ABSTRACT
At Bellcore we are studying the design, construction, and use of MUMMS interfaces-user interfaces that allow multiple users to simultaneously interact with a single instance of an application from multiple workstations using multiple media. Our group has focused on the problems of constructing MUMMS interfaces and has developed the RENDEZVOUS language for MUMMS interface construction. The RENDEZVOUS language is based on Common Lisp. We have extended Common Lisp with our own object system, light-weight processes, non-blocking message passing, a declarative graphics system, and a fast, multi-way constraint maintenance system. This chapter describes the design rationale behind the RENDEZVOUS language and explains how the features in this language meet the needs of programmers building MUMMS interfaces.
