                             ==================
                             WHAT IS HYPERTEXT?
                             ==================

         In recent years, many have heard of software called
         "hypertext" but few as yet know what this term means. In
         simple terms, hypertext is a generic term referring to a
         method of accessing information in a computer by means
         of an organized collection of links or nodes.
         <3A263A HYPERTEXT TERMS>

                   ===================================
                   HYPERTEXT IS NOT A TYPE OF DATABASE
                   ===================================

         ----------------------------------------------------------
         IMPORTANT POINT #1:

         Hypertext is NOT a database or even very much like a
         database in the way it provides information.
         ----------------------------------------------------------

         How is this so?


         Non-linear pathways of access to knowledge are provided
         by hypertext; it does not require you to key in specific
         search conditions which the computer uses to later send
         back data that fits those conditions, like a database
         does. <LK104 2 SEARCH-BY-BROWSING METHOD>

         Rather, hypertext simply requires you to make and invoke
         certain choices that the hypertext network supplies you
         with, often in the form of lists or indexes or links in
         documents which best suit your needs. Links to other
         documents are inserted into a document because the
         hypertext builder judged that the link would lead to
         information that has some kind of relationship or
         association with the information on screen.

         Hypertext takes advantage of the propensity of the
         human mind to think in terms of associations, in
         clusters of connections. By providing coherent and
         obvious patterns of organization to knowledge, hypertext
         frees users from having to laboriously think through the
         connections in order find specific information.


         ----------------------------------------------------------
         IMPORTANT POINT #2:

         Hypertext systems are very easy to browse.
         ----------------------------------------------------------

         TO EFFECTIVELY SEARCH FOR INFORMATION IN A HYPERTEXT
         NETWORK, you do NOT need a clear idea of exactly what
         you are looking for, unlike database systems.

                             ===============
                             LINKS AND NODES
                             ===============

         When a choice of information is selected at a link
         <3A263A3 LINKS>, the information will almost instantly
         appear on the screen. The information that appears is
         what hypertext designers call "nodes," which can be a
         word, a sentence, a paragraph, a whole screen or file.
         <3A263A4 NODES> In this system, you can recognize links
         as the file names that appear between brackets that look
         like this: < >


         A link can also be thought of as a "jump-point." That
         is, the user "jumps" to another node (from this link)
         without having to go through any intervening files or
         branches of a tree structure. In this system, you will
         notice that most links or "jump-points" are labeled.
         This is done to give you an idea of what data (or type
         of data) will be accessed at the other end of the "jump"
         - it is a way of looking before you decide to "leap."


                            ================
                            HYPERTEXT DESIGN
                            ================

         Hypertext designers must go about determining where
         links should be inserted and how files and nodes should
         be listed or cross-referenced. The "philosophy" of
         hypertext design and the technical issues behind
         hypertext are another matter, and an understanding of
         this is unnecessary for accessing a hypertext network.




         -------------------------------------------------------
         IMPORTANT POINT #3:

         If you are accessing a quality hypertext system, the
         organization of links devised by the hypertext designer
         should make it very easy to proceed to the information
         you want, or to information that you need but did not
         know you needed!
         ------------------------------------------------------

         That is, serendipitous searching is another benefit of
         hypertext, as you will find out in using hypertext.

         ======================================================
         NO SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE IS NEEDED TO ACCESS HYPERTEXT
         ======================================================

         Database searching is often difficult or unsuccessful
         because so much precise information must be entered to
         find what is sought for. For example, what if the term
         you enter is different from the way it is listed
         according to the database? In such a case, the database
         will often tell you the data is not there when it really
         is!

         For example, in a well-known medical database, if a user
         keys in "cancer," the database will reply there are no
         articles on this subject. When the user types in
         "neoplasm," which is the term the database uses in place
         of the term cancer, then the user will be rewarded with
         many "hits" in response. But unless the user knows that
         "neoplasm" must be entered in order to receive article
         information on cancer, then the user would fail in his
         or her search for cancer information.



         Such a database requires specialized information at the
         outset in order for the user to make it work properly.
         This is not the case at all with a quality hypertext
         system. In hypertext, the user makes "jumps" to nodes
         which contain links to make other "jumps." The nodes
         contain information that would enable the user to reach
         what they are seeking WITHOUT a special knowledge of the
         terms used.




         -------------------------------------------------------
         IMPORTANT POINT #4:

         The organization of linkages, however, is created with a
         pattern in view, one which anticipates the pathways a
         user would "travel" on, and which, like a highway - a
         hypertext "highway" or "road" - enables the user to
         attain his/her information destination.

         ------------------------------------------------------

         The pattern is set out to be easy for the user to
         understand immediately or intuitively, freeing the user
         to rapidly attain his or her goal through the links
         provided.

         In addition, the pattern would include links ("side
         roads") to the context a user needs for rapidly gaining
         knowledge to shed light on or make explicit, information
         that is only implicit in various terms or nodes.




         A database system, by its very nature, cannot supply
         access to context, or at best, it can only do so very
         laboriously, requiring special training on the user's
         part. Hypertext gives access to context.

                    =================================
                    THE SIMPLICITY OF USING HYPERTEXT
                    =================================

         In any case, once the user gained the needed context or
         amplification of material, he or she can easily return
         to the "main highway" to reach the goal! Initially, the
         most important information the user needs to know is
         simply how to use the arrow keys on the computer's
         keyboard. <FILE021 ARROW KEY MOVEMENT COMMANDS>

         Databases are far from providing access to information
         without many and often difficult conditions to be met of
         various kinds. On the other hand, many computer programs
         called "hypertext" are often something other than
         hypertext. The hypertext network you will access here
         is, of course, a genuine hypertext network.


         ------------------------------------------------------
         IMPORTANT POINT #5:

         In short, real hypertext is closer to "push button"
         information retrieval than perhaps any other system of
         information access that exists!
         ------------------------------------------------------

SEE ALSO -

        NAVIGATION THROUGH HYPERTEXT <3A263C>
