Composite Device
Using a Distributed MVC Architecture


This thesis evaluates whether a distributed MVC architecture is a feasible way to incorporate
available computing resources in the surrounding area into a composite device for solving
specific tasks.
When a PDA uses a service from a nearby PC, e.g. using the screen of the PC, they together
form a composite device. The goal of this is primarily to overcome the physical limitations of
the PDA. The infrastructure for managing composite devices will be described and analyzed.
To put the architecture into context, a number of usage scenarios are described, tested and used
for validation.
To support the architecture, a proof of concept prototype is developed. The developed
prototype implements a distributed MVC architecture with the following key functionalities
implemented:
• Ability to dynamically switch between one service and another internally in the PC or
in a composite device composed of a PC and a PDA.
• Ability to dynamically switch between service types (between MVC trinities)
• Registration of available services
• Discovery of available services
• Infrastructure to handle creation of a composite device in the form of a MVC structure
composed of a mixture of internal and external MVC components
The view and controller services in the MVC architecture are abstractions of corresponding
visual objects, e.g. PC screen and PC keyboard, making it easy for the user to understand.
It is concluded that the distributed MVC Architecture represents an improvement of the user’s
possibilities and an improvement over standard service architecture, due to the support for
building composite devices and administrating the relations between the components in the
MVC triad.
Keywords: Pervasive computing, composite device, MVC, middleware, distributed MVC
architecture

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