short definition of presentation layer

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Prerequisite : OSI Model

Introduction : Presentation Layer is the 6th layer in the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. This layer is also known as Translation layer, as this layer serves as a data translator for the network. The data which this layer receives from the Application Layer is extracted and manipulated here as per the required format to transmit over the network. The main responsibility of this layer is to provide or define the data format and encryption. The presentation layer is also called as Syntax layer since it is responsible for maintaining the proper syntax of the data which it either receives or transmits to other layer(s).

Functions of Presentation Layer :

The presentation layer, being the 6th layer in the OSI model, performs several types of functions, which are described below-

• Presentation layer format and encrypts data to be sent across the network.
• This layer takes care that the data is sent in such a way that the receiver will understand the information (data) and will be able to use the data efficiently and effectively.
• This layer manages the abstract data structures and allows high-level data structures (example- banking records), which are to be defined or exchanged.
• This layer carries out the encryption at the transmitter and decryption at the receiver.
• This layer carries out data compression to reduce the bandwidth of the data to be transmitted (the primary goal of data compression is to reduce the number of bits which is to be transmitted).
• This layer is responsible for interoperability (ability of computers to exchange and make use of information) between encoding methods as different computers use different encoding methods.
• This layer basically deals with the presentation part of the data.
• Presentation layer, carries out the data compression (number of bits reduction while transmission), which in return improves the data throughput.
• This layer also deals with the issues of string representation.
• The presentation layer is also responsible for integrating all the formats into a standardized format for efficient and effective communication.
• This layer encodes the message from the user-dependent format to the common format and vice-versa for communication between dissimilar systems.
• This layer deals with the syntax and semantics of the messages.
• This layer also ensures that the messages which are to be presented to the upper as well as the lower layer should be standardized as well as in an accurate format too.
• Presentation layer is also responsible for translation, formatting, and delivery of information for processing or display.
• This layer also performs serialization (process of translating a data structure or an object into a format that can be stored or transmitted easily).

Features of Presentation Layer in the OSI model: Presentation layer, being the 6th layer in the OSI model, plays a vital role while communication is taking place between two devices in a network.

List of features which are provided by the presentation layer are:

• Presentation layer could apply certain sophisticated compression techniques, so fewer bytes of data are required to represent the information when it is sent over the network.
• If two or more devices are communicating over an encrypted connection, then this presentation layer is responsible for adding encryption on the sender’s end as well as the decoding the encryption on the receiver’s end so that it can represent the application layer with unencrypted, readable data.
• This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent over a network, providing freedom from compatibility problems.
• This presentation layer also negotiates the Transfer Syntax.
• This presentation layer is also responsible for compressing data it receives from the application layer before delivering it to the session layer (which is the 5th layer in the OSI model) and thus improves the speed as well as the efficiency of communication by minimizing the amount of the data to be transferred.

Working of Presentation Layer in the OSI model : Presentation layer in the OSI model, as a translator, converts the data sent by the application layer of the transmitting node into an acceptable and compatible data format based on the applicable network protocol and architecture.  Upon arrival at the receiving computer, the presentation layer translates data into an acceptable format usable by the application layer. Basically, in other words, this layer takes care of any issues occurring when transmitted data must be viewed in a format different from the original format. Being the functional part of the OSI mode, the presentation layer performs a multitude (large number of) data conversion algorithms and character translation functions. Mainly, this layer is responsible for managing two network characteristics: protocol (set of rules) and architecture.

Presentation Layer Protocols : Presentation layer being the 6th layer, but the most important layer in the OSI model performs several types of functionalities, which makes sure that data which is being transferred or received should be accurate or clear to all the devices which are there in a closed network. Presentation Layer, for performing translations or other specified functions, needs to use certain protocols which are defined below –

• Apple Filing Protocol (AFP): Apple Filing Protocol is the proprietary network protocol (communications protocol) that offers services to macOS or the classic macOS. This is basically the network file control protocol specifically designed for Mac-based platforms.
• Lightweight Presentation Protocol (LPP): Lightweight Presentation Protocol is that protocol which is used to provide ISO presentation services on the top of TCP/IP based protocol stacks.
• NetWare Core Protocol (NCP): NetWare Core Protocol is the network protocol which is used to access file, print, directory, clock synchronization, messaging, remote command execution and other network service functions.
• Network Data Representation (NDR): Network Data Representation is basically the implementation of the presentation layer in the OSI model, which provides or defines various primitive data types, constructed data types and also several types of data representations.
• External Data Representation (XDR): External Data Representation (XDR) is the standard for the description and encoding of data. It is useful for transferring data between computer architectures and has been used to communicate data between very diverse machines. Converting from local representation to XDR is called encoding, whereas converting XDR into local representation is called decoding.
• Secure Socket Layer (SSL): The Secure Socket Layer protocol provides security to the data that is being transferred between the web browser and the server. SSL encrypts the link between a web server and a browser, which ensures that all data passed between them remains private and free from attacks.

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  Layer 6 Presentation Layer

De/Encryption, Encoding, String representation

The presentation layer (data presentation layer, data provision level) sets the system-dependent representation of the data (for example, ASCII, EBCDIC) into an independent form, enabling the syntactically correct data exchange between different systems. Also, functions such as data compression and encryption are guaranteed that data to be sent by the application layer of a system that can be read by the application layer of another system to the layer 6. The presentation layer. If necessary, the presentation layer acts as a translator between different data formats, by making an understandable for both systems data format, the ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation One) used.

