Let the fingers do the walking: Object manipulation in an NF2 database editor

Abstract

The Non First Normal Form (NF2) data model tries to combine a natural, hierarchical view of structured values with the expressivness and clarity of relational operations. While it is a very powerful data model, it is not easy to handle and even harder to implement. Here we describe an interactive approach to object manipulation in a database editor called ESCHER. The interface is engineered around the pointing paradigm using so-called fingers (cursors). The paper proceeds from the visualization of fingers to their internal representation as stacks of addresses, lists the permissible operations on lingers and shows how they support internal tasks.