Systematic Generic Support for User Interfaces to Database Systems
GR/L02692

The Teallach Project - Introduction

Introduction/Abstract

Recent research and development work in database management systems has emphasised the extension of conventional database systems with enhanced data modelling features or languages. As a consequence, commercial or prototype systems now exist which support modelling of spatial, temporal or multimedia data types in the context of increasingly expressive object models. Furthermore, the behaviour modelling facilities of databases are no longer limited to simple query languages, as database programming languages and systems support the storage of imperative programs, active rules, deductive rules and integrity constraints in the database alongside the stored data with which they are associated. This increase in the functionality of database systems has been motivated by the needs identified in advanced applications in a wide range of scientific, engineering, geographic and commercial domains.

This increase in the facilities supported by database systems has, however, been associated with a corresponding increase in their complexity. This, in turn, presents new challenges to the designers and developers of user interfaces to databases, who must seek to provide effective tools for the design, browsing, querying, updating, maintenance and debugging of ever more sophisticated database applications. It is clear, however, that the increasing capabilities of database management systems has not been accompanied by corresponding improvements in the utility of their interfaces. This mismatch in the rates at which database systems and their interfaces are developing, if not addressed, is likely to limit the effective exploitation of advanced database technologies, even in applications where there are clear needs for enhanced database capabilities.

The research proposed here aims to provide a software workbench which facilitates the rapid development of consistent interfaces in a manner which is independent of a specific underlying database system. This will provide a means for moving database interface development from an ad hoc, system-specific context towards more general and well founded solutions. The aims of the proposed research are as follows:

1. To develop a software architecture which supports the effective development of visual interfaces to advanced database systems. An important goal of this architecture is the provision of an integrated environment both for developers of new interfaces and for end-users of database systems.
2. To support within that architecture a range of visual representations for database data which are usable across a variety of generic database activities.
3. To prototype and evaluate interfaces which provide a wide range of generic and application-specific functionalities, exploiting the architecture of (1) and the visualisations of (2).
4. To demonstrate the generality of the architecture by applying it to the development of interfaces to more than one back-end database system.

This research will lead to the development of novel interfaces to advanced databases and to the identification of more effective ways of building such interfaces. This in turn will enable increased benefits to be derived from earlier work on advanced database systems by facilitating more widespread exploitation, which will in turn benefit users associated with complex data intensive applications.