Modelling Interactive Computing by Exploiting the Undo

Roberta Mancini

PhD Thesis
Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", Italy.
1997

Download: full thesis (PDF, 5.5M)

Citation: R. Mancini (1997). Modelling Interactive Computing by Exploiting the Undo. Dottorato di Ricerca in Informatica, IX-97-5, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".

Summary

The aim of this thesis is to clarify the scope of the Undo function. Such a clarification is done at three levels. The first level is inside the world of reactive systems and recovery functions, in order to place the Undo function on the map of reactive systems. The second level explores different kinds of Undo with which a user can interact. The third level analyses in depth a specific class of Undo, the backtrack Undo. On the first two levels, we use a descriptive analysis in order to clarify what exactly Undo means, when it can be used, on which actions it operates, ... , what do we intend by Redo, what is the link between Undo and Redo, etc. Conversely, in the third and last level, we accomplish a formal analysis of a specific undo mechanism: the backtrack Undo. By applying the PIE model [27], we formally describe the behaviour of this class of systems and, after introducing the concept of conservative encapsulation and of behavioural equivalence, we prove some interesting and useful properties..

Figure 7.10: Another diagram of the O-morphism g.