Design And Implementation Of The XUL Visual Editor

With the extensive adoption of the Web applications, the traditional B/S mode can not satisfy the web viewers' requirement any more.Then Rich Internet Application (RIA) emerged as the times require.It combines the advantages of the desktop applications and the web applications to satisfy the web viewers' requirement. XUL (XML User Interface Language) developed by Mozilla organization is one kind of RIA technology, which can set up the user interface with powerful function and friendly interface. It offers a more convenient approach with high efficiency and well compatibility, and reduces the difficulty of developing the rich client interface. XUL has taken an active part in the GUI development domain.Nowadays those XUL editors that can be used still have some drawbacks, most of them just work on code without visual operation, and the whole XUL project has to be managed manually, which influences the development efficiency greatly.Based on the preceding discussion, this paper designs and implements an XUL GUI development tool: XUL VEditor, in the form of Eclipse plugin, which can satisfy the users' actual requirement. It offers a double development interface with design and code page, supporting the function of "WYSIWYG" and content assisting. And besides, the XUL project can be managed automatically. It is proved that XUL VEditor can simplify the operating flow, and enhance the efficiency of the system, facilitating all kinds of users to developping XUL.Here Java is utilized as the development language, involving some Eclipse technologies, such as Eclipse PDE, SWT, and JFace. The "data" of SWT widget and JDOM technology are also made full use of, and some arithmetics of layout adjustment are integrated into the editor. XUL VEditor does the best to attain balance between usability and functionality.