Customisable graphical interfaces to database systems: a meta-programming based approach

Graphical user interfaces are gaining widespread acceptance as the primary means of user interaction with application programs. This acceptance is encouraged by the availability of high resolution bit-mapped graphical workstations and accompanying software at an increasingly affordable cost. Many such software systems provide facilities for customising the interface according to user preferences and requirements in a limited way. Most systems handle the customisation of only the control components of the interface, but not the application component, i.e. the visual representation of the problem domain and its direct manipulation. In this paper a novel approach to customising all components of a user interface through the use of meta-programming techniques is presented. This has the advantage of enabling members of a user community to customise the interface style to their own preferences without having to compromise to a common group interface. This means that in a heterogeneous environment comprising many different autonomous systems the users can access the component systems through their preferred interface style without having to learn or conform to the local interfaces supported by particular systems