U.S. patent application number 12/924779 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-10 for apparatus and method for creating literary macrames.
Invention is credited to Dana W. Paxson.
Application Number | 20110035651 12/924779 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38445456 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110035651 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Paxson; Dana W. |
February 10, 2011 |
Apparatus and method for creating literary macrames
Abstract
By the use of program scripts, databases, and other software
elements, taking as input a set of text files making up a work of
literature of substantial size, converting the files to an
electronically-readable form, linking the files to each other to
provide readers with a rich set of associations to be explored
within the work, muting the presentation of the links in order to
preserve the immersive character of the reading process, and
simplifying the user browsing interface to limit distractions that
vitiate the immersive reading experience. By the richness and
simplicity of carefully-designed outputs, offering the author a new
range of opportunities for engaging the reader, offering the
publisher a new opportunity for succeeding in purveying electronic
literature, and presenting the reader with an "electronic literary
macrame": a new class of work permitting a level of immersive
reading practice obtainable only in the world of electronic
text.
Inventors: |
Paxson; Dana W.; (Rochester,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HISCOCK & BARCLAY, LLP
2000 HSBC PLAZA, 100 Chestnut Street
ROCHESTER
NY
14604-2404
US
|
Family ID: |
38445456 |
Appl. No.: |
12/924779 |
Filed: |
October 5, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11361439 |
Feb 24, 2006 |
7810021 |
|
|
12924779 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/205 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 40/131
20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/205 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/14 20060101
G06F003/14 |
Claims
1. An electronic device for displaying an electronic literary
macrame, comprising: a processor, a display configured to display a
plurality of windows, and a display interface configured to
communicate with the processor and the display; information storage
means including: at least one scene hypertext file including: at
least one scene narrative text; and a plurality of reference
points; at least one reference hypertext file including a plurality
of reference points; a browser application program configured to
interpret the scene and reference hypertext files and display each
hypertext file in a respective window on the display; and wherein
each hypertext file is configured to, when interpreted by the
browser program application, provide a plurality of links to at
least one of the scene hypertext file reference points and
reference hypertext file reference points.
2. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the at least one
reference hypertext file further includes a glossary hypertext file
including at least one set of terms and associated definitions and
wherein the scene hypertext file, when interpreted by the browser
program application, is further configured to provide a plurality
of links to one or more glossary hypertext file reference
points.
3. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the information storage
means further includes: at least one scene text file each including
at least one scene text and at least one scene attribute selected
from the group consisting of title, location, section, scene
number, point of view, source file, year, month, day, hour minute,
copyright year, chapter name, scene stylesheet, class, keywords,
characters and number of paragraphs; and program instructions that,
when implemented by the processor, communicate with each scene text
file and each scene hypertext file to establish the scene hypertext
file plurality of links.
4. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the scene hypertext
file is a layered reference linked scene hypertext file and at
least one of the hypertext file links is a time-dependent hypertext
link.
5. The electronic device of claim 2 wherein the information storage
means further includes: a glossary text file; a glossary database
including at least a definition table and a treatment table; and
program instructions that, when implemented by the processor, are
configured to interpret the glossary text file and communicate with
the glossary database to provide the glossary hypertext file.
6. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the information storage
means further includes: a point of view database including: a
plurality of attributes including a plurality of scene attributes
and a corresponding attribute for each scene representing a
point-of-view-character; and an index of predecessor and successor
scenes; program instructions that, when implemented by the
processor, are configured to communicate with the point of view
database to provide at least one scene link sequence and at least
one scene processing control file for each scene.
7. The electronic device of claim 2 wherein the windows on the
display further include a primary window for display of the scene
hypertext file, a first secondary windows for display of the
glossary hypertext file, and a second secondary window for display
of a second reference hypertext file and wherein the secondary
windows are muted in their appearance when residing in the
foreground.
8. The electronic device of claim 1 further including a user
interface device and wherein the information storage means is
further configured to store at least one stylesheet configured to
display at least one of the plurality of links only upon hovering
by the user interface device over the one or more characters
representing the link.
9. The electronic device of claim 6 wherein the plurality of
attributes are further include attributes selected from the group
consisting of chapter, section, scene source, file, year, month
day, hour, minute, copyright year, scene title, scene locale,
chapter name, scene stylesheet, scene class, keywords, scene
primary, sequence number, and link class.
10. An apparatus for presenting an electronic literary macrame,
comprising: a computing device including input means and display
means; and information storage means for holding data and
instructions for the computer including: a plurality of scene text
files including narrative text for at least one scene and at least
one scene attribute for each scene; a plurality of reference text
files; at least one database for holding information concerning the
characteristics of one or more scenes; a plurality of processing
control files for linking the scenes and providing a plurality of
interlinked hypertext files; and a browser program operating within
the computer for displaying the plurality interlinked hypertext
files.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the information storage means
is further configured to hold program instructions for converting
the plurality of scene text files into at least one scene hypertext
file, linking among hypertext files and converting the plurality of
reference text files into at least one reference hypertext file
derived from the reference text files and linked among themselves
and to the scene hypertext file.
12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the database is further
configured to hold at least one attribute for each scene selected
from the group consisting of a scene title, a scene locale, a scene
designator or identifier, the point of view from which the scene is
rendered, the date and time of the scene within the narrative text,
the copyright year of the writing of the scene, one or more
keywords characterizing the scene, a designator of the chapter in
which the scene appears, a designator of the section of the chapter
in which the scene appears, the source file from which the scene
text file is taken, the style of presentation required for the
scene text, and the location or window of presentation required for
the scene text file.
13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the information storage means
is further configured to hold program instructions for adapting the
presentation of the interlinked hypertext files including by
providing at least one of: a primary window and a plurality of
secondary windows wherein the secondary windows are configured to
be in a muted state when inactive; and at least one stylesheet for
each hypertext file including instructions for providing hover
links.
14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the plurality of interlinked
hypertext files includes a glossary hypertext file and the
plurality of processing control files includes program instructions
configured to create glossary link anchors in the glossary link
hypertext file.
15. A method for producing an electronic literary macrame,
comprising the steps of: providing one or more scene text files and
one or more reference text files; creating, from the scene text
files and the reference text files, at least one scene hypertext
file and at least one reference hypertext file; establishing at
least one scene sequence and a plurality of links in the at least
one scene hypertext file to a least one reference point
corresponding to the scene sequence; establishing a plurality of
links in the at least one scene hypertext file to at least one
reference point in the at least one reference hypertext file;
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of:
displaying the at least one scene hypertext file and reference
hypertext file in at least one primary browser window on an
electronic device; displaying the at least one reference hypertext
file in at least one secondary browser window on an electronic
device; suppressing the conventional marking of browser links; and
providing at least one stylesheet for at least one of the hypertext
files to define presentation characteristics of the at least one
hypertext files.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein the step of establishing at
least one scene sequences further includes the steps of: selecting
sequencing criteria for creating each sequence of scenes; compiling
the selections of criteria for creating each sequence of scenes
into a sequence of identified scenes; and creating multiple
sequences of identified scenes.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein the sequencing criteria is
selected from the group consisting of chronology, character point
of view, scene common elements, keywords, and scene location.
19. The method of claim 15 wherein the at least one reference
hypertext file includes at least one glossary hypertext file and
further including the steps of establishing a plurality of links in
the at least one scene hypertext file to at least one reference
point in the glossary hypertext file.
20. The method of claim 15 further including the steps of:
establishing a point of view database including character point of
view information for each scene and a plurality of attributes
selected from the group consisting of chapter, section, scene
source, file, year, month day, hour, minute, copyright year, scene
title, scene locale, chapter name, scene stylesheet, scene class,
keywords, scene primary, sequence number, and link class; and
establishing at least one scene link sequence and at least one
scene processing control file for each scene based on the point of
view database.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Nonprovisional
application Ser. No. 11/361,439, filed Feb. 24, 2006, entitled
"Apparatus and Method for Creating Literary Macrames." Reference is
also made to the following related applications: U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/833,201, filed Jul. 25, 2006, entitled "Multiple
Improvements in Method and Apparatus for Creating Literary
Macrames," U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/909,197, filed Mar.
30, 2007, entitled "Game Scene Replay Director: A Tool for
Filmmaking Storytellers," PCT Application No. PCT/US2007/062801,
filed Feb. 26, 2007, entitled "Apparatus and Method for Creating
Literary Macrames," U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No.
11/782,976, filed Jul. 25, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,555,138,
issued Jun. 30, 2009), entitled "Method and Apparatus for Digital
Watermarking for Electronic Literary Macrame," U.S. Nonprovisional
application Ser. No. 11/828,083, filed Jul. 25, 2007, entitled
"Method and Apparatus for Electronic Literary Macrame Component
Referencing," and U.S. Nonprovisional application Ser. No.
11/828,010, filed Jul. 25, 2007, entitled "Method and Apparatus for
Electronic Literary Macrame Business Development," all of which are
hereby incorporated by reference.
Area of Invention
[0002] This disclosure relates to the creation of texts readable on
computers, and more specifically to the creation of interconnected
narratives and references readable using browser programs such as
those adapted for use on the World Wide Web.
References Submitted
[0003] A computer program listing appendix containing computer
program listings comprising components of the present invention is
enclosed with the present specification as Appendix A, and is
hereby incorporated by reference in the present specification. Two
copies of Appendix A are enclosed, each copy on a single compact
disk labeled "Computer Program Listings for Apparatus and Method
for Creating Literary Macrames", the copies marked Copy 1 and Copy
2 respectively. The listings included on each compact disk are
ASCII text files as follows:
TABLE-US-00001 Date and File Name (software Time of Creation File
Size language) 04/27/2006 03:33 PM 1,314 bytes BuildGlossHTM.txt
(VBA code) 04/27/2006 03:36 PM 3,306 bytes BuildSGlossHTM.txt (VBA
code) 04/27/2006 04:13 PM 1,291 bytes CompileLM.txt (VBA code)
04/27/2006 03:56 PM 1,258 bytes GlGen.awk (awk code) 04/27/2006
03:38 PM 5,196 bytes GlSedgen.awk (awk code) 04/27/2006 03:48 PM
59,581 bytes MakeLMCompilationFile.txt (VBA code) 04/27/2006 03:54
PM 378 bytes PrepGlDefs.awk (awk code) 04/27/2006 03:18 PM 6,015
bytes PrepScen.txt (PerfectScript code) 04/27/2006 03:45 PM 4,902
bytes RefSedgen.awk (awk code) 04/27/2006 03:40 PM 5,975 bytes
Sedgen.awk (awk code) 04/27/2006 03:47 PM 1,576 bytes UpdateRefHTM
sed scripts.txt (sed code) 04/27/2006 03:44 PM 639 bytes
UpdateRefHTM.txt (bash shell script) 04/27/2006 03:51 PM 4,148
bytes footset.awk (awk code) 04/27/2006 03:31 PM 25,531 bytes
genGlFiles.txt (VBA code) 04/27/2006 03:51 PM 2,938 bytes
headset.awk (awk code) 04/27/2006 03:50 PM 3,728 bytes
scriptset.awk (awk code) 16 File(s) 127,776 bytes
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0004] One of the great advantages of the printed literary text has
been its ability to absorb a reader's attention to the point that
the reader becomes immersed in the environment created by the words
of the author, losing awareness of the words themselves, the pages
on which they are printed, and the acts of turning the pages to
continue the immersive experience. Modern books have been designed
so as to maximize the degree of immersion for readers at a minimum
cost and inconvenience. Modern authors have followed guidelines
that intensify the reader's immersion in their works to the point
that time in the reader's world loses all importance to the reader,
a profound achievement. But all these achievements fail to take
advantage of the possibilities of electronic texts.
