Tim Berners-Lee: WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project
1990 Nov 12
See all posts
Tim Berners-Lee: WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project @ Satoshi Nakamoto
- Author
-
Tim Berners-Lee
- Email
-
satoshinakamotonetwork@proton.me
- Site
-
https://satoshinakamoto.network
The attached document describes in more detail a Hypertext
project.
HyperText is a way to link and access information of various kinds as
a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will. It provides a
single user-interface to large classes of information (reports, notes,
data-bases, computer documentation and on-line help). We propose a
simple scheme incorporating servers already available at CERN.
The project has two phases: firstly we make use of existing software
and hardware as well as implementing simple browsers for the user's
workstations, based on an analysis of the requirements for information
access needs by experiments. Secondly, we extend the application area by
also allowing the users to add new material.
Phase one should take 3 months with the full manpower complement,
phase two a further 3 months, but this phase is more open-ended, and a
review of needs and wishes will be incorporated into it.
The manpower required is 4 software engineers and a programmer, (one
of which could be a Fellow). Each person works on a specific part (eg.
specific platform support).
Each person will require a state-of-the-art workstation , but there
must be one of each of the supported types. These will cost from 10 to
20k each, totalling 50k. In addition, we would like to use commercially
available software as much as possible, and foresee an expense of 30k
during development for one-user licences, visits to existing
installations and consultancy.
We will assume that the project can rely on some computing support at
no cost: development file space on existing development systems,
installation and system manager support for daemon software.
T.
Berners-Lee R.
Cailliau
WorldWideWeb:
Proposal for a HyperText Project
T. Berners-Lee / CN, R. Cailliau / ECP
Abstract:
HyperText is a way to link and access information of various kinds as
a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will. Potentially,
HyperText provides a single user-interface to many large classes of
stored information such as reports, notes, data-bases, computer
documentation and on-line systems help. We propose the implementation of
a simple scheme to incorporate several different servers of
machine-stored information already available at CERN, including an
analysis of the requirements for information access needs by
experiments.
Introduction
The current incompatibilities of the platforms and tools make it
impossible to access existing information through a common interface,
leading to waste of time, frustration and obsolete answers to simple
data lookup. There is a potential large benefit from the integration of
a variety of systems in a way which allows a user to follow links
pointing from one piece of information to another one. This forming of a
web of information nodes rather than a hierarchical tree or an ordered
list is the basic concept behind HyperText.
At CERN, a variety of data is already available: reports, experiment
data, personnel data, electronic mail address lists, computer
documentation, experiment documentation, and many other sets of data are
spinning around on computer discs continuously. It is however impossible
to "jump" from one set to another in an automatic way: once you found
out that the name of Joe Bloggs is listed in an incomplete description
of some on-line software, it is not straightforward to find his current
electronic mail address. Usually, you will have to use a different
lookup-method on a different computer with a different user interface.
Once you have located information, it is hard to keep a link to it or to
make a private note about it that you will later be able to find
quickly.
Hypertext concepts
The principles of hypertext, and their applicability to the CERN
environment, are discussed more fully in here, a
glossary of technical terms is given in here.
Here we give a short presentation of hypertext.
A program which provides access to the hypertext world we call a
browser. When starting a hypertext browser on your workstation, you will
first be presented with a hypertext page which is personal to you : your
personal notes, if you like. A hypertext page has pieces of text which
refer to other texts. Such references are highlighted and can be
selected with a mouse (on dumb terminals, they would appear in a
numbered list and selection would be done by entering a number). When
you select a reference, the browser presents you with the text which is
referenced: you have made the browser follow a hypertext link :
(see Fig. 1: hypertext links).
That text itself has links to other texts and so on. In fig. 1,
clicking on the GHI would take you to the minutes of that meeting. There
you would get interested in the discussion of the UPS, and click on the
highlighted word UPS to find out more about it.
The texts are linked together in a way that one can go from one
concept to another to find the information one wants. The network of
links is called a web . The web need not be hierarchical, and therefore
it is not necessary to "climb up a tree" all the way again before you
can go down to a different but related subject. The web is also not
complete, since it is hard to imagine that all the possible links would
be put in by authors. Yet a small number of links is usually sufficient
for getting from anywhere to anywhere else in a small number of
hops.
