Skip Navigation

The Computer Journal 1998 41(7):459-473; doi:10.1093/comjnl/41.7.459
© 1998 by British Computer Society
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Moreau, L.
Right arrow Articles by Hall, W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

On the Expressiveness of Links in Hypertext Systems

L. Moreau and W. Hall

Department of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK Email: l.moreau{at}ecs.soton.ac.uk, wh{at}ecs.soton.ac.uk

In this paper, we study how linking mechanisms contribute to the expressiveness of hypertext systems. For this purpose, we formalize hypertext systems as abstract machines. As the primary benefit of hypertext systems is to be able to read documents non-linearly, their expressiveness is defined in terms of the ability to follow links. Then, we classify hypertext systems according to the power of the underlying automaton. The model allows us to compare embedded versus separate links and simple versus generic links. Then, we investigate history mechanisms, adaptive hypertexts and functional links. Our conclusion is that simple links, whether embedded or separate, generic links and some adaptive links all give hypertext systems the power of finite state automata. The history mechanism confers to them the power of pushdown automata, whereas the general functional links give them Turing completeness.

Received January 22, 1998. revised November 4, 1998.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.