Tabular Views on Object Databases

One of the practical beneets of the relational model is the fusion of both schema and data in the same compact tabular representation. We endeavour to take advantage of this feature in a general visual framework for viewing structured objects in a class hierarchy. The problem is the multitude of dimensions to be shown, instead of the simple set of at tuples, characteristic of the relational model. A tabular form easily enables another structuring dimension, which is here reserved for the class hierarchy of the base object class. All other dimensions are managed by layered windows, showing e.g. a compound attribute value or versions of a speciied object in a distinct subtable. The presented approach of visualization is especially suitable for object browsers and editors, as well as for query-by-example type interfaces.