[0005] Electronic texts have emerged as superior replacements for
printed works in certain areas of publication, particularly those
areas in which links within the texts lead to references,
alternative narratives, or supporting materials of other kinds such
as audio or image streams. But these advantages gain little
recognition in the realm of mass-market literature such as fiction
and nonfiction.
[0006] The hardware devices used so far to present electronic
literature are expensive, mutually incompatible, and complicated to
use. The forms in which the literature is presented mimic fairly
closely the forms used in the printed media, in an effort to
preserve the immersive reading experience. The advantages presented
by the availability of textual linkages in the electronic form are
rarely exploited. Such exploitation would yield great and diverse
benefits for authors, publishers, and readers across the board.
[0007] To illustrate with an example from fiction, many
conventional novels and series of novels present richly-realized
settings, characters, cultures, and story threads for their
readers. One such series of novels is J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord
of the Rings", which offers the reader a world of such scope and
complexity that the reader becomes immersed in that world with
little effort, and remains immersed no matter how many characters,
stories, languages, timelines, and events are presented. Many
readers, not satisfied with a single reading, repeat their reading
of the series many times, and plumb the complexities of its
appendices, languages, maps, and other supplementary materials
included with the story itself. This deeper reading process,
however, is hindered, not facilitated, by the use of the printed
form of text and other material.
[0008] Specifically, some characters are presented with multiple
names used on different occasions, e.g., the character named
Gandalf, Mithrandir, Olorin, Tharkun, Incanus, Grey Pilgrim, and so
on. Some locations are given different names by people of different
kinds, e.g., the mountain called Redhorn, Carathras, or
Azanulbizar; or the castle called Orthanc or Isengard. Some
narratives are relegated to appendices, footnotes, or other
separate areas of the printed work.
[0009] The histories of specific sites, people, and objects are
rich and filled with meaning not easily apparent on first (or even
later) reading. The ordering and interrelation of events is so
complex that the reader must often take their arrangement on faith
while reading, not always understanding exactly how things are
arranged until after the reading is complete, and not always then
either. The success of the work arises not out of the clarity of
its every component during reading, but rather from the
overwhelming wealth and consistency of its presentation.
[0010] Readers, authors, and publishers would benefit greatly from
a mode of presentation which facilitates enhanced wealth and
consistency of content while also increasing the clarity of the
work for a reader and preserving the immersive reading
experience.
Glossary of Terms Used
[0011] Anchor, hypertext anchor--a marked location in a hypertext
document serving as a target for a Web browser. When a viewer
selects a link to the anchor on a page of hypertext, the viewer's
browser displays the page containing the anchor location. In HTML,
a hypertext anchor commonly appears in the form:
[0012] <a name="[ANCHOR-ID]">[DISPLAYED-ANCHOR]</a>
[0013] where [ANCHOR-ID] identifies the location to be displayed
upon selection, and [DISPLAYED-ANCHOR] marks the location of a
point in the display to be presented.
[0014] Browser program, browser--a software program for locating,
navigating, and viewing presentations on a computer display.
Conventional browser programs provide means for selecting links in
a display to navigate to a new display, scrolling and paging
through the current display, backtracking and forward-tracking
through displays already presented, resizing and repositioning the
display within the presentation means provided, and opening and
closing multiple displays as needed by the viewer.
[0015] Electronic literary tapestry--a literary tapestry viewable
using a software browser program such as Microsoft Internet
Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera, and in which
hypertext anchors and links are embedded to allow the viewer to
move quickly from one display to another.
[0016] Glossary hypertext file--a hypertext document comprising a
set of terms, each term accompanied by its definition and other
information concerning its use. A glossary hypertext file is a
special form of a reference hypertext file.
[0017] HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)--a conventional class of
annotative or markup languages interspersed in or combined with
text or other digital electronic material presentable to a viewer,
providing means for exploitation of electronic enhancement of the
presentation of digital electronic material.
[0018] Hypertext--a collection of electronic records, viewable
using a browser program, incorporating component texts, images, and
other forms presentable to human beings and containing
viewer-selectable links among its components. See also the
definition at http://isp.webopedia.com/TERM/H/hypertext.html.
[0019] Hypertext document--a closely-interlinked set of hypertext
records.
[0020] Hypertext reference--a marked location in a hypertext
document serving as a reference point for a hypertext anchor. When
a viewer viewing a hypertext document selects the marked reference
point, the viewer's browser displays the page referred to by the
reference. If the reference is directed to an anchor (q.v.), the
browser displays the page containing the anchor location. In HTML,
a hypertext reference commonly appears in the form:
[0021] <a href="[ANCHOR-ID]">[DISPLAYED-TERM]</a>,
[0022] where [ANCHOR-ID] identifies the location to be displayed
upon selection, and [DISPLAYED-TERM] is the mark of the reference
point to be selected in order to use the [ANCHOR-ID].
[0023] Immersive reading--a mode of reading a text, characterized
by enhanced awareness on the reader's part of the settings, events,
speech, and characters limned by the text, in such a way that the
reader experiences those settings, events, speech, and characters
as if present at their occurrence.
[0024] Layered reference--a context-sensitive hypertext reference
to a single term or article for which multiple definitions or
articles may exist. The choice of the particluar definition or
article used for the hypertext reference is made on the basis of
contextual information in the text or document containing the
reference, such as a date in a timeline, a point-of-view character,
or other keying information.
[0025] Link--a hypertext reference.
[0026] Link order control file--a list of values providing a
sequence by which scenes of a narrative may be read.
[0027] Literary effect--a change brought about in the mind of a
viewer as a result of the viewer's intake of a narrative by
reading, listening, or seeing said narrative.
[0028] Literary macrame--an enriched electronic literary tapestry,
comprising a collection of electronic files, each in turn
comprising text and other electronic literary expressions, and each
containing one or more literary references to other electronic
files in the collection, such that by pursuing any of a range of
possible sequences of references, a reader may follow quickly and
freely any of a set of stories constructed by a writer using
overlapping sets of events.
[0029] Literary tapestry--a collection of text files each
containing one or more references to other files in the collection,
and each file of which may contain narrative, references,
expository material, and illustrations, in any written, visual,
audible, or interactive form.
[0030] Narrative--a sequence of scenes in readable or viewable form
which allows a person reading or viewing those scenes in sequence
to produce a mental representation of a progression of events,
objects, and ideas, whether factual or fictional.
[0031] Reference hypertext file--an electronic file containing
reference text, tables, figures, diagrams, hypertext anchors, and
hypertext links connecting said electronic file to any of a set of
scene hypertext files and other reference hypertext files.
[0032] Reference source file--an electronic file containing
reference text, tables, figures, diagrams, and other reference
information.
[0033] Scene--a sequence of statements in readable or viewable form
setting forth a collection of events, objects, and ideas, whether
factual or fictional, that are situated in some bounded region of
time and space, or in some bounded range of ideas. The bounds of
the region or range constitute the locale of the scene.
[0034] Scene hypertext file--an electronic file containing
narrative text, anchors, and a set of hypertext links connecting
said electronic file to any of a set of scene hypertext files and
other Scene processing control file--an electronic file in text
form containing sets of parameters and values needed to transform a
scene text file into a scene hypertext file.
[0035] Scene source file--an electronic file in word-processor form
containing narrative text and an array or list of attributes
characterizing said narrative text, such as scene title and
locale.
[0036] Scene text file--an electronic file in plain text form
containing narrative text and an array or list of attributes
characterizing said narrative text, such as scene title and
locale.
[0037] Stylesheet--Stylesheets, as used with hypertext prepared in
a framework and language such as HTML, XHTML, or XML, are
essentially common repositories for presentation rules shared by
multiple hypertext documents. By changing the presentation rules in
a single stylesheet, an author or editor can change the appearance
and behavior of any number of hypertext documents with a single
transaction.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0038] FIG. 1 shows the overview of the invention's components and
processing.
[0039] FIG. 2 shows the appearance of a scene hypertext file to a
reader
[0040] FIG. 3 shows the initial steps required for the author or
user in preparing information required by the invention.
[0041] FIG. 4 shows the steps of the manual conversion process for
a scene text file
[0042] FIG. 5 shows the steps of the overall macro processing for a
scene text file.
[0043] FIG. 6 shows the steps of the macro processing of different
classes of text spans in a scene text file.
[0044] FIG. 7 shows the steps taken in loading the glossary
spreadsheet.
[0045] FIG. 8 shows the steps of building the glossary definitions
file (AutoGlDefs.txt).
[0046] FIG. 9 shows the steps of building the glossary treatments
file (AutoGlP.txt) and the reference file link insertion
script.
[0047] FIG. 10 shows the steps of building the glossary hypertext
file.
[0048] FIG. 11 shows an overview of the steps of building a
reference hypertext file.
[0049] FIG. 12 shows the steps of updating the text of a reference
hypertext file.
[0050] FIG. 13 shows the interlinking of scene, reference, and
glossary hypertext files produced by the invention.
[0051] FIG. 14 shows the steps of building a reference-linked scene
text file.
[0052] FIG. 15 shows the steps of building a reference-linked scene
text file in an alternative embodiment.
[0053] FIG. 16 shows the steps of loading POV spreadsheet scene
text file attributes.
[0054] FIG. 17 shows the steps of loading POV spreadsheet
scene-character matrix entries.
[0055] FIG. 18 shows the steps required of the invention and the
user for building the scene processing control file.
[0056] FIG. 19 shows the steps required of the invention and the
user in the production of control record data values for primary
and secondary scene sequences.
[0057] FIG. 20 shows the steps of the invention in the production
of the final multithreaded scene hypertext page, a fully
reference-linked scene hypertext file.
[0058] FIG. 21 shows the paths of scene sequence links among
multithreaded scene hypertext pages.
[0059] FIGS. 22 and 23 show the foot of a multithreaded scene
hypertext page in which the links to the next and previous scenes
in the author's primary sequence of reading are presented, along
with a link to an alternate-sequence scene visible only on
mouseover.
[0060] FIG. 24 shows a conventional scene hypertext page
presentation as presented by a Web browser, with conventional link
marking.
[0061] FIG. 25 shows the invention's scene hypertext page
presentation as presented by a Web browser, with the invention's
link marking.
[0062] FIG. 26 shows the invention's scene hypertext page
presentation in front of glossary and reference hypertext pages as
presented by a Web browser.
[0063] FIG. 27 shows the invention's reference hypertext page
presentation in front of glossary and scene hypertext pages as
presented by a Web browser.
[0064] FIG. 28 shows the invention's scene hypertext page
presentation in front of a glossary hypertext page for which the
reader has referenced a link in the scene hypertext page.
[0065] FIG. 29 shows the invention's glossary hypertext page
presentation in front of a scene hypertext page for which the
reader has referenced a link to the glossary hypertext page and
selected the glossary hypertext page for viewing.
[0066] FIG. 30 shows the components of the POV spreadsheet and
their roles in the creation of the scene text control file.
[0067] FIG. 31 shows the invention's scene hypertext page
presentation in front of a glossary hypertext page for which the
reader has referenced a link in the scene hypertext page, and a
reference hypertext page containing information relevant to the
contents of the glossary entry referenced.
[0068] FIG. 32 shows the invention's glossary hypertext page
presentation in front of a scene hypertext page for which the
reader has referenced a link to the glossary hypertext page and
selected the glossary hypertext page for viewing, along with a
reference hypertext page containing information relevant to the
contents of the glossary entry referenced.
[0069] FIG. 33 shows the invention's reference hypertext page
presentation in front of a scene hypertext page, along with the
glossary hypertext page for which the reader has referenced a link
to the reference hypertext page and then selected the reference
hypertext page for viewing.
