implicit

We present ILoveSketch, a 3D curve sketching system that captures some of the affordances of pen and paper for professional designers, allowing them to iterate directly on concept 3D curve models. The system coherently integrates existing techniques of sketch-based interaction with a number of novel and enhanced features. Novel contributions of the system include automatic view rotation to improve curve sketchability, an axis widget for sketch surface selection, and implicitly inferred changes between sketching techniques. We also improve on a number of existing ideas such as a virtual sketchbook, simplified 2D and 3D view navigation, multi-stroke NURBS curve creation, and a cohesive gesture vocabulary. An evaluation by a professional designer shows the potential of our system for deployment within a real design process.

Programmers regularly use search as part of the development process, attempting to identify an appropriate API for a problem, seeking more information about an API, and seeking samples that show how to use an API. However, neither general-purpose search engines nor existing code search engines currently fit their needs, in large part because the information programmers need is distributed across many pages. We present Assieme, a Web search interface that effectively supports common programming search tasks by combining information from Web-accessible Java Archive (JAR) files, API documentation, and pages that include explanatory text and sample code. Assieme uses a novel approach to finding and resolving implicit references to Java packages, types, and members within sample code on the Web. In a study of programmers performing searches related to common programming tasks, we show that programmers obtain better solutions, using fewer queries, in the same amount of time spent using a general Web search interface.