A conceptual modelling approach to authoring-in-the-large for hypertext documents

Abstract

The hypertext style of organizing onlirm information is a promising approach fbr managing Iargc, complex documint sets tl~>t are used and maintained over a long period of time. Such document sets are typically developed in an au(horing-in-the-!arge environment, in which a team of authors works collaboratively in a knowledge-intensive process. l-his paper ciescribcs how knowledge-based software engineering technologies can be app]icd to authoring-in-the-large through a framework called 771J71)oc. The intent of ThyDoc is to move a{ltl~c)ti[lg-iIl-tllc-large into the more struct.urcd discipline of dmmc72t engineering. Thyl)oc treats authoring as a knowledge-acquisition process that captures formally (in terms of a conceptual schema) and informally (through text, grai>hics, and other “natural” forms of information) all the knowledge nccdcd by teams of authors for the anaIysis, dcsi~m, dcveloprncnt, and maintenance of complex hypertext documents. ThyDoc is based on the Telos conceptual modclling language and the ‘1’axis setnantic data mo{lclling language. A prototype ThyDt)c authoring cnvironrncnt has been implemented to illustrate this knowledge-based approach to document engineering.