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No dominant methodology has emerged for designing object-oriented databases. In this paper, we identify characteristics for a good design methodology and review the literature of supporting models and approaches. Semantic data models and object-oriented methods are presented. We then take an extended look at Harel's higraph notation and use it to extend the entity-relationship model for object-oriented database design.

When the U.S. military faces a crisis, manpower and time are our most precious resources. Unfortunately, the software we employ during a crisis doesn't always make the best use of our people or support a timely response. The commercial office automation products we use support editing and presentation of information, but their direct-manipulation interfaces require specification of all the details. Internet sources provide access to a huge amount of unfiltered data in different formats; and getting information from these sources still requires a lot of manual work.Our current focus on client/server information systems is an attempt to buy time by providing quick access to information we use for decision making.However, our experience in software procurement suggests that building large distributed information systems is both risky and expensive, even when using 00 technology and standard interface protocols. One problem not addressed by these best practices is that developers still depend on the closed-world assumption that the builder of each software component knows all the relevant interfaces. As the complexity of applications increases, the number of interfaces also rises. At some point, the assumption fails.Another related problem is that developers hardcode interfaces as if they will never change. In reality, components, middleware, operating systems, and hardware are all periodically upgraded, so services change and new functions are required. These two problems combine to make frequent maintenance necessary for all current applications. Furthermore, dependence on the closed-world assumption has serious consequences on the complexity of problems that current software practice can address.Software agent technology is poised to solve these problems. Agents will soon revolutionize UI by interpreting user requests and automating manual processes. Agents will allow users to delegate simple tasks. Users will have time to solve complex, abstract problems, while agents use their knowledge of user preferences, standard domain defaults, and networked information sources to make simple decisions and even take action on behalf of the user. As agent technology matures and agent applications become more common, developers will want to integrate multiple applications so that different systems collaborate synergistically.Integrating many complex applications is a very challenging problem that many developers hope will be assisted by software. One way agents might do this is to use their knowledge to dynamically negotiate software interfaces, enabling agents to self-organize, forming super-applications at run time. These new super-applications will have simpler Uls, better problem-solving abilities, and more flexible composability than anything we have today. Super-applications will embody a new generation of scalable, cost-effective software technology.It is clear to me our current GUIs are beginning to limit the complexity of applications as well as our level of interactions with these applications. There are Just too ma...

This thesis describes the aircrew scheduling problem faced by U.S. Air Force units flying A-10 aircraft and a visual programming methodology used to automate A-10 aircrew scheduling. Database, scheduling, and programming technologies are discussed in the context of automated aircrew scheduling. The visual programming methodology developed is based on Microsoft Excel, a commercial spreadsheet with database functionality, and is unique because it focuses on the use of Excel as a general-purpose programming language. Using Excel, an A-10 aircrew scheduler was constructed with greedy heuristics which schedule based on priority, event requirements, and currencies subject to pilot and resource availability. Three other applications were developed using the methodology described, and, from the programming experience to date, recommendations for improvements are made.