[0070] FIG. 34 shows the foot of a multithreaded scene hypertext
page in which the fixed links to the next and previous scenes in
the author's primary sequence of reading are presented.
[0071] FIG. 35 shows the head of the multithreaded scene hypertext
page for a scene from a literary work.
[0072] FIG. 36 shows the symbols used in the figures in the present
document and their defined meanings.
[0073] FIG. 37 shows a graphic representation of the application of
the invention to a client-server system.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0074] Display Screen 5 [0075] Raw Scene Source File 9 [0076] Scene
Source File 10 [0077] Interim Scene Source File 10.1 [0078] Edited
Interim Scene Source File 10.2 [0079] Raw Scene Text File 15 [0080]
Reference Source File 20 [0081] (Literary) Glossary Source
Materials 21 [0082] Text Reference Source Materials 22 [0083]
Source Materials (e.g., sidebar papers, footnotes, endnotes,
encyclopedia entries) 22 [0084] (Augmented) Scene Text File 30
[0085] Layered-Reference-Linked Scene Text File 30.1 [0086] Scene
Text File Attributes 31 [0087] Scene General Attributes 31a [0088]
Scene Pov Attributes 31b [0089] Scene Sequence Attributes 31c
[0090] Scene Text 32 [0091] Generated Scene Text File Attributes 33
[0092] Edited Scene Text File Attributes 34 [0093] Pov Matrix
Entries 35 [0094] Edited Pov Matrix Entries 36 [0095] Stored Scene
Link Sequences 37 [0096] Generated Links For Scene 38 [0097] Scene
File Compilation Control Record Data Values 39 [0098] Reference
Text File 40 [0099] (Literary) Glossary Hypertext File 41 [0100]
Reference Hypertext File 42 [0101] Reference Hypertext File Header
Section 42a [0102] Reference Hypertext File Footer Section 42b
[0103] Reference Hypertext File Text Section 42c [0104] Enhanced
Glossary Hypertext File 43 [0105] Enhanced Reference Hypertext File
44 [0106] Raw Glossary Reference File 45 [0107] Edited Glossary
Reference File 46 [0108] Reference-Linked Glossary Hypertext File
48 [0109] Reference-Linked Reference Hypertext File 49 [0110] Pov
Spreadsheet 50 [0111] Scene Text Control File 70 [0112]
Scene-To-Next-Scene Link 80a [0113] Scene-To-Previous-Scene Link
80b [0114] Scene-To-Alternate-Scene Link 80c [0115]
Scene-To-Glossary Link 81 [0116] Scene-To-Reference Link 82 [0117]
Glossary-To-Reference Link 83 [0118] Glossary-To-Glossary Link 84
[0119] Glossary-To-Scene Hypertext File Link 85 [0120]
Reference-To-Glossary Link 86 [0121] Reference-To-Reference-Link 87
[0122] Reference-To-Scene Hypertext File Link 88 [0123] Scene
Hypertext File 90 [0124] Glossary Footer File 91 [0125]
Reference-Linked Scene Hypertext File 91 [0126] Glossary Header
File 93 [0127] Scene Header Template File 93 [0128] Scene Footer
Template File 95 [0129] Glossary Hypertext Page (Multithreaded
Hypertext Glossary) 48 [0130] Multithreaded Scene Hypertext Page 97
[0131] Glossary Hypertext Page 98 [0132] Reference Hypertext Page
99 [0133] Author/Editor Scene Text File Separation 105 [0134]
Author/Editor Scene Attribute Specification 153 [0135]
Author/Editor Scene First Sequence Specification 163 [0136]
Author/Editor Scene Alternate Sequence Specification 173 [0137]
Author/Editor Glossary Preparation 211 [0138] Author/Editor
Reference Preparation 232 [0139] Converts Source Materials 232
[0140] Scene Hypertext File Preparation 300 [0141] Scene Loading
Program 301 [0142] Attribute Transformation Formulas 313 [0143] Pov
Loading Program 315 [0144] Updated Text Section 330 [0145] Scene
Sequence Mapping Formulas 367 [0146] Attribute Mapping Formulas 369
[0147] Construct Scene Control Files 397 [0148] Glossary Text File
401 [0149] Glossary Loading Process 403 [0150] Stored Definitions
List 404 [0151] Stored Treatments List 405 [0152] 404 As Input To A
Process 406 [0153] Process To Build A Glossary Definitions File 408
[0154] Glossary Definitions File 409 [0155] Protected Glossary
Definitions File 409.1 [0156] Reference-Linked Glossary Definitions
File 409.2 [0157] Process To Build A Glossary Treatments File 410
[0158] Process To Build A Layered-Reference Treatments File 410.1
[0159] Glossary Treatments File 411 [0160] Layered-Reference
Treatments File 411.1 [0161] Author/Editor Glossary Link Anchor
Installation 413 [0162] Generation of Glossary Self-Link Insertion
Script 414 [0163] Glossary Self-Link Insertion Script 415 [0164]
Glossary Build Script 417 [0165] Scene File Link Processing Script
418 [0166] Layered-Reference Link Insertion Script 418.1 [0167]
Generation of Reference File Glossary Link Insertion Script 420
[0168] Reference File Glossary Link Insertion Script 421 [0169]
Author/Editor Reference Link Anchor Installation 424 [0170]
Reference Extraction Program 430 [0171] Header Setaside Script 431
[0172] Footer Setaside Script 432 [0173] Text Selection Script 433
[0174] Glossary Link Deletion Script 434 [0175] Html Concealment
Script 435 [0176] Html Restore Script 436 [0177] Reference File
Link Update Script 437 [0178] Reference File Updated Text Section
440 [0179] Reference Link Script-Building Program 460 [0180]
Reference Link Insertion Script 470 [0181] Glossary Reference File
Protection Script 470 [0182] Scene Opening Review 491 [0183] Scene
Opening Correction 492 [0184] Scene Paragraph Marking 493 [0185]
Scene Quotes/Punctuation Review 494 [0186] Speech Span Enhancement
495 [0187] Speech Span Enhancement Review 496 [0188] Scene
Continuity Review 497 [0189] Prepscen Macro Operation 497 [0190]
Scene Source File Save 501 [0191] Quote Conversion 502 [0192] Scene
Shift Marker Conversion 503 [0193] Scene Paragraph And Paragraph
Class Definition 504 [0194] Scene Title Conversion 505 [0195] Scene
Date/Time Conversion 506 [0196] Scene Speech Span Marking 507
[0197] Scene Speech Span Cleanup 508 [0198] Scene Text File Save
509 [0199] Scene Source File Close 510 [0200] Interior Speech Span
Marking 571 [0201] Headset Speech Span Marking 572 [0202] Narrator
Speech Span Marking 573 [0203] Verbal Thought Span Marking 574
[0204] Media Broadcast Span Marking 575 [0205] Special-Content Span
Marking 576 [0206] Scene Text 600 [0207] Scene Title 601 [0208]
Scene Date/Time 602 [0209] Hypertext Links 605 [0210] Hypertext
Links 607 [0211] Mouse Pointer 610 [0212] Displayed Mouse Pointer
611 [0213] Story Passage 700 [0214] Link 707 [0215] Story Link 717
[0216] Glossary Link 737 [0217] Definition 747 [0218] Explicit Link
760 [0219] Concealed Link 770 [0220] Primary Window 800 [0221]
Narrative Text 805 [0222] Reference Window 820 [0223] Glossary
Window 840 [0224] Literary Macrame 900 [0225] Scene Setup
Generation Program 910 [0226] Scene Header Setup Program 930 [0227]
Scene Content Setup Script 940 [0228] Scene Footer Setup Program
950
SUMMARY
[0229] The invention takes as its input a set of text files making
up a work of literature of substantial size, converts the files to
an electronically-readable form, links the files to each other in
multiple ways to provide readers with a rich set of associations to
be explored within the work, mutes the presentation of the links in
order to preserve the immersive character of the reading process,
and simplifies the user browsing interface to limit distractions
that vitiate the immersive reading experience. By the richness and
apparent simplicity of its outputs for readers, the invention
offers the author a new range of opportunities for engaging the
reader, offers the publisher a new opportunity for succeeding in
purveying electronic literature, and presents the reader with an
"electronic literary macrame": a new class of work permitting a
level and structure of immersive reading practice obtainable only
in the world of electronic text.
[0230] The invention's outputs also support the presentation of
textbook material in which multiple sequences of themes or logical
progressions exist, such as the contents of mathematics or science
texts. The invention also provides for time-dependent selection of
links by an author or editor so that a reader may see different
reference information based upon a timeline of the work of
literature. In general, the invention enriches electronic
configurations of text works by exploiting hypertext and Web
technology, and supports profitable exploitation of business models
based on the Internet.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0231] The invention applies best to literary works such as novels,
biographies, histories, and other forms of similar length and
complexity. These classes of literature characteristically engage
readers immersively in their narratives, so that the reading
experience makes the book itself transparent and invisible to the
reader.
[0232] The printed book is a linear vehicle. The reader immersed in
the printed work may progress conveniently only in a linear fashion
through the printed literary work. Many such readers find ways to
preserve the immersive experience of book reading by violating the
linearity of the work--they skip expository passages, skim passages
they feel they already understand, and reread passages they
particularly like to savor. Some readers immersed in a work they
are reading will even jump back and forth between passages to
relish the connections between them. All of these practices
demonstrate that linearity of the work and immersive reading of the
work are not so tightly bound together that they preclude other
forms of presentation preserving the immersion.
[0233] Many authors find ways of circumventing the
physically-linear character of the printed book. Some works supply
introductory or prefatory reading that offers the reader different
selections of sections or chapters, or different sequencings of
reading, based on the reader's wishes. Some works offer flags,
sidebars, footnotes, or endnotes in the text that permit local
detours in the linear reading process. In any case, these methods
are attempts to overcome the physical limitations of the printed
medium.
[0234] The invention presents the literary work electronically in a
manner that appears linear but functions in both a linear and a
nonlinear fashion based on reading selections made by the reader
from a set of selections generated and offered by the invention.
This form of presentation is familiar to anyone who uses a Web
browser to access documents on the World Wide Web electronically.
In a first embodiment, the invention presents the reader with: 1) a
view of story text, 2) a view of glossary text containing terms and
their meanings in the realm of the story, and 3) a view of a set of
reference works providing expository and enriching information
concerning the story and its background. The reader may navigate
freely and quickly among these views, and may also navigate the
story text itself rapidly in nonlinear ways defined by the author
and the invention. This specification explains both the methods of
navigation and the means for their establishment. The software
listings of the invention are enclosed with the present
specification as source text files on a single CD-ROM titled
"Computer Program Listings for Apparatus and Method for Creating
Literary Macrames", and are hereby incorporated in this
specification by reference.
The Invention's Literary Macrame
[0235] For the most part, works of literature are not enhanced to
take full advantage of such forms of presentation. The invention
facilitates such enhancement. The result is here termed a "literary
macrame": a work of literature which is woven and knotted together
using many threads of narrative in a nonlinear fashion. This
approach contrasts with the printed presentation of a literary
tapestry, which is essentially (and physically) a single thread
with a single, linear sequence of presentation. The term "macrame"
is used for the present invention to reflect the freedom with which
the invention's products can be linked, knotted, and interwoven for
aesthetic and literary effect, as is done with macrame in the
visual and tactile arts.
[0236] "Literary tapestry" is a term of art in literature. Examples
of literary tapestries exist in the realm of printed literature in
spite of the limitations of print. One is the set of four novels
called "The Alexandria Quartet", by Lawrence Durrell, which
narrates several overlapping sets of events from the points of view
of four different characters. The reader is free to read them in
their given order or in any other order; the author cannot control
the choices of the reader. Regardless, they are printed in a
specific fixed order at the author's direction, and alternative
paths of reading fall outside the author's expectations.