The texts are known as nodes. The process of proceeding from node to
node is called navigation . Nodes do not need to be on the same machine:
links may point across machine boundaries. Having a world wide web
implies some solutions must be found for problems such as different
access protocols and different node content formats. These issues are
addressed by our proposal.
Nodes can in principle also contain non-text information such as
diagrams, pictures, sound, animation etc. The term hypermedia is simply
the expansion of the hypertext idea to these other media. Where
facilities already exist, we aim to allow graphics interchange, but in
this project, we concentrate on the universal readership for text,
rather than on graphics.
Applications
The application of a universal hypertext system, once in place, will
cover many areas such as document registration, on-line help, project
documentation, news schemes and so on. It would be inappropriate for us
(rather than those responsible) to suggest specific areas, but
experiment online help, accelerator online help, assistance for computer
center operators, and the dissemination of information by central
services such as the user office and CN and ECP divisions are obvious
candidates. WorldWideWeb (or W3 ) intends to cater for these services
across the HEP community.
Scope: Objectives and
non-Objectives
The project will operate in a certain well-defined subset of the
subject area often associated with the "Hypertext" tag. It will aim:
- to provide a common (simple) protocol for requesting human readable
information stored at a remote system, using networks;
- to provide a protocol within which information can automatically be
exchanged in a format common to the supplier and the consumer;
- to provide some method of reading at least text (if not graphics)
using a large proportion of the computer screens in use at CERN;
- to provide and maintain at least one collection of documents, into
which users may (but are not bound to) put their documents. This
collection will include much existing data. (This is partly to give us
first hand experience of use of the system, and partly because members
of the project will already have documentation for which they are
responsible)
- to provide a keyword search option, in addition to navigation by
following references, using any new or existing indexes (such as the
CERNVM FIND indexes). The result of a keyword search is simply a
hypertext document consisting of a list of references to nodes which
match the keywords. to allow private individually managed collections of
documents to be linked to those in other collections. to use public
domain software wherever possible, or interface to proprietary systems
which already exist.
- to provide the software for the above free of charge to anyone.
The project will not aim
- to provide conversions where they do not exist between the many
document storage formats at CERN, although providing a framework into
which such conversion utilities can fit;
- to force users to use any particular word processor, or mark-up
format;
- to do research into fancy multimedia facilities such as sound and
video;
- to use sophisticated network authorisation systems. data will be
either readable by the world (literally), or will be readable only on
one file system, in which case the file system's protection system will
be used for privacy. All network traffic will be public.
Requirements Analysis
In order to ensure response to real needs, a requirements analysis
for the information access needs of a large CERN experiment will be
conducted at the very start, in parallel with the first project
phase.
This analysis will at first be limited to the activities of the
members of the Aleph experiment, and later be extended to at least one
other experiment. An overview will be made of the information
generation, storage and retrieval, independent of the form (machine,
paper) and independent of the finality (experiment, administration).
The result should be:
- lists of sources, depots and sinks of information,
- lists of formats,
- diagrams of flow,
- statistics on traffic,
- estimated levels of importance of flows,
- lists of client desires and / or suggested improvements,
- estimated levels of satisfaction with platforms,
- estimated urgency for improvements.
This analysis will itself not propose solutions or improvements, but
its results will guide the project.
Architecture
The architecture of the hypertext world is one of data stored on
server machines, and client processes on the same or other machines. The
machines are linked by some network (fig. 2). Fig. 2: proposed model for
the hypertext world A workstation is either an independent machine in
your office or a terminal connected to a close-by computer, and
connected to the same network. The servers are active processes that
reply to requests. The hypertext data is explicitly accessible to them.
Servers can be many on the same computer system, but then each caters to
a specific hypertext base. Clients are browser processes, usually but
not necessarily on a different computer system. Information passed is of
two kinds: nodes and links.
Building blocks
Browsers and servers are the two building blocks to be provided.
A browser
is a native application program running on the client machine:-
- it performs the display of a hypertext node using the client
hardware & software environment. For example, a Macintosh browser
will use the Macintosh interface look-and-feel.
