Hypertext

In computing, hypertext is a user interface paradigm for displaying documents which, according to an early definition (Nelson 1970), "branch or perform on request." The most frequently discussed form of hypertext document contains automated cross-references to other documents called hyperlinks. Selecting a hyperlink causes the computer to display the linked document within a very short period of time.

Implementations

Besides the already mentioned HyperCard and World Wide Web, there are other noteworthy implementations of hypertext, with different feature sets:

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• Microsoft Word has evolved in orientation from paper to in-computer documents.
• Information Presentation Facility used for displaying help in the IBM operating systems.
• Windows Help
• Adobe's Portable Document Format supports links.
• Texinfo, the GNU help system.
• Project Xanadu
• XML with the XLink extension.
• The many implementations of wiki, like the MediaWiki system that powers Wikipedia, that aim to compensate for the lack of integrated editors in most Web browsers.