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Making database systems usable

Published: 11 June 2007 Publication History

Abstract

Database researchers have striven to improve the capability of a database in terms of both performance and functionality. We assert that the usability of a database is as important as its capability. In this paper, we study why database systems today are so difficult to use. We identify a set of five pain points and propose a research agenda to address these. In particular, we introduce a presentation data model and recommend direct data manipulation with a schema later approach. We also stress the importance of provenance and of consistency across presentation models.

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      cover image ACM Conferences
      SIGMOD '07: Proceedings of the 2007 ACM SIGMOD international conference on Management of data
      June 2007
      1210 pages
      ISBN:9781595936868
      DOI:10.1145/1247480
      • General Chairs:
      • Lizhu Zhou,
      • Tok Wang Ling,
      • Program Chair:
      • Beng Chin Ooi
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      Published: 11 June 2007

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      2. usability
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