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Implementation of a hypertext help system for GLAD

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9. 9 9 9 4 6 o 4 9 se o Example GLAD Methods Utilizing GuidanceSetContext Guidance Use of Search String to Find Context Sensitive Help GladApp Class shouldClose Method Demonstration of Expansion Button 7 7 77 Help Window With Replica of DML Window GLAD Index Guideline Example Numbering Used To Minimize User Disorientation GLAD Help Window gt 770 00 M Example Note Button 770770 vi 4 7 4 gt 4 O 427 I INTRODUCTION A OVERVIEW GLAD Graphics LAnguage for Database is a coherent graphics oriented interface for data manipulation and program development with a database WU 1989 It was originally proposed in 1985 by Dr C Thomas Wu of the Naval Postgraduate School Monterey California This unified interface is designed for easy learning and use while providing a comprehensive visual representation of a database schema A major design principal of GLAD was that the user should have access to additional information whenever desired WU 1989 This thesis proposes a context sensitive help system utilizing hypertext to augment the information available to GLAD users and increase the overall usability of the database interface
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20. stems Distribution Availability of Abstract 21 Abstract Security Classification unclassified unlimited same as report DTIC users Unclassified Name of Responsible Individual 22b Telephone nclude Area code 22c Office Symbol Prof C Thomas Wu 408 646 339 Code 52Wu 2 FORM 1473 84 MAR 83 APR edition may be used until exhausted security classification of this page All other editions are obsolete Unclassified Approved for public release distribution is unlimited Implementation of a Hypertext Help System for GLAD a Graphics LAnguage for Database by Lon M Captain United States Marine Corps B S United States Naval Academy Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 1989 ABSTRACT This paper explores the design and implementation of a help system for a graphical user interface named GLAD Graphics LAnguage for Database It examines help system design alternatives Emphasis is on the implementation of a hypertext help system for GLAD using the Windows utility GUIDANCE and the object oriented programming language ACTOR Discussion includes the advantages of hypertext for on line help systems lil TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2222 A OVERVIEW _ _ BACKGROUND DEVELOPMENT OP GERD ORI MOTIVATION FOR DEVELOPM
21. BACKGROUND In order to manage the vast amounts of information generated in today s complex world it is vital that a simple yet powerful database management system be available Desirable systems would not require a costly database specialist to program every modification second desirable characteristic of a database management system 15 that it must be easy to leam and use GLAD research has been motivated by the desire to develop a theory identifying the best method of graphical user interface for interaction with a database It was the lack of an easy to learn easy to use query facility for accessing databases that led to the proposal for GLAD WU believed that by proposing and comparing as many graphical interfaces as possible a best methodology could be established GLAD is unique in that it is not based upon a specific data model however it provides a visual representation of the four most widely used abstraction concepts aggregation association classification and generalization WU 1987 p 3 Through the use of simple visual represe on of a database schema GLAD is easy to learn and use This 15 critical for wide spread use of a database management system We believe this model for database management holds the best potential as an end user interaction tool C DEVELOPMENT OF GLAD There have been two cycles in the development of GLAD Version 01 developed a rudimentary prototype to see whether a full implementation of
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24. GLAD using object oriented programming and ACTOR was feasible WU 1989 The second cycle of GLAD added a data definition component bitmap display capability and updated the facility of the first version Version 02 has added some classes to increase the functionality of this and future versions Originally plans were made to develop GLAD as a system compatible with Sun Microsystems workstation A study showed this to be infeasible Wu 1989 Attempts were made to implement GLAD using C 1 ACTOR is a registered trademark of The Whitewater Group Inc however it was found that available routines were too low level and very difficult to use For example the code required to display a single scroll bar required ten parameters WU 1989 Due to budget and manpower constraints this approach was deemed unwieldy A rapid prototyping tool was critical to the success of this visual interface therefore a search began for a development tool which provided a quicker and easier method of developing windowing routines This development tool needed to be capable of rapid prototyping and provide extensibility Naval Data Automation Command a GLAD sponsor imposed the requirement that the system be capable of running on an IBM PC AT compatible MS DOS machine It was also considered desirable to keep the system capable of being ported to other platforms such as Unix and Macintosh It was felt that features of an object oriented programming language
25. Guideline This includes information other GLAD Windows and operations not contained in the current Guideline Should the user have a specific topic that requires explanation he can use the search capabilities provided by Guidance When the user selects SEARCH from any help window menu a dialog box appears requesting the search topic Guidance searches the current Guideline to locate information on this topic If a string corresponding to the requested topic 1s contained in the current Guideline the Guideline is displayed at that position of the information If the user desires a printed copy of the on line help information it can be printed by selecting PRINT from any GLAD help window menu bar The document will be printed as it appears on screen If an extended print out of on line information 1s desired expansion buttons can be unfolded providing the full information available on the screen If fewer details are required copy only the desired information should be displayed prior to selecting PRINT Figure 4 10 displays an example of a GLAD help window with the TOP SEARCH and PRINT menu selections 40 Guidance for s GLAD 4 1 DDL WINDOW selections 4 1 1 SAVE This menu selection will save changes to the database schema to a disk file for later use 41 2 DEFINE Selecting define allows the user to define new objects for an existing or new 4 1 S ATTRIBUTE Permits definitions of attributes for def
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28. available commands to on line documentation which includes or supplements the user manual Help includes error messages tutorials to assist in the learning process and detailed explanations of terminology Help also includes prompts which guide the user through the available choices within the program Help for a computer user comes in two basic forms It can be printed hard copy which includes user manuals and reference guides or it can be on line Tutorials are another form of computer help they can be printed on line or both There are advantages and disadvantages to both printed and on line help Research has shown that speed and comprehension is greater using printed materials than when reading from a CRT Shneiderman 1987 p 360 Printed help allows the user to refer to his work and the help information simultaneously without interrupting the program On line help provided a windowed environment will also provide this capability On line help has the advantage of being available any time the program is running While at the terminal the user does not have to be concerned with locating the manual and manifold users within an organization will not have to purchase multiple copies of documentation Additionally on line help ts generally current Unlike a user manual which may be outdated with respect to the software on line help is usually updated with the software therefore it is more likely to be current Regardless of the ad
