The Ins and Outs of Hypertext
HYPERTEXT is a new way to present information by way of a computer. Unlike a regular text document - let's say a book - hypertext allows the reader to weave in and out of topics, as well as to connect to other sources which may be relevant.
With hypertext, you don't have to read a document from front to back, as you normally would in a book. As you read something that seems interesting, you may wish to explore it further. Hypertext allows you to click onto a word or a phrase, and the computer then zaps you over to that bit of information you were looking for. Here's an example: Let's say you're reading a hypertext on the battle of Gettysburg and you come across a section noting the many famous Americans fought there. By clicking onto the word Americans, the hypertext will lead you to some of the people you might be curious about, such as James Longstreet, George Pickett or Abner Doubleday. If Doubleday struck your fancy, you could click on him and learn what he did during the battle. This new text may also mention that he was the mythic inventor of baseball. The Gettysburg hypertext may not have much information on this aspect of his life, but clicking onto the word baseball in his Gettysburg bio could connect you to a baseball computer archive in Cooperstown, Ohio, which would have all the hypertexted information you'd ever need on the subject.
