MGraphs: An Information Model for Scalable Browsing of Hypermedia

Present hypermedia systems typically do not handle well problems associated with the browsing and editing of hypermedia information structures. This is largely a result of inadequacies in the underlying model used to represent the hypermedia information. In particular, current hypermedia models typically do not make explicit the difference between data and information, nor do they consider the broad spectrum of information types used within hypermedia (treating both content and structure as specific types of information). Probably most significantly, current models do not readily facilitate abstraction of either content or structure. In this paper we present the MGraph hypermedia model which is based on the Matilda information framework. This model, derived from the structured graph mathematical formalism, allows manipulation of both the concrete hypermedia structure, but also abstractions of this structure. We describe the underlying mathematics of the MGraph model , and how this formalism supports appropriate editing and browsing of hypermedia structures at any desired level of abstraction. We demonstrate a prototype implementation of a open flexible hypermedia system designed to allow utilisation of MGraphs, and consider how this might be applied to improved browsing of information on the World Wide Web.