DESIGN OF A REAL-TIME GROUPWARE TOOLKIT
Date
1993-03-01
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Abstract
Real-time groupware systems, where several users work
simultaneously with the same information, are notoriously difficult to
construct. This thesis describes the design and implementation of a
toolkit for building real-time groupware. Following a user-centered
methodology, a number of requirements for groupware toolkits are
presented. The requirements are both human-centered, such as support
for work surface activities, flexible group processes, and integration
with conventional work, and also programmer-centered, such as
communications and a shared graphics model. Based on these
requirements, a prototype toolkit called GROUPKIT is described. It
contains three sets of components used to meet the requirements: a
communications infrastructure; overlays for work surface activities;
and open protocols for flexible group processes. Other concerns in
the toolkit design are minimizing the developer's work; encouraging
use; extensibility; and flexibility. A number of sample applications
built with GROUPKIT are described.
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Computer Science