HyperText

What is HyperText?

Example

When you click on a blue underlined word or phrase on a webpage that takes you somewhere else, you're using hypertext.

Hypertext is simply text that contains links to other text.

Hypertext allows text to be connected in a non-linear way. Instead of reading from start to finish like a book, hypertext lets you jump between related information by following links. This creates a web of interconnected documents.

Here is a link to a Wikipedia article. If you click it, you will leave this webpage and travel to another. From there, you can read the article and click more links to explore other topics.

This webpage you are reading right now is a hypertext document!

A Brief History of Hypertext

Although Tim Berners-Lee is credited for the creation of the World-Wide Web and HTML, he did not invent the concept of hypertext...

1945 - Early Concept of Linked Documents

Vannevar Bush described a theoretical "Memex" device that would link microfilms together - an early conceptual precursor to hypertext.

1965 - Term 'HyperText' is Coined

Ted Nelson coined the term "hypertext" and worked on Project Xanadu, envisioning a global hypertext network.

1968 - First Working System

Douglas Engelbart demonstrated the NLS (oN-Line System), the first working hypertext system. The demo became known as The Mother of All Demos as it was so ground-breaking.

1989-1991 - HTML and HTTP Created

Tim Berners-Lee developed HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) while working at CERN. He created these to share documents among researchers.

1991 - World-Wide Web (WWW) Born

Berners-Lee launched the first website at CERN, introducing the World-Wide Web (WWW) — a system of inter-linked hypertext documents accessed via the internet.

1993 - First Easy-to-Use Web Browser

The Mosaic web browser made the web accessible to non-technical users, kickstarting widespread adoption.

1994-2000 - Rapid Growth

The web grew exponentially as businesses and individuals created websites, leading to the dot-com boom.

Today - Modern Web

Today's web has evolved from simple hypertext documents to complex applications, but the fundamental concept of linked text remains at its core.

Hypertext transformed information access by enabling users to navigate naturally between related concepts rather than having to search sequentially through documents. This fundamental idea is what makes the World-Wide Web work.