Table Of ContentWORKSHOPS IN COMPUTING
Series edited by C. 1. van Rijsbergen
Also in this series
Interfaces to Database Systems (lDS92) Semantics of Specification Languages (SoSL)
Proceedings ofthe First International Workshop Proceedings of the International Workshop on
on Interfaces to Database Systems, Semantics of Specification Languages, Utrecht,
Glasgow; 1-3 July 1992 The Netherlands, 25-27 October 1993
Richard Cooper (Ed.) DJ. Andrews, J.F. Groote and
C.A. Middelburg (Eds.)
AI and Cognitive Science '92
University of Limerick, 10-11 September 1992 Security for Object· Oriented Systems
Kevin Ryan and Richard F.E. Sutcliffe (Eds.) Proceedings ofthe OOPSLA-93 Conference
Workshop on Security for Object-Oriented
Theory and Formal Methods 1993 Systems, Washington DC, USA,
Proceedings of the First Imperial College 26 September 1993
Department of Computing Workshop on Theory B. Thuraisingham, R. Sandhu and
and Formal Methods, Isle of Thoms Conference T.C. Ting (Eds.)
Centre, Chelwood Gate, Sussex, UK,
29-31 March 1993 Functional Programming, Glasgow 1993
Geoffrey Bum, Simon Gay and Mark Ryan (Eds.) Proceedings of the 1993 Glasgow Workshop on
Functional Programming, Ayr, Scotland,
Algebraic Methodology and Software 5-7 July 1993
Technology (AMAST'93) John T. O'Donnell and Kevin Hammond (Eds.)
Proceedings of the Third International Conference
on Algebraic Methodology and Software Z User Workshop, Cambridge 1994
Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, Proceedings of the Eighth Z User Meeting,
The Netherlands, 21-25 June 1993 Cambridge, 29-30 June 1994
M. Nivat, C. Rattray, T. Rus and G. Scollo (Eds.) J.P. Bowen and J.A. Hall (Eds.)
Logic Program Synthesis and Transformation
6th Refinement Workshop
Proceedings of LOPSTR 93, International
Proceedings of the 6th Refinement Workshop,
Workshop on Logic Program Synthesis and
organised by BCS-FACS, London,
Transformation, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium,
5-7 January 1994
7-9 July 1993
David Till (Ed.)
Yves Deville (Ed.)
Incompleteness and Uncertainty in
Database Programming Languages (DBPL.4)
Information Systems
Proceedings of the Fourth International
Proceedings ofthe SOFTEKS Workshop on
Workshop on Database Programming Languages
Incompleteness and Uncertainty in Information
- Object Models and Languages, Manhattan, New
Systems, Concordia University, Montreal,
York City, USA, 30 August-l September 1993
Canada, 8-9 October 1993
Catriel Beeri, Atsushi Ohori and
V.S. Alagar, S. Bergler and F.Q. Dong (Eds.)
Dennis E. Shasha (Eds.)
Rough Sets, Fuzzy Sets and
Music Education: An ArtlficiallnteUigence
Knowledge Discovery
Approach, Proceedings of a Workshop held as
Proceedings of the International Workshop on
part of AI-ED 93, World Conference on Artificial
Rough Sets and Knowledge Discovery
Intelligence in Education, Edinburgh, Scotland,
(RSKD'93), Banff, Alberta, Canada,
25 August 1993
12-15 October 1993
Matt Smith, Alan Smaill and
Wojciech P. Ziarko (Ed.)
Geraint A. Wiggins (Eds.)
Algebra of Communicating Processes
Rules in Database Systems
Proceeedings of ACP94, the First Workshop on
Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on
the Algebra of Communicating Processes,
Rules in Database Systems, Edinburgh, Scotland,
Utrecht, The Netherlands,
30 August-l September 1993
16-17 May 1994
Norman W. Paton and
A. Ponse, C. Verhoef and
M. Howard Williams (Eds.)
S.F.M. van Vlijmen (Eds.)
continued on back page ...
Pete Sawyer (Ed.)
Interfaces to Database
Systems (IDS94)
Proceedings of the Second International
Workshop on Interfaces to Database
Systems, Lancaster University,
13-15 July 1994
Published in collaboration with the
British Computer Society
Springer-Verlag London Ltd.
