ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008
(Main)Information technology — User interfaces — Universal remote console — Part 1: Framework
Information technology — User interfaces — Universal remote console — Part 1: Framework
ISO/IEC 24752 facilitates operation of information and electronic products through remote and alternative interfaces and intelligent agents. ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008 defines a framework of components that combine to enable remote user interfaces and remote control of network-accessible electronic devices and services through a universal remote console (URC). It provides an overview of the URC framework and its components.
Technologies de l'information — Interfaces utilisateur — Console à distance universelle — Partie 1: Cadre général
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Standards Content (Sample)
INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 24752-1
First edition
2008-02-15
Information technology — User
interfaces — Universal remote
console —
Part 1:
Framework
Technologies de l'information — Interfaces utilisateur — Console à
distance universelle —
Partie 1: Cadre général
Reference number
ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2008
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
Contents Page
Foreword. v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope .1
2 Conformance.1
2.1 URC .1
2.2 Target .2
3 Normative references .3
4 Terms and definitions .4
5 Universal remote console (URC) requirements.11
5.1 General.11
5.2 Discovery management .11
5.3 Session management.12
5.4 Socket management.14
5.5 Target-URC network link on the URC .18
5.6 Resource-URC network link (RUNL) on the URC .19
5.7 User interface generation .19
5.8 Security and privacy requirements.20
6 Target components and requirements .20
6.1 Discovery management .20
6.2 User interface socket .21
6.3 User interface socket description.23
6.4 Target resources.23
6.5 Session management.26
6.6 Socket management.29
6.7 Target-URC network link (TUNL) on the target.34
6.8 Security and privacy requirements.35
7 Supplemental resources .35
7.1 General.35
7.2 Third party supplemental resources.35
7.3 Supplemental resources are optional.35
7.4 Format of supplemental resources.35
7.5 Forms of resource services.36
7.6 Supplemental resource sheets.36
7.7 Supplemental groupings.36
7.8 Supplemental atomic resources .36
7.9 Supplemental user interface implementation descriptions (UIIDs).36
8 Networks.37
8.1 General.37
8.2 Target-URC network (TUN) .37
8.3 Resource-URC network (RUN) .39
9 Security and privacy considerations.40
9.1 General.40
9.2 URC considerations.40
9.3 Target considerations .40
9.4 Network considerations .40
Annex A (informative) Overview of the universal remote console framework .41
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
Annex B (informative) Security and privacy – Example scenarios . 47
Annex C (informative) XML code examples . 48
Bibliography . 56
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 24752-1 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 35, User interfaces.
ISO/IEC 24752 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — User
interfaces — Universal remote console:
⎯ Part 1: Framework
⎯ Part 2: User interface socket description
⎯ Part 3: Presentation template
⎯ Part 4: Target description
⎯ Part 5: Resource description
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
Introduction
This part of ISO/IEC 24752 is one of a set of standards to facilitate operation of information and electronic
products through remote and alternative interfaces and intelligent agents. The purpose of this part of
ISO/IEC 24752 is to facilitate the development and deployment of a wide variety of devices (from different
manufacturers) that can act as universal remote consoles (“URCs”) for an equally varied range of target
devices and services (“targets”), also from different manufacturers. It allows users to control any number of
information and electronic products in their environment.
The targets include both devices and services. They can range from things as simple as light switches and
thermostats to more complex items such as audio-visual equipment, home appliances, in-car electronics,
web-based services, and any other devices or services that can be controlled electronically (or via information
technology).
Targets can be in the same location as the individual who desires to control the target through the URC, or at
any distance from the URC/user as long as there is some type of network connection between the URC and
the target. This is possible since a URC provides the user with all of the necessary controls as well as the
prompts and other information displayed by the target.
