Structured hypertext with domain semantics

One important facet of current hypertext research involves using knowledge- based techniques to develop and maintain document structures. A semantic ne t is one such technique. However, most semantic-net-based hypertext systems leave the linking consistency of the net to individual users. Users withou t guidance may accidentally introduce structural and relational inconsisten cies in the semantic nets. The relational inconsistency hinders the creatio n of domain information models. The structural inconsistency leads to unsta ble documents, especially when a document is composed by computation with t raversal algorithms. This work tackles the above problems by integrating lo gical structure and domain semantics into a semantic net. A semantic-net-ba sed structured-hypertext model has been formalized. The model preserves str uctural and relational consistency after changes to the semantic net. The h ypertext system (RICH) based on this model has been implemented and tested. The RICH system can define and enforce a set of rules to maintain the inte grity of the semantic net and provide particular support for creating multi hierarchies with the reuse of existing contents and structures. Users have found such flexible but enforceable semantics to be helpful.