Adaptive Graphics

ABSTRACT

The possibility of separating content from presentational information is one of the key concepts in adopting XML technologies in the electronic publishing domain. But what started successfully with textual representation of data using XML vocabularies (content) and XSL has rarely spread into the graphical domain.

Adaptive graphics technology physically separates the graphical from the descriptive elements within an image. Graphical elements include shapes such as circles and squares and their relation to each other. One possible format for representing graphical elements is SVG. On the other hand, descriptive elements contain customised information about the graphic object and are defined within an XML vocabulary file. Depending on the requester’s properties, the SVG file is processed and completed with descriptive information and transferred in SVG format to the client.

Most obvious scenarios include diagrams such as event maps or venue planners that have to be updated on a regular (and highly frequent) basis. In this case, the graphical part of the image (e.g. the layout of the rooms in a conference centre) is static and the most persistent part of the image. It is stored separately from the event specific data, e.g. occupation of rooms, title of presentations. On request, both files are merged and transformed into the final, data driven and customised image (adaptive graphic).

Another important area of adaptive graphics is the localisation domain of technical diagrams. Having separated the graphical from the descriptive elements, diagrams from e.g. the automotive, aero or medical domain can easily be fitted with textual information in the reader’s native language.

This paper and presentation discusses the background technologies that are used to generate and maintain adaptive graphics. It explains advantages and disadvantages and gives examples for various domains.