| Object-Oriented Systems | | BIB | 1-2 | |
| Frederick H. Lochovsky | |||
| Data Model Issues for Object-Oriented Applications | | BIBAK | 3-26 | |
| Jay Banerjee; Hong-Tai Chou; Jorge F. Garza; Won Kim; Darrell Woelk; Nat Ballou; Hyoung-Joo Kim | |||
| Presented in this paper is the data model for ORION, a prototype database
system that adds persistence and sharability to objects created and manipulated
in object-oriented applications. The ORION data model consolidates and
modifies a number of major concepts found in many object-oriented systems, such
as objects, classes, class lattice, methods, and inheritance. These concepts
are reviewed and three major enhancements to the conventional object-oriented
data model, namely, schema evolution, composite objects, and versions, are
elaborated upon. Schema evolution is the ability to dynamically make changes
to the class definitions and the structure of the class lattice. Composite
objects are recursive collections of exclusive components that are treated as
units of storage, retrieval, and integrity enforcement. Versions are
variations of the same object that are related by the history of their
derivation. These enhancements are strongly motivated by the data management
requirements of the ORION applications from the domains of artificial
intelligence, computer-aided design and manufacturing, and office information
systems with multimedia documents. Keywords: Models and principles, User/machine systems, Human information processing,
Database management, Logical design, Data models, Information systems
applications, Office automation, Design, Theory, Composite object,
Object-oriented database, Schema evolution, Version management | |||
| Integrating an Object Server with Other Worlds | | BIBAK | 27-47 | |
| Alan Purdy; Bruce Schuchardt; David Maier | |||
| Object-oriented database servers are beginning to appear on the commercial
market in response to a demand by application developers for increased modeling
power in database systems. Before these new servers can enhance the
productivity of application designers, systems designers must provide simple
interfaces to them from both procedural and object-oriented languages. This
paper first describes a successful interface between an object server and two
procedural languages (C and Pascal). Because C and Pascal do not support the
object-oriented paradigm application, designers using these languages must deal
with database objects in less than natural ways. Fortunately, workstations
supporting object-oriented languages have the potential for interacting with
database objects in a much more integrated manner. To integrate these
object-oriented workstations with an object server, we provide a design
framework based on the notion of workstation agent objects representing
principal objects in the database. We distinguish two types of agents:
proxies, which forward most messages to the principal objects, and deputies,
which can cache state for their principal and act with more autonomy. The
interaction of cache, transaction, and message management strategies makes the
implementation of deputies a nontrivial problem. The agent metaphor is being
used currently to integrate an object server with a Smalltalk-80 workstation. Keywords: Computer-communication networks, Distributed systems, Distributed
applications, Programming languages, Language constructs, Abstract data types,
Database management, General, Database management, Logical design, Data models,
Database management, Systems, Design, Languages, GemStone, Object-oriented
environment, Object server, Smalltalk-80 | |||
| Iris: An Object-Oriented Database Management System | | BIBAK | 48-69 | |
| D. H. Fishman; D. Beech; H. P. Cate; E. C. Chow; T. Connors; J. W. Davis; N. Derrett; C. G. Hoch; W. Kent; P. Lyngbaek; B. Mahbod; M. A. Neimat; T. A. Ryan; M. C. Shan | |||
| The Iris database management system is a research prototype of a
next-generation database management system (DBMS) intended to meet the needs of
new and emerging database applications, including office information and
knowledge-based systems, engineering test and measurement, and hardware and
software design. Iris is exploring a rich set of new database capabilities
required by these applications, including rich data-modeling constructs, direct
database support for inference, novel and extensible data types, for example,
to support graphic images, voice, text, vectors, and matrices, support for long
transactions spanning minutes to many days, and multiple versions of data.
These capabilities are, in addition to the usual support for permanence of
data, controlled sharing, backup, and recovery.
