A software tool for specifying and generating displays in object-oriented database applications
Belinda B. Flynn · 1994
Database user interfaces are turning towards a style in which the main mode of interaction is is editing and browsing data objects--giving the user the impression of directly affecting the data as concrete objects. To provide this feeling, the interface must be able to express the semantics and behavior of the underlying objects in a way that is intuitive for users. Several visual database interfaces have adopted this style to enable users to access databases more effectively without having extensive training or knowledge of the database schema. Current database application with visual interfaces receive little user-interface support from the database management system (DBMS). With record-oriented data models such as the network, hierarchical or relational models, the application is responsible for deriving the connectivity or object structure from data records. Thus the application, rather than the DBMS, is best suited to create and manage the object displays for the user interface. However, object-oriented DBMSs (OODBMSs) provide the ability to model data directly as structured objects. Since object structure is imposed by the database rather than the application, the database contains sufficient information for complex objects to be displayed directly, independently of the application. These new circumstances create an opportunity to factor another function out of the application: the management of object displays. A display facility associated with the OODBMS can take over this task, generating and managing interactive displays using only information stored in the database. This dissertation discusses the design and implementation of the Object Display Definition System (ODDS), a prototype system created to investigate support for user-interface development in the context of OODBMSs.