Data Exploration Interactions and the ExBase System

This paper describes elements of data exploration interactions and the design philosophy of the ExBase (Exploration of DataBases) system. The ExBase system integrates a database management system with data visualization and analysis, for interactive data exploration. Knowledge about the interactions between user, data, and the system will be automatically recorded by the system for subsequent analysis. This approach will help define the user and system interface requirements for future data exploration environments. Our top-down design focuses on supporting user interactions and accommodating new technologies as they appear. We believe that new avenues for data exploration will be enabled because of this coupling.