Database products are among the most complex and abstract types of software and lack a strong analog real-world, experiential model upon which to base a user-centered metaphor. Hence, they have proceeded more slowly along the route of User Interface (UI) evolution than some of their simpler counterparts. The search for workable metaphors and user models is ongoing.
dBASE® for Windows has the most advanced and innovative UI model of the existing desktop database products. Understanding this model is not only key to unleashing the power of the product but also to understanding how all GUI databases are likely to evolve over the next decade.
This paper identifies the technology trends, research, and innovation that form the basis of the dBASE for Windows UI. In addition, it discusses a series of paradigm shifts in the use of data on the desktop, among users of database products, and in the underlying technology that has shaped the design not only of dBASE for Windows but also Paradox® for Windows, and other major PC products.