Generating structure editor interfaces for Operational Research OR procedures

The quest for Operational Research OR interface development tools that are both flexible (in terms of interfaces produced) and high-level (in terms of developer specification accepted) is based on work in the DSS and UIMS fields. The DSS literature offers a foundation for understanding possible relationships between Operational Research OR procedures, the data they can use, and the problem statements that cause their executions. The UIMS literature offers mechanisms for interface production. Of these, structure editing has been singled out here as a candidate for advancing Operational Research OR research into interface construction. The first implementation of a structure editor interface for Operational Research OR problem statements is described. The result is a direct manipulation user interface that presents LP problem statement images resembling traditional forms, but which allows variants of a single form to dynamically unfold in response to a user’s expansion actions.