Dynamic UI vs Static UI

Question

I've been wondering, at what point should I give up the convenience of a static data entry form with designer support for a dynamic UI which removes a lot of code duplication?

There seems to be a conflict in the programming world where people constantly try to remove code repetition to improve maintainability and yet when it comes to forms, that all goes out of the window and everything gets added explicitly to the forms.

What signs should I look for to know when it's time to leave the designer in the dust and create a dynamic UI?

Answer 1

Dynamic UI are fine for some types of data and some business processes

Mostly they look ugly once any level of complexity sets in

I use a model to define dynamic forms made from : group frame, labels, textboxes, numberboxes, option buttons, and checkboxes in WPF

It works fine for filling in basic data to control templated document and catalog creation

But I don't think it would work well for typical business data with complex hierarchies etc

Answer 2

A UI has to be optimized to the user workflow, it has to make data entry convenient and it has to look nice, automatically generating such a UI for anything with real-world complexity is difficult if not impossible.

Answer 3

May I humbly suggest Metawidget?

It does not, as you say, try and "generate an entire UI". It is just a system to "generate duplicate code in complex systems of forms with a large amount in common".

If you get chance to take a look, I'd love to hear your feedback on our forums.

Regards,

Richard.