- it performs the traversal of links. For example, when using a
Macintosh to browse on CERNVM FIND it will be the Macintosh browser
which remembers which links were traversed, how to go back etc., whereas
the CERNVM server just responds by handing the browser nodes, and has no
idea of which nodes the user has visited.
- it performs the negotiation of formats in dialog with the server.
For example, a browser for a VT100 type display will always negotiate
ASCII text only, whereas a Macintosh browser might be constructed to
accept PostScript or SGML.
A server
is a native application program running on the server machine:-
- it manages a web of nodes on that machine.-
- it negotiates the presentation format with the browser, performing
on-the-fly (or cached) conversions from its own internal format, if
any..
Operation
A link is specified as an ASCII string from which the browser can
deduce a suitable method of contacting an appropriate server. When a
link is followed, the browser addresses the request for the node to the
server. The server therefore has nothing to know about other servers or
other webs and can be kept simple.
Once the server has located the requested node, it will know from the
node contents what the node's format is (eg. pure ASCII, marked-up, word
processor storage and which word processor etc.). The server then begins
a negotiation with the browser, in which they decide between them what
format is acceptable for display on the user's screen. This negotiation
will be based only on existing conversion programs and formats: it is
not in the scope of W3 to write new converters. The last resort in the
negotiation is the binary transfer of the node contents to a file in the
user's file space. Negotiating the format for presentation is particular
to W3.
Project phases
Provided with resources mentioned below, we foresee the first two
phases of the project as achieving the following goals:
Phase 1 – Target: 3 months
from start
- Browsers on dumb terminal to open readership to anyone with a
computer or PC.(?)
- Browsers on vt220 terminals to give cursor-oriented readership to a
very large proportion of readers; A browser on the Macintosh in the
Macintosh style; A browser on the NeXT using the NeXTStep tools, as a
fast prototype for ideas in human interface design and navigation
techniques.
- A server providing access to the world of Usenet/Internet news
articles. *
- A server providing access to all the information currently stored on
CERNVM and mentioned in the FIND index. This should include CERN program
library notes, IBM and CERN CMS help screens, CERN/CN writeups, Computer
Newsletter articles, etc.
- A server which may be installed on any machine to allow files on
that machine to be accessed as hypertext.
- The ability for users to write, using markup tags, their own
hypertext for help files. No other hypertext editing capability will
necessarily be implemented in this phase.
- A gateway process to allow access between the Internet and DECnet
protocol worlds.
- A set of guidelines on how to manage a hypertext server.
- A requirements analysis of the information access needs for a large
experiment.
At this stage, readership is universal, but the creation of new
material relies on existing systems. For example, the introduction of
new material for the FIND index, or the posting of news articles will
use the same procedures as at present. we gain useful experience in the
representation of existing data in hypertext form, and in the types of
navigational and other aids appreciated by users in high energy
physics.
Phase 2 – Target: 6 months
from start
In this important phase, we aim to allow
- The creation of new links and new material by readers. At this
stage, authorship becomes universal.
- A full-screen browser on VM/XA for those using CERNVM, and other HEP
VM sites;
- An X-window browser/editor, giving the sophisticated facilities
originally prototyped under NeXTStep to the wide X-based community. (We
imagine using OSF/Motif subject to availability)
- The automatic notification of a reader when new material of interest
to him/her has become available. This is essential for news articles,
but is very useful for any other material.
The ability of readers to create links allows annotation by users of
existing data, allows to add themselves and their documents to lists
(mailing lists, indexes, etc). It should be possible for users to link
public documents to (for example) bug reports, bug fixes, and other
documents which the authors themselves might never have realised
existed.This phase allows collaborative authorship. It provides a place
to put any piece of information such that it can later be found. Making
it easy to change the web is thus the key to avoiding obsolete
information. One should be able to trace the source of information, to
circumvent and then to repair flaws in the web.
Resources required
1. People
The following functions are identifiable. They do not necessarily
correspond to individuals on a one to one basis. The initials in
brackets indicate people who have already expressed an interest in the
project and who have the necessary skills but do not indicate any
commitment as yet on thier part or the part of their managers. We are of
course very open to involvement from others.
