Re: command line vs gui

From: Tobias Brox (tobias_at_stud.cs.uit.no)
Date: 11/26/05 

Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2005 22:55:27 +0000 (UTC)

[Peter T. Breuer]
> Because it's NOT infinite. Boolean forms have a "normal form" to which
> all may be reduced: the conjunction of disjuncts of atomic propositions
> and their negations.

Over the time, I've been building several web-based database query
tools - all of them ment for "ordinary users", thus never really
making it possible for the user to specify arbritrary SQL sentences.

(Actually, in the first project I made, the engine was built so that
any arbritrary query could be built from the user input - but in
reality the user was constrained by the way the form was built up.
Normally, one would never allow web clients to be physically able to
specify arbritrary SQL, but I left both authentication, access control
and audit logging to the database)

Though, never thinking really hard about it, I have come to the
conclution that you are completely right; any boolean expression can
be rewritten to a well-formed, simple expression - thus it's
theoretically possible to build a simple user interface actually
constructing arbritrary queries by SQL. I think a good GUI would
actually generate the SQL, and let the user see the query and
eventually hand-edit it.

Of course, my query tools are not intended for experts, thus I have
specific query pages with specific radio buttons / input boxes /
check-boxes, and strong hinting that the users should contact me if
they have more advanced queries. I get such queries fairly seldom. 

-- 
This signature has been virus scanned, and is probably safe to read
Tobias Brox, 69°42'N, 18°57'E

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