The URCs could be software running on common mainstream devices such as personal computing and
information technology devices [laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), telecommunications/wireless
application protocol (WAP) devices (e.g. cell phones), etc.]. They could also be functions implemented in
assistive technology devices, or they could be devices which were specially built to function as URCs. They
could be devices which were built to function primarily as a remote console for a particular family of products
(e.g. a remote console designed to be part of a home audio-visual system), but could also serve to control any
other devices compatible with this part of ISO/IEC 24752. They are similar to the behavior of universal remote
controls today, except
a) they have much greater function and scope,
b) they synchronize with the target in both directions (i.e. they can display the current status of the target),
c) they do not need to be programmed by the user (since they will automatically discover devices that are
controllable in a user's vicinity, discover the abstracted user interface of the targets and present it in the
way preferred by the user and their URC), and
d) they can be used out of sight of the product they are controlling.
The URCs could be all visual, all tactile, or all verbal in nature (or any combination thereof), because this
International Standard specifies the content of a target user interface independently from the form in which it is
presented. Thus, URCs could be designed that an individual could talk to and, through the URC, the user
could have speech access to any compatible target listed above without any of these targets having any voice
recognition or voice control functionality themselves. A person might, therefore, be able to say to their URC,
“Record channel 12 and show me ‘Law and Order’”. Or they could lie in bed and say, “Set the alarm to 6:30
AM, start brewing the coffee at 6:00 AM, and now set the home security system to ‘active’ ”. Or, if one’s
spouse is already asleep, a person could pick up their PDA or any other compatible URC device and
accomplish these same tasks silently either by calling up control panels or by issuing the instructions in
writing. (The URC framework does not provide the natural language control, but would provide all of the
information and control necessary for control by a natural language processing URC.)
Note that, although a URC implementation can involve hardware, requirements on this hardware such as
safety and design requirements are not within the scope of ISO/IEC 24752.
A more detailed overview of the URC framework is provided as Annex A.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
Information technology — User interfaces — Universal remote
console —
Part 1:
Framework
1 Scope
ISO/IEC 24752 is a multi-part International Standard to facilitate operation of information and electronic
products through remote and alternative interfaces and intelligent agents.
This part of ISO/IEC 24752 defines a framework of components that combine to enable remote user interfaces
and remote control of network-accessible electronic devices and services through a universal remote console
(URC). It provides an overview of the URC framework and its components.
2 Conformance
2.1 URC
A conforming URC shall implement
• at least one target-URC network link as specified in 5.5,
• the URC requirements as specified in Clause 5.
Table 1 summarizes the requirements on URCs, as specified in detail in Clause 5.
Table 1 – Summary of URC requirements
Requirement (“A URC shall …”) See
subclause
Retrieve documents from a target, including recognition of MIME types 5.2.3
Interpret a target description so that it can identify a target and open a control session with 5.2.4
one of its sockets
Support an open session request to a target 5.3.2
Support a URC close session event to a target 5.3.5
Support an abort session event from a target 5.3.6
Track connection status information from the underlying network (TUN) 5.3.7
Synchronize values of socket variables 5.4.2
Request invocation of a socket command, including support for local parameters and 5.4.3
command state updates
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
Requirement (“A URC shall …”) See
subclause
Receive and acknowledge notifications, including support for stacking notifications and their 5.4.4
states
Synchronize actual indices of socket sets and elements 5.4.5
Support timeout variables and timeout constants 5.4.7
Provide at least one target-URC network link (see 8.2 for TUN requirements) 5.5.1
Support reception and updating of atomic resources at runtime for those socket elements 5.5.2
that come with atomic resources at runtime
Provide a concrete user interface for a control session with a target’s socket 5.7
Implement the security and privacy functions available from the implemented TUNs 9.2
2.2 Target
A conforming target shall implement:
• at least one target-URC network link as specified in 6.7;
• a target description, as specified in 6.1.4;
• one or more sockets that, when considered together, cover the full functionality of the target, as specified
in 6.2;
• the target resources required to conform in at least one natural language (see 6.4.5); and
• the target components and requirements as specified in Clause 6.
Alternatively, a target’s manufacturer may provide the above documents separately as supplemental
resources, if the target is a legacy product that already provides the necessary communication and control
functionality through a networking platform (target-URC network).