The Iris DBMS consists of (1) a query processor that implements the Iris object-oriented data model, (2) a Relational Storage Subsystem (RSS) -like storage manager that provides access paths and concurrency control, backup, and recovery, and (3) a collection of programmatic and interactive interfaces. The data model supports high-level structural abstractions, such as classification, generalization, and aggregation, as well as behavioral abstractions. The interfaces to Iris include an object-oriented extension to SQL. Keywords: Programming languages, Language constructs, Abstract data types, Data types
and structures, Database management, Logical design, Data models, Database
management, Languages, Data description language (DDL), Data manipulation
language (DML), Query languages, Database management, Systems, Query
processing, Transaction processing, Artificial intelligence, Knowledge
representation formalisms and methods, Relation systems, Representation
languages, Semantic networks, Artificial intelligence, Programming languages
and software, Languages, Iris DBMS, LISP, Object-oriented DBMS, OSQL persistent
objects, SQL | |||
| A Shared, Segmented Memory System for an Object-Oriented Database | | BIBAK | 70-95 | |
| Mark F. Hornick; Stanley B. Zdonik | |||
| This paper describes the basic data model of an object-oriented database and
the basic architecture of the system implementing it. In particular, a
secondary storage segmentation scheme and a transaction-processing scheme are
discussed. The segmentation scheme allows for arbitrary clustering of objects,
including duplicates. The transaction scheme allows for many different sharing
protocols ranging from those that enforce serializability to those that are
nonserializable and require communication with the server only on demand. The
interaction of these two features is described such that segment-level transfer
and object-level locking is achieved. Keywords: Programming languages, Language constructs, Abstract data types, Data types
and structures, Modules and packages, Operating systems, Storage management,
Segmentation, Virtual memory, Database management, Physical design, Deadlock
avoidance, Database management, Systems, Distributed systems, Transaction
processing, Information storage and retrieval, Information storage, File
organization, Information storage and retrieval, Information search and
retrieval, Clustering, Retrieval models, Design, Experimentation, Languages,
Performance, Asynchronous communication, CAD transaction processing, Data
models, Locking, Object clustering, Object-oriented databases, Object server | |||
| KNOs: KNowledge Acquisition, Dissemination, and Manipulation Objects | | BIBAK | 96-112 | |
| D. Tsichritzis; E. Fiume; S. Gibbs; O. Nierstrasz | |||
| Most object-oriented systems lack two useful facilities: the ability of
objects to migrate to new environments and the ability of objects to acquire
new operations dynamically. This paper proposes Knos, an object-oriented
environment that supports these actions. Knos' operations, data structures,
and communication mechanisms are discussed. Kno objects "learn" by exporting
and importing new or modified operations. The use of such objects as
intellectual support tools is outlined. In particular, various applications
involving cooperation, negotiation, and apprenticeship among objects are
described. Keywords: Programming techniques, Concurrent programming, Programming languages,
Language constructs, Data types and structures, Information systems
applications, Office automation, Artificial intelligence, Knowledge
representation formalisms and methods, Design, Languages, Distributed
knowledge, Messages, Objects, Office and application support tools | |||
| Computer-Supported Cooperative Work | | BIB | 113-114 | |
| Irene Greif; Clarence Ellis | |||
| Semistructured Messages Are Surprisingly Useful for Computer-Supported Coordination | | BIBAK | 115-131 | |
| Thomas W. Malone; Kenneth R. Grant; Kum-Yew Lai; Ramana Rao; David Rosenblitt | |||
| This paper argues that using a set of semistructured message templates is
surprisingly helpful in designing a variety of computer-based communication and
coordination systems. Semistructured messages can help provide automatic aids
for (1) composing messages to be sent, (2) selecting, sorting, and prioritizing
messages that are received, (3) responding automatically to some messages, and
(4) suggesting likely responses to other messages. The use of these
capabilities is illustrated in a range of applications including electronic
mail, computer conferencing, calendar management, and task tracking. The
applications show how ideas from artificial intelligence (such as inheritance
and production rules) and ideas from user interface design (such as interactive
graphical editors) can be combined in novel ways for dealing with
semistructured messages. The final part of the paper discusses how communities
can evolve a useful set of message type definitions. Keywords: Models and principles, User/machine systems, Database management, Logical
design, Data models, Schema and subschema, Database management, Languages, Data
description languages (DDL), Database management, Systems, Distributed systems,
Information storage and retrieval, Content analysis and indexing, Information
storage and retrieval, Systems and software, Information systems applications,
Office automation, Information systems applications, Communications
applications, Artificial intelligence, Applications and expert systems, Office
automation, Artificial intelligence, Knowledge representation formalisms and
methods, Frames and scripts, Representations, Text processing, Document
preparation, Format and notation, Design, Economics, Human factors, Management,
Computer-supported cooperative work, Information Lens, Semistructured messages | |||
| Project Nick: Meetings Augmentation and Analysis | | BIBAK | 132-146 | |
| Peter Cook; Clarence Ellis; Mike Graf; Gail Rein; Tom Smith | |||
| The Software Technology Program of MCC is investigating the early part of
the design process, before requirements are established, for large-scale
distributed systems. Face-to-face meetings are an important activity during
this phase of a project since they provide a medium for direction, exploration,
and consensus building. Project Nick is attempting to apply automated
facilities to the process, conduct, and semantic capture of design meetings.
