Topics

Object Model

The contents and structure of the LivingBook have been translated from a MSWord manuscript into computational objects that are displayed as HTML. The text and structure are virtually identical, while the formatting has been altered somewhat for the Web environment. In other words, the textual content of each section is identical, but the way the contents are represented internally, and presented externally in the LivingBook, has been changed in several ways.

Many special document objects, such as literature citations and key terminology, are represented in a more dynamic fashion in the LivingBook than was possible in a paper-based document. In the LivingBook, these objects are generally presented as links, that cause some effect when clicked by the user.

This page describes the key objects used in the LivingBook:

Table of Contents
Key Terminology
Citations and Bibliography
Figures
Tables

Table of Contents

The LivingBook table of contents is a collapsible heirarchy representing the book's Part, Chapter, Section structure.

Key Terminology

In a paper-based document, terminology is typically supported in two ways:

1. An Index allows the reader to look up a term, and see where in the document that term is defined or used.

2. A Glossary lists key terms and their definitions.

The LivingBook combines these two formalisms and allows the reader to quickly see the definitions of terms, as well as to see where else in the document the terms appear. Terms that are defined in the on-line glossary are highlighted in the text.

Citations and Bibliography

In a paper-based book, literature citations are inserted in the text to refer to a corresponding entry in the Bibliography. In the LivingBook, citations are represented as links.

The Sources supports annotations, related links, keywords, and ratings of references. The reader can add to this information if desired.

Figures

Figures objects have an image, a caption, figuretext (sometimes), and a location within the text. In the LivingBook, figures are objects that can be displayed in-lline or by themselves. Eventually, figures will be annotatable, so that discussions can be directly associated with the figures themselves.

The display of figures is one area in which computer technology hasn't caught up with paper-based technology. In the living book, figures are displayed in-line with the text in a small size to avoid lengthy page loading and also to avoid visual distraction. However, at this size many of the figures are not readable.

Tables

Tables are represented interally similar to figures. At this time, however, tables are displayed as static HTML in-line with the text.