OSI Layer 6 - Presentation Layer

The presentation layer is responsible for the delivery and formatting of information to the application layer for further processing or display. It relieves the application layer of concern regarding syntactical differences in data representation within the end-user systems. An example of a presentation service would be the conversion of an EBCDIC-coded text computer file to an ASCII-coded file. The presentation layer is the lowest layer at which application programmers consider data structure and presentation, instead of simply sending data in the form of datagrams or packets between hosts. This layer deals with issues of string representation - whether they use the Pascal method (an integer length field followed by the specified amount of bytes) or the C/C++ method (null-terminated strings, e.g. "thisisastring\0"). The idea is that the application layer should be able to point at the data to be moved, and the presentation layer will deal with the rest. Serialization of complex data structures into flat byte-strings (using mechanisms such as TLV or XML) can be thought of as the key functionality of the presentation layer. Encryption is typically done at this level too, although it can be done on the application, session, transport, or network layers, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. Decryption is also handled at the presentation layer. For example, when logging on to bank account sites the presentation layer will decrypt the data as it is received.[1] Another example is representing structure, which is normally standardized at this level, often by using XML. As well as simple pieces of data, like strings, more complicated things are standardized in this layer. Two common examples are 'objects' in object-oriented programming, and the exact way that streaming video is transmitted. In many widely used applications and protocols, no distinction is made between the presentation and application layers. For example, HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), generally regarded as an application-layer protocol, has presentation-layer aspects such as the ability to identify character encoding for proper conversion, which is then done in the application layer. Within the service layering semantics of the OSI network architecture, the presentation layer responds to service requests from the application layer and issues service requests to the session layer. In the OSI model: the presentation layer ensures the information that the application layer of one system sends out is readable by the application layer of another system. For example, a PC program communicates with another computer, one using extended binary coded decimal interchange code (EBCDIC) and the other using ASCII to represent the same characters. If necessary, the presentation layer might be able to translate between multiple data formats by using a common format. Wikipedia

• Data conversion
• Character code translation
• Compression
• Encryption and Decryption

The Presentation OSI Layer is usually composed of 2 sublayers that are:

CASE common application service element

Sase specific application service element, layer 7   application layer, layer 6   presentation layer, layer 5   session layer, layer 4   transport layer, layer 3   network layer, layer 2   data link layer, layer 1   physical layer.

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What is the presentation layer in the OSI model?

The presentation layer is the sixth layer in the OSI model and is responsible for converting different file formats. This allows two systems to communicate. Other tasks carried out by the sixth layer include data compression and encryption.

What is the presentation layer?

What does the presentation layer do, which format does the presentation layer use, presentation layer protocols, skipping the presentation layer.

The presentation layer is the sixth layer of the OSI model. It is primarily used to convert different file formats between the sender and the receiver . The OSI model is a reference model that is used to define communication standards between two devices within a network . The development of this standard began in the 1970s and it was officially published at the beginning of the following decade. This standard enables seamless interaction between different technical systems.

The model is made up of a total of seven different layers, all having their own clearly defined tasks. While there are clear boundaries between the layers, the layers interact with each other, with each layer building off the one below it. The different layers are as follows:

• Physical layer
• Data link layer
• Network layer
• Transport layer
• Session layer
• Presentation layer
• Application layer

The presentation layer interacts closely with the application layer, which is located directly above it. The presentation layer’s main task is to present data in such a way that it can be understood and interpreted from both the system sending the data and the system receiving it. After this has been accomplished, the application layer then determines how the data should be structured and what sort of data and values are permissible.

Using these entries, a command set or an abstract transfer syntax is then automatically created. The presentation layer now has the task of transferring the data in such a way that it is readable without changing the information contained within it.

The presentation layer is often also responsible for the encryption and decryption of data . The information is first encrypted on the sender’s side and then sent to the receiver in an encrypted state. Keys and encryption methods are then exchanged in the presentation layer. The recipient is then able to decrypt the unreadable data and convert it into a format that can be understood and interpreted.

If data is shown during a transfer, we often use the term transfer syntax. These are separated into the abstract transfer syntax , in which the transferred values are written, and the concrete syntax, which contains a definition of the value coding.

The receiver can only process and understand the data they receive if they receive all of the information from the presentation layer. The most common definition language is Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) , which is also recommended by the ISO. The ISO is an organisation that is responsible for developing international standards in technology, management and manufacturing.

The presentation layer has many different formats. The most common text formats are the ASCII  (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) and EBCDIC (Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code). The most common image formats are GIF, JPEG and TIFF. Widely used video formats include MIDI, MPEG and QuickTime.

There are many different presentation layer protocols as well as transfer and encryption technologies in the presentation layer. These include:

The tasks which are carried out by the presentation layer are not always necessary for communication between two systems. In instances where both systems use the same formats, data conversion is not necessary. Additionally, encryption and compression are not required for every interaction and can also be carried out in another layer of the OSI model. If this is the case, the presentation layer can be skipped and the application layer (7) can communicate directly with the session layer (5) instead .

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On the sender device, it encapsulates and compresses data before sending it to the network to increase the speed and security of the network. On the receiver device, it de-encapsulates and decompresses data before presenting it to the user.

Examples of the presentation layer

Example standards for representing graphical information: JPEG, GIF, JPEG, and TIFF.

Example standards for representing audio information: WAV, MIDI, MP3.

Example standards for representing video information: WMV, MOV, MP4, MPEG.

Example standards for representing text information: doc, xls, txt, pdf.

Functions of the presentation layer

• It formats and presents data and information.
• It encrypts and compresses data before giving it to the session layer.
• It de-encrypts and decompresses the encrypted and compressed data it receives from the session layer.

Session layer

The session layer is the fifth layer of the OSI layers model. It is responsible for initiating, establishing, managing, and terminating sessions between the local application and the remote applications.