29. contain both text and bitmapped graphics Guidelines are created using a program called Guide Guide is a general purpose hypertext document generator supplied with Guidance Guidance Manual 1988 p 9 Guidance not only furnished a simple means of incorporating text and graphics into the GLAD help system but also provided the advantages of hypertext ACTOR the implementation language of GLAD allows the easy integration of Guidance without excessive coding Guide is a registered trademark of Owl International Inc 24 When accessed Guidance opens an Index Guideline which is similar to a Table of Contents This Index then connects to either another part of the Index or to a Secondary Guideline see Figure 3 2 HOST APPLICATION INDEX GUIDELINE SECONDARY GUIDELINES Figure 3 2 Structure of Guidance Help System Guide furnishes four types of buttons as a means of accessing information within Guidelines Reference Expansion Note and Command These buttons are the building blocks which create the help system structure Information contained within the help system which is linked to additional material is indicated by these buttons Reference buttons provide a means of linking material within Guideline or between Guidelines This powerful cross referencing capability allows the user to move quickly to other areas of the help system Information which is linked to a reference is indicated by the word or words of the Gui
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31. information needed to access the help system i e 1 Help This is usually located either at the top or the bottom of the screen Operating systems that support bitmapped graphics allow for independent windows that can eliminate many of the problems in screen formatting Windowing capabilities allow for both the operational screen and the help screen to be displayed sunultaneously The operating system being utilized will dictate if the windows will overlap each other potentially blocking part of the other screen or if the window can be moved and adjusted in size to allow the user to have access to both sets of information Some of the problems that have been identified in the use of windows are that excessive window manipulation may be time consuming and distracting the need for window borders consumes valuable screen space and small windows with large amounts of information may lead to excessive bothersome scrolling Galitz 1989 p 99 Another consideration in screen formatting is whether the help screen should page or scroll through the information if it exceeds the space available Both methods should keep in mind that the user should have to exert minimal effort to go both forward and backward in retrieving information to minimize any delay 6 Extensibility Extensibility can be defined as the ease with which software products may be adapted to changes of specifications Meyer 1988 p 5 Extensibility is very important t
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33. of an operation within a single window This prevents the user from being required to scroll through multiple windows to obtain the information desired This was not possible in all situations Some operations required more than one screen to fully explain the operation D MEMORY MANAGEMENT Throughout the development of the GLAD help system memory management has been a troublesome issue Attempts to integrate Guidance and GLAD within the ACTOR program environment on a 640K machine were unsuccessful The only solution which allowed GLAD and Guidance to run simultaneously within the ACTOR programming environment was expanded memory An additional megabyte of memory and the memory manager utility 386 Max were required This enabled GLAD and Guidance to run within the ACTOR programming environment It was believed that 386 Max a trademark of Qualitas Inc 42 mg Zul ee OOOO Guidance for GLAD E q EN Print Search Back a In order to select an item position the cursor over 2 0 the desired item and click the left mouse button When selected the item will be highlighted GLAD Di____ _ Leisure Planning NPS Lab Equipment Pine Valley Furniture Co Test Connection DB z ABOUT University Database H 1 Select Open from the GLAD Window menu A list box containing a listbox of the GLAD Databases similiar to the one shown above will apear 2 9elect the name of the database
34. require substantial amounts of time to generate addition changes would demand that someone study and re write the help system code for each change to GLAD Using ACTOR would allow graphics to be incorporated into the help system however this could be difficult unless the graphics were limited to simple geometric figures such as circles and rectangles The decision was made to research the incorporation of GLAD with an existing program designed to produce a Windows based help This program would have to be capable of being easily integrated into GLAD Consideration was given to using vo t2 a stand alone help program called HELP pioduced by R Company 1988 This application would run independently of GLAD but it would provide an easy method of providing textual help for Window based applications This was ruled out because it did not allow the use of graphics within the help system It was considered an inadequate solution for GLAD s help system C GUIDE AND GUIDANCE A second application which was considered and ultunately selected for incorporation into the GLAD help system is OWL International s Guidance 1988 Guidance is a read only Windows utility designed to allow users to display help while running a host application under Microsoft Windows Guidance permits the integration of a help system which meets the design requirements of GLAD Help information is contained in files referred to as Guidelines These Guidelines can
35. such as inheritance encapsulation and polymorphism would best facilitate the most expedient unplementation of GLAD After exploring Smalltalk and other similar languages information on ACTOR was found ACTOR appeared to meet most of the requirements specified above ACTOR is an object oriented language introduced in 1987 for developing Microsoft Windows MS Windows applications It is a language that appeals to intuition and does not depend upon the user possessing a wide background in traditional computer science topics Rowell 1988 p 77 In 1988 GLAD prototype was successfully MS Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Inc implemented using ACTOR Williamson 1988 p 32 ACTOR was selected as the language to be utilized for the development of GLAD Interactive in nature ACTOR features several powerful tools that provide a sophisticated programming environment for developing MS Windows applications WU amp HSIAO 1989 p 3 Among the tools provided in the ACTOR programming environment are a Browser for viewing modifying and creating classes an Inspector for viewing object structure a Debugger for debugging ACTOR code and an Editor for simple tex iting ACTOR allows static and dynamic binding of variables which are useful for rapid prototyping of application software while not compromising the efficiency of the final software product ACTOR 1s designed to run within Microsoft Windows on an IBM compatible person
36. you want to open from the listbox After a database is selected it will appear highlighted in the listbox Figure 4 11 Example Note Button once development was complete and a stand alone version of GLAD produced expanded memory would be unnecessary Development of a stand alone application using ACTOR involves a process of removing portions of ACTOR which are not used by the application For example the ACTOR Debugger Editor and Browser were removed and consequently freed memory for GLAD Once the code required to incorporate Guidance with GLAD was written and tested within the ACTOR environment a stand alone application was produced Unfortunately development of a stand alone did not produce the desired results 43 help system operates correctly with or two GLAD Windows open Opening more than two windows reduces the amount of memory available to the help system to a point where memory is insufficient to correctly display the Guidelines Insufficient memory results in an error message requesting the user to close one or more windows If expanded memory is available GLAD and the help system work perfectly together 44 V CONCLUSIONS A STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES The purpose of this thesis was to design a help system for GLAD The help system developed met the six design principles of GLAD while incorporating important features necessary in a help system The strengths of the design are The hypertext capabil
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39. ENT OF HELP SYSTEM ORGANIZATION M u HELP SYSTEM ALTERNATIVES 2 a A WHAT 15 HELP SYSTEM M B TYPES OF HELP SYSTEM OSE T MJ Static versus Dynamic 777 2 Multi level Help System 3 System Initiated 390909 4 User Initiated Help 2 2222 779000 707002200000 A Screen Options 22 2 Extensibility 2 ze VM C HYPERTEXT D SUMMARY M THE GLAD HELP SYSTENIP A A A DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS SUE B GLAD DESIGN CHOICES X C GUIDE AND GUIDANCE 77 7227 2202227 70000 HELP SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION DING GLAD AND GUIDANCE B IMPLEMENTING THE HELP SYSTEM ACCELERATOR KEY ORGANIZATION eas we eos INTENSA MANAGEMENT Ee ue Rte V NS A A NG TEST AND VE ARNESSES use ann OF RESEARCH SAMPLE SECTION OFsGLADVO2 RC BBPENDIX B GLAD INITMENUID METHODS 35 ee ee aa Rem TRIBUTION TESTA ee IR RR Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure 4 10 Figure 4 11 4 5 4 6 4 7 4 8 4 9 LIST OF FIGURES Standard Position of Help in GLAD Window Structure of Guidance Help System Shape of Guide Buttons GLAD Hierarchy Guidancelnitialise Routine
