Hypertext and Hyperlinks in Networking

Hypertext is a system of organizing, navigating, distributing, and publishing information electronically. Hypertext information is organized into an interconnected Web of linked text and images.

Hypertext documents (called Web pages) contain navigational anchors (commonly known as hyperlinks) that allow you to navigate to another part of the same document. It is also used for accessing information on the Internet.

Hypertext makes extremely large volumes of information from a wide variety of sources available via a single medium (the Web).

Hypertext makes the information relatively easy to navigate using a universal software application called a Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

The most common example of hypertext is the help system available in Windows 98 and other Windows-based applications like EXCEL, WORD, etc.

Non-Linear Information

The basis of the hypertext system that differentiates it from any other information system is its nonlinear format. All hypertext information systems including the Web provide you with the ability to randomly access a vast amount of information by clicking on special “hot spots” called hyperlinks, in the text that you browse.

Linear vs. Non-linear Information

Information in a book or magazine article is given in a linear sequence, and the information is intended to be understood in a specific, predefined order. if the information is not assimilated one after the other or if that order is disturbed, linear publications lose their meaning and cannot be easily understood by a reader.

On the other hand, hypertext, non-linear systems not only allow you to navigate the path of your choice – but also allow you to do so into the whole body of information. Software tools such as Web browsers allow you to navigate hypertext information systems, and quickly revisit previously seen documents, Web pages, etc.

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks, or link, is a navigational element in a hypertext document (such as a Web page) that provides access to another hypertext document or multimedia file that you may wish to visit. Web browser, distinguish text hyperlinks by blue color or underlined text blocks.

When clicked with a mouse, hyperlink downloads and displays:

a different location in the current hypertext document
a different hypertext document

A hyperlink on a Web page archived in India can link to a Web page in Australia, which can in turn link to different Web pages in England, Virginia, Brazil, and Canada. There is no limit to the number of hyperlinks that can be placed on a Web page.

Hyperlinks often direct you to related or more detailed information regarding the desired subject matter. The Web page can display several subject areas. rather than listing detailed information about each subject, this page provides hyperlinks that would allow you to visit and view only the information you desire.

Dynamic and Static Web Sites

In computer technology, dynamic means energetic, capable of action and/or change, or forceful, while static means stationary or fixed. Both terms can be applied to a number of different types of things, such as programming languages (or components or programming languages), Web pages, and application programs.

When a Web page is requested, the server where the page is stored returns the HTML document to the user’s computer, and the browser displays it. On a static web page, this is all that happens. The user may interact with the document by clicking available links, or a small program may be activated, but the document has no capacity to return information that is not pre-formatting.

On a dynamic web page, the user can make requests for data contained in a database on the server that will be assembled on the fly accordingly to what is requested. For example, the user might want to find out information about a theoretical performance, such as theater locations and ticket availability for particular dates. When the user selects these options, the requests are delayed to the server using an intermediary, such as an Active Server Page (ASP) script embedded in the page’s HTML. The intermediary tells the server what information to return. and Such a web page is said to be dynamic.