NSM Architecture Overview

The Natural Secured Menus (NSM) Architecture is a standard set of facilities used for the development and operation of online Natural applications. It has been developed at the University of Arkansas using Natural, a fourth generation programming language provided by Software AG. The NSM Architecture imposes a command driven, menu augmented approach to the navigation of an application (the act of moving from one function to another). Anyone using an NSM application will be able to move from any function to any other function, within their security constraints, by entering the desired command. Menus are provided for command selection when the desired command is not known.

All NSM applications use the same basic screen format and operate in a similar manner. For example, the first three lines of each screen are reserved for the title, command, and key information. The last two lines are reserved for displaying available PF keys and their associated functions with a standard usage defined for most of these keys. In summary, the NSM Architecture provides:

• A common user interface for Natural applications,
• Central facilities for displaying menus and processing commands,
• Security features needed by most applications, and
• Maintenance facilities that allow individuals responsible for an application the ability to administer the security for their system directly and independently.