Direct, ad-hoc interaction with databases has typically been performed over console-oriented conversational interfaces using query languages such as SQL. With the rise in popularity of gestural user interfaces and computing devices that use gestures as their exclusive modes of interaction, database query interfaces require a fundamental rethinking to work without keyboards. We present a novel query specification system that allows the user to query databases using a series of gestures. We present a novel gesture recognition system that uses both the interaction and the state of the database to classify gestural input into relational database queries. We conduct exhaustive systems performance tests and user studies to demonstrate that our system is not only performant and capable of interactive latencies, but it is also more usable, faster to use and more intuitive than existing systems.

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Database systems have often been considered an unexciting topic for undergraduate curricula. To remedy this, we describe a novel interactive electronic textbook for teaching undergraduate database systems courses. Designed for touch-driven tablets, the textbook embeds a fully capable database. Expressions, figures and explanations in the textbook are live, interactive elements. In contrast to canned illustrations and animations, students can interact with each textbook element. The rapid feedback loop with the database allows the user to explore and understand the full scope of valid and invalid queries to the database. Wireless connectivity allows the instructor to track classroom performance in real-time, merging textbook instruction with in-class demonstrations, allowing for the scaling out of classrooms. We discuss the design of this concept, and share a preliminary evaluation of a prototype implementation used in the classroom.