Visual Representation and Scalability -- the Example of the Intermedia Global Map

This failed experiment depicts less than 10% of the linked documents in Context32, one of the first Intermedia webs.

Intermedia's experimental Global Map, which attempted to show all links in hypertext document, shows the problems with visual representation -- in particular, the fact that it does not scale up. Although suitable for aiding navigation very small sites, or sections of sites, such as demonstration webs of Nanard's Macweb, it cannot handle more than a few dozen documents. The failure of this approach to a navigational map, which was never seen by students using Intermedia, led to the development of the successful Local Tracking Map and Web View, both of which represent all links available from a single document -- the one currently active.


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Last modified 28 January 2005