Definition

Noun: A hypertext system is a database management system designed to store and retrieve information where pieces of text (called 'objects') are interconnected through links. These links allow users to navigate between related pieces of information in a non-linear, web-like structure, rather than in a fixed, sequential order.

Usage

A hypertext system organizes information as a network of nodes connected by links. * The early development of the hypertext system was crucial for the invention of the World Wide Web. * Researchers use a hypertext system to manage and explore complex collections of interconnected documents.

Advanced Usage

• As a foundational concept: The term is often used to describe the underlying architecture of modern web technologies, where HTML documents form the 'objects' and hyperlinks create the network.
  • The professor explained that the internet is essentially a global-scale hypertext system.

Variants and Related Words

• Hypertext (n): The interconnected text-based information structure itself, as opposed to the system that manages it.
  • The article contained hypertext that linked to related studies.
• Hyperlink (n): A specific reference or link within a hypertext system that connects one node to another.
  • Click the hyperlink to navigate to the definition.

Synonyms

• Linked information system
• Non-linear database

Related Terms

• Database Management System (DBMS): A more general category of software for managing databases, of which a hypertext system is a specific type.
• Node: A fundamental unit of information (e.g., a text document, an image) within a hypertext system.
• Link: A connection between two nodes in a hypertext system.

Noun

1. a database management system that allows strings of text (`objects') to be processed as a complex network of nodes that are linked together in an arbitrary way