Distributed User Interfaces: Applications and Challenges

This article explores the key points regarding the development of distributed user interfaces to present the features that are not covered by traditional development processes and how these features are characterized. A transversal approach to tackle these new issues is also proposed. This introductory article aims to present also a resume of the main topics covered in this special issue that gathers a thorough selection of the best papers presented at the first workshop on distributed user interfaces. The goal of this workshop is to promote the discussion about the emerging topic of distribute user interfaces, answering a set of key questions: what, when, how, and why distribute a user interface among different devices to improve users' interaction.