4.5. Display

4.5.1. Layout configuration

This layout section outlines the possibilities and limits of the display capabilities of the system. The display area of the browser is controlled by HTML. HTML defines the structural layout of the content that should be displayed within the display area. It can embed multimedia objects of very different types and even some application logic.

HTML is the World-Wide Web standard for documents and assures world-wide acceptance and continual development and enhancement. The usage of HTML as a basic description language for the layout and design guarantees a permanent state-of-the-art MINT that can use new web-features as they become available. Another important advantage is the easy reusability of web-design already done by creative advertising agencies for ACME. HTML offers the possibility to divide creative design and application logic.

Each HTML page should represent an indivisible decision stage in the configuration and order process. Examples are:

• Customer identification page
• Model introduction pages and areas
• Model selection page
• Motor selection page
• Colour selection page etc.

HTML offers a large set of features to control the display of the content. Some examples are:

• Structural text layout
• Different fonts and colors
• Relative placement, which solves the problem of different display resolutions available for laptops and client computers
• Tables
• Pictures, Sound and Videos
• ActiveX, Java or ShockWave objects (small multimedia applications, that are distributed over the network with different technologies)
• Forms, to enter data and forward the data to a server for further processing. Forms can be composed out of the usual GUI input controls like text fields, drop down list boxes or radio buttons.
• Java-Script (adds simple application logic)

4.5.2. Process configuration

The content that is displayed in the display area is assembled by the application server from template pages, input fields and multimedia objects. These pages can be viewed as decision stages in the information retrieving, negotiation and configuration or ordering process. The customer or the sales consultant are selecting features, accessing hot-spots on pictures for further details, using small simulation applications to explain difficult technical context and adding more and more data. Whenever there are no further question in a decision stage, e.g. the right power train is chosen after comparing different alternatives, this data is passed to the Application Server. The settings determined during each decision stage are added to the configuration and the next step begins by passing the added values and selections to the application server. The application server reacts by answering with the next page suited to refine the configuration.

If interactive actions are required at any decision stage, like price updating, this is solved by embedded Java-Script that is executed as part of the document.

The process logic (the order in which data is passed from one application to the next) is embedded in the Application Server.

Since the order of execution of the process logic is subject to human vagaries (a customer might want to know the trade-in value of his car at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a sales process etc.) the Application Server needs to be able to operate with non-complete sets of information; this will be done by default assumptions where possible, and by requesting specific information where needed.