level of expertise of the user. 

The interface may be self-adaptive, noting the identity of the user each time they log in to use the system and tracking the interactions that follow, learning about the level of expertise of the user, and building up a personal profile of them so that the approach of the ES can be tailored to them individually. This is sometimes apparent in the Help system on a PC, which is usually based around a type of ES. Since the level of knowledge, experience, and confidence among PC users varies widely, if a Help system is to be of the greatest value, it is wise to construct it so that it can adjust its approach and presentation to match the level of expertise of the user. 

Together, the user interface and the explanation system, therefore, are important components in the ES. A user who finds the software difficult to use, or confusing, may become irritated with the system or be misled by it and stop using it. Worse still, they may misinterpret the advice that it provides. 

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The AEBBL SW ains on the PC. The software uses a menu structure, easy to use by a non expert operator. AEBIL has been designed to operate in DOS environjnent in order to enhance its real-time operation capabilities. The user-interface has been developed so as to permit a window-driven operation. 

The user interface is realised by 2 windows on the monitor (beside the window with the image under evaluation) ... 

Figure 9-22 shows the user interface of SONNIA presenting the analysis results ... 

Figure 9-22. The user interface of SONNIA presenting the analysis results. The left-hand side gives the Kohonen network, which can be investigated by clicking on each neuron oFinterest, The contents of the neuron, here the structures, are shown in an individual window illustrated on the right-hand side of the figure.

The user interface and the simplicity of usage are important issues. Likewise, stabilized and qualified control for some of the control loops must he as simple as possible. 

To address these issues regarding adequate structural searching in CHIRBASE, some facilities have been recently added to the user interface. The result is the automatic generation and search of strategic 2D query structures defined with the help of the following commands (Fig. 4-5) ... 

State-of-the-art systems with flexible software allow for utility interface. These systems are all currently capable of data monitoring and of responding to realtime pricing, depending only on the software installed on the user-interface computer and the number of sensors the customer has installed for cnd-usc monitoring. 

With regard to the common European market, the European Economic Community (EEC) has undertaken numerous activities concerned with materials and material information systems. In one demonstration program for material databases eleven such databases from various countries in the EEC are being cooperatively developed with joint standards for terminology, data presentation, database access, and the user interface of search commands, aids, and menus. For the materials class of plastics, Polymat was selected to participate in this cooperative work. Interesting developments occur from which the users of central material databases in the entire EEC area can benefit. 

Consider Equations (6-10) that represent the CVD reactor problem. This is a boundary value problem in which the dependent variables are velocities (u,V,W), temperature T, and mass fractions Y. The mathematical software is a stand-alone boundary value solver whose first application was to compute the structure of premixed flames.Subsequently, we have applied it to the simulation of well stirred reactors,and now chemical vapor deposition reactors. The user interface to the mathematical software requires that, given an estimate of the dependent variable vector, the user can return the residuals of the governing equations. That is, for arbitrary values of velocity, temperature, and mass fraction, by how much do the left hand sides of Equations (6-10) differ from zero ... 

Other, more advanced tools offer possibilities for combining different knowledge representations and inferencing strategies. They typically offer rules, combined with frames, different inheritance possibilities. The possibility of object-oriented programming is not always present. The user interface is not standardized and can be user tailored. The interface to standard packages is usually available. 

We should make a habit of using the on-line help. The user interface of the help browser, which also works as a Web browser, is extremely intuitive, and it is highly recommended. When we mention the "help" command, that is just a general comment it does not mean that you have to use the old-style help. To use help in the Command Window, turn the page display mode on first. Here s an example of seeking help on the print command with the old-style help ... 

The user interface, the interpreter, and the inference engine together comprise the ES shell or a skeletal system. As these components are largely independent of the specific application, all that is needed to create a working ES from the shell is to feed it with rules and facts. 

Because of the large number of aspects that must be covered by the model, it is important to have it well structured for further maintenance of the decision support system. A simplified representation is shown in Figure 5.8. The modeling was done such that the sections defining the general logistics were clearly separated from those closely related to the process. Also, the parts that refer to input/output to the user interfaces were strictly kept apart from the model itself to allow a smoother development. 

In the embedding approach the ERP system is enhanced with subordinate planning systems that are integrated into the user interface of the ERP system and create a local temporary data storage (LiveCache). All data is still held persistently only in the ERP system (Fig. 12.3). This allows for the LiveCache to use a projection of the ERP data model that is more suitable for APS purposes. This approach is used, e.g., by the software product OR Soft SCHEDULE++. 

On a small scale, pluggable user-interface widgets form components. Several such kits come with visual builders, such as Visual Basic, which help you plug the components together. Kits also may extend to small parts outside the user interface domain (for example, VisualAge and JavaBeans). These components all work within one executable program. 

At the business level, it takes a sequence of interactions between client and seminar company, including enquire, schedule, deliver, follow-up, and pay, to together constitute an abstract purchaseCourse action. This sequence has a net effect on both client and seminar company not only has the seminar company delivered a service and gained some revenue, but also the client has paid some fees and gained knowledge. In software, it may take a sequence of low-level operations via the user interfaces (UIs) of multiple applications and databases to complete a scheduleCourse operation. Such a joint action, also called a use case, is the subject of Chapter 4. 

The requirement is provided for by a combination of features in my implementation. My = operation turns the C elinto a single-operand sum, and each + operation adds another operand. So although there is no single operation with the signature setSum(C ell, C eUf-either at the user interface or anywhere inside the code—the user can nevertheless achieve the specified effect. 

Using a class framework, such as Java s Swing components, to build the user interfaces for many applications and to connect those UIs to their domain objects. 

When initially describing the system context, we avoid describing UI specifics, because these can vary. Detailed interactions via the user interface are better treated as a refinement of the abstract use cases that are being carried out. The basic MVC architecture applies to many forms of user interfaces, including graphical, character-based, touch screen, and voice-response. 

At a higher level, it is useful to document the dialog flow of the UI, shown as a state transition diagram, where each state corresponds to a particular window that is active at that point in the interaction. At a more detailed level, we need uniform mechanisms to assemble the user interfaces and respond to their events. 

You can sometimes make the user interface elements and the application object reusable so that you can create larger panels and application objects such as the following ... 

Define standard patterns to be followed in constructing the user interfaces. Many of these patterns can be formalized as frameworks. Examples are a master-slave listbox for navigating any 1-N association and a drill-down into data details using a tree panel. 

Other cycles can be horizontal one that does not deliver new user-visible functionality but instead carries a minimal use case through increasingly deep layers of the application and infrastructure components, exercising all communication channels. An example is a single user interaction carried from the user interface through the business object layer via an object request broker (ORB) to the applicable databases and back. 

Early user cycles need not build on the technical architecture instead, treat them as prototypes that will yield early feedback from users. These cycles—vertical slices of user-visible functionality—are focused on correct visible functional behavior at the user interfaces. They might be implemented purely as a single-machine, single-process prototype. 

Start user-interface prototyping when the high-level system actions and type model have been identified. Focus on a consistent UI metaphor, and cross check the user interfaces against the type model as the latter becomes better defined. 

Summarise the different screens in a chart that shows all the possible transitions from one to another this is the storyboard . Annotate the transitions with the names of actions — which you should have documented with their effects on the system s state. Also annotate with the story — the reasons why people would choose different routes through the user interface. 

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