- System architect. Coordinate development, protocol definition, etc;
ensures integrity of design. (50% TBL?) Market research and product
planner. Discuss the project and its features with potential and actual
users in all divisions. Prepare criteria for feature selection and
development priority. (50% RC?)
- Hyper-Librarian. Oversees the web of available data, ensuring its
coherency. Interface with users, train users. Manages indexes and
keyword systems. Manages data provided by the project itself. (100%
KG?)
- Software engineer: NeXTStep. Provide browser/editor interface under
the NeXTStep human interface tools. Experiment with navigational aids.
Keep a running knowledge of the NeXTStep world. (50%TBL?)
- Software engineer: X-windows and human interface. Provide
browser/editor human interface under OSF/Motif. Respond to user
suggestion for ease of use improvements and options. Create an
aesthetic, practical human interface. Keep a running knowledge of the X
world. (75%RJ?)
- Software engineer: IBM mainframe. Provide browser service on CERNVM
and other HEP VM sites. Maintain the FIND server software. Keep up a
running knowledge of the CMS, Rexx world. (75% BP?)
- Software engineer: Macintosh. Provide browser/editor for the mac,
using whatever tools are appropriate (Thnk-C, HyperCard, etc?).
(50%RC?)
- Software engineer: C. Help write code for dumb terminal or vt100
browsers, and portable browser code to be shared between browers. This
could include a technical student project. (100% NP? + A.N.Other?)
We foresee that a demand may arise for browsers on specific systems,
for specific customizations, and for servers to make specific existing
data available online as hypertext. We intend to enthusiastically
support such widening of the web. Of course, we may have to draw on more
manpower and specific expertise in these cases.
2. Other resources
We will require the following support in the way of equipment and
services.
- We feel it is important for those involved in the project to be able
to work close to each other and exchange ideas and problems as they
work. An office area or close group of offices is therefore
required.
- Each person working on the project will require a state-of-the-art
workstation. Experience shows that a workstation has to be upgraded in
some way every two years or so as software becomes more cumbersome, and
memory/speed requirements increase. This, and the cost of software
upgrades, we foresee as reasonable expenses. We imagine using a variety
of types of workstation as we provide software on a variety of machines,
but otherwise NeXTs. For VMS machines, we would like the support of an
existing VAXcluster to minimize our own system management
overheads.
- We would like to be able to purchase licenses for commercial
hypertext software where we feel this could be incorporated into the
project, and save development and maintenance time, or where we feel we
could gain useful experience from its use. (Approximate examples are:
Guide license: CHF750; KMS full author license CHF1500, evaluation kit
CHF100. FrameMaker: CHF2000)
- We will require computing support. In particular, we will require a
reliable backed up NFS (or equivalent) file server support for our
development environment. We will also need to run daemon software on
machines with Internet, DECnet and BITNET connectivity, which will
require a certain amount of support from operators and system
managers.
Future paths
- The two phases above will provide an extremely useful set of tools.
Though the results seem ambitious, the individual steps necessary are
well within our abilities with available technology. Future developments
which would further enhance the project could include:
- Daemon programs which run overnight and build indexes of available
information.
- A server automatically providing a hypertext view of a (for example
Oracle) database, from a description of the database and a description
(for example in SQL) of the view required.
- Work on efficient networking over wide areas, negotiation with other
sites to provide compatible online information.
- A serious study of the use and abuse of the system, the sociology of
its use at CERN.
References
Tim Berners-Lee: WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project
1990 Nov 12 See all postsTim Berners-Lee
satoshinakamotonetwork@proton.me
https://satoshinakamoto.network
The attached document describes in more detail a Hypertext project.
HyperText is a way to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will. It provides a single user-interface to large classes of information (reports, notes, data-bases, computer documentation and on-line help). We propose a simple scheme incorporating servers already available at CERN.
The project has two phases: firstly we make use of existing software and hardware as well as implementing simple browsers for the user's workstations, based on an analysis of the requirements for information access needs by experiments. Secondly, we extend the application area by also allowing the users to add new material.
