This paper describes a system that combines a textual virtual environment (MOO -- MUD Object Oriented) and a WWW browser. The MOO provides a text-only but information-rich spatial user interface in which objects and locations can be associated with pointers to WWW pages. When using a specialized MOO client, navigation in the MOO causes the corresponding Web pages to be loaded. The overall effect is the possibility to navigate the Web using spatial navigational metaphors. Textual virtual environments support the creation of diverse navigation tools and metaphors. The Juggler system we describe can thus serve as an experimental tool to explore diverse navigational metaphors for the WWW. The system uses references to Web pages which can be arranged in any possible way and allows users to overlay a new secondary structure on existing Web structures, even using Web pages not on one's own Web server. Textual virtual environments further support almost real time communication and interaction ...

Dealing with information objects in virtual three-dimensional space is a promising approach to successfully exploiting the burgeoning availability of networked information. The design issues inherent in using space for information exploration are described, and some solutions suggested. The main focus of the paper is user exploration of the World Wide Web (Web) and how the design of `personal spaces' could get around some outstanding problems such as providing true multi-threaded navigation support, the backforward problem, and the need of users to casually organise, reorganise, filter and communicate information. A design for a spatial Web users' environment which addresses many of these issues - StackSpace - is presented. The model is described in some detail at the conceptual level, relating the overall metaphor of personal spaces for exploration to specific topics such as multi-threaded navigation, chronology, currency, customisation and communication. StackSpace is essentially an ...

With the explosive growth of information that is available on the World-Wide Web, it is very easy for the user to get lost in hyperspace. When the user feels lost, some idea of the position of the current node in the overall information space will help to orient the user. Therefore we have developed a technique to form focus+context views of WorldWide Web nodes. The view shows the immediate neighborhood of the current node and its position with respect to the important (landmark) nodes in the information space. The views have been used to enhance a Web search engine. We have also used the landmark nodes and the focus+context views in forming overview diagrams of Web sites. KEYWORDS: World-Wide Web, Landmarks, Information Visualization, Overview Diagrams. 1 INTRODUCTION A major problem in the World-Wide Web is being lost in hyperspace: because there are no restrictions on how users navigate through the information space, they can become disoriented while navigating. If, while surfing...

. Increasingly, we are entangled during our daily working lives in a web of distributed, networked information sources offering varied means of electronic communication. We have become information explorers in this complex, electronic world-at-large. In addressing the problems of navigation and orientation that these developments raise, a user interaction model is developed which also deals with some of the issues of workspace management addressed by systems such as Rooms and the Information Visualizer. In this model, the world-at-large is represented as Information Islands, each of which contains Buildings which themselves house items of information. The user explores this world in a Vehicle which has two views of the world; the public, comprehensive view, and a private, customised view. The Vehicle can also be seen as the user's own private workspace. Wherever the user wanders in cyberspace, he is always at home. 1 Introduction The last few years have witnessed a fusio...

For many years basic visualisation, based around simple boxes and lines, has been done in an attempt to be able to ease some of the cognitive overload caused by program comprehension. The problems with such visualisations is that they can very easily become incomprehensible themselves by trying to force large amounts of information into a small space, relying solely on two dimensions for the representations and because generally the information is presented in a static way. There are many different issues that must be considered for three-dimensional visualisation, especially when those visualisations are of intangible software systems, and a selection of these are presented and discussed. - 1 - 1. Introduction Software visualisation is an important tool in the maintainer's armoury. It is a technique that can, when designed and used effectively, aid him in his quest to understand existing program code. This document provides an introduction to software visualisation issues, with pr...

Virtual reality is an effective way (in many situations) for creating 3D visualisations, although the visualisations need to be designed with both 3D and virtual reality in mind to be most useful. Many issues are related to virtual realities, although these are often overlooked by users due to the issues being tightly integrated with the virtual worlds. Even though users can disregard such issues, it is important that designers of visualisations and virtual realities bear them in mind. Some of these issues are presented and discussed to enable designers to have a better idea of the aspects they should consider when creating such systems, with particular reference to visualisation with virtual reality. - 1. Introduction Software visualisation is an important tool in the maintainer's armoury. It is a technique that can, when designed and used effectively, aid him in his quest to understand existing program code. One way to achieve these visualisations is through the use of virtual re...

This paper describes a software development environment where the user interface is based on a geographic space metaphor. It argues that a geographic space metaphor enhances navigational abilities, provides a common reference frame for development teams, helps maintaining overview and improves understanding of large software structures, and provides a strong framework for visualising properties of the software.