40. In addition it must be accurate or it will destroy any confidence the user might have it Killory 1987 p 19 On line help is only useful if it 15 capable of providing assistance to a user to derive or debug a plan of action Jackson and Lefrere 1986 p 63 When users request help normally they are seeking a specific explanation for an immediate problem help system cannot assume that a user possesses a specific proficiency level help system must present information commensurate with the user s level of expertise B TYPES OF HELP SYSTEMS 1 Static versus Dynamic There are many design alternatives available when developing an on line help system One of the first considerations 15 whether the help offered should be static that 1s independent of where the user is in the program and any previous actions or dynamic that 15 dependent on where the user 15 and what the user s previous actions were Static help could be thought of as a kind of on line glossary of tenms Kearsley 1988 p 14 A list of terms is provided with a brief explanation when a user requests help Regardless of the function being performed during program execution the same information will appear whenever help 15 requested WordPerfect s key is an example of a static help system When is pressed the user 15 presented with the same list of command options regardless of where he 15 in the program Static help allows requests for specific te
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43. al computer with at least 640K of memory and a hard disk Duff et al 1989 p 1 An EGA VGA color monitor and extra memory are highly desirable though optional The prototype for GLAD was developed using ACTOR on an AT compatible machine with an EGA color monitor and a 386 machine with a VGA color monitor GLAD provides an object oriented data model which provides a close relationship between the structure of the database to be modeled and the logical entities used within the object oriented programming environment Wu and Hsiao 1989 have identified six design principles for the development of GLAD The program should be able to e Provide more information when asked e Recover from the unintended or erroneous operation e Perform the same operation in more than one way Perform logically equivalent operations in a consistent manner e Display multiple information at the same time e Display multiple views of the same information D MOTIVATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HELP SYSTEM While it is theoretically possible to develop a computer program that is so well designed that no user assistance is ever required practically speaking it is impossible The philosophy of the GLAD project is that the end user should have easy access to any information that will permit the maximum possible usability Design principle one states that the user should have access to additional information when requested It is envisioned that a user will be a
44. ar S ddr a RE Ya E 500 f Qv zoe 00 75 geret Aus EAT VY spy t 3 411 4 4 mie in C Y i 7 3 OR Wir MTS wt ui ve VAM ter t n 404 y re 4 x ry P ol cg ae we ch riggs mn Tuet AT 5 3 wet ed ats x da ns PA a u el EMESS sh v any 5 Fte 4 die b 5 e 15941 a aan Yr U ya Eu MOD VOR Saye HH vA A i lt gt E gt ear 41 5 LS AS t Ps ce L 4 95 feta AL eb oe reo ULM TA A 0 NS 47 ur 651225516 70649 58005 inclassified curity Classification of this page REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE h Report Security Classification lb Restrictive Markings Unclassified Security Classification Authori 3 Distribution Availability of Report gt Declassification Downgrading Schedule Approved for public release distribution is unlimited Performing Organization Report Number s 5 Monitoring Organization Report Number s h Name of Performing Organization 6b Office Symbol 7a Name of Monitoring Organization f aval Postgraduate School If Applicable 52 Naval Postgraduate School Address city state and ZIP code 7b Address c
45. ation software Dumas 1988 p 60 Menu driven systems are becoming increasingly popular Microsoft s Word MicroPro s WordStar and Wordperfect Corporation s Wordperfect have all released menu driven systems Aids in converting existing programs to menu driven programs are already the market Macintosh s iconic menu system 15 very popular due to its ease of learning While this is primarily a movement toward improving use rface design it directly affects help systems available to the user Commands will be on screen eliminating the need to remember the exact syntax of the command or the proper command key 5 Screen Options Formatting of the screen to a large extent will be dependent upon the capabilities of the operating system being used and the constraints of the programming environment It must be determined if the help message will be located within the existing screen or if a separate screen will appear Critics of on line help systems state that it is difficult for users to remember what the help screen states when they have to switch back to the operating screen Weiss 1985 Help messages that are displayed on part of the operating screen for example at the bottom or on the next available line may be limited in the depth the help message can display due to limited Word is a registered trademark of Microsoft Inc 14 space It also be desirable as mentioned earlier to keep on the screen the
46. ble to obtain assistance from within GLAD environment concerning any operation or process The purpose of this thesis is to research design and implement a help system that meets the design principles proposed by Wu which will promote even greater end user usability for GLAD E ORGANIZATION The remainder of this thesis is organized as follows Chapter II discusses help system design alternatives Chapter III discusses the design decisions made in the development of the current GLAD help system It includes a discussion of constraints imposed by the GLAD environment and the decision to incorporate hypertext into GLAD Chapter IV discusses the implementation details of the GLAD help system It includes a discussion of the utilization of dynamic link libraries with ACTOR and the incorporation of the hypertext system GUIDANCE Conclusions and future research for GLAD are discussed in Chapter V Guidance is a registered trademark of Owl International Inc HELP SYSTEM ALTERNATIVES A WHAT IS A HELP SYSTEM A help system is a program or several programs that assist the user in the operation of another usually larger program The help system can either be a separate program that runs concurrently with the larger program or as is more common a program that is completely integrated within the larger application Kearsley 1988 p 3 Help encompasses a continuum of assistance to the user from a memory jogger of
47. close DM WINDOW CLASS Def initMenulD self menulD Dictionary 1 gt describe 2 gt expand 3 gt listMembers 4 gt oneMember 5 gt addMember 6 gt deleteMember 7 gt modify Member 8 gt query 9 gt showConnection 950 gt help 11 gt yt DDWINDOW CLASS Def initMenulD self menulD Dictionary 1 gt saveSchema 2 gt defineObj 3 gt attachAttr 4 gt defNestedObjects 5 ftdeleteObj 950 gt help 7 gt quit DISPLAY ONE WINDOW CLASS Def initMenulD self menuID Dictionary 1 gt addMember 2 gt deleteMember 3 gt modify Member 4 gt prev 5 gt next 6 gt first 7 gt last 8 gt goTolth 9 gt allAtOnce 950 gt help 1 1 gt close LIST MEMBERS WINDOW CLASS Def initMenulD self menuID Dictionary 1 gt more 2 gt modify 950 gt help 4 gt close LIST OF REFERENCES Conklin Jeff Hypertext An Introduction and Survey IEEE September 1987 Draganza Michael Dynamic Link Libraries Under Windows Computer Language Vol 6 no 5 1989 Duff Charles and others Actor Language Manual The Whitewater Group 1989 Dumas Joseph S Designing User Interfaces for Software Prentice Hall 1988 Galitz Wilbert Handbook of Screen Format Design 3rd Edition QED Information Sciences Inc 1989 Guidance Hypertext Help System Hypertext for Software Developers Owl Intemational Inc 1988 Guide Hyperte
48. d HUGO ry Av ae al Wh 5 ERO rare Hera oy Y Pas d LI ne 30 A Ae fied 2 A lei E DER Ven pier an uute ean re Anes A EA 4 2 4 npe fw nor SD AMET d oe non TU Pg i st Y TID tere E ER 47 y yt Erime 7 2 M 54 WER te gt De at Yen A Br Gris pia ie ghar pt f guru ng pe b pais ds er pnma a eol NN iris y navi te ate E Ten hrdy nar 512 T fro A ag 1444 I 5 naana Im d ade ITI re DIRE dy m gro 1 TO 2 2 i dL 1702 ies a MI rat uns EE Ma patr Lat pt mpa oe ca te Shae ee ot hens n d ee ri Dre d rnt ase euo rege DN 1 1 7 DONT u 3 r di ete si tg EAS Pa NI tee AG odd d drm pg fees DAUN u LE IE ie ne ua 29 nye DoD 404 y a or CET DIL ITE eR E es P Marini 14 D 1 al art et 00166 yy Viv jg 177 Ue T DOE Um og PUG yates eres Pr vanta An Mean ds gt ia 1 1 Ar iar ee g
