indx and findphrases, A System for Generating Indexes for Ditroll Documents

Creating back-of-the-book indexes is a difficult task involving intelligent and clerical processes. Programs have generally not achieved the level of intelligence required to perform the intelligent process of selecting terms for the index. Semi-automatic indexing programs perform the clerical process of preparing entries once the terms have been selected. The programs do not provide assistance in term determination and most require flooding the text with indexing commands. indx differs from other semi-automatic indexing programs mainly because it does not require the insertion of indexing commands into the text to be indexed. The method by which indx assists in the creation of an index is introduced and compared with the characteristics of the other programs. This method includes the use of a program that aids the term determination process. The design, implementation, and application of indx are presented. Areas in which indx may be improved or enhanced are identified. An index of this paper created with indx is included as an example.