It defines standards for three modes of communication: full duplex, half-duplex, and simplex.

In the full duplex mode, both devices can send and receive data simultaneously. The internet connection is an example of the full duplex mode.

In the half duplex mode, only one device can send data at a time. A telephone conversation is an example of the half-duplex mode.

In the simplex mode, only one device can send data. A radio broadcast is an example of the simplex mode.

Functions of the session layer

• It is responsible for terminating sessions, creating checkpoints, and recovering data when sessions are interrupted.
• It opens and maintains logical communication channels between network applications running on the local host and network applications running on the remote host.
• If a network application uses an authentication mechanism before it opens a logical communication channel (session) with the remote host, it handles the authentication process.

Examples of the session layer

Structure Query Language (SQL), Remote Procedure Call (RPC), and Network File System (NFS) are examples of the session layer.

By ComputerNetworkingNotes Updated on 2023-10-30 05:30:01 IST

ComputerNetworkingNotes CCNA Study Guide Presentation layer and Session layer of the OSI model

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Presentation Layer Of OSI Model For Beginners

Presentation Layer:

Presentation Layer is the sixth layer in the OSI model and here are some of the functionalities of the presentation layer:

Translation

Before being transmitted, the data remains in the form of characters and numbers. This data has to be changed to bitstreams before transmission. The presentation layer is responsible for interoperability between encoding methods as different computers use different encoding methods. It translates data between the formats that a network requires and the format a computer needs.

It carries out the process of encryption at the transmitter end and the process of decryption at the receiver end.

Encryption and decryption are ways to protect the confidentiality of the data stored on computer systems or wired over the internet or other computer networks.

Also Read:   Network Layer Of OSI Mode: Functionalities and Protocols

In terms of security, modern-day encryption methods play a vital role in the security assurance of IT systems and communications as they can provide not only confidentiality but also,  authentication and integrity.

Data compression

Data compression is also known by different names like source coding or bit-rate reduction. As evident from these names, data compression involves encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation. So in this way, the data compression can be either lossy or lossless.

Even though lossless compression reduces bits by identifying and eliminating statistical redundancy, no data information is lost in the lossless compression.

On the other hand, the lossy compression reduces bits by identifying unnecessary information and removing it.

Data compression is useful in computer networks because it helps in the following ways:

• Reducing resource usages such as data storage space or transmission capacity. B
• Reducing the need for an expensive hardware for the data representation. For example, if a video is highly compressed before transmission, an expensive hardware might be required to decompress the video data before playing it.

Thus, data compression is also very helpful in real-time applications over the internet like real-time video or audio streaming.

Data conversion

There are different types of operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS etc. are being used all around the world. Data conversion is, thus, responsible for the conversion of computer data from one format to another.

Different computers encode data in different ways on the basis of certain standards. On top of that, each computer program handles data in a different manner. Data conversion comes in handy in those situations when the representation of data is needed on different platforms.

The presentation layer can be composed of two sublayers: common application service element (CASE) and specific application service element (SASE).

Also Read:   LLC Layer (Logical Link Control): Data Link Layer Of OSI Model

The common application service element sublayer provides services for the application layer and request services from the session layer. It provides support for common application services whereas the specific application service element sublayer provides application specific services (protocols) like remote database access, file transfer, virtual terminal.

If you have any comments or thoughts related to it, feel free to ask and correct us. Also, don’t miss our complete coverage on the Computer networks .

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Presentation layer in osi model.

Last Updated on March 7, 2024 by Abhishek Sharma

The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model is a conceptual framework used to understand the functions of a telecommunication or computing system. It consists of seven layers, each responsible for specific tasks. The sixth layer, known as the Presentation Layer, plays a crucial role in ensuring that data exchanged between systems is readable and usable. Let’s explore the functions and importance of the Presentation Layer in the OSI model.

What is Presentation Layer in OSI Model?

The Presentation Layer, the sixth layer of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model, is responsible for ensuring that data exchanged between systems is in a format that can be interpreted and used by the receiving system. It performs various functions, including data translation, encryption, compression, and formatting, to facilitate efficient and secure communication between networked devices.

Functions of the Presentation Layer

Below are some of the functions of the Presentation Layer in OSI Model:

• Data Translation: The Presentation Layer translates data from the format used by the application layer into a format that can be transmitted over the network. This includes encoding, compression, and encryption.
• Data Formatting: It ensures that data is formatted according to the specifications of the application layer. This includes converting between different character sets, such as ASCII and Unicode.
• Data Compression: The Presentation Layer compresses data to reduce the amount of bandwidth required for transmission, improving network efficiency.
• Data Encryption: It encrypts data to ensure that it remains secure during transmission, protecting it from unauthorized access.
• Data Syntax: The Presentation Layer defines the syntax for data representation, ensuring that both the sender and receiver understand the structure of the data being exchanged.

Importance of the Presentation Layer

Importance of Presentation Layer are:

• Data Integrity: By ensuring that data is formatted correctly and encrypted, the Presentation Layer helps maintain the integrity of data during transmission.
• Interoperability: The Presentation Layer enables different systems to communicate with each other by ensuring that data is translated into a common format that both systems understand.
• Efficiency: Data compression reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted, improving network efficiency and reducing bandwidth requirements.
• Security: Encryption provided by the Presentation Layer ensures that data remains secure and protected from unauthorized access.

Conclusion The Presentation Layer is a crucial component of the OSI model, responsible for ensuring that data exchanged between systems is in a format that can be understood and used. By performing functions such as data translation, formatting, compression, and encryption, the Presentation Layer plays a vital role in maintaining data integrity, facilitating interoperability, and ensuring the security of data during transmission.