[0237] A second example of a printed literary tapestry is the set
of works by J. R. R. Tolkien that includes "The Hobbit", "The Lord
of the Rings", "The Silmarillion", and "Unfinished Tales", all set
in Tolkien's invented world of Middle-earth. The stories told in
these works interrelate in many sometimes-surprising ways. Besides
the narratives of the stories themselves, the works contain
numerous appendices, maps, and other supporting material that adds
to the richness of the experience of reading them. Many readers
return to these works to read portions or explore the world created
by the author, and do not read the stories in their
originally-presented sequence.
[0238] Tolkien's corpus of work set in Middle-earth includes many
preliminary, embryonic, and draft versions of the same material
contained in the above list. Many readers consider various portions
of this additional material to be part of the literary realm of the
published stories and their settings, and read the additional
material as part of the experience of Tolkien's created world.
[0239] Many other authors have created multiple works which can be
read by skipping between one work and another. These works, by
their richness and by the ability of readers to restructure the
experience of reading them, constitute literary tapestries as well.
But the physical form of printed works creates obstacles to this
restructuring, by imposing the need to mark pages, put down one
book and pick up another, look up details or other information in
separate parts of a work, and so on. By its exploitation of the
possibilities of electronic text to assist authors in creating
literary macrames, the invention eliminates or significantly
diminishes such obstacles, thereby enhancing the reading experience
and its possibilities.
[0240] The invention creates a literary macrame by the following
steps.
[0241] At the author's direction, it breaks the literary work down
into a set of small electronic scene text files of one or more
paragraphs, each file incorporating a list of data elements
characterizing the scene;
[0242] It establishes a set of reference source files to be used in
support of the work, comprised of glossaries, definitions,
expositions, illustrations, and narratives, any of which may
incorporate text, images, animations, maps, audio, and other
reference materials in any combination;
[0243] It provides for definition and use of time-dependent
linkages between scenes and the references to which it links the
scenes;
[0244] It converts the scene text files and reference source files
into browser-compatible form with linking capabilities among
them;
[0245] It links words, terms, phrases, and other text units as
large as the file itself to reference files and reference units
within the reference files (such as glossary or encyclopedia
entries) that expand on the content of the linking text unit;
[0246] It links the text units to each other in multiple ways to
create interwoven sequences of narrative;
[0247] It links the reference units to each other and back to the
text units;
[0248] It facilitates the author's incorporation of manual links
among the text units and the reference units;
[0249] It suppresses the conventional marking of browser links,
providing only the barest minimum signal showing where a link is
available in the work;
[0250] It defines and uses background, muted windows for display of
linked units not in the main narrative, while preserving the
reader's ability to move freely among the windows;
[0251] It generates a collection of interlinked browser-ready files
for reading by a reader of the literary work;
[0252] It uses conventional browser technologies, both in order to
facilitate acceptance in the current world of electronic
literature, and in order to exploit the ability of browsers to
`remember` the paths followed by their users.
[0253] The above list of steps is clarified in what follows. The
steps are shown using current technologies, but a practitioner
skilled in the art of producing electronic text would find many
different ways of implementing the steps explained here in one or
more specific embodiments.
Portability of the Invention
[0254] The invention's use of a limited, commonly-accepted subset
of the features of XHTML and Javascript allows its output to be
stored, navigated, and read on any of a wide range of electronic
devices capable of supporting standard Web browsers and presenting
readable, navigable text. `Navigable` here means text containing
hypertext references and anchors that can be easily used by a
reader.
[0255] The invention's outputs have been tested on desktop and
laptop computer systems, and on a popular high-resolution handheld
game system, and have been shown to work independently on all three
types of system with a minimum of adaptation required. The
invention's output text, markup language, and program code are
consistent with that supported by any conventional Web-enabled
operating system for personal computers of many types. This
generality makes the literary macrame form accessible to the widest
possible range of readers and reading devices, without requiring
the development and maintenance of diverse forms of program code
and markup language.
The Invention's Approach to `Framing` in Literature
[0256] The invention provides authors with a functional realization
of the literary device termed `framing`. Framing is the practice of
situating a secondary narrative text in relationship to a primary
narrative text so that the secondary text comments on, refers to,
illustrates, or otherwise enlarges upon the primary text in such a
way as to transform the reader's relationship with the primary
text. Glossaries, references, footnotes, endnotes, sidebars, as
supported by the invention, are a limited form of framing
narratives. A stronger form of framing is the use of a narrator's
commentaries to open and close episodes in a story, when the
narrator is not within the story itself, as in the novel Tom Jones,
by Henry Fielding. The so-called "Greek chorus" of a play is a
framing device.
[0257] Modern literature often applies the practice of frame
violation, for humorous or dramatic effect. An example in cinema is
in the film The Purple Rose of Cairo, where a character in a movie
being shown in a theater leaves the screen to join the characters
in the theater watching the movie. Time-travel stories in which a
character appears multiple times in the same scene constitute
another form of frame violation.
[0258] The invention's scene-by-scene linking mechanisms support
unexpected and interesting violations of the frame normally
presented to a reader. The cinematic example above can be adapted
in a surprising way by linking the story of the on-screen character
directly to the scene when that character leaves the screen to be
in the outer world of a second narrative.
[0259] The invention's ability to connect scenes in circular and
interwoven ways facilitates the circular telling of stories such as
E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros, in which the story begins again
for its characters because they have enjoyed living it so much. A
second series of books by Eddison, The Zimiamvian Trilogy, is set
in the heaven of The Worm Ouroboros, which would allow an editor
presenting the works using the invention to link directly between
them.
[0260] In such ways, the invention offers an electronic realization
of literary devices that in conventional literature are handled
with words alone. The rich possibilities for framing that the
invention produces with electronic linkage depend solely on the
imagination and creativity of its users.
The Invention's Approach to Time Dependencies in a Literary
Work
[0261] Accessing available reference materials in the course of
reading a narrative can have negative consequences for the reader.
The primary problem for the author of fiction is that the content
of a reference article may contain information that the author does
not want the reader to learn until a later point in the story
thread. In fiction, early viewing of some information during
reading can drain suspense from the narrative, and such information
disclosure is called a `spoiler` in the art of fiction.
[0262] A similar problem can occur in an expository work when a
reference contains sufficient distracting material to confuse or
mislead the reader who has not covered certain portions of the work
at the time of reading the reference.
[0263] The result is that authors avoid providing much reference
information to the reader during the reading of a narrative. This
avoidance limits the richness of the work.
[0264] To give an example, suppose that a particular character
named Franklin is a trusted member of the protagonist's inner
circle of friends during the early stages of a story. The entry for
`Franklin` in a reference might read, "A close friend and companion
of the travelers, born in a far-off country, whose mental abilities
give the travelers badly-needed guidance during difficult times."
But suppose that Franklin betrays the travelers later on and joins
the enemies opposing their journey, turning his talents to the
construction of horrific war machines. The writer may wish to
conceal the betrayal and later events from readers in the earlier
stages of the work when the reader is using the reference, but
reveal them in the reference to readers who have moved ahead past
the occurrence of the betrayal and afterwards.
[0265] In a printed work this is not possible. The advantage of
presenting an updated or later version of the reference is that a
reader using the reference will obtain useful information there no
matter what stage of the story he or she may be reading. In a
printed work this is not possible.
[0266] The invention addresses the problem of time-dependent
references in a layered-reference embodiment, in which the same
term may appear in multiple ways in a presented reference, or the
same reference may be differently presented, depending on the point
in story time and the situation from which the reader is linking to
the reference. The invention's link-installation scripts contain
code which is sensitive to the timeline location of the narrative
(and potentially to other situational information such as point of
view/POV, presence of other characters in the scene, and location
of the scene), and inserts a link appropriate for the point in the
timeline at which the insertion is being done.
Method of Operation of the Invention
[0267] The invention combines manual steps in a process applied by
the author, editor, or publisher with computerized steps performed
by the execution of programs in the form of scripts and spreadsheet
functions. The input to this process is a set of one or more
literary works to be combined in the output product, a literary
macrame. The input literary works may be poems, short stories,
novellas, novels, lyrics, sagas, histories, biographies, or any
other written form generally considered literature. Input works may
also include textbooks in which thematic or logical linkages and
definitions may be presented in any of a large number of sequences
or relationships.
Summary of Method
[0268] The invention's process is summarized very briefly as shown
in FIG. 1. The author collects or creates a set of scene source
files 10 constituting the individual components of the literary
macrame's narratives. The author also creates or collects a set of
glossary and reference materials 21, 22 constituting the supporting
material to be linked with the narratives. Using the invention's
hypertext preparation tools 300 the author removes or translates
word processor control codes, converts the scene, glossary, and
reference materials to linked scene hypertext pages 97, glossary
hypertext pages 48, and reference hypertext pages 49 respectively,
and collects the linked pages to form the literary macrame 900.
Subsequent figures detail the components and operations in each
stage of the processes shown in FIG. 1.
[0269] The preparation of interlinked scene hypertext files is the
primary task of the invention. Each scene hypertext file presented
to a reader has the general appearance shown in FIG. 2. A scene
title 601 appears at the start of the scene hypertext file's page
97, followed by a scene date and time 602 or other orienting
information, followed by the scene's text 600 and any embedded
displays. Following the scene text 600 is a set of hypertext links
605, 607 allowing a reader to link to any of a number of scene
hypertext files, table of contents pages, Websites, or other
destinations. The display form and the content of each hypertext
link 605, 607 are carefully defined by the invention in a scene
processing control file, which the invention builds using
information provided by the author, editor, or other user.
[0270] The preparation of a glossary and reference texts are the
secondary tasks of the invention. While a reference text resembles
a scene text fairly closely, the glossary takes the form of a list
of terms in alphabetical order, each term followed by its
definition. The invention links every reference to a glossed term
to the corresponding location of the definition or article in the
glossary, whether the reference is in a scene text, a reference
text, or the glossary itself. Likewise, the invention links every
reference to a reference text to the head of the corresponding
reference text, whether the reference is in a scene text, a
reference text, or the glossary itself. Consequently, the scene
texts, glossary, and reference texts constitute an integrated
hypertext document: the literary macrame.
[0271] The invention's parameters define the appearance and
presentation of the literary macrame to a reader.
Details of Method
[0272] The individual steps in the invention's process are as
follows:
[0273] Break the literary work down into files;
[0274] Establish a set of reference hypertext files;
[0275] Establish links among units of text of the work and
reference files;
[0276] Establish sequences of reading for scenes;
[0277] Convert the work into browser-compatible form;
[0278] Incorporate manual links;
[0279] Incorporate special presentation features in the work;
[0280] Link the reference materials back to the units of text of
the work;
[0281] Suppress the conventional marking of browser links;
[0282] Define and use background, muted supporting windows;
[0283] Generate a collection of interlinked browser-ready
files.
Step 1: Break the Literary Work Down into Files
[0284] See FIG. 3. Using the original source files 10 containing
the literary work, the author divides (105) the work into a set of
raw scene text files 15 each containing one scene from the work. A
scene may be a scene in the traditional sense, meaning a series of
actions by one or more characters in a stationary or comoving
setting. A scene may also be a unit of narrative bounded only by
its beginning and ending, by the limits of its content whether
physical or otherwise, and by the author's focus on a single theme,
image, or other central magnet of attention for the reader.
