Conceptual views of data structures as a model of output in programming languages

Abstract

Current programming languages provide sophisticated facilities for the structuring and manipulation of data within a program. Its high-level constructs, however, stop short of being able to communicate the value and structure of data to external display devices. If a programmer wishes to print out a binary tree, or maintain a display of an editor line database, complicated hand coding is necessary. This paper shows the ways in which the traditional model of input/output is inadequate, and a new model based on conceptual views of data structures is introduced. It is intended that the conceptual view model be supported by a programming environment to allow convenient specification and application of views. A prototype of this environment, called the Weasel environment, has been implemented, and is described.<>