An Interface for the Direct Manipulation of Statistical Data

The aim of this paper is to propose the Vista visual language, which can be easily used by statistical users when they interact with a statistical database in order directly to manipulate data. This language uses a direct acyclic graph as an internal model (Grass) for the database scheme representation. The operators on the statistical data manipulate their descriptive elements, while the statistical processing is performed through statistical packages. This visual language permits querying in the database scheme and the selection of subschemas. Vista is integrated in the statistical database management system Adams (Aggregate Data Management System). This systems allows also an interaction through a keywords-based language. The main tasks performed by the Adams system are the graphical visualization of the database scheme, the direct manipulation and the expression of query commands.