[0285] The invention requires the author or editor to specify and
list scene attributes for every scene in a marked or reserved
component of the raw scene text file 15, producing an augmented
scene text file 30. The scene attributes required are listed in
Table 4. The author or editor must derive the attributes by reading
the scene text and related materials such as timelines, maps, or
descriptions of detail, and store the resulting information in the
list of attributes. For example, the author or editor determines
the point of view (POV) attribute by reading the text to see who
the narrator appears to the reader to be.
[0286] For the purposes of the invention, each scene is bounded by
a single POV, a single stationary or comoving (such as an aircraft
cabin in flight) frame of reference, and a generally-continuous
interval of time. Each scene is also bounded by a flexible limit on
the length of the narration of the scene, usually on the order of
between one and ten pages of narrative, with the distribution of
length skewed sharply toward the low end. These bounds are not
rigid--many narratives violate one or more of these bounds within a
single scene--but they serve to help an author prepare a work for
processing by the invention.
[0287] In the course of breaking down the work, the author creates
(153) a table 31a of scene attributes associating each scene text
file with a title, a date and time, and a list of the characters
in, or other focal aspects of, the scene, as specified in Table
4.
[0288] The invention requires that one scene attribute receive
special treatment separate from the others: the point of view
presented in the scene's narrative. The point of view (POV) is a
powerful determinant of the way in which a reader experiences the
scene being presented, and constitutes a highly-useful way of
enlisting a reader's interest and sympathy for the events the
entities in the scene. Consequently, the author creates a separate
set of scene POV attributes 31b for the invention's use. The author
posts all scene attributes 31a, 31b in raw scene text file 15 to
create augmented scene text file 30, using the invention's forms
for the purpose.
[0289] Authors wishing to use the invention innovatively with
respect to scene definition may define scenes in any way they
wish--a scene having only one line of text presented to the reader
may be more effective than the same scene presented at some length.
Furthermore, the invention's mechanisms for linking each scene to
other scenes may be exploited to `bounce` a reader through some
chaotically-repeating pattern of scenes to obtain different effects
in the reading.
[0290] The invention provides a tool to assist a user (an author,
editor, or publisher) in converting a scene source file for use in
a literary macrame. The use of this tool requires the user to
perform certain preparatory manual edits on the scene source file.
The assumption here is that the user is working with the
WordPerfect document software. Analogous methods may be used with
other similar software by applying techniques well-known in the art
to reinterpret the methods described here.
[0291] To use the invention's tool in its basic embodiment, the
first line of each scene source file must contain only a title, and
the second line must contain only a date and time to be used to
situate the scene for the reader. The rest of the scene source file
must contain only text in paragraphs, each paragraph starting with
a Left Tab indent. The WordPerfect macro PrepScen captures each
scene's title (first line) and date/time (second line), places span
markings for different classes of speech and for passages requiring
special presentation treatment, and lays out each paragraph as a
single line, complete with paragraph and class markings, for later
glossary link installation. The following sections describe the
steps needed to convert a WordPerfect scene source file to literary
macrame form.
[0292] The user (author or editor) must first insert markings in
the scene source file to show the macro program where specific
types of enhancement are required for proper presentation in XHTML
using stylesheets. WordPerfect stores many style codes and other
information in its text. As a result, when applying the changes in
this step, the user should activate Reveal Codes in the View menu
to show where the enhancements are being placed relative to others.
All added enhancements must replace existing ones--if any earlier
markings, even invisible ones, are left in the document
inadvertently, the macro processing will produce unpredictable
results.
[0293] Verse in the scene source file must be stored as one
paragraph per line, starting with a Left Tab. A blank line must
precede the verse, and a blank line must follow the verse, and
subsequent text must start a new paragraph with a Left Tab.
[0294] Speech presented in a work of literature may appear in many
modes. Ordinary speech is represented in print using some form of
quotation marks. Thoughts articulated as speech are usually
represented without quotation marks, and are often signaled to the
reader by context alone. Speech directed into a telecommunications
device is usually quoted, but this method can confuse readers if it
is taking place in a crowd or in the midst of other direct
conversation. For works of speculative character, telepathic voice
communication is often represented by italics or similar changes of
typeface. Automated voices sometimes are represented in similar
manner. For all of these modes of speech and any others, their
presence and mode must be identified in each scene source file. The
use of text enhancements, which embed coded demarcations around the
affected text, supports the invention's treatments of different
modes of speech.
[0295] Enhancements may also be applied in order to grade or
categorize certain passages of a text which affect different groups
of readers in different ways. Passages which are violent, sexually
explicit, horrific, blasphemous, or otherwise offensive to certain
classes of readers may be marked with enhancements to permit their
special treatment later by the invention. Special treatments may
include blanking, removal, obscuration, encryption, or other
methods of signaling the nature of the passage to a reader before
the reader begins reading it.
[0296] For simplicity of the invention, all enhancements listed
must be applied within paragraph boundaries only. That means that
each paragraph in a long section with a single class of enhancement
must be marked individually.
[0297] The manual steps in the conversion process for each scene
are (see FIG. 4):
[0298] 1. Starting with the raw scene source file 9, review (491)
the scene's opening for the necessary situating cues for readers
concerning locale, point of view, continuity from other scenes, and
flow of action in progress.
[0299] 2. Make (492) any necessary changes to the scene's opening
to cover the above issues if needed.
[0300] 3. Review (493) every paragraph and verse line to insure
that it begins with a Left Tab character, and ends with a Hard
Return character. This combination is used by the PrepScen macro to
define paragraphs in the output scene text file.
[0301] 4. Review (494) all dialogue in each scene for consistent
use of quote marks and other special symbols, and correct where
needed to allow good HTML presentation.
[0302] 5. Apply (495) the following enhancements to passages of the
type described: [0303] Speech in a character's mind from a source
other than the character must be marked as underlined. [0304]
Utterances by a communications device in the ears of a character
must be italicized. The character's subvocal speech back to the
communications device is also italicized. The communications
device's speech is in quotes, the character's responding speech is
without them. [0305] Words of an external narrator must be marked
as boldface. [0306] Character thoughts must be marked as shadowed.
[0307] Media communications must be marked as strikeout. [0308]
Adult-content passages must be marked as redlined.
[0309] 6. Review and eliminate (496) all other uses of the
above-listed enhancements, replacing such usages with other
markings that can be individually selected and converted if
necessary.
[0310] 7. Review and develop as needed (497) the scene's ending for
the necessary uptick to carry the reader's interest to whichever
scene the reader chooses, producing the scene source file 10.
[0311] 8. Using scene source file 10 as input, run (500) the
PrepScen macro to create the scene text file 30 for the scene. A
macro button has been provided on the WordPerfect Hyperlink Tools
toolbar to simplify starting the macro.
[0312] All of the edits listed above are needed for the PrepScen
PerfectScript macro to do its work. See FIG. 5. Its specific
tasks:
[0313] 1. Saves (501) the incoming scene source file 10 in place
before any macro changes are made (otherwise any edits done just
before the macro runs will be lost).
[0314] 2. Converts (502) left and right quotes to the single,
straight-up form, both single and double. This eliminates one
source of inconsistency in the scene files, some of which followed
left-right conventions, and others of which used the straight-up
forms.
[0315] 3. Locates and centers (503) scene shift markers ("# # #")
in HTML format.
[0316] 4. Locates and marks (504) the start and end of each
paragraph in the scene's text, as "<p class="story"> . . .
<p>".
[0317] 5. Marks and codes (505) the top line as an XHTML title
header, in the "<h3> . . . </h3>" form.
[0318] 6. Marks and codes (506) the second line as a story date and
time, in the form <p class="tdate"> . . . <p>".
[0319] 7. Locates and marks spans of text (507) (see FIG. 6):
[0320] 8. Locates and marks (571) speech within a character's mind
from a source other than the character, marked in WP with
underlining, converting to "<span class="alvce"> . . .
</span>". [0321] Locates and marks (572) speech in a
character's headset, marked in WP with italics, converting to
"<span class="helmvce"> . . . </span>". [0322] Locates
and marks (573) words of an external narrator, marked in WP with
boldface, converting to "<span class="singvce"> . . .
</span>". [0323] Locates and marks (574) character thoughts,
marked in WP with shadowing, converting to "<span
class="thinkvce"> . . . </span>". [0324] Locates and marks
(575) media communications, marked in WP with strikeout, converting
to "<span class="sensivce"> . . . </span>". [0325]
Locates and marks (576) adult-content passages marked in WP with
redlining, converting to "<span class="codedvce"> . . .
</span>".
[0326] 8. See FIG. 5 again. Cleans up (508) any reversals of
position of </p> and </span> markers wherever possible.
Span ranges must always be nested within paragraph ranges.
[0327] 9. Saves (509) the results as an ANSI delimited text file in
the same folder as the scene source file, with no added newlines,
and with the same name except for the final qualifier, which is
`.txt` replacing `.wpd`. The absence of inserted newlines within a
paragraph allows proper processing of multiword glossary references
later.
[0328] 10. Closes (510) the scene source file without saving it,
thereby avoiding overwriting it with output information.
[0329] The marking of spans of text is done within paragraphs, and
not across them. Otherwise the XHTML codes will overlap
inconsistently. Although it is possible to nest or overlap multiple
marked spans, this practice is not recommended. Such use of the
markings will give unpredictable results.
[0330] Scene text files 30, as output from the PrepScen macro, are
the proper inputs to the invention's conversion scripts for
development of the literary macrame. A control file corresponding
to a scene text file must be in the parent folder of all the scene
text files. The invention's scripts are designed to draw the scene
text files out of their separate folders and create all scene HTML
files in the parent folder, so these scripts must be run in the
parent folder. The scripts are all invoked by a generated shell
script called CompileLM.
[0331] The different class names in the <span> directives
invoke classes in the cascading style sheet used for hypertext
display of the scene texts. These classes may change in their
presentation as the work evolves.
[0332] The PrepScen macro listing appears on the enclosed CD-ROM in
the file labeled PrepScen.txt.
Step 2: Establish a Set of Reference Hypertext Files
[0333] Every author of literary works creates a work with specific
language usages in mind. Due to the vastness, complexity, and
variety of usages prevalent in any human language, many authors
find necessary the inclusion of vocabularies, glossaries,
footnotes, chronologies, sidebars, and other supportive expository
or narrative material. Such materials explain or expand on an
author's usages to a reader or viewer of a literary work. In a
conventional literary work, the viewer must navigate manually among
these supportive components. Such manual navigation distracts the
reader from experiencing the work immersively. The invention
streamlines this navigation task for the viewer so as to minimize
disruption to the immersive experience of reading the main body of
the literary work.
[0334] See FIG. 7. To create a glossary for the invention's use,
the author or editor assembles glossary source materials 21 and
converts them (211) into a single glossary text file 401 in a
format defined for the invention. A glossary loading process 403
then loads the glossary text file 401 into a glossary database
spreadsheet in two tables, the stored definitions list 404 and the
stored treatments list 405.
[0335] See FIG. 8. The invention uses the stored definitions list
404 as input to a process 406 to incorporate all usages or forms of
a term in the term's glossary definition, followed by a process 408
to build a glossary definitions file 409, called
AutoGlDefs.txt.
[0336] See FIG. 9. The invention uses the stored treatments list
405 as input to a process 410 to build a glossary treatments file
411, called AutoGlP.txt, followed by a process 420 to generate a
script 421 for installing glossary links in reference files.
[0337] See FIG. 10. The invention now uses both glossary
definitions file 409 and glossary treatments file 411 to build the
glossary hypertext file. In a first step, the invention executes a
glossary reference file protection script 470 to prevent changes to
non-displayed fields in the glossary definitions file 409,
converting said definitions file to a protected form 409.1.
