A Small Matter of Programming:Perspectives on End User Computing

This chapter contains sections titled: Half Title, Title, Copyright, Dedication, Contents, Figures, Preface, Acknowledgments View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Just Who Are End Users?, Just What Is End User Programming?, The Empirical Studies, So Much Yet To Do …, Overview View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Mimicking Conversation, Communication As A Practical Activity, Summary View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Formal Systems: Some Background, Formal Languages for End Users, The Spreadsheet Formula Language, Problems of Task-Specific Programming Languages, Studying Tasks, Summary View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Visual Programming, Forms-Based Systems, Programming by Example Modification, Programming by Example, Automatic Programming by Informal Program Specification, Summary View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Hybrid Visual Programming in Spreadsheets, Hybrid Visual Programming in Logo, Hybrid Visual Programming in CAD Systems, Visual Formalisms as Application Frameworks, Summary View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Collaboration among Spreadsheet Users, Collaboration among CAD Users, Collaborative Application Development and Software Design, Cultivating Gardeners, Remote Collaboration and Software Reuse, Summary View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Creating a Hospital Flow Sheet, Creating an Organization Chart View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Spreadsheet Study Questions, CAD Study Questions View full abstract»

This chapter contains sections titled: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7 View full abstract»

A Small Matter of Programming asks why it has been so difficult for end users to command programming power and explores the problems of end user-driven application development that must be solved to afford end users greater computational power.Drawing on empirical research on existing end user systems, A Small Matter of Programming analyzes cognitive, social, and technical issues of end user programming. In particular, it examines the importance of task-specific programming languages, visual application frameworks, and collaborative work practices for end user computing, with the goal of helping designers and programmers understand and better satisfy the needs of end users who want the capability to create, customize, and extend their applications software.The ideas in the book are based on the author's research on two successful end user programming systems - spreadsheets and CAD systems - as well as other empirical research. Nardi concentrates on broad issues in end user programming, especially end users' strengths and problems, introducing tools and techniques as they are related to higher-level user issues.Bonnie A. Nardi is a Member of the Technical Staff at Hewlett Packard Laboratories. View full abstract»

A Small Matter of Programming asks why it has been so difficult for end users to command programming power and explores the problems of end user-driven application development that must be solved to afford end users greater computational power.Drawing on empirical research on existing end user systems, A Small Matter of Programming analyzes cognitive, social, and technical issues of end user programming. In particular, it examines the importance of task-specific programming languages, visual application frameworks, and collaborative work practices for end user computing, with the goal of helping designers and programmers understand and better satisfy the needs of end users who want the capability to create, customize, and extend their applications software.The ideas in the book are based on the author's research on two successful end user programming systems - spreadsheets and CAD systems - as well as other empirical research. Nardi concentrates on broad issues in end user programming, especially end users' strengths and problems, introducing tools and techniques as they are related to higher-level user issues.Bonnie A. Nardi is a Member of the Technical Staff at Hewlett Packard Laboratories. View full abstract»