Mental Workload Impact of a Visual Language on Understanding SQL Queries

Resumo

The Structured Query Language (SQL) is an essential topic in introductory database courses. Despite its declarative syntax, the specification of SQL queries can be confusing. Visual Query Languages (VQLs) are an alternative to reduce this complexity. However, these VQLs do not cover many complex constructions. To overcome this limitation, we present the Diagrammatic SQL (DSQL). Since increased Mental Workload (MW) during task performance may increase fatigue and facilitate errors. Our objective is to investigate the MW impact of DSQL on understand SQL queries. In an experiment, we compare the accuracy, the time, and the ease to understand complex queries using both languages. The results indicate that has no significant difference.