Vulcan: A Modified Viewdata System with Improved Indexing and Formal Hierarchy Definition Language
John A. Mariani · The Computer Journal · 1984
Conventional viewdata systems have two main drawbacks. First, they store information in a hierarchic structure which may be more naturally held as a network. As a result, a user may find himself forced to search through the structure in an illogical fashion. Further, the information provider, who is expected to supply not only the data but also its structure, is given very little aid. This paper describes the facilities of a modified viewdata system, Vulcan, which overcomes these problems, and its associated hierarchy specification language, VPREP. Information can be structured as a ‘natural’ network but is presented to the user as a logically consistent hierarchy. The VPREP language offers formal assistance for the specification, development and maintenance of the information network structure. The system described has been in use for several months.