Abstract
The success of spreadsheets has shown that a visual representation of a 2D array greatly facilitates solving certain problems. However, spreadsheets are not general-purpose programming environments and are not suited to many problems that might naturally be solved using multi-dimensional arrays. Furthermore, spreadsheets employ a textual notation for cell references in formulas. This notation, which adds to the programmer''s burden by distinguishing between relative and absolute addressing, can be difficult to understand and is error-prone even for the most experienced users. In this paper, we present a user interface for multi-dimensional arrays within Formulate, a form-based visual programming language. This implementation avoids textual array notation and supports the application of formulas to logical regions of an array, rather than just to individual elements.
Recommended Citation
J. Leopold and A. Ambler, "A User Interface for the Visualization and Manipulation of Arrays," Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages, 1996, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Jan 1996.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/VL.1996.545267
Meeting Name
IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages, 1996
Department(s)
Computer Science
Keywords and Phrases
Formulate; Absolute Addressing; Array Manipulation; Array Visualization; Arrays; Cell References; Data Handling; Data Structures; Data Visualisation; Error-Prone Notation; Form-Based Visual Programming Language; Formulas; Graphical User Interfaces; Logical Regions; Multi-Dimensional Arrays; Relative Addressing; Spreadsheet Programs; Spreadsheets; Textual Notation; User Interface; Visual Languages; Visual Representation
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 1996 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 1996
