Hypermedia database “Himotoki”, and its applications

Describes the design concept of a hypermedia database called “Himotoki” and its navigational capabilities. A hypermedia database is a system that integrates hypermedia operations with database models. Its advantages are: (a) its structured design can improve authoring and browsing capabilities for large hypermedia applications, (b) nodes and links can be automatically generated under certain conditions, (c) a navigational data interface for DBMS is obtained, etc. To provide cost-effective operations for hypermedia databases, we introduce set-to-set linking and navigational functions, viz. media-based navigation, schema navigation and moving hot-spot navigation. These functional capabilities make the media contents well-organized, so as to improve the human-machine interactive interface. Implemented applications such as “Electronic Aquatic Life” and “Hypermedia Museum” demonstrate the usefulness of Himotoki´s navigational functions and the customizability of its architectural design