FAQs related to Presentation Layer in OSI Model

Here are some of the FAQs related to Presentation Layer in OSI Model:

Q1: What is the role of the Presentation Layer in the OSI model? The Presentation Layer ensures that data exchanged between systems is in a usable format, performing functions such as data translation, encryption, compression, and formatting.

Q2: How does the Presentation Layer ensure data security? The Presentation Layer encrypts data before transmission, making it unreadable to unauthorized parties, thus ensuring data security.

Q3: Why is data compression important in the Presentation Layer? Data compression reduces the size of data packets, leading to faster transmission speeds and optimized bandwidth usage, which is crucial in high-traffic networks.

Q4: How does the Presentation Layer facilitate interoperability between systems? By translating data into a common format that both sender and receiver understand, the Presentation Layer enables different systems to communicate with each other seamlessly.

Q5: Can the Presentation Layer be bypassed in data transmission? While it is possible to bypass the Presentation Layer in some cases, doing so can lead to compatibility issues between systems and is not recommended.

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The osi model: layer 6 - presentation layer.

The Presentation Layer gets its name from its purpose: It presents data to the Application layer. It's basically a translator and provides coding and conversion functions. A successful data transfer technique is to adapt the data into a standard format before transmission. Computers are configured to receive this generically formatted data and then convert the data back into its native format for reading. By providing translation services, the Presentation layer ensures that data transferred from the Application layer of one system can be read by the Application layer of another host.

JPEG: The Joint Photographic Experts Group brings these photo standards to us.

MIDI: The Musical Intrument Digital Interface is used for digitized music.

MPEG: The Moving Pictures Experts Group's standard for the compression and coding of motion video for CD's is very popular.

QuickTime: This is for use with Machintosh or Power PC programs, it manages audio and video applications.

The last 3 layers of the OSI model are reffered to the "Upper" layers. These layers are responsible for applications communicating between hosts. None of the upper layers know anything about networking or network addresses.

There are no protocols which work specificly at the Presentation layer, but the protocols which work at the Application layer are said to work on all 3 upper layers.

Next:   The OSI Model: Layer 7 - Application Layer

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Presentation Layer Definition

Presentation Layer: Protocols, Examples, Services | Functions of Presentation Layer

Presentation Layer is the 6th layer in the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model where all application programmer consider data structure and presentation, beyond of simply sending the data into form of datagram otherwise packets in between the hosts. Now, we will explain about what is presentation layer with its protocols, example, service ; involving with major functions of presentation Layer with ease. At the end of this article, you will completely educate about What is Presentation Layer in OSI Model without any hassle.

• What is Presentation Layer?

Definition : Presentation layer is 6th layer in the OSI model , and its main objective is to present all messages to upper layer as a standardized format. It is also known as the “ Translation layer “.  This layer takes care of syntax and semantics of messages exchanged in between two communication systems. Presentation layer has responsible that receiver can understand all data, and it will be to implement all data languages can be dissimilar of two communication system.

Presentation layer is capable to handle abstract data structures, and further it helps to defined and exchange of higher-level data structures.

Presentation Layer Tutorial Headlines:

In this section, we will show you all headlines about this entire article; you can check them as your choice; below shown all:

• Functions of Presentation Layer

Protocols of Presentation Layer

• Example of Presentation Layer Protocols

Presentation Layer Services

Design issues with presentation layer, faqs (frequently asked questions), what is meant by presentation layer in osi model, what protocols are used in the presentation layer, can you explain some presentation layer examples, what are the main functions of the presentation layer, what are services of presentation layer in osi, let’s get started,   functions of presentation layer.

Presentation layer performs various functions in the OSI model ; below explain each one – 

• Presentation layer helps to translate from American standard code for information interchange (ASCII) to the extended binary code decimal interchange code (EBCDIC).
• It deals with user interface as well as supporting for several services such as email and file transfer.
• It provides encoding mechanism for translating all messages from user dependent format with common format and vice – versa.
• It’s main goal for data encryption and decryption of entire data before they are getting transmission over all common platforms.
• It provides data compression mechanism for source point to decrease the all bits which are transmitted. Due to this data compression system, user are able to transmit enlarge multimedia file at fastest file transfer rate.
• Due to use of Data Encryption and Decryption algorithm, presentation layer provides more network protection and confidentiality while transmission data over the entire network.
• This layer offers best flexibility for data translation for making connections with various kinds of servers , computers, and mainframes over the similar network.
• Presentation layer has responsible to fix all translations in between all network systems .

Presentation layer is used various protocols; below list is available –

• Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
• File Transfer Protocol
• Network News Transfer Protocol
• Apple Filing Protocol (AFP)
• Independent Computing Architecture (ICA), the Citrix system core protocol
• Lightweight Presentation Protocol (LPP)
• NetWare Core Protocol (NCP)
• Network Data Representation (NDR)
• Telnet (a remote terminal access protocol)
• Tox Protocol
• eXternal Data Representation (XDR)
• 25 Packet Assembler/Disassembler Protocol (PAD)

Example of Presentation Layer Protocols:

Here, we will discuss all examples of presentation layer protocols; below explain each one –  

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) : MIME protocol was introduced by Bell Communications in 1991, and it is an internet standard that provides scalable capable of email for attaching of images, sounds and text in a message.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) : FTP is a internet protocol, and its main goal is to transmit all files in between one host to other hosts over the internet on TCP/IP connections.

Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) : This protocol is used to make connection with Usenet server and transmit all newsgroup articles in between system over internet.

Apple Filing Protocol (AFP ) : AFP protocol is designed by Apple company for sharing all files over the entire network .

