Lerus: A User Interface Specification Language

Script or special-purpose languages for describing user interfaces are proving to be very useful. Such languages should be simple and extendible depending on the application domain. In our experience the use of a small language to define user interfaces, together with components and a flexible interface rendering framework reduces the effort it takes to learn to build user interfaces, obviates the need for highly qualified developers, and also very much favours the reuse of earlier development work. This paper describes the LERUS script language and the COREUS framework developed according to these principles and evaluates the user interface development effort saved across a range of projects.