A representational user interface is a user interface that represents the data or Real Information behind it. Representational user interfaces could become popular if our civilization began using Information Modeling to build Information Layers. You see, representational user interfaces are presently unpopular because the system behind the user interface is almost always data rather than Real Information. Customers need information rather than data most of the time. At present, the job of a GUI is to translate the data behind the scenes into real information for the users. This is a hardcoded literal translation and is difficult to change. Using a real information layer would allow representational user interfaces to be automatically manually generated, because the information behind the scenes would be the information that the users needed.
-- Jon Grover
How do you use "Information Modeling to build Information Layers?"
[How does this compare to Naked Objects, Tangible Values, Open Croquet, Object Browser, Declarative Gui?]
Naked Objects and Representational User Interface s are very similar except that Naked Objects are used in the Real Data realm whereas Representational User Interface work in the Real Information realm. To work in the data realm you must have expert data oriented users. Users in the information realm don't need as much expertise because information is the language of users (as opposed to progrmmers). In addition, information can be used to format the representational interface somewhat. In effect both form and content can be represented by information but only content can be represented by data.
An Object Browser is one kind of Representational User Interface. Object definitions are a form of Real Information for programmers, so they reside int he information realm.
See original on c2.com 