Primary topics covered in this paper are meeting analysis, meeting
augmentation, and a model of meeting progression that serves as the framework
for our work. Keywords: Software engineering, Management, Models and principles, General, Models and
principles, User/machine systems, Information systems applications, Types of
systems, Decision support, Design, Management, Conferences design,
Conversations, Decision support, Electronic blackboard, Facilitation, Meeting
augmentation, Models of meetings, Presentation, Semantic capture | |||
| WYSIWIS Revised: Early Experiences with Multiuser Interfaces | | BIBAK | 147-167 | |
| M. Stefik; D. G. Bobrow; G. Foster; S. Lanning; D. Tatar | |||
| WYSIWIS (What You Is What I See) is a foundational abstraction for multiuser
interfaces that expresses many of the characteristics of a chalkboard in
face-to face meetings. In its strictest interpretation, it means that everyone
can also see the same written information and also see where anyone else is
pointing. In our attempts to build software support for collaboration in
meetings, we have discovered that WYSIWIS is crucial, yet too inflexible when
strictly enforced. This paper is about the design issues and choices that
arose in our first generation of meeting tools based on WYSIWIS. Several
examples of multiuser interfaces that start from this abstraction are
presented. These tools illustrate that there are inherent conflicts between
the needs of a group and the needs of individuals, since user interfaces
compete for the same display space and meeting time. To help minimize the
effect of these conflicts, constraints were relaxed along four key dimensions
of WYSIWIS: display space, time of display, subgroup population, and congruence
of view. Meeting tools must be designed to support the changing needs of
information sharing during process transitions, as subgroups are formed and
dissolved, as individuals shift their focus of activity, and as the group
shifts from multiple parallel activities to a single focused activity and back
again. Keywords: Software engineering, Tools and techniques, User interfaces, Models and
principles, User/machine systems, Human factors, Human information processing,
Information systems applications, Types of systems, Information systems
applications, Miscellaneous, Design, Human factors, Collaborative systems,
Computer-supported collaboration, Computer-supported group work,
Computer-supported meetings, Multiuser interfaces, WYSIWIS | |||
| Contexts -- A Partitioning Concept for Hypertext | | BIBAK | 168-186 | |
| Norman M. Delisle; Mayer D. Schwartz | |||
| Hypertext systems provide good information management support for a wide
variety of documentation efforts. These efforts range from developing software
to writing a book. However, existing hypertext systems provide poor support
for collaboration among teams of authors. This paper starts by briefly
describing properties of several existing hypertext systems. Then several
models for forming partitions in a hypertext database are examined and
contexts, a partitioning scheme that supports multiperson cooperative efforts,
are introduced. The semantic issues involved in defining contexts are explored
in detail. Keywords: Information storage and retrieval, Systems and software, Information systems
applications, Office automation, Text processing, Document preparation, Design,
Management, Cooperative work, Hypertext systems, Version control | |||
| Data Sharing in Group Work | | BIBAK | 187-211 | |
| Irene Greif; Sunil Sarin | |||
| Data sharing is fundamental to computer-supported cooperative work: People
share information through explicit communication channels and through their
coordinated use of shared databases. This paper examines the data management
requirements of group work applications on the basis of experience with three
prototype systems and on observations from the literature. Database and object
management technologies that support these requirements are briefly surveyed,
and unresolved issues in the particular areas of access control and concurrency
control are identified for future research. Keywords: Database management, Logical design, Database management, Systems, Database
management, Database applications, Design, Languages, Computer-supported
cooperative work (CSCW) | |||
| A Knowledge-Based Message Management System | | BIBAK | 213-236 | |
| Shi-Kuo Chang; L. Leung | |||
| The design approach of a knowledge-based message management system is
described. A linguistic message filter is used to filter out junk messages.