Phase one should take 3 months with the full manpower complement, phase two a further 3 months, but this phase is more open-ended, and a review of needs and wishes will be incorporated into it.
The manpower required is 4 software engineers and a programmer, (one of which could be a Fellow). Each person works on a specific part (eg. specific platform support).
Each person will require a state-of-the-art workstation , but there must be one of each of the supported types. These will cost from 10 to 20k each, totalling 50k. In addition, we would like to use commercially available software as much as possible, and foresee an expense of 30k during development for one-user licences, visits to existing installations and consultancy.
We will assume that the project can rely on some computing support at no cost: development file space on existing development systems, installation and system manager support for daemon software.
T. Berners-Lee R. Cailliau
WorldWideWeb:
Proposal for a HyperText Project
T. Berners-Lee / CN, R. Cailliau / ECP
Abstract:
HyperText is a way to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will. Potentially, HyperText provides a single user-interface to many large classes of stored information such as reports, notes, data-bases, computer documentation and on-line systems help. We propose the implementation of a simple scheme to incorporate several different servers of machine-stored information already available at CERN, including an analysis of the requirements for information access needs by experiments.
Introduction
The current incompatibilities of the platforms and tools make it impossible to access existing information through a common interface, leading to waste of time, frustration and obsolete answers to simple data lookup. There is a potential large benefit from the integration of a variety of systems in a way which allows a user to follow links pointing from one piece of information to another one. This forming of a web of information nodes rather than a hierarchical tree or an ordered list is the basic concept behind HyperText.
At CERN, a variety of data is already available: reports, experiment data, personnel data, electronic mail address lists, computer documentation, experiment documentation, and many other sets of data are spinning around on computer discs continuously. It is however impossible to "jump" from one set to another in an automatic way: once you found out that the name of Joe Bloggs is listed in an incomplete description of some on-line software, it is not straightforward to find his current electronic mail address. Usually, you will have to use a different lookup-method on a different computer with a different user interface. Once you have located information, it is hard to keep a link to it or to make a private note about it that you will later be able to find quickly.
Hypertext concepts
The principles of hypertext, and their applicability to the CERN environment, are discussed more fully in here1, a glossary of technical terms is given in here2. Here we give a short presentation of hypertext.
A program which provides access to the hypertext world we call a browser. When starting a hypertext browser on your workstation, you will first be presented with a hypertext page which is personal to you : your personal notes, if you like. A hypertext page has pieces of text which refer to other texts. Such references are highlighted and can be selected with a mouse (on dumb terminals, they would appear in a numbered list and selection would be done by entering a number). When you select a reference, the browser presents you with the text which is referenced: you have made the browser follow a hypertext link :
(see Fig. 1: hypertext links).
That text itself has links to other texts and so on. In fig. 1, clicking on the GHI would take you to the minutes of that meeting. There you would get interested in the discussion of the UPS, and click on the highlighted word UPS to find out more about it.
The texts are linked together in a way that one can go from one concept to another to find the information one wants. The network of links is called a web . The web need not be hierarchical, and therefore it is not necessary to "climb up a tree" all the way again before you can go down to a different but related subject. The web is also not complete, since it is hard to imagine that all the possible links would be put in by authors. Yet a small number of links is usually sufficient for getting from anywhere to anywhere else in a small number of hops.
The texts are known as nodes. The process of proceeding from node to node is called navigation . Nodes do not need to be on the same machine: links may point across machine boundaries. Having a world wide web implies some solutions must be found for problems such as different access protocols and different node content formats. These issues are addressed by our proposal.
Nodes can in principle also contain non-text information such as diagrams, pictures, sound, animation etc. The term hypermedia is simply the expansion of the hypertext idea to these other media. Where facilities already exist, we aim to allow graphics interchange, but in this project, we concentrate on the universal readership for text, rather than on graphics.
Applications
The application of a universal hypertext system, once in place, will cover many areas such as document registration, on-line help, project documentation, news schemes and so on. It would be inappropriate for us (rather than those responsible) to suggest specific areas, but experiment online help, accelerator online help, assistance for computer center operators, and the dissemination of information by central services such as the user office and CN and ECP divisions are obvious candidates. WorldWideWeb (or W3 ) intends to cater for these services across the HEP community.