49. d for temporary display Text which is linked to a note is underlined When the cursor is positioned over a Note button it changes to an asterisk See Figure 3 3 for an example of the shape of the Note button cursor When the cursor is positioned over a graphic which is linked to a Note button the cursor changes to an asterisk When the user clicks on a Note button a small overlapping window appears containing the additional information This window remains visible only as long as the user continues to hold down the left mouse button Note buttons are well suited to an on line glossary example formulas or short helpful hints Command buttons allow the user to launch other applications from within the help system This would be useful if the user wanted to open up a text editor or a 20 spreadsheet to obtain information for entry modification to a GLAD database user could also use this feature to open a text editor to jot down notes about the database he was using in GLAD The cursor changes to a solid black arrow when positioned over a Command button See Figure 3 3 for an example of the cursor shape of Command buttons Utilizing Guidance to implement a help system for GLAD has several other advantages not previously mentioned Guidance allows the GLAD help sys to be expanded or updated without requiring changes to the GLAD executable Guidance is designed to run in Microsoft Windows and is able to take full advantage of all of Wind
50. dDdiMenu MENU BEGIN MENUITEM MENUITEM MENUITEM MENUITEM MENUITEM MENUITEM MENUITEM END Save 1 Define 2 Attribute 3 Expand 4 Delete 5 Quit 7 aF Help HELPER HELP GladLMMenu MENU BEGIN MENUITEM MENUITEM Modify 2 MENUITEM Quit 4 MENUITEM aFl Help HELPER HELP END GladOMMenu MENU BEGIN MENUITEM Add MENUITEM Delete 2 MENUITEM Modify 3 MENUITEM 4 MENUITEM Next 5 POPUP GoTo BEGIN MENUITEM First 6 MENUITEM Last 7 MENUITEM Ith 8 MENUITEM 9 MENUITEM Quit 11 MENUITEM aFi Help HELPER HELP END 49 GLADV02 ACCELERATORS BEGIN VK_INSERT EDIT_PASTE VIRTKEY VK SUBTRACT EDIT CUT VIRTKEY VK ADD EDIT COPY VIRTKEY VK LEFT VK LEFT VIRTKEY VK UP VK UP VIRTKEY VK RIGHT VK RIGHT VIRTKEY VK DOWN VK DOWN VIRTKEY Aa Ar BR REFORM Az ZOOM VK Fl HELPER VIRTKEY VK TAB EDIT TAB VIRTKEY VK PRIOR EDIT PRIOR VIRTKEY VK NEXT EDIT NEXT VIRTKEY VK HOME EDIT HOME VIRTKEY VK END EDIT END VIRTKEY VK DELETE EDIT CLEAR VIRTKEY VK_DELETE EDIT_CUT VIRTKEY SHIFT VK_INSERT EDIT_COPY VIRTKEY CONTROL VK INSERT EDIT PASTE VIRTKEY SHIFT END 50 APPENDIX GLAD INITMENUID METHODS GLAD WINDOW CLASS Def initMenulD self menulD Dictionary 1 gt makeNewDb 2 gt modifyDb 3 gt openDb 4 gt removeDb 950 gt topHelp 6 gt
51. deline shown italics When the cursor is positioned over a reference the cursor changes to an arrow See Figure 3 3 for the cursor shape of reference buttons Graphics or areas of a graphic which are linked to a reference are also indicated by the cursor changing to Arrow Clicking the left mouse button when the cursor is in this arrow shape will cause the reference link to be traversed and the additional information to be displayed EXPANSION BUTTONS REFERENCE BUTTONS NOTE BUTTONS COMMAND BUTTONS GUIDE BUTTONS Figure 3 3 Shape of Guide Buttons 26 Expansion buttons allow information contained in the help system to be hierarchically nested Text within a Guideline which is an expansion button 15 indicated in bold type Positioning the cursor over this bold type will cause the cursor to change to a cross hair See Figure 3 3 for the cursor shape of an Expansion button Positioning the cursor over an area of a graphic which 15 an Expansion button also changes the cursor to a cross hair When a user positions the cursor over an expansion button displaying the cross hair clicking the left mouse button causes the information which is hidden below the button to appear This information can be nested to an infinite number of levels The user can go from level to level as desired continually revealing more and more details Note buttons allow the user to access small pieces of supplementary information about a topic and are intende
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54. e classes which allow easy integration of DLLs Gydance exe furnishes three routines which allow GLAD to interface with Guidance These routines are e Guidancelnitialise e GuidanceSetContext GuidanceTerminate As the name implies Guidancelnitialise initializes a link between GLAD and Guidance Once established this link remains until the GuidanceTerminate routine is called A link to Guidance must be established through Guidancelnitialise pric any requests for context sensitive help using the GuidanceSetContext routine GuidanceInitialise must include the name of the index guideline GLAD index guideline is the file index gui files associated with the help system are noted by the gui extension Figure 4 1 shows the GLAD hierarchy This figure indicates where the link to Guidance is established The Guidancelnitralise routine is executed in the InitGuidance method of the GladWindow class This method 15 executed each time a Glad Window object is created Figure 4 2 shows the ACTOR code associated with the Guidancelnitialise routine Notice that prior to executing the Guidancelnitialise routine GLAD must create a new library and add the three routines provided by Guidance Each GLAD window which contains a menu bar provides access to help When a user requests help by selecting FIZHELP from the menu bar help message 15 sent to the appropriate GLAD window The help method of each window class includes a call t
55. e help system but also the capabilities of the entire GLAD project GLAD project must not be constrained by limiting memory to 65 lt choice must be made between an inferior help system which would allow GLAD to operate within 640K or the proposed help system which is more capable is easier to change and will better serve the needs of GLAD help system as proposed best suits the needs of the GLAD project Restricting GLAD to a 640K of environment will result in a situation such that as GLAD 15 developed and expanded the help system will necessarily deteriorate The limitations associated with the 640K memory barrier unposed by the DOS operating system have been documented for at least five years These limitations have become a driving force behind the development of operating systems such as OS2 which provide greater capabilities This hurdle of memory limitation must be dealt with in order to implement any help system as well as to develop GLAD to its fullest potential 46 FUTURE AREAS RESEARCH Methods to make maximum use of available memory need to be explored Possible areas of research include exploring development of GLAD with OS2 or UNIX to alleviate memory difficulties Along with research into OS2 and UNIX methods which would allow MS DOS machines to take advantage of memory beyond 640K should be investigated Investigations into optimizing the memory demanded by GLAD would also be beneficial Const
56. e node can ease this problem as can an instantaneous one to three line explanation in a pop up window as a side reference Through the use of hypertext it is possible to incorporate many of the concepts in help design alternatives that promote maximum usability Hypertext allows for both static and dynamic context sensitive help on a multi level basis It can acce cific information needs through the use of major terms which serve as pointers or triggers to elaborate further information D SUMMARY Help system design provides several alternatives Tradeoffs will be required between space time and functionality Design decisions needed in creating a help system have been delineated Major decisions include e Utilizing static or dynamic help Making the help system multi leveled Making help user or system initiated Selecting screen options Incorporating extensibility Utilizing hypertext Hypertext appears ideal for the development of a help system good help system will incorporate the best features of each design alternative 18 THE GLAD HELP SYSTEM A DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS The objective of this project is to develop a help system for GLAD Inherent within this project are certain constraints First the program must be able to run on a IBM PC compatible computer as requested by the project sponsors Second GLAD is a Microsoft Windows based application It is therefore logical to develop a help syst
