The Context Toolkit: Aiding the Development of Context-Enabled Applications
Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems the CHI is the limit - CHI '99, 1999 · paper · Computer science
Introduces context widgets, reusable building blocks that mediate between the environment and applications, analogous to graphical widgets, with a library for sensing presence, identity and activity. Evaluated through two new applications and one existing application extended with context sensing.
Checked: PDF from dourish.com, fetched 4 Oct 2026. Page numbers are those of that PDF.
0 findings
None that passed a second check.
9 minor (typos and the like; most checked by the judge only)
Wording Servers are described as components of a widget ("A widget may consist of any number of three types of components: generators, interpreters, and servers (see figure 2)"; p.3 "Widgets rely on three kinds of distributed components ... servers that aggregate information") but later as "a special kind of widget that collects, stores and interprets information from other widgets", acting as a gateway above elementary widgets.
- p. 3 How Applications Use Context Widgets, bullet 1
Widgets rely on three kinds of distributed components: generators that acquire context information, interpreters that abstract it and servers
- p. 6 Distribution
A widget may consist of any number of three types of components: generators, interpreters, and servers (see figure 2).
- p. 6 Composition
a server is a special kind of widget that collects, stores and interprets information from other widgets
- p. 3 How Applications Use Context Widgets, first bullet
Widgets rely on three kinds of distributed components: generators that acquire context information, interpreters that abstract it and servers that aggregate information.
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: I checked page 3 and page 6. In the Distribution section servers are a component that a widget consists of. In the Composition section a server is a widget that sits above other widgets (container analogy, gateway between applications and elementary widgets). The two descriptions point opposite ways, and the text never reconciles them. Figure 2, cited for the three component types, shows only G1, G2 and I; the caption's 'In this example' makes the missing server acceptable on its own. This is a wording ambiguity only the authors can resolve.
Second check: another model agreed
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Typo Abstract: "The concepts of toolkits and widget libraries in graphical user interfaces has been tremendously successful" — plural subject with singular verb; should be "have been".
- p. 1 Abstract
The concepts of toolkits and widget libraries in graphical user interfaces has been tremendously successful
Judge's note: The crop of the page 1 abstract shows the wording exactly as quoted. The plural subject 'concepts' takes 'has been'.
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Typo Page 3 bullet ends "This feature of the toolkit addresses issue 3 listed in the introduction" with no full stop, unlike the next bullet ("addresses issue 4.").
- p. 3 How Applications Use Context Widgets, first bullet on differences from GUI widgets
This feature of the toolkit addresses issue 3 listed in the introduction
- p. 3 Context widgets live in a distributed architecture
addresses issue 3 listed in the introduction
Judge's note: The page 3 crop shows no period after 'the introduction'. The parallel bullet that follows does end with a period.
Second check: none (judge only)
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Typo MachineUse description: "when a user logs onto or off of a computer, his identity, and length of her computing session" — pronoun for the same user switches from 'his' to 'her' within one clause.
- p. 4 Other Context Widgets
a computer, his identity, and length of her computing
- p. 4 Other Context Widgets
his identity, and length of her computing
- p. 4 Other Context Widgets
his identity, and length of her computing session
- p. 4 Activity widget
are listed in table 2
Judge's note: The page 4 crop shows 'his identity, and length of her computing' with 'session' on the next line. The lowercase 'table 2' point is trivial: the body text also uses lowercase 'figure 1' and 'figure 2' (though 'Table 1' appears elsewhere), so it is style, not a defect.
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Typo "Implementations of HTTP servers and clients libraries that can interpret XML" — should be "client libraries".
- p. 6 Communicating Across Heterogeneous Components
HTTP servers and clients libraries that can interpret XML
- p. 6 Communicating Across Heterogeneous Components
HTTP servers and clients libraries
Judge's note: The page 6 image shows 'clients libraries' as printed.
Second check: none (judge only)
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Typo Reference 12: "Pederson, E.R. and Sokoler, T. AROMA" — the first author's name appears misspelled (Pedersen).
- p. 8 Reference 12
Pederson, E.R. and Sokoler, T. AROMA
- p. 7 Related Work
the AROMA prototype shares an interesting feature with our context toolkit [12]
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: Rests on outside knowledge: that the first author of the CHI '97 AROMA paper is Elin Rønby Pedersen. The page 8 image shows 'Pederson'. The same reference list spells 'Petersen, K.' with -sen in ref 18, but that is a different person.
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Typo Reference 8: "Hull, R., Neaves, P. and Bedrod-Roberts, J." — the author name appears misspelled (Bedford-Roberts).
- p. 8 Reference 8
Hull, R., Neaves, P. and Bedrod-Roberts, J.
- p. 8 References 8
Bedrod-Roberts
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: Rests on outside knowledge: that the co-author of 'Towards Situated Computing' (ISWC '97) is J. Bedford-Roberts. The page 8 image shows 'Bedrod-Roberts' as printed.
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Typo Reference 6: "Simonet, N., Kobayshi, K." — the author name appears misspelled (Kobayashi).
- p. 8 Reference 6
Simonet, N., Kobayshi, K.
- p. 8 References 6
Kobayshi
Only the authors can say what is right here.
Judge's note: Rests on outside knowledge: that the C-MAP co-author's surname is Kobayashi. The page 8 image shows 'Kobayshi' as printed.
Second check: none (judge only)
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Typo References 1 ("ACM Wireless Networks 3, 421-433."), 11 ("Transactions on Information Systems 8, 3, 289-320."), 17 and 19 give no publication year, unlike most entries; ref 11 omits 'ACM' that ref 17 gives for the same journal.
- p. 8 Reference 1
ACM Wireless Networks 3, 421-433.
- p. 8 Reference 11
Transactions on Information Systems 8, 3, 289-320.
- p. 8 Reference 17
Information Systems 10, 1, 91-102.
- p. 8 Reference 19
Scientific American 265, 3, 66-75.
Judge's note: The page 8 image confirms that refs 1, 11, 17 and 19 have no year, while refs 3, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 18 have one, and that ref 11 reads 'Transactions on Information Systems' where ref 17 reads 'ACM Transactions on Information Systems'. This is an internal formatting inconsistency. Supplying the missing years would need outside sources.
Second check: none (judge only)