Using XML files to document the user interfaces of applications

User interfaces represent a major part in software products. Generally, it is difficult to document the content and the structure of the user interface. However, there is a need to save and preserve the overall state and structure of the user interface for later communication and modifications in requirements, design and implementation. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) storage format should be universal and can be transferred from one application to another (such as XML). GUI states are usually defined as the overall combination of properties of all the components or widgets of the GUI. This paper suggests an alternative back end representation of user interfaces and their state from their original format within the applications. The user interface model is transformed to a schema saved in an XML file. The schema structure represents the user interface state. This state considers only the structure of the user interface and ignores controls´ specific properties. XML format is widely used and accepted by many applications. It is the infrastructure language for web pages and database management systems. User interface documentation is useful for future evaluation and comparison, useful for stakeholders´ communication. It is also for some GUI testing activities such as regression testing where we trigger testing if there is a change in the user interface.