57. elp system were obvious First since GLAD 15 a Windows based application the help system for GLAD must also run in windows Second since previous developers of GLAD specified the need for context sensitivity a dynamic help system capable of sensing the location of the user within the document is preferred Third to be useful to both the novice and the experienced user the help system must be multi leveled allowing the user to view as much information as required Naturally the system has to run on the same hardware as GLAD The requirement of having the help system run within the Windows environment is in many ways a design advantage The Microsoft Windows development environment eases design decisions through its conventions and capabilities The first design principle of GLAD states be able to provide more information when asked 20 Windows programming environment establishes a conventions which provides convenient method of incorporating this principle into the help system Programming Windows recommends the right justified position on the menu bar as the standard position for help Petzold 1988 p 361 It also recommends enclosing the HELP menu selection within a box which separates it from other menu selections Petzold 1988 p 406 Windows provides sunple methods which allow menus to be developed utilizing these conventions FI HELP appears in the standard position enclosed in a box on every menu bar of GLAD see Figu
58. em that is Windows based Windows provides certain conventions and capabilities which influence the design of a help system A few examples of these conventions and capabilities are the use of a mouse adjustable windows a common menu presentation and a common method of closing windows GLAD 15 a graphical interface order to maintain the desired consistency it is logical that the help system provide graphical capabilities as well In addition Windows easily facilitates the presentation of bitmapped graphics The design principles for Glad were established prior to the design of the help system These six design principles must be adhered to in order to keep the help system consistent with GLAD Previous developers of GLAD have suggested that it Microsoft Windows hereafter referred to as Windows 19 should include context sensitive help system Williams 1988 Wu and Hsiao 1989 These suggestions have directed the design of the GLAD help system Another consideration in designing this help system is that GLAD is still under development quality method of implementing the help system was needed which would provide extensibility and easy modification One final constraint which must be considered when working on any project of this nature is time The time available for the completion of this project was finite B GLAD DESIGN CHOICES Given the above constraints and the design principles for GLAD certain choices for the h
59. emembering all of the pertinent information just viewed Using an overlapping window allows the user to simultaneously view his work and refer to help in a separate window The user will not have to memorize information before switching to his work screen This ability to overlap and position a help window anywhere on the screen has been incorporated into the GLAD help system The information provided must be neatly formatted and presented in such a manner that each screen explains a complete operation or concept Forcing the user to scroll 22 through an unknown amount of information can cause information anxiety as in continuous scroll help systems Windows provides standard methods for closing windows which been incorporated into the GLAD help system The help window can be closed with the keystroke combination ALT_F4 clicking on the control menu box and selecting close or by double clicking on the control menu box These methods of closing the help window are consistent with all Windows based programs This consistency and flexibility adhere to design principles three and four perform the same operation in more than one way and be able to perform the logically equivalent operation in consistent manner The problem then is how to incorporate these design conventions into a help system for GLAD Consideration was given to writing the entire help system using ACTOR however the amount of code needed could be unwieldy and
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62. hould the user become disoriented Guidance 38 3 Data Manipulation AHIS Helicopter DBO Describe Expand ListMenbers Change Query ShowConnection Quit F1 Help ELEC SVS COBRA PHOTOS GLAD DML Window is displayed each time an existing database is Opened The content of this window is dependent on the database selected The window above shows an example of 1 opening 15 Helicopter database For additional information on GLAD DML window operations expand Glad DML Window menu Figure 4 7 Help Window with Replica of DML Window Guidance for GLAD Print Top Search Back GLAD HELP INDEX 1 0 Gd Window 2 0 Open Database 3 0 Remove Database 140 Denton Window 6 0 Deming 6 0 Date Manpaat Window 70 One Window 9 0 Zescrbe 9 0 Lit Members Window 10 0 SH0Wconnecion 111 0 GLAD 3oers 12 0 Yang Me Hype fent bel system Figure 4 8 GLAD Index Guideline 39 provides the menu selection BACK on the help window menu bar This allows the user to retrace the steps that he has taken within the Guideline Guidance also provides a TOP menu selection Selecting TOP automatically takes the user to the beginning of the Guideline Links to the Index Guideline been have dispersed throughout the help system This provides the user easy access to a position which is familiar should he become lost In addition it allows the user to access help in areas not contained in the current
63. ice the occasional user needing only a memory aid as well as the experienced programmer 3 System Initiated Help Help requests may be initiated by the user or by the system System nitiated help usually given as advice or as a suggestion is frequently triggered by an error condition For example if a user types a command that is inappropriate for the current function the system would provide a list of all the correct alternative commands Some users perceive system initiated help as an interruption or as a delay in using the program and may even consider the messages as nagging System initiated help is necessary in some systems to prevent users from making fatal errors especially in systems where errors could result in catastrophic consequences System initiated help also assists the user by pointing out shortcuts that may have previously been unknown This could prove useful to the novice and experienced user alike For example the system may be designed to inform the user when he 15 using several operations to accomplish a task which should be incorporated into a single operation If system initiated help is utilized it is recommended that the user be given the option of turning it off or specifying the level of message desired Kearsley 1988 p 20 Specific messages of highest priority could be left on while allowing the user to tum off advisory messages that may not be pertinent to their use In order to provide the ad
64. ined data entities 4 1 4 EXPAND Allows the definition of specialiization entities for a nested object 4 1 5 DELETE Selecting delete will delete entities from the database schema which are no longer needed 4 1 6 HELP Provides comprehensive user assistance For information concerning the reading of hypertext anc using this help system click on HELP at beginning of this paragraph For an index to GLAD help topics click on GLAD help Index Figure 4 9 Example Numbering Used To Minimize User Disorientation A add en a E Print Search Back F1 HELP 1 9444 11 GLAD WINDOW menu 1 1 1 CREATE allows generation of new database 1 1 2 MODIFY allows an existing database to be changed 1 1 3 OPEN presents existing database for manipulation 1 1 4 REMOVE delete an existing database Figure 4 10 GLAD Help Window Menu 4 Any word concept within the Guideline that may require further explanation 15 linked to a Note button This serves as an on line glossary of terms providing the user quick explanations of unfamiliar terminology Figure 4 11 example show example of a Note button which is used to provide further explanation for the term Select Text which is a Note button is visually indicated by an underline Guidelines are constructed in accordance with the Guide and Guidance User Manuals Help windows have been designed to present a complete descripticn