Relevant messages are then processed by an expert system, driven by
user-defined alerter rules. An alerter rule base for a secretarial office is
illustrated. Further research topics in knowledge-based design, evaluation,
and learning are also discussed. Keywords: Computer-communication networks, Distributed systems, Distributed databases,
Information systems applications, Office automation, Artificial intelligence,
Applications and expert systems, Design, Database alerting technique, Expert
system, Knowledge-based system, Message filter, Office information system | |||
| Description and Performance Analysis of Signature File Methods for Office Filing | | BIBAK | 237-257 | |
| Christos Faloutsos; Stavros Christodoulakis | |||
| Signature files have attracted a lot of interest as an access method for
text and specifically for messages in the office environment. Messages are
stored sequentially in the message file, whereas their hash-coded abstractions
(signatures) are stored sequentially in the signature file. To answer a query,
the signature file is examined first, and many nonqualifying messages are
immediately rejected. In this papaer we examine the problem of designing
signature extraction methods and studying their performance. We describe two
old methods, generalize another one, and propose a new method and its
variation. We provide exact and approximate formulas for the dependency
between the false drop probability and the signature size for all the methods,
and we show that the proposed method (VBC) achieves approximately ten times
smaller false drop probability than the old methods, whereas it is well suited
for collections of documents with variable document sizes. Keywords: Database management, Physical design, Access methods, Information storage
and retrieval, Library automation, Information systems applications, Office
automation, Text processing, General, Design, Performance, Document retrieval,
Information retrieval, Office automation, Signature files, Superimposed coding,
Text retrieval | |||
| An Experimental Study of People Creating Spreadsheets | | BIBAK | 258-272 | |
| Polly S. Brown; John D. Gould | |||
| Nine experienced users of electronic spreadsheets each created three
spreadsheets. Although participants were quite confident that their
spreadsheets were accurate, 44 percent of the spreadsheets contained
user-generated programming errors. With regard to the spreadsheet creation
process, we found that experienced spreadsheet users spend a large percentage
of their time using the cursor keys, primarily for the purpose of moving the
cursor around the spreadsheet. Users did not spend a lot of time planning
before launching into spreadsheet creation, nor did they spend much time in a
separate, systematic debugging stage. Participants spent 21 percent of their
time pausing, presumably reading and/or thinking, prior to the initial
keystrokes of spreadsheet creation episodes. Keywords: Programming languages, Language classifications, Applicative languages,
Human factors, Performance, Programming errors, Spreadsheets | |||
| Cost-Benefit Methodology for Office Systems | | BIBAK | 273-289 | |
| Peter G. Sassone | |||
| The time savings times salary (TSTS) approach is a widely used methodology
for the financial justification of office information systems, yet its
theoretical basis is largely unexplored. In this paper, we identify its
underlying economic model, including five critical assumptions. We find that
the model, though somewhat restrictive, is not unreasonable. However, we find
that the time-saving-times-salary calculation, per se, is implicitly based on a
very particular assumption about how saved time will be used. This assumption
has neither a behavioral nor normative basis, and we conclude that the TSTS
calculation is not meaningful in most cases. An alternate approach, the
hedonic wage model, is proposed. This model overcomes most of the deficiencies
of the TSTS approach, although it has somewhat greater data requirements and
computational complexity. A case study illustrating the use of the hedonic
wage model is presented. Keywords: Models and principles, Systems and information theory, Value of information,
Information systems applications, Office automation, Equipment, Computers and
society, Organizational impacts, Management of computing and information
systems, General, Economics, Management of computing and information systems,
Project and people management, Systems analysis and design, Economics,
Management, Measurement, Performance, Theory, Cost benefit, Effectiveness,
Efficiency, Financial analysis, Hedonic wage model, Productivity, Resource
allocation, Time savings, Work profile matrix | |||
| Cooperating Knowledge-Based Assistants for the Office | | BIBAK | 297-326 | |
| A. Roger Kaye; Gerald M. Karam | |||
| This paper presents an approach to high-level support of office workers by
embedding office knowledge in a network of distributed cooperating
knowledge-based or expert "assistants" and servers. These knowledge-based
systems incorporate both factual and procedural knowledge and are capable of
making use of existing conventional office technology. They constitute a form
of computer-supported cooperative work. We describe a common architecture for
our assistants and servers that incorporates several key features. Our systems
are capable of supporting concurrent multiple consulations or tasks and have
facilities for the interruption and resumption of consulations as appropriate.
The various assistants and servers, which may reside on different machines,
cooperate in solving problems or completing tasks by passing messages. We
propose a taxonomy of the general office knowledge normally used by office
workers, together with a frame and rule-based knowledge representation scheme.
