Status Sensitive Components: Adapting Rich Internet Applications to Their Runtime Context

Nowadays, Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) gain more and more popularity. They allow to deliver internet applications that offer a user expericence known from desktop applications. Since in traditional browser centric Internet applications the server delivers the content that is to be displayed, the applications can flexibly adapt their functionality to the applicationpsilas state and context (e.g. the permissions granted to the current user) at any time. As for RIAs, things are different. Normally, they exist in a pre-compiled form-for example as a swf-file. Therefore, they donpsilat allow any dynamic customization of their functionality during runtime. However, it would be eligible that components used in a RIA (e.g. navigation structures) are able to adapt automatically-whenever any change in the applicationpsilas state or context occurs-to that new state or context. Thus, the RIA components could provide a view onto the application that is totally in sync with its current status and context. In this paper, we present a pattern which allows an easy implementation of this behavior. Then we will show a case study where this pattern has been applied successfully.