65. into the help system These help systems require extensive error checking to ensure correct user input SHERPA a help system developed by ComTrain for LOTUS 1 2 3 is a good example of a dialog type help system which uses prompts to assist the user through a series of functions Kearsley 1988 p 35 2 Multi level Help System It is clear that providing a complex step by step procedure for every user may not be desirable and may even slow processing time considerably for the experienced user Therefore another design alternative is to provide multiple levels of help giving more detailed information for each successive level of help requested In addition to increasingly detailed information successive levels of help would provide examples qualifiers on use or descriptions of related commands Some programs such as MicroPro s WordStar allow users to set the level of help when the program is initiated WordStar users have the choice of four levels of help ranging from a full menu of choices on screen at all times to no help prompts displayed Another example of a multi level help system is one that utilizes different terms to request different WordStar is a registered trademark of MicroPro International Corporation 11 levels of help for example Define Explain Example or Limitations Kearsley 1988 p 17 Having different levels of help available is an attempt to meet the specific needs of various users including the nov
66. ity state and ZIP code fonterey CA 93943 5000 Monterey CA 93943 5000 Name of Funding Sponsonng Organization 8b Office Symbol 9 Procurement Instrument Identification Number If Applicable Address city state and ZIP code 10 Source of Funding Numbers Title Include Security Classification IIPLEMENTATION OF A HYPERTEXT HELP SYSTEM FOR GLAD A GRAPHICS LANGUAGE FOR DATABASE Personal Author s Yeary Lon M la Type of Report 13b Time Covered 14 Date of Report year month day 15 Page Count laster s Thesis From To June 1989 63 Supplementary Notation The views expressed this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official blicy or position of the Department of Defense or the U S Government Cosau Codes 18 Subject Terms continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number eld On line Help System Hypertext ACTOR Object Oriented Graphical User Interface GLAD Database EE Abstract continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number This paper explores the design and implementation of a help system for a graphical user interface named Graphics LAnguage for Database It examines help system design alternatives Emphasis is on the aplementation of a hypertext help system for GLAD using the Windows utility GUIDANCE and the object nented programming language ACTOR Discussion includes the advantages of hypertext for on line help
67. ity provides access to virtually endless amounts of information without reading unnecessary information It is intuitive easy to learn and use It is powerful and cost effective in terms of time to implement It 1s extensible Minimal changes to GLAD were required to incorporate the help system Graphics as well as text are easily incorporated The weaknesses of the proposed help system are The help system will not run correctly without expanded memory Despite the indexing system the potential for the user to become disoriented within a hypertext document still exists The major weakness of this design is the requirement for expanded memory in order to achieve its full functionality While the design constraints did not specifically state that this help system was limited to operation on a computer with 640K of memory this is the most common memory capability of IBM compatible computers The requirement for additional memory limits the use of this help system to computers that have expanded memory 45 The implications of this requirement for additional memory may be that 640K is too limiting for a project the size and scope of GLAD Intuitive user friendly graphic interfaces require resources specifically memory More memory is required as more features are added to a system As GLAD expands it will continue to require more memory If 640K is an absolute requirement it will not only limit the capabilities of th
68. l Lib procs GUIDANCETERMINATE HGuide Figure 4 5 GladApp Class shouldClose Method GuidanceTerminate routine is executed Figure 4 5 depicts the shouldClose method GuidanceTerminate removes the link between Guidance and GLAD B IMPLEMENTING THE HELP SYSTEM ACCELERATOR KEY Menus for GLAD windows are defined in the resource script file This is ASCII file which contains GLAD s menus dialogs accelerator keys icons and strings Duff and others 1989 p 343 GLAD s resource script file is gladv02 rc Incorporating the Fl accelerator key involves altering 5 resource script file Appendix A contains a portion of gladv02 rc Code to implement the Fl accelerator key 15 delineated in bold lettering In the line la Fi Help HELPER HELP the causes F1 Help on the menu to be right justified HELPER associates the identifier HELPER with this menu selection The word HELP causes a box to be placed around the words Fl Help gladv02 rc the line VK F1 HELPER VIRTKEY associates the Fl key with the identifier HELPER The line define HELPER 950 is contained in the file glad h The integer 950 can then be used as an index to the dictionary which contains the menu selections for each GLAD window dictionary in ACTOR is similar to an array in procedural programming languages This number was arbitrarily chosen however it had to be higher than the number of menu options This 15 standard Windows co
69. lly the help system will behave identically to the GLAD program except the user will be provided with help information when an operation is selected This allows the user to visually associate a GLAD operation with a replica of that operation contained in the HELP Guidelines For example the user can obtain help by positioning the cursor over the item in the replica s menu bar that corresponds with the same menu zction in the GLAD window Clicking the mouse on this item causes the help system to respond similarly to GLAD and provide help on that operation Examples of GLAD operations will also be included whenever possible within help to make the information as clear as possible As mentioned in Chapter II the potential to become disoriented while reading hypertext documents is a disadvantage of hypertext A numbering system was incorporated into the GLAD help system order to minumize user disorientation while accessing help The numbering system allows the user to at minimum identify which Guideline he is using The Guideline number corresponds to a number assigned in the Index Guideline Figure 4 8 shows the GLAD index Guideline and its associated indices Each successive nesting level within the Guideline will add a decimal point and a digit indicating the user s relative position in the Guideline For example 4 1 2 would indicate the user is two levels deep in the fourth Guideline Figure 4 9 shows an example of the numbering system S
70. nvention for calling help For further explanation of RC and header files refer to Petzold 1988 The InitMenuID method of each window class contains the dictionary which associates the identifier HELPER with the help method for each appropriate class Appendix B contains the InitMenuID methods for each GLAD window class C GLAD HELP ORGANIZATION The Guidelines for GLAD were designed to provide modules of information for each window within the GLAD hierarchy These Guidelines were further developed to provide multi leveled help within each Guideline This enables the user to retrieve only as much information as desired Figure 4 6 demonstrates how the user is able to access nested information through the use of expansion buttons The top window of Figure 4 6 shows a section of the GLAD Data Definition Window Guideline If the user desires additional information pertaining to the QUIT menu selection he can obtain this information by positioning the cursor over the text QUIT The bold font visually indicates that the text QUIT is an expansion button The cursor changing to a cross hair confirms that the text below is an expansion button Clicking the left mouse button displays the information shown in the bottom window of Figure 4 6 The modular design of the GLAD help system allows Guidelines to be altered with minimal effect on the remainder of the help system Keeping the Guidelines small permits quick easy reading and reduces the amount
71. o the GuidanceSetContext routine This routine enables the help system to be 30 GladObj GladApp Error Box Indexed Set Collection Byte About Array Collection pones MyWindo Ordered Attribute Dialog Describe Window Collection Object Dialog Dies Graphics Dialog Rect Dialog Window Point Struct Color Table GuidanceTerminate Routine Contained in Identified Class Guidancelntialise Called from Identified Class GuidanceSetContext Routine z o Contained in Identified Classes AddOne Window e Guidancelntialise Routine Executed in Identified Class Bitmaps Figure 4 1 GLAD Hierarchy Initialialse call to Guidance Def initGuidance selflaStr aString Lib new Library Lib name add Lib GUIDANCEINITIALISE 0 0 0 1 1 00 add Lib GUIDANCESETCONTEXT 0 0 1 0 add Lib GUIDANCETERMINATE 0 0 load Lib aString GLAD aStr index gui HGuide pcall Lib procs GUIDANCEINITIALISE HInstance handle self IP aString IP aStr 1 1 Figure 4 2 Guidancelnitialise Routine context sensitive Included in this GuidanceSetContext call 1s a string that contains the name of the current GLAD window Figure 4 3 contains some examples of the GLAD methods which utilize the GuidanceSetContext routine Notice the name of the calling window 15 contained a string in each method Guidance searches the index g
