Initial report on Object Spreadsheets
Name
MIT-CSAIL-TR-2016-001.pdf
Size
710.87 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
8766f0b3770ca380ebe2dde516b19b58
Download all files submitted through automated deposit
Author(s)
McCutchen, Richard Matthew
Itzhaky, Shachar
Jackson, Daniel
Advisor(s)
Daniel Jackson
Date Issued
January 12, 2016
Series/Report no.
MIT-CSAIL-TR-2016-001
Abstract
There is a growing demand for data-driven web applications that help automate organizational and business processes of low to medium complexity by letting users view and update structured data in controlled ways. We present Object Spreadsheets, an end-user development tool that combines a spreadsheet interface with a rich data model to help the process administrators build the logic for such applications themselves. Its all-in-one interface with immediate feedback has the potential to bring more complex tasks within reach of end-user developers, compared to existing approaches. Our data model is based on the structure of entity-relationship models and directly supports nested variable-size collections and object references, which are common in web applications but poorly accommodated by traditional spreadsheets. Object Spreadsheets has a formula language suited to the data model and supports stored procedures to specify the forms of updates that application users may make. Formulas can be used to assemble data in the exact structure in which it is to be shown in the application UI, simplifying the task of UI building; we intend for Object Spreadsheets to be integrated with a UI builder to provide a complete solution for application development. We describe our prototype implementation and several example applications we built to demonstrate the applicability of the tool.
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Persistent DSpace Link
