science

Miller columns

Miller columns is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Miller columns rather than just read about it. In short: Miller columns (also known as cascading lists) are a browsing/visualization technique that can be applied to tree structures. The columns allow multiple levels of the hierarchy to be open at once, and provide a visual representation of the current location.

Key takeaways

Miller columns belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Miller columns to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Miller columns from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Miller columns (also known as cascading lists) are a browsing/visualization technique that can be applied to tree structures. The columns allow multiple levels of the hierarchy to be open at once, and provide a visual representation of the current location. It is closely related to techniques used earlier in the Smalltalk browser, but was independently invented by Mark S. Miller in 1980 at Yale University. The technique was then used at Project Xanadu, Datapoint, and NeXT. While at Datapoint, Miller generalized the technique to browse directed graphs with labeled nodes and arcs. In all cases, the technique is appropriate for structures with high degree (large fanout). For low-degree structures, outline editors or graph viewers are more effective.

History Miller columns are most well known today as the “Columns view” mode of the macOS Finder, as well as the "Browser" view in iTunes. The columns in Finder descend directly from the NeXTSTEP File Viewer's use of Miller columns going back to 1986. The GNUstep project continues to offer a Miller column browser that closely follows the NeXT approach, bringing the advantages of a column browser to Linux, BSD, and other operating systems with large tree structures. The iPod's browsing of categories and audio file tag attributes is reminiscent of column browsing, although only one column is visible at a time.

Issues Miller columns have several issues from a usability standpoint:

Deeper and deeper navigation into directory structures is represented by fitting more and more columns into the display, eventually making each column too narrow to read without scrolling horizontally; the need for scrolling can be reduced or eliminated by using the keyboard to navigate through directories instead of the pointer Sort options and metadata display are limited, though this can be mitigated by changing the view of the current directory when appropriate either using the pointer or a keyboard shortcut and, as in the macOS Finder and file dialogs, metadata can be seen in a preview column when a file is selected instead of a directory

Use in file browsers

The macOS Finder, the default file browser on macOS, uses Miller columns in its "Columns" view. The open and save file dialogs in macOS also use Miller columns. Path Finder is a shareware file browser for Mac OS X supporting Miller column view amongst others. GWorkspace, a workspace manager for GNUstep which can be used as file browser, uses Miller columns. ranger, a terminal-based file browser with Vi-like key bindings, uses a multi-column mode similar to Miller columns. lf (as in "list files") is a terminal file manager written in Go with a heavy inspiration from ranger file manager. evidence, an apparently obsolete file browser for Enlightenment, used Miller columns in its “browser-view”. Thunar, the default file browser for Xfce, used to have a branch called “columns-view” which was given up later. Dolphin, the default file browser of KDE, also canceled the further development of Miller columns due to the source code being too complex – making it difficult to maintain. Tkdesk, a file browser for the X Window System, uses Miller columns. Marlin is a file browser written in GTK 3 which implements Miller columns. Marlin does not have any download files registered with Launchpad as of November 2016. Pantheon Files (or just Files, for short) is a fork of Marlin actively developed by the Elementary team. FSViewer is an obsolete file browser for Window Maker using Miller columns. Greg's Browser is an NeXT-inspired column browser for the Classic Mac OS. WinBrowser and Ultraexplorer are file browsers for Microsoft Windows supporting Miller columns. One Commander is a file browser for Microsoft Windows using automatically scaled Miller columns in a tabbed interface. ThatFile is a file browser for Microsoft Windows with Miller columns. It additionally has tools to optimize user workflow. Direttore File Manager is a file browser for Microsoft Windows 10 using Miller columns in one of its views. Yet another Windows file manager that supports Miller columns is xplorer2. The storage explorer on the Supabase dashboard uses Miller columns in its "columns" view. Directory Opus for Windows uses Miller Columns called FlatView to display hierarchy directory structures as Mixed or Grouped files and folders or Mixed files with no folders. FlatView display columns can be sized, sorted and filtered to display specific types of files or directories. Whale, a file manager for KDE has support for Miller columns Files, a file manager for Windows

See also Shelf: NeXT GUI element that can be combined with columns to make a file manager.

References

External links NSBrowser The Cocoa/NextStep class that represents a generalized Miller Column widget RBrowser a Miller Column FTP browser that started on NeXTSTEP Responsive Miller Column is a jQuery plugin implementing Miller columns

Illustrations

Miller columns: ncurses-based file manager vifm featuring Miller columns — ncurses-based file manager vifm featuring Miller columns

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Miller columns

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Miller columns claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Miller columns before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Miller columns ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Miller columns

In research: Miller columns appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Miller columns in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Miller columns is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics File managers, MacOS user interface, NeXT, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Miller columns outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Miller columns in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Miller columns means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Miller columns out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miller columns in simple terms?

Why does Miller columns matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Miller columns?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Miller columns.