A final area of major change will be in the graphics system. Some of the changes will be simple in concept. These include adding hierarchical menus, hierarchical and nested window structures, geometry management, and support for using native widgets. At a higher level, there is a need to redesign the basic model for statistical graphs. The current model represented a compromise of expressiveness and performance.
Performance is still an issue but for different reasons than five years ago.
Design changes need to take account of the fact that techniques may now be applied to data sets ranging in size up to hundreds of thousands of observations. The primary reason for a need to redesign the graphical model is best illustrated by an example. Plot linking enhanced by a smoother. This is a simple and useful idea that could in principle be made available as an option for any plot. But there are many similar enhancements that could be made available, and doing so would create an unmanageable collection of options.