Table 2 summarizes the requirements on targets, as specified in detail in Clause 6.
Table 2 – Summary of target requirements
Requirement (“A target shall …”) See
subclause
Have an instance identifier 6.1.2
Provide a fetch mechanism for its documents to be retrieved by URI, including support for 6.1.3
MIME types
Provide exactly one target description with references to all socket descriptions and resource 6.1.4
sheets
Provide one or more user interface sockets that collectively provide access to all of the 6.2.2
functionality provided by the built-in user interface of the target
Inside a target’s socket: 6.2.3
• The variables shall include all of the dynamic data on the target socket’s state a user
can perceive and/or manipulate
• The commands shall include all of the target functions that can be called explicitly or
implicitly by users
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
Requirement (“A target shall …”) See
subclause
Provide a user interface socket description for each of the target’s sockets 6.3
Provide the required target resources in at least one natural language: 6.4.5
• one grouping resource for every socket of the target
• label resources (textual)
Support an open session request from a URC 6.5.1
Support a suspend session request from a URC 6.5.2
Support a resume session request from a URC 6.5.3
Support a close session event from a URC 6.5.4
Send an abort session event in case of user session abortion 6.5.5
Track connection status information from the underlying TUN network 6.5.6
Send a session forward event to the URC in case of session forwarding 6.5.7
Create and maintain a session between a socket and the URC after successful open session 6.6.1
request
Indicate to the URC the availability of socket elements at runtime 6.6.3
Synchronize the socket variables between the socket and the URCs that participate in a joint 6.6.5
session with the socket
Support command invocation requests from a URC (including handling of local parameters) 6.6.6
and synchronization of command states
Support propagation of notification states to the connected URCs, and acceptance of 6.6.7
pertinent acknowledgments
Synchronize actual indices of socket sets and elements 6.6.8
Not rely on the URC doing the interpretation of socket element dependencies 6.6.9
Provide general timeout variables and timeout variables for notify elements to represent user 6.6.10
response timeouts implemented
Provide atomic resources at runtime for those socket elements that are marked to come with 6.6.11
atomic resources at runtime
Provide at least one target-URC network link (see 8.2 for TUN requirements) 6.7
3 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 24752-2, Information technology — User interfaces — Universal remote console — Part 2: User
interface socket description
ISO/IEC 24752-3, Information technology — User interfaces — Universal remote console — Part 3:
Presentation template
ISO/IEC 24752-4, Information technology — User interfaces — Universal remote console — Part 4: Target
description
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
ISO/IEC 24752-5, Information technology — User interfaces — Universal remote console — Part 5: Resource
description
ISO/IEC 10646, Information technology — Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS)
W3C Recommendation: Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Third edition), 04 February 2004,
http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-xml-20040204/
4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
4.1
atomic resource
resource that is used as an atomic entity in the construction of a concrete user interface
EXAMPLE Atomic resources include label resources, help resources, access key resources and keyword resources.
NOTE An atomic resource may be of any form, including text, images, sounds, animations and video clips. See
ISO/IEC 24752-5.
