Hypertext Defined

As defined by Ted Nelson in his book Literary Machines (1983), hypertext is simply non-sequential writing. Nelson further points out that hypertext is not just linking, although linking is important...

"A link is simply a connection between parts of text or other material. ... The link facility gives us much more than the attachment of mere odds and ends. It permits fully non-sequential writing, or hypertext."

A more formal technical statement is that hypertext is non-linear text which consists of units of information called nodes, also called chunks, fragments, cards, frames, folders, notecards, or documents. In many cases, the node consists of a single screen of text.

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