Developing Map-Based Graphics for the Theater War Exercise
Abstract
Until recently, output from the Theater War Exercise consisted of a large number of tabular hardcopy reports which were difficult to understand and cumbersome to use. This thesis discusses the development of a map-based graphical interface TWX which provides a much more user-friendly interface to the information and establishes a baseline for the development of new techniques for user interaction with the exercise. This interface was developed under a hybrid methodology which takes advantage of the best features of both the Classic Life Cycle Methodology and the Iterative Design Methodology, utilizing an underlying object-oriented model to represent graphical entities and classes. With the exception of geographical data, which is extracted from sequential files, all information is retrieved over a network from a remote relational database management system using Embedded Structured Query Language. Given a set of maximum and minimum latitude and longitude coordinates, this system can display a map of any geographical region. Since the system also performs an automatic conversion to a user-specified game coordinate system, it can be adapted with minor changes to provide map-based graphical interaction with a wide variety of other wargaming and simulation systems. In addition, because of the high level of abstraction and wide product base of the languages and utilities used, the interface software is portable across many different computers and operating systems. The flexibility, portability, and power of this interface make it a useful for tool for interaction with map-based computer systems. Theses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA205902
Entities
People
- Darrell A. Quick
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology