Throwback 20 years to 2004: XML-based User Interface Description Languages
This year marks 20 years since I co-organized the Workshop on User Interface Description Languages (UIDLs) during the Working Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces, held in Gallipoli, Italy (May 25–28, 2004). Together with Marc Abrams, Jean Vanderdonckt, and Quentin Limbourg, we created an event that surpassed all expectations in terms of attendance, engagement, and the quality of contributions.
The early 2000s were a transformative period for the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Researchers and practitioners alike were grappling with the challenge of building flexible, reusable, and context-aware user interfaces (UIs) that could adapt to the growing variety of devices and use cases. XML, with its ability to structure and abstract information, became the language of choice for UIDLs.