Lightweight Presentation Protocol (LPP) : This protocol is used to offer ISO presentation services on top of TCP/IP based protocol stacks.

NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) : NCP is a Novell client server model protocol that is designed especially for Local Area Network (LAN). It is capable to perform several functions like as file/print-sharing, clock synchronization, remote processing and messaging.

Network Data Representation (NDR) : NDR is an data encoding standard, and it is implement in the Distributed Computing Environment (DCE).

Telnet (Telecommunication Network) : Telnet protocol was introduced in 1969, and it offers the command line interface for making communication along with remote device or server .

Tox : The Tox protocol is sometimes regarded as part of both the presentation and application layer , and it is used for sending peer-to-peer instant-messaging as well as video calling.

eXternal Data Representation (XDR) : This protocol provides the description and encoding of entire data, and  it’s main goal is to transfer data in between dissimilar computer architecture.

25 Packet Assembler/Disassembler Protocol (PAD) : Main objective of this protocol is to obtain all data from group of terminal and allots the data into X. 25 packets.

Presentation layer provides several services like as –

• Data conversion
• Character code translation
• Compression
• Encryption and Decryption
• It helps to handle and maintain Syntax and Semantics of the message transmitted.
• Encoding data can be done as standard agreed like as String, double, date, and more.
• Standard Encoding can be done on wire.

Presentation Layer is the 6th layer in the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model that is the lowest layer, where all application programmer consider data structure and presentation, beyond of simply sending the data into form of datagram otherwise packets in between the hosts.

Presentation layer is used various protocols like as:

Yes! In this article, already we have been explained many examples of presentation layer; you can check them.

Presentation layer has a responsibility for formatting, translation, and delivery of the information for getting to process otherwise display .

Now, i hope that you have completely learnt about what is presentation layer with its protocols, example, service ; involving with major functions of presentation Layer with ease. If this post is useful for you, then please share it along with your friends, family members or relatives over social media platforms like as Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Twitter, and more.

Also Read: Data Link Layer: Protocols, Examples | Functions of Data Link Layer

If you have any experience, tips, tricks, or query regarding this issue? You can drop a comment!

Related Posts

Application Architecture Guide - Chapter 10 - Presentation Layer Guidelines

Note - The patterns & practices Microsoft Application Architecture Guide, 2nd Edition is now live at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd673617.aspx .

- J.D. Meier, Alex Homer, David Hill, Jason Taylor, Prashant Bansode, Lonnie Wall, Rob Boucher Jr, Akshay Bogawat

• 1 Objectives
• 3 Presentation Layer Components
• 5 Design Considerations
• 6 Presentation Layer Frame
• 8 Composition
• 9 Exception Management
• 12 Navigation
• 13 Presentation Entities
• 14 Request Processing
• 15 User Experience
• 16 UI Components
• 17 UI Process Components
• 18 Validation
• 19 Pattern Map
• 20 Pattern Descriptions
• 21.1 Mobile Applications
• 21.2 Rich Client Applications
• 21.3 Rich Internet Applications (RIA)
• 21.4 Web Applications
• 22 patterns & practices Solution Assets
• 23 Additional Resources
• Understand how the presentation layer fits into typical application architecture.
• Understand the components of the presentation layer.
• Learn the steps for designing the presentation layer.
• Learn the common issues faced while designing the presentation layer.
• Learn the key guidelines for designing the presentation layer.
• Learn the key patterns and technology considerations for designing the presentation layer.

The presentation layer contains the components that implement and display the user interface and manage user interaction. This layer includes controls for user input and display, in addition to components that organize user interaction. Figure 1 shows how the presentation layer fits into a common application architecture.

Figure 1 A typical application showing the presentation layer and the components it may contain

Presentation Layer Components

• User interface (UI) components . User interface components provide a way for users to interact with the application. They render and format data for users. They also acquire and validate data input by the user.
• User process components . User process components synchronize and orchestrate user interactions. Separate user process components may be useful if you have a complicated UI. Implementing common user interaction patterns as separate user process components allows you to reuse them in multiple UIs.

The following steps describe the process you should adopt when designing the presentation layer for your application. This approach will ensure that you consider all of the relevant factors as you develop your architecture:

• Identify your client type . Choose a client type that satisfies your requirements and adheres to the infrastructure and deployment constraints of your organization. For instance, if your users are on mobile devices and will be intermittently connected to the network, a mobile rich client is probably your best choice.
• Determine how you will present data . Choose the data format for your presentation layer and decide how you will present the data in your UI.
• Determine your data-validation strategy . Use data-validation techniques to protect your system from untrusted input.
• Determine your business logic strategy . Factor out your business logic to decouple it from your presentation layer code.
• Determine your strategy for communication with other layers . If your application has multiple layers, such as a data access layer and a business layer, determine a strategy for communication between your presentation layer and other layers.

Design Considerations

There are several key factors that you should consider when designing your presentation layer. Use the following principles to ensure that your design meets the requirements for your application, and follows best practices:

• Choose the appropriate UI technology. Determine if you will implement a rich (smart) client, a Web client, or a rich Internet application (RIA). Base your decision on application requirements, and on organizational and infrastructure constraints.
• Use the relevant patterns. Review the presentation layer patterns for proven solutions to common presentation problems.
• Design for separation of concerns. Use dedicated UI components that focus on rendering and display. Use dedicated presentation entities to manage the data required to present your views. Use dedicated UI process components to manage the processing of user interaction.
• Consider human interface guidelines. Review your organization’s guidelines for UI design. Review established UI guidelines based on the client type and technologies that you have chosen.
• Adhere to user-driven design principles. Before designing your presentation layer, understand your customer. Use surveys, usability studies, and interviews to determine the best presentation design to meet your customer’s requirements.