4.1.1
supplemental atomic resource
supplemental resource that is used as an atomic entity in the construction of a concrete user interface
4.1.2
target atomic resource
target resource that is used as an atomic entity in the construction of a concrete user interface
4.2
command
socket element representing a core function that a user can request a target to perform that cannot be
achieved through the manipulation of the value of a single variable
EXAMPLE a ‘reset’ or ‘submit’ operation
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.3
command parameter
variable whose value is used for the execution of a command
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.3.1
input parameter
variable whose value is read by the target before execution of a command, to affect the execution and its
result(s)
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.3.2
output parameter
command result
variable whose value is updated by the target after execution of a command, to reflect a result of the
execution
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
4.3.3
input-output parameter
variable used as input and output parameter for the same command
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.3.4
global parameter
reference from a command to a variable that serves as an input or output parameter for the command
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.3.5
local parameter
input or output parameter that is attached to a command
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.4
constant
element of a socket description representing fixed or constant information that is known before runtime
EXAMPLE model number
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.5
connection
association established between functional units for data transmission
[ANSDIT]
4.6
context of use
use context
users, tasks, equipment (hardware, software and materials), and the physical and social environments in
which a product is used
[ISO 9241-11:1998]
4.7
control phase
time period during which a URC and a target initiate, maintain and terminate a control session between the
URC and a specific target socket
4.8
device
physical device with a built-in user interface that can also be controlled electronically
EXAMPLES light switches, thermostats, home appliances, audio-visual equipment, vending machines and point-of-sale
devices
4.9
discovery
process by which a URC locates and connects to targets in its environment
4.10
discovery phase
time period during which a URC scans the environment for available targets and identifies their sockets
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
4.11
element
fundamental logical unit of an XML document
4.12
extensible markup language
XML
meta-markup language that provides a format for describing structured data
NOTE XML has no fixed tag set or application semantics.
4.13
grouping resource
hierarchical structure of user interface socket elements or user interface implementation description elements
in a top-down fashion that is provided externally to a socket description
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-5.
4.13.1
supplemental grouping resource
grouping resource that is provided externally to the target, by resource services
4.14
interface generator
software that generates a user interface for a target that is appropriate for a known context of use
NOTE In the context of ISO/IEC 24752, interface generation is typically based on the socket description, atomic
resources and presentation templates provided by the target
4.15
notification
special state of a target in which normal operation is suspended
EXAMPLE an exception state
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-2.
4.16
personal digital assistant
PDA
pocket-sized computer with communication capability, typically used to store an individual’s personal
information
4.17
presentation template
PreT
XML document that contains modality-independent presentation information for a user interface socket
EXAMPLE grouping and ordering of elements
NOTE It is expressed using the presentation template markup language (see ISO/IEC 24752-3).
4.18
presentation template markup language
PreTML
XML language for specification of presentation templates
NOTE The language is specified in ISO/IEC 24752-3.
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
4.19
resource
object that is used as an entity or to support decision making in the construction of a concrete user interface
EXAMPLE Resources include user interface implementation description, resource sheet, and any kind of atomic
resource such as label resources, help resources, access key resources and keyword resources.
NOTE See ISO/IEC 24752-5.
4.19.1
target resource
resource provided by a target
4.19.2
supplemental resource
resource made available externally to a target
4.19.3
standard resource
resource in the format specified in ISO/IEC 24752-5
4.19.4
access key resource
atomic resource that specifies a single character that can be used in combination with a URC-specific
mechanism to move the focus to an element of an interface
NOTE When an access key is bound to a command, entering the access key will activate the command.
4.19.5
help resource
atomic resource intended to be used to provide help to a user of a target
4.19.6
keyword resource
atomic resource that specifies a keyword pertaining to a referenced element
4.19.7
label resource
atomic resource used to label, identify or present an element in a user interface
EXAMPLE The label “John F Kennedy International Airport” could be used to present the value “JFK”, or the label
“Destination” could be used to identify an input field where the user must enter a travel destination.
4.19.7.1
supplemental label
label resource made available externally to a target
4.20
resource description
description of a resource in terms of its properties
NOTE A resource description is described in the Resource Description Framework (RDF) format. See
ISO/IEC 24752-5.
4.21
Resource Description Framework
RDF
specification being developed by the W3C to provide an infrastructure to support metadata on the Internet and
WWW
NOTE See http://www.w3.org/RDF/.
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ISO/IEC 24752-1:2008(E)
4.22
resource directory
hierarchical directory of resources and resource services
NOTE Resource directories may contain or reference resource sheets and other resource directories (as
subdirectories), and may reference user interface implementation descriptions and resource services. Resource
directories facilitate the selection of appropriate resources and resource services for the URC. Each node in the resource
directory tree provides hereby a “scent” of the properties of its direct and indirect content. A resource directory description
is
...
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