Unit-6
Software Tool and Interaction
Devices
Presented By:
P Sindhu
Asst.Professor
Cse Dept
Contents
• Specification Methods
• Interface-Building Tools
• Keyboard and Function keys
• Pointing Devices
• Speech Recognition digitization and
generation
• Image and video display
• Drivers
Specification Methods
• Design requires a good notation to record and discuss alternate
possibilities:
– The default language for specifications in any field is natural language, e.g.,
English
– Communication medium, e.g., sketchpad, or blackboard
• Natural-language specifications tend to be:
– lengthy
– vague
– ambiguous
• Therefore, often are difficult to prove:
– correct
– consistent
– complete
• Backus-Naur Form (a.k.a. Backus Normal Form or BNF)
– high-level components are described as non terminal
– specific strings are described as terminals
Interface-Building Tools
• User Interface Independence
– Separate interface design from internals
– Enable multiple user interface strategies
– Enable multiple platform support
– Establish user interface architect role
– Enforce standards
• Methodology & Notation
– Develop design procedures
– Find ways to talk about design
– Create project management
Interface-Building Tools
• Rapid Prototyping
– Try out ideas very early
– Test, revise, test, revise, ...
– Engage end users, managers, and other
• Software Support
– Increase productivity
– Offer some constraint & consistency checks
– Facilitate team approaches
– Ease maintenance
Interface-Building Tools
User interface mock-up tools
• Examples
– Paper and pencil
– Word processors
– Slide-show
– software
– Macromedia Director, Flash mix, or Dreamweaver
• Visual Editing
– Microsoft Visual Studio
– Borland J Builder
Interface-Building Tools
Finding the right tool is a tradeoff between six main criteria:
• Part of the application built using the tool.
• Learning time
• Building time
• Methodology imposed or advised
• Communication with other subsystems
• Extensibility and modularity
Interaction Devices
• Pointing Devices
– Direct Pointing Devices
– Indirect Pointing Devices
• Keyboard Layouts
– QWERTY layout
– Dvorak layout
– ABCDE style
Interaction Devices
QWERTY layout
• 1870 Christopher Latham Sholes
• good mechanical design and a clever placement of the letters that slowed down the
users enough that key jamming was infrequent
• put frequently used letter pairs far apart, thereby increasing finger travel distances
Interaction Devices
Dvorak layout
• 1920
• reduces finger travel distances by at least one order of magnitude
• Acceptance has been slow despite the dedicated efforts of some devotees
• it takes about 1 week of regular typing to make the switch, but most users have
been unwilling to invest the effort
Interaction Devices
ABCDE style
• 26 letters of the alphabet laid out in alphabetical order no typists will find it easier
to locate the keys
Interaction Devices
Additional keyboard issues
• IBM PC keyboard was widely criticized because of the placement
of a few keys
– backslash key where most typists expect SHIFT key
– placement of several special characters near the ENTER key
• Number pad layout
• wrist and hand placement
Interaction Devices
Keys
• 1/2 inch square keys
• 1/4 inch spacing between keys
• slight concave surface
• matte finish to reduce glare finger slippage
• 40- to 125-gram force to activate
• 3 to 5 millimeters displacement
• tactile and audible feedback important
– certain keys should be larger (e.g. ENTER, SHIFT,CTRL)
– some keys require state indicator, such as lowered position or light
indicator (e.g. CAPS LOCK)
– key labels should be large, meaningful, permanent
– some "home" keys may have additional features, such as deeper cavity or
small raised dot, to help user locate their fingers properly (caution - no
standard for this)
Interaction Devices
Function keys
• users must either remember each key's function, identify them from the
screen's display, or use a template over the keys in order to identify them
properly
• can reduce number of keystrokes and errors
• meaning of each key can change with each application placement on
keyboard can affect efficient use
• special purpose displays often embed function keys in monitor bezel
• lights next to keys used to indicate availability of the function, or on/off
status
• Typically, simply labeled F1, F2, etc, though some may also have
meaningful labels, such as CUT, COPY, etc.
• frequent movement between keyboard home position and mouse or
function keys can be disruptive to use
• alternative is to use closer keys (e.g. ALT or CTRL) and one letter to
indicate special function
Interaction Devices
Cursor movement keys
• up, down, left, right
• some keyboards also provide diagonals
• best layout is natural positions
• inverted
• T positioning allows users to place their middle three fingers in a way that
reduces hand and finger movement
• cross arrangement better for novices than linear or box
• typically include typeamatic (auto-repeat)feature
• important for form-fill-in and direct manipulation
• Other movements may be performed with other keys, such as TAB,
ENTER, HOME, etc
Interaction Devices
Keyboard and keypads for small devices
• Wireless or foldable keyboards
• Virtual keyboards
• Cloth keyboards
• Soft keys
• Pens and touch screens
Interaction Devices
Pointing Devices
Pointing devices are applicable in six types of interaction tasks:
• 1. Select:
– User chooses from a set of items.
– Used for traditional menu selection, identification of a file in a directory, or
marking of a part in an automobile design.
• 2. Position:
– User chooses a point in a one-, two-, three-, or higher-dimensional space
– Used to create a drawing, to place a new window, or to drag a block of text in a
figure.
• 3. Orient:
– User chooses a direction in a two-, three-, or higher-dimensional space.
– Direction may simply rotate a symbol on the screen, indicate a direction of
motion for a spaceship, or control the operation of a robot arm.
Interaction Devices
• 4. Path:
– User rapidly performs a series of position and orient operations.
– May be realized as a curving line in a drawing program, the instructions
for a cloth cutting machine, or the route on a map.