Presentation Layer Frame

There are several common issues that you must consider as your develop your design. These issues can be categorized into specific areas of the design. The following table lists the common issues for each category where mistakes are most often made.

Table 1 Presentation Layer Frame

Caching is one of the best mechanisms you can use to improve application performance and UI responsiveness. Use data caching to optimize data lookups and avoid network round trips. Cache the results of expensive or repetitive processes to avoid unnecessary duplicate processing.

Consider the following guidelines when designing your caching strategy:

• Do not cache volatile data.
• Consider using ready-to-use cache data when working with an in-memory cache. For example, use a specific object instead of caching raw database data.
• Do not cache sensitive data unless you encrypt it.
• If your application is deployed in Web farm, avoid using local caches that need to be synchronized; instead, consider using a transactional resource manager such as Microsoft SQL Server® or a product that supports distributed caching.
• Do not depend on data still being in your cache. It may have been removed.

Composition

Consider whether your application will be easier to develop and maintain if the presentation layer uses independent modules and views that are easily composed at run time. Composition patterns support the creation of views and the presentation layout at run time. These patterns also help to minimize code and library dependencies that would otherwise force recompilation and redeployment of a module when the dependencies change. Composition patterns help you to implement sharing, reuse, and replacement of presentation logic and views.

Consider the following guidelines when designing your composition strategy:

• Avoid using dynamic layouts. They can be difficult to load and maintain.
• Be careful with dependencies between components. For example, use abstraction patterns when possible to avoid issues with maintainability.
• Consider creating templates with placeholders. For example, use the Template View pattern to compose dynamic Web pages in order to ensure reuse and consistency.
• Consider composing views from reusable modular parts. For example, use the Composite View pattern to build a view from modular, atomic component parts.
• If you need to allow communication between presentation components, consider implementing the Publish/Subscribe pattern. This will lower the coupling between the components and improve testability.

Exception Management

Design a centralized exception-management mechanism for your application that catches and throws exceptions consistently. Pay particular attention to exceptions that propagate across layer or tier boundaries, as well as exceptions that cross trust boundaries. Design for unhandled exceptions so they do not impact application reliability or expose sensitive information.

Consider the following guidelines when designing your exception management strategy:

• Use user-friendly error messages to notify users of errors in the application.
• Avoid exposing sensitive data in error pages, error messages, log files, and audit files.
• Design a global exception handler that displays a global error page or an error message for all unhandled exceptions.
• Differentiate between system exceptions and business errors. In the case of business errors, display a user-friendly error message and allow the user to retry the operation. In the case of system exceptions, check to see if the exception was caused by issues such as system or database failure, display a user-friendly error message, and log the error message, which will help in troubleshooting.
• Avoid using exceptions to control application logic.

Design a user input strategy based on your application input requirements. For maximum usability, follow the established guidelines defined in your organization, and the many established industry usability guidelines based on years of user research into input design and mechanisms.

Consider the following guidelines when designing your input collection strategy:

• Use forms-based input controls for normal data-collection tasks.
• Use a document-based input mechanism for collecting input in Microsoft Office–style documents.
• Implement a wizard-based approach for more complex data collection tasks, or for input that requires a workflow.
• Design to support localization by avoiding hard-coded strings and using external resources for text and layout.
• Consider accessibility in your design. You should consider users with disabilities when designing your input strategy; for example, implement text-to-speech software for blind users, or enlarge text and images for users with poor sight. Support keyboard-only scenarios where possible for users who cannot manipulate a pointing device.

Design your UI layout so that the layout mechanism itself is separate from the individual UI components and UI process components. When choosing a layout strategy, consider whether you will have a separate team of designers building the layout, or whether the development team will create the UI. If designers will be creating the UI, choose a layout approach that does not require code or the use of development-focused tools.

Consider the following guidelines when designing your layout strategy:

• Use templates to provide a common look and feel to all of the UI screens.
• Use a common look and feel for all elements of your UI to maximize accessibility and ease of use.
• Consider device-dependent input, such as touch screens, ink, or speech, in your layout. For example, with touch-screen input you will typically use larger buttons with more spacing between them than you would with mouse or keyboard inputs.
• When building a Web application, consider using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for layout. This will improve rendering performance and maintainability.
• Use design patterns, such as Model-View-Presenter (MVP), to separate the layout design from interface processing.

Design your navigation strategy so that users can navigate easily through your screens or pages, and so that you can separate navigation from presentation and UI processing. Ensure that you display navigation links and controls in a consistent way throughout your application to reduce user confusion and hide application complexity.

Consider the following guidelines when designing your navigation strategy:

• Use well-known design patterns to decouple the UI from the navigation logic where this logic is complex.
• Design toolbars and menus to help users find functionality provided by the UI.
• Consider using wizards to implement navigation between forms in a predictable way.
• Determine how you will preserve navigation state if the application must preserve this state between sessions.
• Consider using the Command Pattern to handle common actions from multiple sources.

Presentation Entities

Use presentation entities to store the data you will use in your presentation layer to manage your views. Presentation entities are not always necessary; use them only if your datasets are sufficiently large and complex to require separate storage from the UI controls.

Consider the following guidelines when designing presentation entities:

• Determine if you require presentation entities. Typically, you may require presentation entities only if the data or the format to be displayed is specific to the presentation layer.
• If you are working with data-bound controls, consider using custom objects, collections, or datasets as your presentation entity format.
• If you want to map data directly to business entities, use a custom class for your presentation entities.
• Do not add business logic to presentation entities.
• If you need to perform data type validation, consider adding it in your presentation entities.