Scope: Objectives and non-Objectives
The project will operate in a certain well-defined subset of the subject area often associated with the "Hypertext" tag. It will aim:
The project will not aim
Requirements Analysis
In order to ensure response to real needs, a requirements analysis for the information access needs of a large CERN experiment will be conducted at the very start, in parallel with the first project phase.
This analysis will at first be limited to the activities of the members of the Aleph experiment, and later be extended to at least one other experiment. An overview will be made of the information generation, storage and retrieval, independent of the form (machine, paper) and independent of the finality (experiment, administration).
The result should be:
This analysis will itself not propose solutions or improvements, but its results will guide the project.
Architecture
The architecture of the hypertext world is one of data stored on server machines, and client processes on the same or other machines. The machines are linked by some network (fig. 2). Fig. 2: proposed model for the hypertext world A workstation is either an independent machine in your office or a terminal connected to a close-by computer, and connected to the same network. The servers are active processes that reply to requests. The hypertext data is explicitly accessible to them. Servers can be many on the same computer system, but then each caters to a specific hypertext base. Clients are browser processes, usually but not necessarily on a different computer system. Information passed is of two kinds: nodes and links.
Building blocks
Browsers and servers are the two building blocks to be provided.
A browser
is a native application program running on the client machine:-
A server
is a native application program running on the server machine:-
Operation
A link is specified as an ASCII string from which the browser can deduce a suitable method of contacting an appropriate server. When a link is followed, the browser addresses the request for the node to the server. The server therefore has nothing to know about other servers or other webs and can be kept simple.
Once the server has located the requested node, it will know from the node contents what the node's format is (eg. pure ASCII, marked-up, word processor storage and which word processor etc.). The server then begins a negotiation with the browser, in which they decide between them what format is acceptable for display on the user's screen. This negotiation will be based only on existing conversion programs and formats: it is not in the scope of W3 to write new converters. The last resort in the negotiation is the binary transfer of the node contents to a file in the user's file space. Negotiating the format for presentation is particular to W3.
Project phases
Provided with resources mentioned below, we foresee the first two phases of the project as achieving the following goals:
Phase 1 – Target: 3 months from start
At this stage, readership is universal, but the creation of new material relies on existing systems. For example, the introduction of new material for the FIND index, or the posting of news articles will use the same procedures as at present. we gain useful experience in the representation of existing data in hypertext form, and in the types of navigational and other aids appreciated by users in high energy physics.
Phase 2 – Target: 6 months from start
In this important phase, we aim to allow
The ability of readers to create links allows annotation by users of existing data, allows to add themselves and their documents to lists (mailing lists, indexes, etc). It should be possible for users to link public documents to (for example) bug reports, bug fixes, and other documents which the authors themselves might never have realised existed.This phase allows collaborative authorship. It provides a place to put any piece of information such that it can later be found. Making it easy to change the web is thus the key to avoiding obsolete information. One should be able to trace the source of information, to circumvent and then to repair flaws in the web.
Resources required
1. People
The following functions are identifiable. They do not necessarily correspond to individuals on a one to one basis. The initials in brackets indicate people who have already expressed an interest in the project and who have the necessary skills but do not indicate any commitment as yet on thier part or the part of their managers. We are of course very open to involvement from others.
We foresee that a demand may arise for browsers on specific systems, for specific customizations, and for servers to make specific existing data available online as hypertext. We intend to enthusiastically support such widening of the web. Of course, we may have to draw on more manpower and specific expertise in these cases.
2. Other resources
We will require the following support in the way of equipment and services.
Future paths3
References
T. Berners-Lee/CN, HyperText and CERN . An explanation of hypertext, and why it is important for CERN. A background document explaining the ideas behind this project.↩︎
T. Berners-Lee/CN, Hypertext Design Issues . A detailed look at hypertext models and facilities, with a discussion of choices to be made in choosing or implementing a system.↩︎
Other documentation on the project is stored in hypertext form and which leads to further references.↩︎