View-Centered Conceptual Modelling - An Object-Oriented Approach

Information systems for highly skilled clerical workers present themselves as a collection of window-based processes with underlying procedures accessing databases. It is left to the users to continue or interrupt a certain piece of work or to switch from one application to another. Such system can be supported by three layers: a database layer, a dialogue layer and a presentation layer. In this paper an integrated object oriented model with a distinction between types and classes is outlined. In this model views on the datamodel can be extended to dialogue classes which enable a smooth integration of dialogue objects with the underlying datamodel. The only remaining task for the presentation layer consists of suitable ergonomic presentations of dialogue objects on the screen by means of a general UIMS.