About UIML.org

UIML is the User Interface Markup Language. 

UIML embodies a radically new way to build user interfaces: you describe the interface once, no matter what kind of hardware or software you want to run it on. Furthermore, you describe the interconnection of the user interface to business logic, services, and other components once. Thus if you are deploying HTML, Java, and WML interfaces to a common set of Java beans on a server, the UIML implementation takes care of figuring out how to get the HTML and WML interfaces to communicate with the beans, to insulate user interface developers from these mundane details.

It doesn't matter what device you use: a desktop PC, a handheld device, or something else. It doesn't matter what interface metaphor you want: a graphicial user interface (GUI) or voice. It doesn't matter whether you want the interface implemented in Java or another markup language (e.g., HTML, WML, VoiceXML).

Several novel concepts underlying UIML that distinguish it from any other markup language for user interfaces. First, UIML is a meta-langauge, analogous to XML. Just as the XML specification does not define what tags are used, the UIML specification does not define a vocabulary of user interface components and properties. In this way UIML can adapt to various devices. Second, UIML can be translated to other languages, both imperative languages like Java and C++ as well as markup languages like HTML and WML. Third, UIML permits a description of many types of interaction of the user with the interface, without resorting to scripting or other languages. This facilitates portability of interfaces among devices.

UIML insulates interface developers from all of these through style sheets.

With UIML you can create Java interfaces without writing Java code. You can make traditional GUI interfaces accessible to people with disabilities. You can maintain one source base that is deployed on many disparate devices.

Work on UIML began in 1997. The current language version, UIML2, will be submitted for standardization in Summer 2001, when implementations of the language for Java, HTML, WML, PalmOS, and VoiceXML are complete.

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