A Tool System for an Object-oriented Approach to Construction and Maintenance of Hypermedia Documents

Abstract

Construction and maintenance of large hypermedia documents (hyperdocuments, for short) turn out to be fairly awkward and less manageable when HTML paired with proprietary tools is used. Software engineering methods help to reduce the cost of construction and maintenance of hyperdocuments. In contrast to HTML, the document description language DoDL, developed at the Chair for Software-Technology of Dortmund University, yields an object-oriented definition of hyperdocuments. The language regards high-level concepts and a separation of documents' content and link structure. Thus, alternative strategies evolve not just for maintaining hyperdocuments specified in this manner. In this paper we show a prototypical, yet both explorative and expressive, tool system to support the DoDL-based construction and maintenance of hyperdocuments. Our approach encompasses a visual understanding of DoDL in the analysis and design of hyperdocuments, as well as automatically generating the documents' linkage. Thus, we enclose and accompany the entire hyperdocuments' life cycle, based on a powerful language.