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1. First Generation Systems - Introduction

First Generation Systems - Introduction

We can divide hypermedia systems in two generations (Halasz, 1998). The first  generation included systems such as Xanadu, ZOG, NLS/Augment, Hypertext Editing System, FRESS, Dynabook. They were mainframe-based text-only hypertext systems. They had support for multiple users sharing the hypermedia information network.  The main characteristic of first generation systems is their target task domain and scope. They had been proposed as the mechanism for  storing and retrieving the whole world's literacy, as a natural mechanism for reflecting the mind, as an augmentation environment for supporting users, as a replacement of traditional text writing and reading. They were primarily for authoring purposes and thus navigational aid capabilities were limited. They didn't provide any particular mechanism to extent the environment or to customise it to particular user needs. Nodes were untyped, without supporting composites. Links were single direction, single destination. The only structure supported beyond graphs was hierarchical structure. Graphical browsers were non-existent and concepts like guided tours or metaphors were not used. Search mechanism was limited to simple string search. The user interface was based in simple text monitors and it was frame based.