72. o the design of a good help system The information contained in the help must be modifiable As the software program evolves the help system will need to keep pace to remain useful The user may also want to personalize the help system adding more information to the help message to reflect the way the commar used Kearsley 1988 p 23 system of preventing inaccurate information from being added to the help system must be utilized in order to maintain the integrity of the help system If a user altered an existing help message inaccurately it would ultimately affect many users who also utilize the program The proposed solution to this problem is to allow additions to the help system while preventing modifications to the original content of the help system C HYPERTEXT Hypertext has been hailed as ideally suited to help systems Kearsley 1988 p 19 While hypertext has been around for over two decades it has recently enjoyed an upsurge in interest Conklin 1987 p 32 With hypertext windows on the screen are associated with objects in a database Links are provided between these objects both graphically and in the database as pointers Major terms or control options can be selected that will then be further explained Any term or graphic display can be used 16 to provide further help Hypertext is capable of performing high speed branching transactions on textual chunks Conklin 1987 p 32 It cuts across traditional b
73. of memory required Guidance far GLAD Print Search Back F1 HELP for a nested object 4 1 5 DELETE Selecting delete will delete entities from the database schema which are no longer needed 4 1 6 HELP Provides comprehensive user assistance For information concerning the reading of hypertext and using this help system click on HELP at beginning of this paragraph For anindexto GLAD help topics click on GLAD help Index following this paragraph 4 1 7 QUIT leave current window GLAD helo Index Help concernig QUIT prior to expanding Ps Me PO IAS re 2 E Guidance for GLAD EJE 4 1 5 DELETE Selecting delete will delete entities from the database schema which are no longer needed 4 1 6 HELP Provides comprehensive user assistance For Information concerning the reading of hypertext and using this help system click on HELP at beginning of this paragraph For an index to GLAD help topics click on GLAD help Index following this paragraph 4 1 7 QUIT Closes the DDL window and returns the user to the IE GLAD WINDOW When in the GLAD Window QUIT returns the user to the Wiindows operating system GLAD help Index Help concerning QUIT after expanding _ Figure 4 6 Demonstration of Expansion Buttons Du The help system is designed to emulate the look and feel of GLAD The Guideline for each GLAD window contains a replica of that window see Figure 4 7 Idea
74. oundaries at the same time it is a database method a representation scheme and an interface modality Conklin 1987 p 33 It 1s a way for high speed automated browsing through information Guide 1988 p 3 Any text item can act as a trigger for various kinds of help information and actions Kearsley 1988 p 43 Owl International introduced Guidance in 1988 It is on its simplest level a context sensitive on line help system that uses hypertext It is a read only windows application with a simple interface so that it can be driven by a host application Guidance 1988 p 5 Although there are many advantages to using hypertext Conklin 1987 lists these nine as significant Ease of tracing references Ease of creating new references e Information structuring Global views e Customized documents Modularity of information Consistency of information Task stacking Collaboration He also identifies two major problems in the use of hypertext First a user can get lost in the document because there is not the traditional linear way of moving through the document This disorientation problem can be corrected through technical solutions such as the use of a graphical browser that can map the network that is 12 linked Secondly cognitive overhead or the additional effort needed to juggle several tasks at once may become troublesome with hypertext However utilizing a rapid cross referenc
75. ows conventions It furnishes multi level capabilities through the use of hypertext Guidance also provides functions which allow the help system to be context sensitive The next chapter will discuss the implementation details of incorporating Guidance into the GLAD help system 28 IV GLAD HELP SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION A INTEGRATING GLAD AND GUIDANCE Guidance takes advantage of a feature in Microsoft Windows which enables interapplication communication This feature of Windows is referred to as Dynamic Data Exchange DDE Within Guidance 15 Gydance exe a dynamic linked library DLL or dynalink Petzold 1988 p 805 Dynamic linked libraries are a feature of the Microsoft Windows environment that allow separate applications to dynamically share code Each module is compiled and linked separately in an executable file Utilizing the DLL Gydance exe GLAD is able to communicate with Guidance through DDE In essence it allows Guidance to become an extension of the GLAD program The advantages to this are that the application file is linked to help only at min time when needed making the GLAD executable file smaller and less memory intensive The link is also faster because only those modules which need to be linked are linked Most importantly several different applications can share the same resource which is especially critical in a large integrated programming environment Draganza 1989 p 59 ACTOR provides the library and procedur
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78. re 3 1 Help can be accessed by clicking the left mouse button FI HELP within the menu bar from any window of GLAD A Create Modify Open Remove Quit pl 0 PEDO DEDOS SIIC IONS OS OMS e Figure 3 1 Standard Position of Help in GLAD Window 21 Another convention of the Window Programmers Reference Manual is the establishment of the F1 key as the standard keyboard accelerator for access to help keyboard accelerator allows users to execute a command using the keyboard which can also be executed using the mouse This convention of accessing help through the Fl key has been incorporated into GLAD Design principle three states be able to perform the same operation in more than one way Thus the GLAD user has been given two methods to access the help system He can either select FISHE using the mouse from the Help window menu bar or use the keyboard accelerator Regardless of the method used to access help the 1 box flashes on the menu bar to give the user visual feedback that help has been accessed Using Windows provides screen options that make the help system more utilitarian It is frustrating when the user is required to switch to a screen where his work is no longer visible in order to reference the on line help only to be required to switch back while r
79. rms however the user must know what term requires further explanation While it is sometimes helpful to provide every detail to the user searching for a solution to a problem it is possible ovide so much information that the user becomes lost or distracted If the search takes the user through unnecessary information the user may be delayed in actual task completion Dynamic help that 15 sensitive to the sequence of user requests or actions be developed Dynamic or context sensitive help offers assistance based on the function being performed during program execution For instance if the user is in the edit mode of a program and requests help an explanation of edit commands available user would be provided without listing unrelated commands Dynamic help can be as simple as an explanation of an error message or it can be more sophisticated providing detailed information of program options based on where the user is in the program or the function being performed By increasing the degree of context sensitivity the usefulness of the help is increased WordPerfect a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corporation 10 A powerful form of dynamic help is a dialog between the user and the system The dialog guides the user through the problem providing step by step instructions Kearsley 1988 p 16 Dialog help is difficult to develop It requires the incorporation of assistance for every possible user action or question
