On Generalizing the Concept of Hypertext

Hypertext has quickly become an established paradigm in the design of information systems. The success of products in the software market, evident benefits as reported by users, and the flowering of related research activity all attest to the significance and staying power of hypertext-rich information systems. Although standard hypertext has a number of unquestioned benefits, the concept also has a number of well-known problems and limitations. This article reviews the main problems and limitations of basic (standard) hypertext that constrain the use of hypertext in practical applications. Further, this article presents and discusses our “generalization” of the basic hypertext concept, which we call generalized hypertext. These generalizations encompass, among other things, automatic creation of hypertext elements. Generalized hypertext promises to be more powerful than standard hypertext as well as less expensive to implement and maintain. To illustrate these concepts, we describe the implementation of a decision support system currently in use by the U.S. Coast Guard.