• 5. Quantify:
– User specifies a numeric value.
– Usually a one-dimensional selection of integer or real values to set
parameters, such as the page number in a document, the velocity of a
ship, or the amplitude of a sound.
• 6. Text:
– User enters, moves, and edits text in a two-dimensional space.
– The Pointing device indicates the location of an insertion, deletion, or
change.
– More elaborate tasks, such as centering; margin setting; font sizes;
highlighting, such as boldface or underscore; and page layout.
Interaction Devices
Direct-control pointing devices
light pen
• enabled users to point to a spot on a screen and to perform a select,
position, or another task
• it allows direct control by pointing to a spot on the display
• incorporates a button for the user to press when the cursor is resting on the
desired spot on the screen
Touch screen
• allows direct control touches on the screen using a finger lift-off strategy
enables users to point at a single pixel
• the users touch the surface
• then see a cursor that they can drag around on the display
• when the users are satisfied with the position, they lift their fingers off the
display to activate
• can produce varied displays to suit the task
Interaction Devices
Indirect pointing devices
• mouse
– the hand rests in a comfortable position, buttons on the mouse are easily
pressed, even long motions can be rapid, and positioning can be precise
• trackball
– usually implemented as a rotating ball 1 to 6 inches in diameter that moves
cursor
• joystick
– are appealing for tracking purposes
• Graphics tablet
– A touch-sensitive surface separate from the screen
• Touchpad
– built-in near the keyboard offers the convenience and precision of a touch
screen while keeping the user's hand off the display surface
Speech Recognition digitization and
generation
Speech recognition still does not match the fantasy of science fiction:
– demands of user's working memory
– background noise problematic
– variations in user speech performance impacts effectiveness
– most useful in specific applications, such as to benefit handicapped
users
• Discrete word recognition
• recognize individual words spoken by a specific person; can work with 90-
to98- percent reliability for 20 to 200-wordvocabularies
• Speaker-dependent training, in which the user repeats the full vocabulary
once or twice
• Speaker-independent systems are beginning to be reliable enough for
certain commercial applications
• been successful in enabling bedridden, paralyzed, or otherwise disabled
people
Speech Recognition digitization and
generation
• also useful in applications with at least one of the following conditions:
– speaker's hands are occupied
– mobility is required
– speaker's eyes are occupied
– harsh or cramped conditions preclude use of keyboard
Speech Recognition digitization and
generation
Speech store and forward
– Voice mail users can
– receive messages
– replay messages
– reply to caller
– forward messages to other users, delete messages
– archive messages
• Systems are low cost and reliable.
• Voice information systems
– Stored speech commonly used to provide information about tourist sites, government services,
after-hours messages for organizations
– Low cost
– Voice prompts
– Deep and complex menus frustrating
– Slow pace of voice output, ephemeral nature of speech, scanning and searching problems
– Voicemail
– Handheld voice recorders
– Audio books
– Instructional systems
Speech Recognition digitization and
generation
Speech generation
• Michaels and Wiggins (1982) suggest that speech generation is
"frequently preferable" under these circumstances:
• The message is simple.
• The message is short.
• The message will not be referred to later.
• The message deals with events in time.
• The message requires an immediate response.
• The visual channels of communication are overloaded.
• The environment is too brightly lit, too poorly lit, subject to severe
vibration, or otherwise unsuitable for transmission of visual
information.
• The user must be free to move around.
• The user is subjected to high G forces or anoxia
Image and Video Displays
Displays – Small and Large
• The display has become the primary source of feedback to the user
from the computer
• The display has many important features, including:
• Physical dimensions (usually the diagonal dimension and depth)
• Resolution (the number of pixels available)
• Number of available colors, color correctness
• Luminance, contrast, and glare
• Power consumption
• Refresh rates (sufficient to allow animation and video)
• Cost
• Reliability
Image and Video Displays
• Braille displays
– Pins provide output for the blind
• Large displays
– Informational wall displays
– Interactive wall displays
– Multiple desktop displays
• Heads-up and helmet mounted displays
– A heads-up display can, for instance, project information
on a partially silvered widescreen of an airplane or car
– A helmet/head mounted display (HMD) moves the image
with the user – 3D images
Image and Video Displays
Mobile device displays
• Currently mobile devices used for brief tasks, except for game playing
• Optimize for repetitive tasks
• Custom designs to take advantage of every pixel
• Data Lens allows compact overviews
• Web browsing difficult
• Okay for linear reading, but making comparisons can be difficult
Image and Video Displays
Animation, image, and video
• Accelerated graphics hardware
• More information shared and downloaded on the web
• Scanning of images and OCR
• Digital video
• CDROMS and DVDs
• Compression and decompression through MPEG
• Computer-based videoconferencing
Drivers
Printers Important criteria for printers:
• Speed
• Print quality
• Cost
• Compactness
• Use of ordinary paper (fan folded or single sheet) – Character set
• Variety of typefaces, fonts, and sizes
• Highlighting techniques (boldface, underscore, and soon)
• Support for special forms (printed forms, different lengths, and soon) –
Reliability
Drivers
• dot-matrix printers
– print more than 200 characters per second, have multiple
fonts, can print boldface, use variable width and size, and
have graphics capabilities
• inkjet printers
– offer quiet operation and high-quality output
• thermal printers or fax machines
– offer quiet, compact, and inexpensive output on specially
coated papers
Drivers
• laser printers
– operate at 30,000 lines per minute
• color printers
– allow users to produce hardcopy output of color graphics,
usually by an inkjet approach with three colored and black
inks
• photographic printers
– allow the creation of 35-millimeter or larger slides
(transparencies) and photographic print
Thank You…
