Color and other visual characteristics encode attributes of the data, making patterns easily recognizable. Interactive filters are used to reduce the complexity of the display, allowing the user to focus on interesting patterns and make discoveries. Multiple linked views show different aspects of the database, each answering a related question and providing different insights into the data. The views are linked so that manipulations in one view instantly propagate to all others. Rapid interaction allows a user to query the database by pointing at objects on a screen with the mouse, extracting finer information and revealing detail.
Animation shows the evolution of temporal databases.
Using these principles, they have developed systems for visualizing software, bibliographic databases, log files, relationship databases, and networks, among others. They are able rapidly to construct informative, pleasing and novel visualizations of abstract databases. For example, red rows may be the newest lines and blue the oldest lines, with a range of colors in between. The displayed data are derived from a variety of sources, such as version control systems, static analysis, and profiling. With direct manipulation and high interaction graphics, the user manipulates this reduced representation of the code to find interesting patterns.