Hypertetxt can be definined as a special type of database system, invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, in which objects (text, pictures, music, programs, and so on) can be creatively linked to each other. When you select an object, you can see all the other objects that are linked to it. You can move from one object to another even though they might have very different forms. For example, while reading a document about Mozart, you might click on the phrase Violin Concerto in A Major, which could display the written score or perhaps even invoke a recording of the concerto. Clicking on the name Mozart might cause various illustrations of Mozart to appear on the screen. The icons that you select to view associated objects are called Hypertext links or buttons.
TYPES AND USES OF HYPERTETXT
Hypertext documents can either be static (prepared and stored in advance) or dynamic (continually changing in response to user input). Static hypertext can be used to cross-reference collections of data in documents, software applications, or books on CDs. A well-constructed system can also incorporate other user-interface conventions, such as menus and command lines. Hypertext can develop very complex and dynamic systems of linking and cross-referencing. The most famous implementation of hypertext is the World Wide Web (first deployed in 1992) and later added to the Internet (developed/tested c.1977).
Hypertext systems are particularly useful for organizing and browsing through large databases that consist of disparate types of information. There are several Hypertext systems available for Apple Macintosh computers and PCs that enable you to develop your own databases. Such systems are often called authoring systems . HyperCard software from Apple Computer is the most famous.
APPLICATIONS:
The first hypermedia application was the Aspen Movie Map in 1977. In 1980, Tim Berners-Lee created ENQUIRE, an early hypertext database system somewhat like a wiki. The early 1980s also saw a number of experimental hypertext and hypermedia programs, many of whose features and terminology were later integrated into the Web. Guide was the first hypertext system for personal computers.
RESOURCES:
- The hypertetxt. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved: 29th August 2009, 14:58 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext
- ¿Qués es la Web, el hypertetxo y la hypermedia?. Retrieved: 29th August 2009, 15:00 from http://www.duiops.net/manuales/faqweb/faqweb1.htm
- Hypertetxt. Webopedia. Retrieved: 29th August 2009, 15:02 from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/hypertext.html
