Information retrieval in distributed hypertexts

Abstract

Hypertext is a generalization of the conventional linear text into a non-linear text formed by adding cross-reference and structural links between different pieces of text. A hypertext can be regarded as an extension of a textual database by adding a link structure among the different text objects it stores. We present a tool for finding information in a distributed hypertext such as the World-Wide Web (WWW). Such a hypertext is a distributed textual database in which text objects residing at (the same and) different sites have links to each other. In such a database retrieval is limited to the transfer of documents with a known name. Names of documents serve as links between different documents, and finding such references names is only possible by parsing documents that have embedded links to other documents. Full-text search in such hypertexts is not feasible because of the discrepancy between the large size of the hypertext and the relatively low bandwidth of the network. We presen...