We also describe an experimental system, written in PROLOG, that incorporates
the above design principles. Keywords: Computer-communication networks, Distributed systems, Distributed
applications, Information systems applications, Office automation, Artificial
intelligence, Applications and expert systems, Office automation, Design,
Experimentation, Theory, Collaborative systems, Computer-supported cooperative
work, cooperating expert systems, Distributed systems, Expert systems,
Knowledge-based systems | |||
| Selected Papers from CHI+GI'87 | | BIB | 327 | |
| Irene Greif | |||
| Evolution of an Organizational Interface: The New Business Department at a Large Insurance Firm | | BIBAK | 328-339 | |
| Andrew Clement; C. C. Gotlieb | |||
| This paper describes how the work organization and computer system of the
New Business Department at a large life insurance firm have interacted and
evolved over time. The dynamics of interaction are explained largely in terms
of the economic incentive to reduce the length of transaction-processing chains
and the more political goal of extending managerial control. It is argued that
examining the interaction of organizations and computer systems can contribute
to a better theoretical understanding of the development of large computer
systems and offer guidance to designers of user-computer interfaces. A
graphical technique for depicting organizational interfaces is presented. Keywords: Computers and society, Organizational impacts, Management of computing and
information systems, Project and people management, Systems development,
Design, Human factors, Management, Business case study, Managerial control,
On-line computer system, Organizational interface, Organizational study | |||
| Strategies for Encouraging Successful Adoption of Office Communication Systems | | BIBAK | 340-357 | |
| Susan F. Ehrlich | |||
| The adoption of new computer communication systems into organizations
requires behavioral change. Planning for successful adoption requires
knowledge of individual organizational communication patterns and the
relationship between those patterns and particular communication system
solutions. This paper documents a sequence of studies of organizational
communication. Needs for office communication systems were identified, as were
social and psychological factors temporarily inhibiting their use. Strategies
for assuring smooth adoption of such systems are highlighted. Keywords: Information systems applications, Communications applications, Computer
applications, Social and behavioral sciences, Psychology, Sociology, Computers
and society, Organizational impacts, Management of computing and information
systems, Installation management, Performance and usage measurement, Human
factors, Adoption, Communication, Electronic mail, Office automation, Office
systems, Sociology, Voice mail | |||
| Behavioral Experiments on Handmarkings | | BIBAK | 358-377 | |
| John D. Gould; Josiane Salaun | |||
| Handmarkings or handwritten editing marks can be used as direct editing
commands to an interactive computer system. Five exploratory experiments
studied the potential value of handmarkings for editing text and pictures, as
well as for some specific results. Circles are the most frequently used
scoping mark, and arrows are the most frequently used operator and target
indicators. Experimental comparisons showed that handmarkings have the
potential to be faster than keyboards and mice for editing tasks. Their
ultimate value will, however, depend on the style and details of their
user-interface implementation. Keywords: Software, Miscellaneous, Software psychology, Models and principles,
User/machine systems, Experimentation, Human factors, Computer-human
interaction, Direct manipulation, Engineering psychology, Gestures,
Handmarkings, Terminal design, User interface | |||
| Augmenting Thesauri for Information Systems | | BIBAK | 378-392 | |
| Roy Rada; Brian K. Martin | |||
| A thesaurus can be a critical component of an office information system.
Access to various sets of documents can be facilitated by thesauri and by the
connections that are made among thesauri. In the projects described in this
paper, the thesauri are stored and manipulated through a relational database
management system. The system detects inheritance properties in a thesaurus
and uses them to guide a human expert in decisions about how to augment the
thesaurus. New strategies will extend our ability to augment existing
thesauri. Keywords: Information storage and retrieval, Content analysis and indexing, Thesauri,
Artificial intelligence, Applications and expert systems, Office automation,
Artificial intelligence, Knowledge representation formalisms and methods,
Relation systems, Design, Relational database management systems | |||
| Office-by-Example: An Integrated Office System and Database Manager | | BIBAK | 393-427 | |
| Kyu-Young Whang; Art Ammann; Anthony Bolmarcich; Maria Hanrahan; Guy Hochgesang; Kuan-Tsae Huang; Al Khorasani; Ravi Krishnamurthy; Gary Sockut; Paula Sweeney; Vance Waddle; Moshe Zloof | |||
| Office-by-Example (OBE) is an integrated office information system that has
been under development at IBM Research. OBE, an extension of Query-by-Example,
supports various office features such as database tables, word processing,
electronic mail, graphics, images, and so forth. These seemingly heterogeneous
features are integrated through a language feature called example elements.
Applications involving example elements are processed by the database manager,
an integrated part of the OBE system. In this paper we describe the facilities
and architecture of the OBE system and discuss the techniques for integrating
heterogeneous objects. Keywords: Programming languages, Processors, Parsing, Operating systems, Process
management, Concurrency, Data storage representations, Models and principles,
User/machine systems, Human factors, Database management, General, Security,
Integrity, Protection, Database management, Logical design, Database
management, Physical design, Access methods, Recovery and restart, Database
management, Languages, Query languages, Database management, Systems, Query
processing, Information systems applications, Office automation, Word
processing, Information systems applications, Communications applications,
Electronic mail, Computer graphics, Methodology and techniques, Interaction
techniques, Languages, Image processing, General, Image processing software,
Text processing, Document preparation, Languages, Algorithms, Languages,
Management, Performance, Integration, Memory-resident database, Query
optimization, Screen management, Two-dimensional parsing | |||