Abstract
It is often assumed that natural language would be the ideal user-oriented language for communicating with computers. However, languages structured to fit particular tasks may be easier to use. Twenty subjects solved a set of data retrieval problems on a computer terminal using English, and solved another set using SEQUEL, a structured query language. No differences in accuracy were observed. Problems were solved more quickly using SEQUEL, although only by those subjects whose English session preceded their SEQUEL session. The speed advantage of SEQUEL appeared primarily for problems concerned with structuring the data search, rather than for problems involving logical complexities in what was to be sought. The fact that the structured language provided advantages for those aspects of the task that were reflected in the language's syntax indicates that the conceptual aspects of language and problem structure, and not such general matters as length of commands, are responsible for the advantages of structured language.
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