80. ructing hypertext documents to provide the best access to information for users is another area of possible research Additional methods of indicating to the user where is in the hypertext document need to be developed to eliminate the disorientation a user may experience when reading a hypertext document An intelligent help system that determines where the user is in a program and suggests courses of action or corrects mistakes 15 an area that deserves further exploration and research Sound may also enhance the help system as well as animation These features require technology which 15 not currently available and may be too costly in terms of actual benefits to the GLAD project 47 APPENDIX SAMPLE SECTION GLADV02 RC This appendix contains a portion of the gladv02 rc Only the section pertinent to the implementation of the help system menus is shown GladTopMenu MENU BEGIN MENUITEM Create 1 MENUITEM Modify 2 MENUITEM Open 3 MENUITEM Remove 4 MENUITEM Quit 6 MENUITEM HELPER HELP END GladDmiMenu MENU BEGIN MENUITEM Describe 1 MENUITEM Expand 2 POPUP ListMembers BEGIN MENUITEM at Once 3 MENUITEM One by One 4 END POPUP Change BEGIN MENUITEM Add data 5 MENUITEM Delete 6 MENUITEM Modify data 7 END MENUITEM Query 8 MENUITEM ShowConnection 9 MENUITEM Quit 11 MENUITEM aFl Help HELPER HELP END 48 Gla
81. sing an Object Oriented Language Presented at IFIP TC 2 Working Conference on Visual Database Systems Tokyo Japan April 1989 Wu C Thomas Benefits of Object Oriented Programming to Implement a Visual Database Interface Case Studies of Object Oriented Programming Addison Wesley Publication pending INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST Defense Technical Information Center Cameron Station Alexandria Virginia 22304 6145 Library Code 0142 Naval Postgraduate School Monterey Califomia 93943 50022 Commandant of the Marine Corps Code TE 06 Headquarters U S Marine Corps Washington D C 20360 0001 Department Chairman Code 52 Department of Computer Science Naval Postgraduate School Monterey California 93943 5000 Curriculum Officer Code 37 Computer Technology Naval Postgraduate School Monterey California 93943 5000 Professor Thomas Wu Code 52Hq Computer Science Department Naval Postgraduate School Monterey Califomia 93943 5000 Professor David Hsiao Computer Science Department Naval Postgraduate School Monterey Califomia 93943 5000 UA uA Captain Lon Yeary c o Mr Lon O Yeary 2N236 Pearl Avenue Glen Ellyn Illinois 60137 56 Thesis Y336 Implementation of hypertext help system for GLAD a Graphics LAnguage for Database d MK PL 01 4 We ade gl 6 aq 0 72867 ole
82. uideline for this string then traverses the link to the guideline containing information about the requesting window This guideline then appears on the screen See Figure 4 4 Figure 4 1 also indicates the location of the GuidanceTerminate routine within the GLAD hierarchy This routine is executed by the shouldClose method of the GladApp class When the shouldClose message is sent to the Glad Application the 32 GladWindow Class Def topHelp selflaStr aStr asciiz GLAD WINDOW pcall Lib procs FGUIDANCESETCONTEXT HGuide IP aStr 1 freeHandle aStr DMWindow Class Def help selflaStr aStr asciiz Data Manipulation Window pcall Lib procs amp GUIDANCESETCONTEXT HGuide P aStr 1 freeHandle aStr DDWindow Class Def help selflaStr aStr ascuz Data Definition Window peall Lib procs GUIDANCESETCONTEXT HGuide P aStr 1 freeHandle aStr ListMemWindow Class Def help selflaStr aStr zasciiz List Members Window pcall Lib procs GUIDANCESETCONTEXT HGuide P aStr 1 freeHandle aStr Figure 4 3 Example GLAD Methods Utilizing GuidanceSetContext Data Hanipulation 22 F A HELP DHL WINDOW DH WINDOW Data Hanipui Index gui Windo HELP DHL gui Figure 4 4 Guidance Use of Search String to Find Context Sensitive Help If any cleaning up needs to be done in the application before closing it should be done here Def shouldClose self pcal
83. vantages of on line help systems it is clear that they cannot completely replace the printed user HEN A perfect help system would be of no use to a naive user who did not know how to turn the computer on Instead an on line help system can be thought of as a method of enhancing or augmenting the information available to a program user This thesis addresses the development of on line help system It will not discuss the need to develop a good user manual for GLAD Dumas 1988 p 50 proposes seven principles for a good interface design One of these design principles is the incorporation of an on line help facility A well designed help system contributes to the overall usability of a program by reducing the tme it takes to complete an on line function and by reducing the number of errors made Jackson and Lefrere 1986 Shneiderman 1987 and Kearsley 1988 all discuss research which confirms the advantages of a well designed on line help system Improving the design of the help system will improve its benefit to the user Improved user performance and user satisfaction can result from having a skilfully planned help system integrated into a software program If only by providing increased confidence for the user a help system can be beneficial speeding the process of familiarization Jackson and Lafrere 1986 p 64 To be truly useful an on line help system must be easier and quicker to use than a manual Roberts 1970 p 547
84. vantages of system and user initiated help a system can be designed which incorporates both 4 User Initiated Help User initiated help can be activated through a variety of means including typing a help command pressing a designated help key or by selecting a help option from a menu The advantage of this method 15 that the help may be obtained independently of typed input The disadvantage 15 that the user may not remember which key is the help key unless a method for keeping a reminder on screen 15 utilized Typing a help command may be desirable in that it allows for complex syntax to be used to take the user to a specific area of needed assistance however the user will have to remember the correct syntax of the help command Utilizing menus with a help option has several advantages The user will have command options displayed in the menu eliminating the need to remember the command choices In addition the user is reminded every time he looks at the screen that the help option is available Menus have the same problem as designated help keys in that both require the user to specify the topic on which help is required Menu help systems allow the user to select from an index of topics The need for greater specificity is eliminated if the system is context sensitive The fact that a system is menu driven does not necessarily imply that it is effective fact poorly designed menus one of the most common problems with applic
85. vg t Ba a a n t Rias a v DAA eA te S de e Po eM A e rm en DF D A A YS DE eri TS O aL M da Iu TERT 3 98244 02 Vs a 44 arte Da Ma o y A Ry Ad Ay ree n A vy o M MA 1 4 s 196 18 a AAA Viam AS CORE My Mg ics pellus TIERE U tat Bh ate 49 Adae ye IE e sS MR if uim Poor Is AC fle exe Ire oc rr a rn le z 1 B 4 1 oar sie 99 RW Lorre eres 5 N ae 4 34974 M A A Werke A toe v i SA o HAS SIE ae Mh A ART AME VA a i hr tol 1 LIT preg E TERE a gt DE em 5 7 eei d T 4 6 099 na mass ULP dar PA VL fat Sd gt ade dye an hi A AA Hired ae D 1 aula t Buy Ten 9 m p Ar s p Amet Dhia RDA 901 4 04 41 744 9 22 os me ru dac nd ARCA eM Aa esse seres pe e o P 2 0 A gt as AoA NOUS Ini acto ds A Bev e Ru CO RA R an DUE D 14 m im Bas 75 4 thm ta l la eV TA MMR te APIS Pod ek Bee ad e ing hay C Bi aga Y Dun memi dye ri ici By oy nma De Rh qu ifo n 5 m PTT
86. xt for the PC Owl International Inc 1988 Help R Company Ltd 1988 Jackson Peter and Lefrere Paul On the Application of Rule based Techniques to the Design of Advice Giving Systems Int Journal of Man Machine Studies Vol 20 1983 Kearsley Greg Online Help Systems Design and Implementation Ablex Publishing 1988 Killory J F Computer Human Interaction and the Documentation Puzzles Computers and People Vol 30 Nos 5 amp 6 1987 Meyer Bertrand Object Oriented Software Construction Prentice Hall 1988 Petzold Charles Programming Window s Microsoft Press 1988 Roberts Roger Help A Question Answering System AFIPS Conference Proceedings Vol 37 Fall Joint Computer Conference 1970 Rowell Michael The Suitability of an Object Oriented Language for Prototyping and Abstracting Data Types Master s Thesis Naval Postgraduate School June 1988 Shneiderman Ben Designing the User Interface Strategies for Effective Human Computer Interaction Addison Wesley Publishing 1987 Weiss Edmond H How to Write a Usable User Manual ISI Press 1985 Williamson Michael An Implementation of a Data Definition Facility for the Graphics Language for Database Master s Thesis Naval Postgraduate School December 1988 Wu C Thomas GLAD Graphics Language for Database Prepared for Chief of Naval Research 1987 Wu C Thomas and Hsiao David K Implementation of Visual Database Interface U

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