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Changes and New Features in V1.1

The following describes the most significant changes which occurred in HTX between versions V1.0 and V1.1.

  1. Two new commands have been added:

    findme

    Performs keyword searching of local documents with hypertext display of the results using a WWW browser. This forms the main command-line user interface to an HTX hypertext documentation set. A variety of search options are available.

    showme

    Allows viewing of specified parts of documents, as identified by a document name and (optional) cross-reference label. The selected document is displayed using a WWW browser. This provides a useful command-line user interface for documents whose name or structure is known. It also provides a programming interface, for instance for implementing on-line hypertext help systems in other software.

  2. Index files created by the hlink command are no longer stored in the document library using the file name "document.index". Instead, they are now stored inside the document in a file named:

    document.htx/htx.index
    

    This means that if a document is removed from a library, its index file is automatically removed as well. This avoids the need for other library maintenance software to know about HTX index files.

    The old "docname.index" files are no longer used and may be removed. New index files will then be generated when hlink is next run.

  3. The format of index files has been changed and additional information is now stored in them. This means that index file generation is a little slower, but the additional information allows subsequent document searches (e.g. using the findme command) to run more rapidly.

  4. Additional information is now stored in the "htx.log" file which acts as a date-stamp in each document library and records when it was last re-linked using hlink. This information allows hlink to detect if documents have been added or removed from the documentation set, or moved to a different location, and will trigger a re-link of any documents that refer to them. This change removes the need to use the -r option with hlink.

  5. The default for the HTX_PATH search path used for locating documents is now evaluated from the INSTALL and STARLINK environment variables when the HTX software is installed, rather than at run time.

    This means that by default HTX can now locate both its own and other Starlink documentation even if it is not installed in the standard place (i.e. under the /star directory).

  6. The concept of catalogue files has been introduced to allow searches to be performed on the names and titles of documents that are not installed locally in hypertext format.

  7. Various improvements to efficiency have been implemented.

  8. This document (SUN/188) has been revised and updated.



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HTX Hypertext Cross-Reference Utilities
Starlink User Note 188
R.F. Warren-Smith
6th January 1998
E-mail:rfws@star.rl.ac.uk