The requirement that a User be able to interact with an Application Program is
universal, whether the program is just a short test needing a few numbers
to be typed in, or a large program comprising many essentially independent
modules, each with different input requirements. The techniques used may vary
with the complexity of the program but the requirements are the same - a
mechanism for accepting input from the User and one for displaying current
status or the response to some input.
The UIPACK User Interface Package provides a unified mechanism whereby
Application Programmers may allow Users of a program to communicate with it
via the terminal keyboard and screen, either in a graphics mode or in an
alphanumeric mode of operation. The Package allows the Application Programmer
to choose between several means of accepting input (prompting the User for
single numbers or words of text or displaying Menus of allowed responses etc.)
and provides mechanisms whereby information from the Program may be presented
to the User. The Application may specify a ``Dictionary''
of allowed responses and automatically validate any response against this
list. Thus the Package will automatically check for the correct format for
Integer and Real Numbers and reprompt the User if necessary, without the
Application Programmer having to concern themselves with doing such checks
explicitly.