| 摘要 |
The present invention provides a system and method for displaying on a display device (20) connectable to the system a visual representation of a physical environment, such as a virtual office. The system includes display controls (30) for displaying objects in the physical environment including a data management object, one or more data objects representing data sources, and one or more output objects representing paths through which data from a data source can be presented to a user. A user-operated device (50) is connectable to the system to allow a user to interact with the objects. The system includes data receiving means (70), responsive to signals from the user-operated device (50) indicating user association of one or more data objects with the data management object, to access the data represented by the one or more associated data objects. Additionally, processor (90) is provided for performing selected processing operations on the retrieved data, and an output device (100) is employed to pass the data processed by the processor to a selected output object. The use of the data management object simplifies the user's interactions with, and access to, data, and provides a common mechanism for connecting any input data to any output objects, and optionally, for processing that data on its way to the output object. It also provides a mechanism for performing relational database queries in a vastly simplified manner adhering to a concrete, accessible, real-world metaphor.
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