[0338] The invention uses the stored treatments list 405 to build a
glossary self-link insertion generation script 414, which it then
executes to read in the protected glossary definitions file 409.1
to create a glossary self-link insertion script 415 to insert
glossary links in the glossary itself. The invention then executes
glossary self-link insertion script 415 to create an
internally-linked glossary definitions file 409.2.
[0339] In a final glossary-creation step, the invention executes a
glossary build script 417 to combine a glossary header file 93, the
reference-linked glossary definitions file 409.2, and a glossary
footer file 91 into glossary hypertext page 48, denoted as the
multithreaded hypertext glossary.
[0340] See FIG. 11. To create other reference hypertext files, the
author or editor assembles source materials 22 such as sidebar
papers, footnotes, endnotes, and encyclopedia entries, and converts
them (232) into reference hypertext files 42.
[0341] The invention then applies three scripts to each reference
hypertext file 42 to split said file into three parts. The header
setaside script 431 creates a reference hypertext file header
section 42a, the footer setaside script 432 creates a reference
hypertext file footer section 42b, and the text selection script
433 creates a reference hypertext file text section 42c.
[0342] All links to the glossary in the reference hypertext file
text section 42c must be updated. The invention executes a series
of scripts to incorporate changed glossary links in the reference
hypertext file. See FIG. 12. First, the invention executes a
glossary link deletion script 434 to get rid of old glossary links,
an HTML concealment script 435 to prevent glossary change code from
making false matches to other HTML code, the reference file link
insertion script 421 (see FIG. 9) to load the updated glossary
links, and an HTML restore script 436 to replace the HTML concealed
by script 435.
[0343] The output of the link update process just described is the
reference file updated text section 440. Return to FIG. 11. The
invention's reference file link update script 437 then recombines
the updated text section 440, the reference hypertext file header
section 42a, and the reference hypertext file footer section 42b to
build the enhanced reference hypertext file 44.
Step 3: Establish Links Among Units of Text of the Work and the
Reference Hypertext Files
[0344] At this point the reference-linked reference hypertext files
49 and the reference-linked glossary hypertext files 48 are in
their final form for display. See FIG. 13. Each linked glossary
hypertext file 48 then contains links 84 to anchors within glossary
hypertext files 48, and links 83 to anchors within reference
hypertext files 49. Each linked reference hypertext file 49
contains links 86 to anchors within glossary hypertext files 48,
and links 87 to anchors within reference hypertext files 49.
[0345] Glossary and reference links must also be inserted in the
scene texts. See FIG. 14. The invention reads glossary treatments
file 411 (AutoGlP.txt) into a scene file link processing script
generation process 418 to construct scene file reference link
insertion script 419. The invention's augmented scene text file 30
serves as input to scene file reference link insertion script 419,
which installs hypertext links to references and glossaries in the
scene text to produce reference-linked scene hypertext file 91.
[0346] See FIG. 13. Each reference-linked scene hypertext file 91
now contains links 81 to anchors within glossary hypertext files
48, and links 82 to anchors within reference hypertext files
49.
[0347] See FIG. 15. In a layered-reference embodiment allowing
time-dependent link insertion, the invention takes an additional
step preceding the installation of glossary and reference links in
the scene texts as shown in FIG. 14. In the present embodiment, the
invention applies a layered-reference treatments file build script
(genGlPCR.txt) 410.1 to buld the layered-reference treatments file
(AutoGlPCR.txt) 411.1. The invention then uses the
layered-reference treatments file (AutoGlPCR.txt) 411.1 as input to
a scene file layered-reference link insertion script 418.1. Scene
file layered-reference link insertion script 418.1 then installs
time-dependent hypertext links to references and glossaries in the
scene text to produce layered-reference-linked scene hypertext file
30.1. Processing then continues as shown in FIG. 15, in steps
identical to those shown in FIG. 14.
[0348] The use of POV dependency requires that the scene text file
carry its POV information along, which is done in a POV-sensitive
embodiment. A match of link term plus POV triggers the use of a
reference entry different from the entry used when such a match has
not been made. Different POVs may yield different references.
[0349] Such conditional link handling may be generalized to other
characteristics of each scene. Once an XML-style listing of scene
data elements is incorporated in each scene text file before the
storage of these data elements in the POV spreadsheet, additional
embodiments are easily developed.
Step 4: Establish Sequences of Reading for Scenes
[0350] The invention uses a specially-defined database or
spreadsheet, in a first embodiment called the POV spreadsheet, to
establish multiple sequences in which scenes may be linked for the
reader. See FIG. 16. The scene general attributes 31a, also
produced in Step 1 as shown earlier in FIG. 3, serve as input to a
scene loading process 301 to load the scene text file attributes 31
in a scene attribute entry 33 in the scene attributes list 3a of
the POV spreadsheet. For each scene, the POV spreadsheet also lists
in the scene text file attributes 31 the name of that scene's
corresponding text file, its locale in the world of the story, and
the range in story time during which it takes place.
[0351] See FIG. 17. The POV spreadsheet contains a matrix of scenes
versus characters, called the POV matrix, that shows which
character is the point-of-view character in each scene, and which
other characters appear or are presented, directly or indirectly,
in the same scene. The scene POV attributes 31b, produced in Step 1
as shown in FIG. 3, serve as input to a POV loading process 315
which loads the scene POV attributes in an entry 35 in the POV
matrix 3b.
[0352] In a manual-loading embodiment, the author, editor, or other
user loads and updates scenes and characters into the POV
spreadsheet by conventional manipulations of spreadsheet rows and
columns. Each scene text file corresponds to a single row entry in
both the POV matrix 3b and the list 3a of scenes and their
attributes. To add a scene to the POV spreadsheet, the user inserts
a row in the list 3a of scenes and their attributes and a
corresponding row in the POV matrix 3b, and fills in all attribute
values in both rows. To add a character to the POV spreadsheet, the
user inserts a column in the POV matrix 3b. To show a character as
the point-of-view character in a scene, the user enters a `*` in
that character's column in that scene's row in the POV matrix. To
show a character as present in a scene, the user enters an `x` in
that character's column in that scene's row in the POV matrix.
[0353] The user may delete scenes by deleting the corresponding
rows in list 3a and matrix 3b.
[0354] The manual-loading embodiment may be replaced using
conventional user interface techniques such as forms fill-in or
text data loading utilities.
[0355] See FIG. 16. By its application of attribute transformation
formulas 313, the invention's POV spreadsheet constructs for its
internal use one or more additional generated scene text file
attributes 33. To establish multiple possible sequences of reading,
the POV spreadsheet also constructs and maintains for each scene an
index to each of one or more predecessor scenes and one or more
successor scenes in various sequences of possible readings,
including such indices in the set of generated scene text file
attributes 33. The spreadsheet also lists for each scene any
relevant formatting and publishing information needed to complete
the synthesis of the literary macrame.
[0356] See FIG. 18. The POV spreadsheet offers the author the
opportunity to see all the information gathered concerning all the
scenes in the work, and make any needed changes to that information
before the invention uses it to construct the complete literary
macrame. The author reviews and updates (334) the scene general
attributes 31a and the generated scene text file attributes 33 to
produced the edited scene text file attributes 34. The author
reviews and updates (356) the POV matrix entries 35 to produce the
edited POV matrix attributes 36.
[0357] See FIG. 19. Using the invention's interface to the POV
spreadsheet, the author specifies (163) a principal or first
sequence of reading for the work, which is stored in the scene
sequence attributes 31c (see Table 1). The POV spreadsheet combines
the scene sequence attributes 31c with the edited POV matrix
entries 36, applies its scene sequence mapping formulas 367, and
thereby produces scene link sequences 37 (see Tables 2a and 2b).
The author may specify (173) one or more alternate scene sequences
for reading of the work, adding them to stored scene link sequences
37 (see Table 2c). The POV spreadsheet uses stored scene link
sequences 37 to produce generated links for scene 38, and a set of
scene file compilation control record values 39.
[0358] The author may use a simple, primary, list-order sequence to
link scenes in a linear order only. The author may also number
scenes in any of several different ways to offer the reader
different orders of reading. Finally, the author may decide to
present all scene links to successor scenes to the reader at once,
to enable free choice of succeeding scenes within the bounds of the
author's selections. For each alternative scene selection, the
invention stores a scene title and other orienting information
which is visible only on passing the mouse pointer over the link's
display area.
[0359] See FIG. 18. Using its edited scene text file attributes 34
and its edited POV matrix entries 36, the invention's POV
spreadsheet applies its attribute mapping formulas 369 to produce a
set of scene compilation control record data values 39. Using a
generating function 367 (MakeSceneCtlFile), the POV spreadsheet
then constructs a scene processing control file 70 for each
scene.
[0360] This step establishes a plurality of narrative sequences in
which the scenes of a literary work may be read. In any case, one
set of primary links connects the scenes in a first order of
reading so that a reader can move through the main story by a
single command or click for each scene.
[0361] Using the invention's spreadsheet, the author may also place
additional scenes in the story to be read only through other
sequences of reading as defined by a second set of links. The
author may also overlap or replicate scenes in the work as seen
from different points of view and possibly different scenarios, and
provide added sets of links for sequences of reading that include
those overlapped or replicated scenes.
[0362] The author may also provide one or more sets of links to
follow the viewpoint of each of several characters in the story, as
was done by Lawrence Durrell in his printed story "The Alexandria
Quartet", told from four separate points of view. The invention,
through its application of scripts incorporated in the POV
spreadsheet keyed to the point-of-view character for each scene,
may construct such viewpoint-following threads of narrative for any
characters selected by the author.
[0363] The author may also provide one or more sets of links to
follow different temporal sequences in the story, which permits
reading the story backwards, forwards, or in any other temporal
mode.
[0364] The author may also provide one or more sets of links to
follow different spatial sequences in the story, which permits
reading the story as seen from a series of distinct physical
vantage points.
[0365] The author may also provide one or more sets of links to
follow different conceptual associations in the story, which
permits aggregating components of the story to be presented in some
specific order for some desired mental or emotional effect. The
invention, through its application of scripts incorporated in the
POV spreadsheet keyed to keywords supplied by the author for each
scene, may construct such viewpoint-following threads of narrative
for any characters selected by the author.
[0366] Further such orderings, linkages, and combinations of them
are possible; the invention facilitates all such combinations.
[0367] In a search-engine embodiment, the author may also provide
for presentation of links established dynamically by a search
engine, a method well-known in the art but not applied in the
presentation and reading of fiction. The search engine's heuristics
may be applied by a server system to a given scene to present
different sets of links for different readers depending on earlier
choices made by each reader or defined set of readers, or dependent
on the presence, frequency, and usage of various terms and text
constructions in the scene texts. In such a search-engine
embodiment, the invention does not install all links at the time of
creation of the scene hypertext files, but instead defers link
installation until runtime when the literary macrame is being read.
The appearance and presentation of the scene hypertext file remains
the same as in other embodiments.
[0368] Finally, a search-engine embodiment may be combined with
other embodiments described above to offer the reader both fixed
links and dynamic links among scenes.
Step 5: Convert the Work into Browser-Compatible Form
[0369] As shown in FIG. 20, the invention's scene processing
control file 70 serves as input to a scene setup generation program
910. Scene setup generation program 910 builds scene header setup
script 930, scene text setup script 940, and scene footer setup
script 950, incorporating scene attributes and scene links in all
three files as needed, and combines the outputs from setup programs
930, 940, 950 with reference-linked scene hypertext file 91 to
produce multithreaded scene hypertext page 97.
[0370] As a result of the operation of scene header setup program
930 and scene footer setup program 950, the stored scene link
sequences contained in the scene text control file are converted
into links stored in the multithreaded scene hypertext page 97. See
FIG. 21. Each multithreaded scene hypertext page 97 contains a
single visible link 80a to the next scene in the author's first
sequence of scenes, a single visible link 80b to the previous scene
in the author's first sequence of scenes, and one or more
optionally-displayed links 80c to scenes in an alternate sequence
of reading specified in the stored scene link sequences. See FIG.