Request Processing

Design your request processing with user responsiveness in mind, as well as code maintainability and testability.

Consider the following guidelines when designing request processing:

• Use asynchronous operations or worker threads to avoid blocking the UI for long-running actions.
• Avoid mixing your UI processing and rendering logic.
• Consider using the Passive View pattern (a variant of MVP) for interfaces that do not manage a lot of data.
• Consider using the Supervising Controller pattern (a variant of MVP) for interfaces that manage large amounts of data.

User Experience

Good user experience can make the difference between a usable and unusable application. Carry out usability studies, surveys, and interviews to understand what users require and expect from your application, and design with these results in mind.

Consider the following guidelines when designing for user experience:

• When developing a rich Internet application (RIA), avoid synchronous processing where possible.
• When developing a Web application, consider using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) to improve responsiveness and to reduce post backs and page reloads.
• Do not design overloaded or overly complex interfaces. Provide a clear path through the application for each key user scenario.
• Design to support user personalization, localization, and accessibility.
• Design for user empowerment. Allow the user to control how he or she interacts with the application, and how it displays data to them.

UI Components

UI components are the controls and components used to display information to the user and accept user input. Be careful not to create custom controls unless it is necessary for specialized display or data collection.

Consider the following guidelines when designing UI components:

• Take advantage of the data-binding features of the controls you use in the UI.
• Create custom controls or use third-party controls only for specialized display and data-collection tasks.
• When creating custom controls, extend existing controls if possible instead of creating a new control.
• Consider implementing designer support for custom controls to make it easier to develop with them.
• Consider maintaining the state of controls as the user interacts with the application instead of reloading controls with each action.

UI Process Components

UI process components synchronize and orchestrate user interactions. UI processing components are not always necessary; create them only if you need to perform significant processing in the presentation layer that must be separated from the UI controls. Be careful not to mix business and display logic within the process components; they should be focused on organizing user interactions with your UI.

Consider the following guidelines when designing UI processing components:

• Do not create UI process components unless you need them.
• If your UI requires complex processing or needs to talk to other layers, use UI process components to decouple this processing from the UI.
• Consider dividing UI processing into three distinct roles: Model, View, and Controller/Presenter, by using the MVC or MVP pattern.
• Avoid business rules, with the exception of input and data validation, in UI processing components.
• Consider using abstraction patterns, such as dependency inversion, when UI processing behavior needs to change based on the run-time environment.
• Where the UI requires complex workflow support, create separate workflow components that use a workflow system such as Windows Workflow or a custom mechanism.

Designing an effective input and data-validation strategy is critical to the security of your application. Determine the validation rules for user input as well as for business rules that exist in the presentation layer.

Consider the following guidelines when designing your input and data validation strategy:

• Validate all input data on the client side where possible to improve interactivity and reduce errors caused by invalid data.
• Do not rely on client-side validation only. Always use server-side validation to constrain input for security purposes and to make security-related decisions.
• Design your validation strategy to constrain, reject, and sanitize malicious input.
• Use the built-in validation controls where possible, when working with .NET Framework.
• In Web applications, consider using AJAX to provide real-time validation.

Pattern Map

Key patterns are organized by key categories, as detailed in the Presentation Layer Frame in the following table. Consider using these patterns when making design decisions for each category.

Table 2 Pattern Map

• For more information on the Page Cache pattern, see “Enterprise Solution Patterns Using Microsoft .NET” at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998469.aspx
• For more information on the Model-View-Controller (MVC), Page Controller, Front Controller, Template View, Transform View, and Two-Step View patterns, see “Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture (P of EAA)” at http://martinfowler.com/eaaCatalog/
• For more information on the Composite View, Supervising Controller, and Presentation Model patterns, see “Patterns in the Composite Application Library” at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc707841.aspx
• For more information on the Chain of responsibility and Command pattern, see “data & object factory” at http://www.dofactory.com/Patterns/Patterns.aspx
• For more information on the Asynchronous Callback pattern, see “Creating a Simplified Asynchronous Call Pattern for Windows Forms Applications” at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms996483.aspx
• For more information on the Exception Shielding and Entity Translator patterns, see “Useful Patterns for Services” at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc304800.aspx

Pattern Descriptions

• Asynchronous Callback. Execute long-running tasks on a separate thread that executes in the background, and provide a function for the thread to call back into when the task is complete.
• Cache Dependency. Use external information to determine the state of data stored in a cache.
• Chain of Responsibility. Avoid coupling the sender of a request to its receiver by giving more than one object a chance to handle the request.
• Composite View . Combine individual views into a composite representation.
• Command Pattern. Encapsulate request processing in a separate command object with a common execution interface.
• Entity Translator. An object that transforms message data types into business types for requests, and reverses the transformation for responses.
• Exception Shielding. Prevent a service from exposing information about its internal implementation when an exception occurs.
• Front Controller . Consolidate request handling by channeling all requests through a single handler object, which can be modified at run time with decorators.
• Model-View-Controller . Separate the UI code into three separate units: Model (data), View (interface), and Presenter (processing logic), with a focus on the View. Two variations on this pattern include Passive View and Supervising Controller, which define how the View interacts with the Model.
• Page Cache. Improve the response time for dynamic Web pages that are accessed frequently but change less often and consume a large amount of system resources to construct.
• Page Controller . Accept input from the request and handle it for a specific page or action on a Web site.
• Passive View . Reduce the view to the absolute minimum by allowing the controller to process user input and maintain the responsibility for updating the view.
• Presentation Model . Move all view logic and state out of the view, and render the view through data-binding and templates.
• Supervising Controller . A variation of the MVC pattern in which the controller handles complex logic, in particular coordinating between views, but the view is responsible for simple view-specific logic.
• Template View . Implement a common template view, and derive or construct views using this template view.
• Transform View . Transform the data passed to the presentation tier into HTML for display in the UI.
• Two-Step View . Transform the model data into a logical presentation without any specific formatting, and then convert that logical presentation to add the actual formatting required.