Pete Sawyer, BSc, PhD
Computing Department, Lancaster University,
Bailrigg, Lancaster, LAI 4YR, UK
ISBN 978-3-540-19910-6
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Interfaces to Database Systems (IDS94):
Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Interfaces to Database
Systems, Lancaster University, 13-15 July 1994.-(Workshops in Computing
Series)
I. Sawyer, P.H. II. Series
005.74
ISBN 978-3-540-19910-6 ISBN 978-1-4471-3818-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-3818-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
International Workshop on Interfaces to Database Systems (2nd : 1994 : Lancaster
University)
Interfaces to database systems (IDS94) : proceedings of the Second International
Workshop on Interfaces to Database Systems, Lancaster University, 13-15 July,
1994/ Pete Sawyer (ed.).
p. cm.-(Workshops in computing)
"Published in collaboration with the British Computer Society."
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-3-540-19910-6
1. Database management-Congresses. 2. Userinterfaces (Computer
systems)-Congresses. I. Sawyer, Pete (Pete H.), 1958-
11. British Computer Society. m. Title. IV. Series.
QA76.9.D3158545 1994 94-38463
005.74-dc20 CIP
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or
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© Springer-Verlag London 1995
Originally published by Springer-Verlag London Berlin Heidelberg New York 1995
The use of registered names, trademarks etc. in this publication does not imply,
even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
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Typesetting: Camera ready by contributors
34/3830-543210 Printedon acid-free paper
Preface
A brief survey of the major DBMS and HeI conference proceedings over
the past 10 years will reveal isolated pockets of research in database user
interfaces but little sense of being swept along with the general advances
in DBMS technology and Hel. New data models have evolved to meet
the needs of different application domains; persistent programming
languages are blurring the traditional distinction between data definition
and application programming languages; distribution and inter-operability
have become issues as have the storage of heterogeneous media types;
yet it is still rare to read of the HeI issues raised by these technological
innovations being expressly addressed and rarer still to find recognition
of the usability problems with longer-established database technologies.
There are at least two reasons why this should be surprising:
• Database systems are not like other computer systems; existing both
as back-ends to other applications and as stand-alone data stores, they
are typically slow, deal with very large volumes of data and can
involve all sorts of security, confidentiality and even cooperability
issues.
• Databases are everywhere. Perhaps only word processors and spread
sheets are more widespread. In addition, as business cultures change
and personal computing continues to mould expectations, end-users
find themselves interacting increasingly closely with database systems.
Hence, databases present particular problems and challenges to the user
interface designer. While there has been some very valuable work (Zloofs
work on by-example querying in the 1970's [1] for example) the huge
body of database users has been greatly under-represented in HeI research.
However, there are signs that attitudes are changing; soundings taken at
recent VLDB conferences indicate that the DBMS community is becoming
sensitised to the importance of database usability [2], identifying user
interface issues as one of the crucial areas for future database research.
The series of workshops on user interfaces to database systems, of which
this collection of papers represents the proceedings of the second, was
initiated to exploit and stimulate this awakening interest.
The papers cover a range of topics within the area of database user
interfaces, and are by authors whose research backgrounds span both the
DBMS and the HeI camps. The papers accepted for the workshop were
selected for their quality and relevance to the area. We hoped to encourage
vi Preface
submissions on a range of topics and the papers we received admirably
met this criterion. All the topics covered by the papers in this volume
have an important relevance to database user interface research, but it is
perhaps interesting to note two ofthe topics; 3-dimensional visualisation
and evaluation methods. The visualisation papers demonstrate that one of
HCI's hottest topics has found a real, and really useful, application in
databases. The evaluation papers show that database user interface
researchers are aware of the pitfalls of concentrating on technology in the
search for solutions while ignoring the need to evaluate users' needs and
experiences. The presence of papers on these topics demonstrates that
within database user interface research there is both a willingness to
innovate technologically, and a mature determination to learn from the
mistakes of other areas of HCI.
The short paper by Haber will make interesting reading for researchers
as it reports a first attempt to add flesh to the general observation that
database user interfaces need more research. The workshop delegates
were asked to identify what we saw as the crucial areas within the general
area. The survey represents a relatively small sample of opinions but it
will be interesting to see how closely our current perceptions match
future developments.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to the many people who
have helped with the workshop and the proceedings: the programme
committee and their reviewing teams for performing an admirable and
extremely efficient job; the authors who provided such high-quality
submissions, mostly to time and in format; Jacqui Forsyth for performing
nearly all of the actual organisation and management of the workshop;
Simon Monk for doing my job while I was away over a critical period;
Kath Teasdale and the staff at Charlotte Mason College for their help and
for providing such an excellent venue. I am particularly grateful to
Richard Cooper, who as inaugurator of the series provided advice and
ideas on many aspects of the workshop's content and organisation.