22 and FIG. 23 for illustration of the appearance of links in
multithreaded scene hypertext page 97.
[0371] Each multithreaded scene hypertext page 97 contains
everything necessary to allow browser access and display of its
contents in the overall form desired by the author. Any hypertext
components incorporated manually by the author are preserved in
this process. The name of each hypertext scene file is stored in
the invention's POV spreadsheet. All links to succeeding scenes and
other essential points are incorporated in each multithreaded scene
hypertext page 97.
Step 6: Incorporate Manual Links
[0372] This step is not depicted. Using a conventional Web page
editor program, the author inserts anchors at points within the
multithreaded scene hypertext page 97 wherever the author intends
such points to be used by the reader. Once the multithreaded scene
hypertext pages 97 contain anchors inserted by the author and are
linked to reference materials and to each other, the author may add
links to the multithreaded scene hypertext pages 97 that supply
side pathways and shortcuts for readers to follow.
Step 7: Incorporate Special Presentation Features in the Work
[0373] The invention provides for varying levels of concealment and
display of individual components of the work. Based on reader
preferences, certain scenes may be skipped or substituted, certain
scenes may be presented in different languages or symbols, certain
scenes may be presented as puzzles or cryptograms, and other such
transformations may be included in the interest of accommodating
reader sensitivities, offering readers challenges, or simply
entertaining readers.
[0374] Through its marking of different spans of text as described
in Step 1 and shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the invention offers the
flexible use of different typefaces to convey different modes of
discourse or dialog, governed by hypertext stylesheets. An example
of the presentation of such modes might contain dialogue between
two characters in conventional form in quotation marks,
interspersed with interior monologue in the mind of one of the
characters displayed in a first distinctive typeface, and
interspersed with headset communications conducted privately by one
of the characters and displayed in a second distinctive
typeface.
[0375] By its use of selectable stylesheets, the invention allows
the reader to see the words of certain classes of speaker presented
in one typeface while the words of other classes of speakers are
presented in another typeface. An example of such a contrast: the
presentation of normal dialogue in conventional quotes, the
presentation of internal monologue or thought in a first altered
typeface without quotes, and the presentation of a
telecommunications dialogue in the same scene in a second altered
typeface without quotes. Such stylistic differences of presentation
clarify for the reader the character of the utterance while
allowing the author to avoid including complicated framing or
identifying terms or phrases, thereby simplifying the flow of the
narrative and facilitating deeper reader immersion in the work.
[0376] Selectable stylesheets also allow the author to present
differently-graded versions of the text for different readerships,
for example, younger readers, those with visual or cognitive
impairments, those with cultural, political, or ethnic
sensitivities, and so on.
Step 8: Link the Reference Materials Back to the Units of Text of
the Work
[0377] The invention permits the insertion of links from within
each reference file to points in the hypertext scene files. Such
references may provide starting points for the reader which lead to
self-contained narratives or stories within the literary macrame
being created.
Step 9: Suppress the Conventional Marking of Browser Links
[0378] See FIG. 24. Through the use of stylesheets, the invention
suppresses the conventional accents used to highlight or mark the
presence of hypertext links in the story text 300. Ordinarily,
hypertext links 305 are displayed using colors, typefaces, or other
distinguishing styles which set off the links in visible contrast
to the story text 300. As shown in FIG. 25, the invention's
presentation of hypertext links 307 makes them indistinguishable in
appearance from story text 300. As a result, the reader may only
locate hypertext links 307 by passing the mouse pointer 310 over
such a link. This action triggers a change in the form of the
displayed mouse pointer 311, which informs the reader of the
presence of the link. A reader who does not pass the mouse pointer
over the story text 300 will see only the displayed text, not the
hypertext links 307.
[0379] The invention also provides for readers who wish to make
such links subtly visible during reading by substituting different
stylesheets when requested by a reader to do so. Such substitutions
are facilitated through the use of conventional interfaces.
Step 10: Define and Use Background, Muted Supporting Windows
[0380] See FIG. 26. The invention provides at least three basic
windows in which it presents material to the reader on the display
screen 200. The primary window 500 is the story window, placed
centrally in the display and made both larger and of higher
contrast than the other windows 520, 540. The story window 500
displays primary story or narrative text 505. The reader of the
work may ignore windows 520 and 540 throughout the reading
experience, thereby emulating the reading experience using a
printed book. The remaining two windows 520, 540, presented at left
and right respectively and overlapped by the story window 500,
supply sidebar reference reading in the form of glossaries,
expositions on subjects in the story, images, maps, animations,
diagrams, dictionaries, and other supporting works.
[0381] When the reader selects a link within the primary window
500, said link may have its anchor either in the primary window 500
or in one of the side windows 520, 540. If the link has its anchor
in the primary window 500, the link selection will cause the
primary window 500 to display the anchor and its surrounding
context. If the link has its anchor in a secondary window 520, 540,
the link selection will cause the side window for the page in which
the anchor appears to display the anchor and its surrounding
context. The link selection for an anchor in a side window 520, 540
does not, however, cause said side window to overlap the primary
window 500. The reader must explicitly select said side window to
display it in the foreground.
[0382] When the reader selects a side window 520 or 540 as shown in
FIG. 27, side window 520 or 540 overlaps the story window 500 until
the reader selects the story window 500 again. The same process
holds in the opposite sense, when the primary window is selected.
This overlap process is standard behavior for a browser
program.
[0383] When the reader selects a link within a side window 520,
540, said link may have its anchor either in the primary window 500
or in one of the side windows 520, 540. The link selection will
cause the window for the page in which the anchor appears to
display the anchor and its surrounding context. The link selection
for an anchor in another window 500, 520, 540 will not, however,
cause said window to overlap the window containing the link. The
reader must explicitly select said window to display it in the
foreground.
[0384] Side windows 520, 540 are muted in their appearance to avoid
distracting the reader with their contents during the reading of
the contents 505 of story window 500. Additional windows may be
provided as needed. Different sizes and resolutions of display
screens 400 are provided for by the invention. The invention also
scales the positions and sizes of the windows 500, 520, 540 to
accommodate different display devices.
[0385] A detailed view of the relationship between a story window
500 and a glossary window 540 is shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29. In
story window 500 a passage 400 in a story is presented to the
reader, including among its links a link 407 to the definition 447
of a term used in the story. When the reader selects link 407,
definition 447 is presented to the reader in glossary window 540 as
shown in FIG. 28. If the reader wishes to read definition 447, the
reader selects glossary window 540, which is then displayed in the
foreground for reading as shown in FIG. 29.
Step 11: Generate a Collection of Interlinked Browser-Ready
Files
[0386] Using its software scripts, the invention stores the
hypertext scene files, the reference files, the stylesheets, and
all other supporting files in a fully-interlinked set of
directories or folders, the contents of which constitute the
literary macrame of the work. The literary macrame can now be made
available for readers using conventional electronic sale and
distribution methods.
Programs (Apparati) of the Invention
[0387] The invention uses a number of software programs to produce
the literary macrame from the set of literary works. The
invention's programs do not replace the author's creative choices
in producing the macrame, but instead amplify the impact of such
creative choices. For instance, if an author uses words or phrases
from an invented language in the text of a work, and wishes to
gloss those terms, the invention simplifies the process of linking
the words in the text to their glossary entries and others.
[0388] The invention's programs are in general written in the form
of: 1) scripts that define processing for any of several utility
programs used for Unix-compatible systems and environments, 2)
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) scripts used for processing
information in Microsoft Corporation's Excel spreadsheet
application, and 3) WordPerfect PerfectScript macro programs. This
arrangement need not be the only way for the invention to work
properly; the invention will work equally well in alternate
embodiments whether programmed in awk, sed, perl, bash, Python,
Java, Visual Basic, C, C++, or any other sufficiently-full-featured
software language. The following descriptions of the invention's
programs are purely functional, and mention specific
implementations only where doing so might be illuminating.
POV (Point-of-View) Spreadsheet
[0389] During the construction of the invention's literary macrame,
the author or editor must keep track of hundreds or thousands of
scenes and their associated information and links. The invention
uses its own database of scenes to support the author or editor and
to produce processing scripts for compiling the scenes into the
finished product. Once the product literary macrame is compiled and
completed, it can be made available to readers without the
database, but the database is essential for the invention's
process.
[0390] The POV spreadsheet, containing the invention's database of
scenes and their information and links, is central to the
invention's structure and operation. The POV spreadsheet contains
integrated program functions which generate all information
necessary to fabricate a single, integrated literary macrame from a
set of scene text files. The POV spreadsheet contains one row of
information for each scene in the author's work. The name "POV
spreadsheet" is used because each scene is defined as being
narrated from a single point of view (POV).
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1 Scene Attributes in POV Spreadsheet Scene
Attribute Scene Attribute Description Chapter the identifier of the
chapter in which the scene appears Section the identifier of the
section or part of the chapter in which the scene appears Scene the
identifier of the scene within the section POV the identity of the
point of view within the scene Scene Source File the name of the
original word processor file containing the scene text Year the
year within the world of the macrame Month the month within the
world of the macrame Day the day within the world of the macrame
Hour the hour within the world of the macrame Minute the minute
within the world of the macrame COPYRIGHT YEAR the year in which
the scene was copyrighted Scene Title the title of the scene Scene
Locale the locale of the scene within the world of the macrame
Chapter Name the name of the chapter Scene Stylesheet the name of
the stylesheet used to display the scene Scene Class the hypertext
class of the scene's display, designating the window or location in
which the scene is to be presented Keywords 1 a first set of
keywords characterizing the scene Keywords 2 a second set of
keywords characterizing the scene Scene Primary Seq the number of
the scene in the primary order No. of narrative of the macrame Link
Class the class of the previous and next scene links displayed
[0391] See FIG. 30, which shows all information contained in the
POV spreadsheet as summarized from FIGS. 16, 17, 18, and 19, but
omits all manual interactions with the author. All information in
FIG. 30 is contained in the POV spreadsheet with the exception of
the scene text control file 70, which is the output from a VBA
(Visual Basic for Applications) script component of the POV
spreadsheet. Scene text file attributes 31 are listed in Table 1
and exemplified in Table 1a. Generated scene text file attributes
33 are listed in Table 1b, and may be individually replaced or
overwritten by an author or editor to become edited scene text file
attributes 34.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 1a Scene Attributes in POV Spreadsheet:
Example Scene Attribute Scene Attribute Description Chapter 03c
Section 01 Scene 01 POV Andrew Scene Source File Andrew POV\Chapter
03a-01-08 (Andrew POV).wpd Year 1544 Month Day Hour Minute
COPYRIGHT YEAR 2005 Scene Title WORDS FOR SKY Scene Locale Train
westbound Chapter Name The Land Above Scene Stylesheet Scene
Stylesheet Scene Class book Keywords 1 Andrew train west Keywords 2
Scene Primary Seq No. 62 Link Class masked
[0392] Due to the potential complexity of combining different
sequencings of numerous scenes in a single macrame of works,
maintaining a clear record of the characteristics of each scene
requires a tabular or database approach. The invention uses a
spreadsheet to tabulate scenes, but in an alternative embodiment a
database system is used. In the first embodiment the POV
spreadsheet contains a set of attributes for each scene and a POV
matrix 35 showing for each scene which character carries the point
of view and which other characters or groups of characters appear
in that same scene. The contents of the POV matrix are listed in
Table 1d. The POV spreadsheet also contains a set of stored scene
link sequences 37, generated from scene sequence attributes 31c by
scene sequence mapping formulas 367, showing the primary order of
narrative of the macrame and one or more secondary orders of
narrative for that macrame.