Technology Considerations

The following guidelines will help you to choose an appropriate implementation technology. The guidelines also contain suggestions for common patterns that are useful for specific types of application and technology.

Mobile Applications

Consider the following guidelines when designing a mobile application:

• If you want to build full-featured connected, occasionally connected, and disconnected executable applications that run on a wide range of Microsoft Windows®–based devices, consider using the Microsoft Windows Compact Framework.
• If you want to build connected applications that require Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), compact HTML (cHTML), or similar rendering formats, consider using ASP.NET Mobile Forms and Mobile Controls.
• If you want to build applications that support rich media and interactivity, consider using Microsoft Silverlight® for Mobile.

Rich Client Applications

Consider the following guidelines when designing a rich client application:

• If you want to build applications with good performance and interactivity, and have design support in Microsoft Visual Studio®, consider using Windows Forms.
• If you want to build applications that fully support rich media and graphics, consider using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).
• If you want to build applications that are downloaded from a Web server and then execute on the client, consider using XAML Browser Applications (XBAP).
• If you want to build applications that are predominantly document-based, or are used for reporting, consider designing a Microsoft Office Business Application.
• If you decide to use Windows Forms and you are designing composite interfaces, consider using the Smart Client Software Factory.
• If you decide to use WPF and you are designing composite interfaces, consider using the Composite Application Guidance for WPF.
• If you decide to use WPF, consider using the Presentation Model (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern.
• If you decide to use WPF, consider using WPF Commands to communicate between your View and your Presenter or ViewModel.
• If you decide to use WPF, consider implementing the Presentation Model pattern by using DataTemplates over User Controls to give designers more control.

Rich Internet Applications (RIA)

Consider the following guidelines when designing an RIA:

• If you want to build browser-based, connected applications that have broad cross-platform reach, are highly graphical, and support rich media and presentation features, consider using Silverlight.
• If you decide to use Silverlight, consider using the Presentation Model (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern.

Web Applications

Consider the following guidelines when designing a Web application:

• If you want to build applications that are accessed through a Web browser or specialist user agent, consider using ASP.NET.
• If you want to build applications that provide increased interactivity and background processing, with fewer page reloads, consider using ASP.NET with AJAX.
• If you want to build applications that include islands of rich media content and interactivity, consider using ASP.NET with Silverlight controls.
• If you are using ASP.NET and want to implement a control-centric model with separate controllers and improved testability, consider using the ASP.NET MVC Framework.
• If you are using ASP.NET, consider using master pages to simplify development and implement a consistent UI across all pages.

patterns & practices Solution Assets

• Web Client Software Factory at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb264518.aspx
• Smart Client Software Factory at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa480482.aspx
• Composite Application Guidance for WPF at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc707819.aspx
• Smart Client - Composite UI Application Block at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa480450.aspx

Additional Resources

• For more information, see Microsoft Inductive User Interface Guidelines at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms997506.aspx .
• For more information, see User Interface Control Guidelines at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb158625.aspx .
• For more information, see User Interface Text Guidelines at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb158574.aspx .
• For more information, see Design and Implementation Guidelines for Web Clients at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms978631.aspx .
• For more information, see Web Presentation Patterns at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms998516.aspx .

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Presentation Layer

• First Online: 13 June 2023

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• Brian Hodel 2  

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The presentation layer consists of various methods of presenting and interacting with your data. In Power Platform, there are several tools with which to do this, such as Power Apps, Power BI, and Power Pages. Designing an interface for your data is one of the more challenging aspects of designing a solution because it is where users interact with data. It needs to be built in such a way that users can intuitively find and navigate data structures. In my experience, this part of the process involves numerous iterations to find a balance between functionality and what makes sense to users.

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Hodel, B. (2023). Presentation Layer. In: Beginning Microsoft Dataverse. Apress, Berkeley, CA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-9334-8_5

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• Building Semantic Models in Oracle Analytics Cloud
• Create and Build Your Model
• Build a Semantic Model's Presentation Layer

What is the Presentation Layer?

The presentation layer provides users with customized, secure, role-based views of a business model.

Role-based views provide object security and also provide a way to hide some of the complexity of the business model.

In the presentation layer, you can set an implicit fact column. The primary function of the presentation layer is to provide custom names, dictionary entries, organization, and security for different groups of users.

Presentation layer views are called subject areas. Subject areas contain presentation tables, columns, hierarchies, and levels. You can create a subject area that's identical to your business model, or you can create role-based subject areas that show a single subject or that supports a specific business role. Subject areas aren't abstract views. You should create subject areas that organize your content in a way that benefits your users.

You can use a JDBC connection to query subject areas externally. When you access subject areas in this way, the subject areas are displayed as catalogs.

Even though the Logical SQL requests from visualizations, analyses, and other clients query the presentation tables and columns, the logic for entities, relationships, and joins is in the logical layer.

There is no automatic way to synchronize all changes between the logical layer and the presentation layer. For example, if you add logical columns to an existing logical table, or edit existing columns, you must manually update the corresponding presentation layer table and columns.

In some cases, if there are many changes to a logical table or even to an entire business model, it's easiest to delete the corresponding presentation table or subject area, and then and drag and drop the updated logical objects to the presentation layer. For this reason, it's best to wait until the logical layer is relatively stable before adding customizations in the presentation layer.