Many current computer systems work on the basis of forms for input and output. Many of these systems have elaborate editing languages to allow the programmer to specify the structure of the form, and the format of the fields. The author proposes that a third element is necessary in the form, and that is the field security.

In the traditional DP form, security is not obvious and may change from user to user. The originator enters some data; he or she then passes it on for another to approve, or to add additional data. Some sort of relationship must be maintained about the approval; either after approval the first entered data cannot be changed, or changing the data removes the approval. Current forms management systems do not allow for this concept very well.

The author proposes a semantic language for defining this security. The concepts are well thought out, but the reviewer thinks that the solution would need much more consideration before it could be considered complete. The concepts within this paper are very important for future consideration as we proceed more and more into office automation with relatively low level “programmers.”