Interactive Systems Paradigms (Lecture 5)

Paradigms (Lecture 5)

• Interactive systems aim to enable users to achieve specific objectives within an application, ensuring usability.
• Key questions for designers:
  • How to design and develop usable interactive systems?
  • How to assess and demonstrate usability of an interactive system?
• One approach is to use successful examples (paradigms) of interactive systems to enhance future product designs.

What are Paradigms?

• Paradigm: A model, pattern, typical example, or reference point; defining a set of assumptions guiding understanding and interpretation.
• Scientific paradigms: Frameworks of understanding within a scientific discipline, encompassing accepted theories, principles, and methods.
  • Examples: Aristotelian, Newtonian, and Einsteinian paradigms in physics.

Paradigms for Interaction

• Examples of paradigm shifts in interactive systems:
  • Batch processing
  • Timesharing
  • Networking
  • Graphical display
  • WWW (World Wide Web)
  • Ubiquitous computing

Batch Processing

• Description: Tasks (jobs) are grouped, processed sequentially without user interaction in real-time.
• Key elements and impact:
  • Job submission: Users submit jobs to a system queue.
  • Sequential processing: Jobs execute one after another.
  • Efficiency: Efficient for large-scale data processing and resource optimization.
  • Automation: Reduced manual intervention and increased operational efficiency.
  • Early computing environments: Prevalent in early, resource-constrained systems.
• Considered impersonal computing.

Timesharing

• Description: Multiple users access and use one computer system simultaneously, enabling real-time interaction.
• Key aspects:
  • Real-time interaction: Users get immediate feedback.
  • Resource sharing: Optimizes use of expensive mainframe computers.
  • Multi-user environments: Allows multiple concurrent users.
  • User interfaces: Led to the development of interactive interfaces.
  • Network advancements: Contributed to networked computing.
• Considered interactive computing.

Networking

• Early networking protocols (1960s-1980s):
  • Client-server architecture
  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) networking
• Cloud Computing
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• 5G and Beyond
• Paradigm shifts in networking technologies improve connection, efficiency, and scalability, impacting everyday life.

Graphical Display

• Evolution of graphical display technology fundamentally changed interaction:
• Examples:
  • Text-based displays to graphical user interfaces (GUIs)
  • High-resolution and color displays
  • 3D graphics and GPUs
  • Mobile and touchscreen interfaces
  • Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR)
  • Flexible and wearable displays

WWW (World Wide Web)

• The World Wide Web has significantly impacted global information access, sharing, and communication.
• Defining paradigm shifts in the WWW
  • Hyperlinking and information accessibility
  • Graphical web browsers
  • E-commerce and online transactions
  • Social networking and user-generated content
  • Mobile web and responsive design
  • Semantic web and linked data
• Transformation of society, commerce, education, and communication.

Ubiquitous Computing

• Seamlessly integrating computational capabilities into everyday objects and environments.
• Goal: To make computing omnipresent.
• Key aspects:
  • Embedded systems: Computing integrated into common objects.
  • Sensor networks: Gathering and processing data in real-time.
  • Wearable devices: Technology integrated into clothing and accessories.
  • Internet of Things (IoT): Connecting devices for pervasive connectivity.
• Ubiquitous computing redefines interaction with the digital world.

Programming Tool Kits

• Essential resource for developers creating interactive systems.
• Features:
  • Pre-built components: Common functionalities like UI elements, data structures, and input/output.
  • Abstraction of complexity: Reusable components simplifying tasks.
  • Cross-platform compatibility: Development/deployment across multiple platforms and devices.
• Enhanced efficiency through integration, support communities, and customization.

Explore the key concepts and paradigms of interactive systems, focusing on usability and design principles. This quiz will cover significant paradigm shifts and their impact on the development of interactive applications. Enhance your understanding of how successful examples can guide future designs.