HYPERTEXT - moving towards large volumes

Abstract

Hypertext is an approach to information management in which documentation is displayed as a network of nodes connected by links. Such nodes can contain text, graphics, audio, video or can link to other software or data.The result is a very powerful publishing medium. It is now possible to provide large volumes of information in the form of interactive documents and to make it accessible to a wide population of users. As the volume of data grows, however, the task of authoring and reading such documents becomes much more complex.The paper reviews hypertext technology, both in the research laboratory and in commercial application. It then examines the types of software tools which are required to manage, maintain and diagnose faults in large-volume Hypertext systems, based on experience with GUIDE hypertext technology at Office Workstations Limited, which has led to a volume document management system called IDEX. © 1989 The British Computer Society.