Historical Context: This file was famously "deleted by accident" during the early development phase at CERN. It has been reconstructed here to provide pointers to the critical standards and working groups that influenced the web's architecture.
Hypertext Working Groups & Projects
The following initiatives represent the foundational efforts to standardize hypermedia and document management across disparate systems:
- HyTime: The ISO standard for Hypermedia/Time-based Structuring Language.
- ISO Multimedia: International Organization for Standardization work regarding multimedia data exchange.
- ISO Groupware: Standards for collaborative software and shared environments.
- SIGHyper: Special Interest Group on Hypertext.
- Davenport Group: Working toward common documentation formats (DocBook).
Information Retrieval & Directory Services
Beyond hypertext specifically, these standards govern the processes of searching, naming, and document discovery in the multiverse:
- Z39.50 (Search and Retrieve)
- A critical standard for the search process, heavily utilized in systems like WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers).
- X.500 Directory Service
- The standard for electronic directory services, essential for document naming and global identification.
- XHelp Protocol
- A specific protocol considered for cross-platform help documentation and online information delivery.
Related Technical Specs
For further technical deep-dives, see also: Data Formats and Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) specifications.