DOCUMENT+PROGRAM HYBRIDS ON THE INTERNET AND THEIR IMPACT ON INFORMATION TRANSFER

This contribution looks at some relatively new and recent advanced tools, techniques, methods and standards related to the Internet which form the basis for mixtures of documents and services, which we can call ‘document+program hybrids’. The new Internet systems contribute to an evolution from documents on the one side and computer programs on the other side, neatly separated, apart from each other, without much interaction, so that the static document can also exist without computers and networks, to hybrid systems where the classical distinction between the contents and the container is blurred; where all components are integrated, interwoven and exist in synergy with each other; they can be more dynamic and interactive, in comparison with more classical and static documents, by involving and exploiting the power of computers and networks. A collection is presented of Internet‐based sources (URLs) that can serve as illustrations. Recent methods, techniques, standards and protocols on the Internet that form the basis of the evolution are listed. As professional information intermediaries, the authors also consider the impact in the area of online access to information and knowledge.