| Computer technology allows users to store and process enormous amounts of data. However, typically that data has remained relatively inaccessible; interfaces provide a narrow range of options to users, and those options often require specialized training and knowledge. Especially in the engineering industry, typical computer users are not computer specialists, but rather engineers, designers, or other professionals who use computers as one of a number of tools in performing their design tasks.;This dissertation describes the needs of engineers in accessing databases. Engineers perform a wide variety of tasks as they analyze, design, and construct structures. This results in unpredictable database requests that vary from project to project. A multi-modal database interface accommodates the needs of engineering database users by allowing engineers to use the most appropriate database interface mode at any time during query formulation. The multiple modes must be linked together seamlessly to allow engineers to formulate queries intuitively.;A conceptual model of a multi-modal query interface is presented and its implementation described. COMEDI, a COncurrently Multi-modal Engineering Database Interface, aids engineering interactions with database management systems by providing multiple query methodologies simultaneously. COMEDI uses an object-oriented data and query description language along with a central processor to link several query modes to each other and to a relational database management system. This provides a flexible, extensible, and portable design that accommodates new modes and new database systems easily. |
