FORMANAGER

Abstract

The form has become an important abstraction for data management in an office application environment. Structured office forms present data to users in an easily understood and easily manipulated manner. In this paper we classify forms systems in terms of three dimensions: data structuring, user interfaces, and programming interfaces. Current forms systems are analyzed under these dimensions. We have designed a comprehensive forms management system, FORMANAGER, that includes facilities for form specification, form processing, and form control. The system transforms data from a relational database into a hierarchical data structure which defines the form. The design and algorithms for implementation of the system are described, and future extensions to enhance the capabilities of forms systems are proposed.