Demonstrating the Hidden Features That Make an Application Work

With programming-by-demonstration (PBD), a user shows examples of a behavior that the computer is meant to perform instead of writing out textual instructions. Many PBD systems use machine-learning techniques to convert the user’s examples into executable programs automatically. However, in order to use PBD as a general-purpose programming tool, the user must be able to demonstrate more than just the surface level interactions of a behavior. By combining PBD with interaction techniques for specifying data that is normally hidden, and by selecting important data at key moments, the user is able to give hints to the computer that clarify the vagaries of using examples alone. This enables PBD to be used in more situations where previously only textual languages could be used.