From: raisch@cthulhu.control.com (Robert Raisch) Message-Id: <9205211650.AA06599@control.com> Subject: Links and Type To: www-talk@nxoc01.cern.ch Date: Thu, 21 May 92 12:50:19 EDT First of all, hearty congrats to the WWW people. It's a great tool, and since it is based on SGML, it has the broadest scope of any solution I have yet seen. To others, see the current issue of Byte magazine regarding "Info-Glut" and SGML. Interesting. ---------------------- I have a few recommendations regarding new link types in WWW. This is based on thinking about hyper-applications for almost 15 years, (ever since I first had the pleasure of hearing Ted Nelson speak in 1977.) First though, there are a few ideas which I feel should be mentioned to 'set the stage' for my list. Transparent Documents -- a transparent document is one which a user creates locally, and that is a new representation of an existant document. Transparent documents are used to create new local links on a document which I do not have permission to modify. Transparent documents can then be made available to others, (published) just as a "regular" document is, thus facilitating the creation of new works from old. User Documents -- a user document is where I keep my "bookmarks", links to local documents, links to messages from others, links to my "attention" links, (see below). User documents are where we, as navigators of the docuverse, are defined as individuals. They are also where we can keep links to other user documents which have been permitted to view/modify my own local documents. Another function of the User document is to collect users into an abstract group. (Thus, based on my membership in user document 'Research Group', I am permitted access to materials 'owned' by that group. Of course, messages sent to an abstract group then become available to all members of that group.) (Please note that a User Document is nothing more or less than a collection of links, (as all documents are).) ------------------ Now, on to my list of link types.... There are 4 'minimal' link types which, I believe, a useful h-app *must* support. 1. Replacement -- when activated, replaces the current document with a new document. 2. Annotation -- when activated, overlays a new document on the current document, partially obscuring the original. 3. Inclusion -- when the document is created, elements from other documents are collection to be included in the representation of the current document. (Quotes) 4. Expansion -- when activated, new information is added to the current document, expanding the original scope. (Think of outline processors, and the collapse of detail.) This is also a reflection of Nelson's concept of 'stretch text'. (Stretch text is where a sentence is constructed in such a way that when it is collapsed it states it's thesis in simple terms, and when expanded adds detail to further express itself. There are 3 further types which I believe are necessary to complete the function paradigm. 6. Execution -- when activated, some arbitrary function is performed. The point that was mentioned about the lack of an ubiquitious scripting language is well made. Lisp is too arcane for most. Shell languages are too platform specific. What is needed is a simple to understand, freely available scripting platform. Although I hesitate to mention it, REXX might be a reasonable choice due to it's broad availability. 5. Attention (a specialisation of the Execution type) -- when the current document is modified (a link is added, or removed, or the document is merely read) a message is sent to the 'owner' of the attention link. This message creates a new link in the 'user document' of the individual who placed the attention. In this way, I could place a link onto a document I had interest in, and when it was changed or accessed in some manner, I would be informed. 7. Collection (a non-local specialisation of the Execution type) -- when activated, a collection link leaves the current document, and 'travels' the docuverse, in search of other documents which satisfy it's internal criteria. This is the concept of a 'knowbot'. Collection links can be activated based on day and time, much like the WAIS questions in the MAC WAIS interface, WAIS-Station. They could also be activated based on external events, such as the activation of an attention link. Collection links would be written in the ubiquitious scripting language, and would only be allowed to operate on documents which were EXPLICITLY permitted. ---------------------------- One of the missing pieces here is the ability of creating new h-texts, and adding new links to old h-texts. Hypertext, and like systems, are of limited use if they do not support collaboration. I feel that this is a VERY important point. ---------------------------- So..... Scenerio: I start my session with my h-app, and open my user document. I notice that 17 of my attention links have been activated in the last day. I select the most interesting and activate the link which it created in my personal user document. I am now reading an article which I previously linked, and see that an annotation which I made some time ago has been added to, by a colleague. The comments are pertinant to my current work, so I create a new local 'transparent' document to mirror the original work. On this new document, I make a few new annotations and decide to made this new work available to the research group of which I am leader. I place a link to it in the user document which represents my working group. I also send a new document link to the colleague who made the original comments, so that he can see how I have interpreted his ideas, and included them into my own research. I move ever onwards... --------------------- Ok, I hope that that fuels a little discussion, and I would *love* to hear from others regarding these ideas. (Yes, some of what I have talked about here exists, in various forms, on my own personal system, but I would be *very* interested in hearing from developers who might be interested in making something real and useful from it. I, sadly, have too little time to make these ideas real. My ultimate goal would be to make the realisation of these ideas available in the public domain.) Regards, /rr "knowledge is the *only* weapon" --