Pete Sawyer August 1994
References
[1] Zloof, M.M. Query-by-Example: A database language. IBM Syst. J., vol 16, no 4,
1982, pp 324-343
[2] Stonebraker, M. et. al. DBMS Research at a Crossroads: The Vienna Update, Proc.
19th VLDB Conference, Dublin, 1993, pp 688-692
IDS94 Programme Committee
Pete Sawyer (Chair) Lancaster University, UK
Hans Dieter Boecker GMD, Darmstadt, Germany
Richard Cooper Glasgow University, UK
Maria Costabile University of Bari, Italy
Alan Dix University of York, UK
David England Glasgow Unviersity, UK
Alistair Kilgour Heriot-Watt University, UK
Roger King University of Colarado, USA
Norman Paton Heriot-Watt University, UK
Reviewers
Hans-Dieter Boecker
Jack Campin
Berardina de Carolis
Richard Cooper
Maria Costabile
Alan Dix
Geoff Ellis
David England
Alvaro Fernandes
Alistair Kilgour
Roger King
John Mariani
Simon Monk
Norman Paton
Sebastiano Pizzutilo
Pete Sawyer
Contents
Invited Paper
Configuring Database Query Languages
R. Cooper................................................................................................ 3
Naive and Application-Specific User Intedaces
GUIDANCE: Making it Easy for the User to be an Expert
D. Haw, C. Goble and A. Rector ........................................................ 25
HIBROWSE for Hotels: Bridging the Gap Between User
and System Views of a Database
G.P. Ellis, J.E. Finlay and A.S. Pollitt ............................................... 49
Formal Approaches
A Visual Approach to Multilinear Recursion
T. Catarci and G. Santucci ................................................................. 65
Database Querying by Hypergraph Manipulation
T. Catarci and L. Tarantino ................................................................ 84
SFQI: Semi-Formal Query Language Interface to Relational
Databases
M.N. MdSap and D.R. McGregor ..................................................... 104
3-Dimensional Visualization and Virtual Reality
Design of a 3D User Interface to a Database
J. Boyle, J.E. Fothergill and P.M.D. Gray...................................... 127
Three Dimensional Interface for an Object Oriented Database
M.H. Rapley and J.B. Kennedy ......................................................... 143
Virtual Environments for Data Sharing and Visualisation -
Populated Information Terrains
S. Benford and J. Mariani ................................................................. 168
Data Model Issues I
A Graphical User Interface for Schema Evolution in an Object
Oriented Database
s. Monk............................................................................................... 185
x Contents
Unifying Interaction with Persistent Data and Program
R.e.H. Connor, Q.l. Cutts, G.N.e. Kirby, V.S. Moore and
R. Morrison ........................................................................................ 197
Metaphors
Bags and Viewers: A Metaphor for Intelligent Database Access
R. lnder and J. Stader ....................................................................... 215
Query by Browsing
A. Dix and A. Patrick ...... ................ .......... ......... ............. ..... ...... ....... 236
A Dynamic Form-Based Data Visualiser for Semantic
Query Languages
G. Santucci and F. Palmisano .. .............. ........ ........ ........... ....... ... ..... 249
Domain Restrictive User Interfaces Using Databases
P. Messer and N. Patel...................................................................... 266
Data Model Issues II
A Graphical User Interface for a Cooperative Design
Database
M. Machura........................................................................................ 289
Interfaces to Data Models: Taking a Step Backwards
P. Barclay, A. Crerar and K. Davidson ........................................... 306
Evaluation and Experimentation
Intuitive Human Interfaces for an Audio-Database
B. Eaglestone and R. Vertegaal........................................................ 329
Techniques for the Effective Evaluation of
Database Interfaces
N. W. Paton, G. al-Qaimari, K. Doan and A. e. Kilgour ....... .......... 343
Future Directions
The Ambleside Survey: Important Topics in DB//HCI
Research
E.M. Haber......................................................................................... 361
Author Index .................................................................................... 365
