Separating user interface and functionality using a frame based data model

The separation between user interface and functionality found in many screen editors is generalized to handle a data model based on frames and binary relations. This paper describes a User Interface Management System (UIMS) based on the data model. The UIMS is capable of maintaining different and simultaneous representations of the same application data objects. The functionality and user interface are implemented on top of a small object oriented programming system. This allows the UIMS to be simple and independent of the graphics software and hardware as well as the data representation used by the application programs.