[Paper Review] Applying MVC and PAC patterns in mobile applications

D. Plakalovic, Dejan Simić|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jan 20, 2010

Business Process Modeling and Analysis3 references20 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes the application of MVC and PAC design patterns to improve separation of concerns in mobile applications, particularly for handling heterogeneous multi-modal input/output interactions. It demonstrates that while MVC is widely used, PAC offers better support for complex mobile UI requirements, enabling more flexible and maintainable user interface architectures.

ABSTRACT

Additional requirements are set for mobile applications in relation to applications for desktop computers. These requirements primarily concern the support to different platforms on which such applications are performed, as well as the requirement for providing more modalities of input/output interaction. These requirements have influence on the user interface and therefore it is needed to consider the usability of MVC (Model-View-Controller) and PAC (Presentation-Abstraction-Control) design patterns for the separation of the user interface tasks from the business logic, specifically in mobile applications. One of the questions is making certain choices of design patterns for certain classes of mobile applications. When using these patterns the possibilities of user interface automatic transformation should be kept in mind. Although the MVC design pattern is widely used in mobile applications, it is not universal, especially in cases where there are requirements for heterogeneous multi-modal input-output interactions.

Motivation & Objective

• Address the challenge of designing maintainable and adaptable user interfaces in mobile applications with diverse input/output modalities.
• Investigate the suitability of MVC and PAC patterns for separating user interface logic from business logic in mobile contexts.
• Evaluate the potential for automatic user interface transformation when using these design patterns.
• Identify when PAC is more appropriate than MVC in mobile application development, especially under complex interaction constraints.

Proposed method

• Adopt the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern to decouple data management, user interface, and control logic in mobile applications.
• Apply the PAC (Presentation-Abstraction-Control) pattern as an alternative to MVC, emphasizing structured separation of user interface presentation, data abstraction, and control logic.
• Analyze the architectural implications of both patterns in mobile environments with heterogeneous input/output requirements.
• Compare the two patterns in terms of extensibility, maintainability, and support for automatic UI transformation.
• Use case analysis to evaluate pattern applicability across different classes of mobile applications.
• Focus on the role of abstraction layers in enabling platform-agnostic UI components and dynamic adaptation.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 In what ways do MVC and PAC patterns support the separation of user interface concerns in mobile applications?
• RQ2 How do these patterns handle multi-modal input/output interactions in mobile environments?
• RQ3 What are the limitations of MVC when applied to mobile applications with complex interaction requirements?
• RQ4 To what extent can user interface components be automatically transformed when using PAC compared to MVC?
• RQ5 Which design pattern is more suitable for mobile applications requiring support across multiple platforms and interaction modalities?

Key findings

• MVC is widely adopted in mobile applications but lacks sufficient flexibility for handling heterogeneous multi-modal input/output interactions.
• PAC provides a more structured and scalable approach to UI architecture, especially in complex mobile use cases.
• The PAC pattern enables better abstraction of user interface components, supporting automatic transformation and platform portability.
• The separation of concerns in PAC leads to improved maintainability and extensibility in mobile application development.
• The study concludes that PAC is better suited than MVC for mobile applications requiring support across diverse platforms and interaction modalities.
• The research highlights that design pattern choice significantly influences the feasibility of automatic UI adaptation in mobile systems.