Navigation and Coordination Primitives for Multidimensional Visual Browsers

This paper describes extensions to the Tioga flight-simulator browsing protocol presented by Stonebraker et al. (1993a). These extensions allow users to navigate a multidimensional data space using sophisticated zooming capabilities. This design also allows users to move easily between different multidimensional spaces. Tunneling between different data spaces is shown to be a substantial generalization of hyperlinks in a hypermedia system. Finally, our design provides for the coordination of multiple browsers. This preserves context and allows users to explore multiple paths simultaneously. In concert, these extensions incorporate the functionality of many information management paradigms as well as introducing new constructs. These powerful mechanisms for relating data provide users with great flexibility. For example, users can create magnifying glasses which show an enhanced view of the underlying data.