[0393] The list of scene text file attributes 31 to be entered in
the POV spreadsheet is shown in Table 1. The author, editor, or
other user may populate the set of attributes for each scene either
by entering them using the invention's forms interface, by using
scene text file conversion scripts of the invention, or by entering
the information manually in the spreadsheet. An example of Table 1
contents is shown in Table 1a.
[0394] Using its attribute transformation formulas 313, the
invention generates scene text file attributes 33 from the scene
text file attributes 31 entered by the user. The generated elements
33 are scene attributes used to identify files, provide sequence
numbers for scenes, and build data elements such as titles and
links to be stored in each scene hypertext file. The set of
generated data elements is shown below in Table 1b. The
presentation of these data elements facilitates author and editor
development of the literary macrame for the reader.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 1B Scene Attributes Generated from POV
Spreadsheet Data Element Name Description Generating Formula or
Function Scene Entry Number The serial number of the scene in the
=ROWS($5:N), where N is the current row list of scenes in the
spreadsheet number Common Scene an identifier prefix for scene
files =POV&"-"&Chapter&"-"&Section&"-
Identifier generated from the chapter, section, "&Scene and
scene numbers entered by the user Scene Text File Name the name of
the scene text file genSTSFNm(Scene_Entry_Number) Scene HTML File
the name of the scene hypertext genSHSFNm(Scene_Entry_Number) Name
(HTML) file Scene Processing the name of the file containing all
genSCFNm(Scene_Entry_Number) Control File Name scene processing
control parameters Previous Scene Entry the number within the
spreadsheet of =IF(ISNA(MATCH(Narrative_Scene_Seq_No. No. the entry
containing the previous scene -1, Narrative in the primary order of
narrative of the _Scene_Seq_No.,0)),0,MATCH(Narrative macrame
_Scene_Seq_No.-1, Narrative _Scene_Seq_No.,0)) Next Scene Entry No.
the number within the spreadsheet of =IF(ISNA(MATCH(Narrative the
entry containing the next scene in _Scene_Seq_No.+1, Narrative the
primary order of narrative of the
_Scene_Seq_No.,0)),0,MATCH(Narrative macrame _Scene_Seq_No.+1,
Narrative _Scene_Seq_No.,0)) Link Class the class (form of display)
of the (formula optional - can be manually inserted) previous and
next scene links displayed Scene Character List the names of all
characters appearing CollectCharacterNames( ) in some form in the
scene, with the POV character flagged Alternative Narrative
information concerning a link to an (see Tables 2a & 2b -
repeated sets of Order Link Content alternative next scene
elements) (see Tables 2a & 2b)
[0395] The generating code for attribute transformation formulas
313 is shown in Tables 1b and 1c for each of the generated
elements. The invention uses the generated elements as inputs to
program processing; their visibility documents them for the
user.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 1c Control Records Generated from POV
Spreadsheet Data Element Name Description Generating VBA Function
Scene File a generated image of the contents of a record
MakeSFCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Control Record used for selecting
scene files for macrame processing Scene Content a generated image
of the contents of a record MakeSCCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Control
Record used to convey scene content parameters for macrame
processing Scene Source a generated image of the contents of a
record MakeSSDCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Data Control listing the
source data elements used to build Record the macrame Scene Base
Link a generated image of the contents of a record
MakeSBLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Control Record used to convey basic
scene linkage parameters for macrame processing Scene Keyword a
generated image of the contents of a record
MakeSKCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Control Record used to convey scene
keywords for macrame processing Scene Main Link a generated image
of the contents of a record MakeSMLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number, Control
Record listing the entry numbers for all linked scenes
Scene_Maximum_Added_Automated_Links,
Scene_Maximum_Added_Author_Links) Scene Alternate a generated image
of the contents of a record MakeSALCrec(Scene_Entry_Number, Link
Control used to convey alternative scene linkage Link_Entry_Index)
Record parameters for macrame processing (repeated) Scene POV Next
a generated image of the contents of a record
MakeSPNSLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Scene Link used to convey
next-scene linkage Control Record parameters by POV for macrame
processing Scene POV a generated image of the contents of a record
MakeSPPSLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Previous Scene used to convey
previous-scene linkage Link Control parameters by POV for macrame
processing Record Scene Primary a generated image of the contents
of a record MakeSPSLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) Scene Link used to
convey primary next- and previous- Control Record scene linkage
parameters for macrame processing Scene Author a generated image of
the contents of a record MakeSAPLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number, Provided
Link used to convey author-provided scene Link_Entry_Index) Control
Record linkage parameters for macrame processing
[0396] In a literary work with multiple points of view and multiple
threads of narrative, maintaining a clear picture of the
relationships among scenes is a challenge. The invention addresses
this challenge by including in the POV spreadsheet a worksheet
holding a matrix showing which characters appear in which scenes,
and what the point of view is for each scene. The invention also
gathers the set of characters in each scene into a list, separated
by commas, with the point of view character marked with a `*`
character. This list of characters for each scene facilitates the
selection of special linkage pathways through the literary macrame.
The set of data elements in the matrix worksheet is shown in Table
1d.
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 1d Scene and POV Matrix Data Element
Description Generating Formula Common Scene Identifier (copied from
Links sheet to assist user) =Common_Scene_Identifier (from Links
sheet) Previous Common Scene (copied from Links sheet to assist
user) (value copied from Common Identifier (value only) Scene
Identifier, to highlight any changes) Chapter (copied from Links
sheet to assist user) =Chapter Section (copied from Links sheet to
assist user) =Section Scene (copied from Links sheet to assist
user) =Scene POV (copied from Links sheet to assist user) =POV
Scene Entry Number value repeated manually from the main (serial)
worksheet to flag any changes to the scene sequence not propagated
to the matrix Character Name (heading; name of character or point
of view used repeated) in scene Characters in Scene list of names
of all characters and POV =CollectCharNames(Scene participating or
present in scene Entry Number) (a custom VBA function - see
text)
[0397] The POV spreadsheet also provides some data elements for
each scene which the user may reserve for the storage of historical
or ancillary information concerning scenes, linkages, special
annotations, and so on. There are in the basic embodiment six such
data elements for each scene. Some examples of their possible use
for historical annotation are shown in Table 1e.
TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 1e Supporting Scene Attributes in POV
Spreadsheet Original Part No. the part number of the original work
Original Part Name the part title of the original work Original
Scene Title the scene's title in the original work Original Chapter
Number the chapter number in the original work Original Scene Seq
No. the number of the scene in the original work First Original
Subordinate the number of the scene in a first original Scene Seq
No. subordinate work Second Original the number of the scene in a
second Subordinate Scene Seq No. original subordinate work
[0398] The POV spreadsheet also computes for each scene a set of
file names of scene hypertext files, each of which follows the
scene's own hypertext file link in an alternate order of narrative.
Each named file, when considered as a forward link in a continuing
chain of narrative, defines an alternative order of reading all or
a part of the macrame. Examples of ways in which such alternative
orders of narrative may be defined include:
[0399] 1. In strict chronological order, based on the scene dates
and times, so that the narrative may be read easily as if moving
forward through the story's timeline scene by scene.
[0400] 2. In reverse chronological order, based on the scene dates
and times, so that the narrative may be read easily as if moving
backward through the story's timeline scene by scene. (Such a
narrative technique is used in the script for the film
"Memento".)
[0401] 3. In chronological order for a single character, based
either on the identity of the point-of-view character or on the
presence of the character in a given scene, and on the scene dates
and times, restricting the narrative to scenes in the point of view
(or in the presence) of that character.
[0402] 4. In order by character but restricted to scenes in a given
locale, so that the scenes presented focus on a given locale of the
story.
[0403] 5. In an order contrasting with another order of narrative,
so that a reader may see multiple views of the same scene from
different vantage points.
[0404] 6. In an order tailored by the author to produce specific
literary effects such as suspense, surprise, resonance, revelation,
and others.
[0405] The generating programs in the POV spreadsheet supply
formatted link information for use in forming the HTML code and
text for the links to be displayed to the reader. In a first
linking embodiment, each alternative narrative order link entry in
the POV spreadsheet for a scene constitutes a "link set", and takes
one of the following forms:
[0406] POV Character Form--a sequence chosen to follow a character
who is a point-of-view character in the scene being linked. In the
POV character form the invention furnishes a link to the next scene
for the POV character, and a link to the previous scene for the
same character. Table 2a shows the invention's calculations for
this second form.
TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 2a Alternative Narrative Order Link Content
(POV Character) Data Element Description Generating Formula or
Function Linked Scene Entry the number of the linked
POVNextSceneN(Scene_Entry_Number, Number scene (next or previous)
in POV_Char_Number) or the alternate order of
POVPrevSceneN(Scene_Entry_Number, narrative of the macrame
POV_Char_Number) (link formulas here can be developed and inserted
by authors or editors) Next Alternate the name of the scene
MakeSPNSLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) for Scene HTML File hypertext
(HTML) file link to next scene and Name, Scene Link containing a
scene in the MakeSPPSLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number) for Title, and Scene
alternate order of narrative of link to previous scene Link Class
the macrame, the title of the scene which is the target of the
link, and the stylesheet class of the link.
[0407] Prominent Character Form--a sequence chosen to follow a
character appearing as a point-of-view character in the work. The
character must be present in the scene being linked, but is not
necessarily the point of view in that scene. Table 2b shows the
calculations for this first form. The invention provides for
multiple sequences of this form.
TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 2b Alternative Narrative Order Link Content
(Prominent Character) Data Element Description Generating Formula
or Function Linked Scene Entry the number of the linked
LinkNextSceneN(Scene_Entry_Number, Number scene in the alternate
order of NextSceneLinkChN(Scene_Entry_Number, narrative of the
macrame Link_Entry_Index)) (link formulas here can be developed and
inserted by authors or editors) Next Alternate the name of the
scene MakeSALCrec(Scene_Entry_Number, Scene HTML File hypertext
(HTML) file Link_Entry_Index) Name, Scene Link containing a scene
in the Title, and Scene alternate order of narrative of Link Class
the macrame, the title of the scene which is the target of the
link, and the stylesheet class of the link.
[0408] Author-Developed Form--a sequence developed by the author
either computationally or manually, as determined by the contents
of the POV spreadsheet's Link_Entry_Number in the Link Set column
for the sequence. Any generating formulas in the author-developed
form are determined by the author. The invention provides for
multiple sequences of this form. See FIG. 19 for a diagram of the
movements and transformations of data in the generation of scene
link sequences.
TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 2c Alternative Narrative Order Link Content
(Author-Developed) Data Element Description Generating Formula or
Function Linked Scene the number of the linked scene
Worksheets("Links & X- Entry Number (next or previous) in the
Ref").Range("Link_Entry_Table").Cells(Scene_Entry_Number, alternate
order of narrative of Author_Link_Entry_Index).Value the macrame
Worksheets("Links & X-
Ref").Range("Link_Entry_Caption_Table").Cells(Scene_Entry_Number,
Author_Link_Entry_Index).Value Worksheets("Links & X-
Ref").Range("Link_Entry_Style_Table").Cells(Scene_Entry_Number,
Author_Link_Entry_Index).Value Next Alternate the name of the scene
hypertext MakeSAPLCrec(Scene_Entry_Number, Scene HTML File (HTML)
file containing a scene Author_Link_Entry_Index) Name, Scene Link
in the alternate order of Title, and Scene narrative of the
macrame, the Link Class title of the scene which is the target of
the link, and the stylesheet class of the link.
[0409] The full list of a particular alternative link order in a
link set plus its link content comprises a "link order control
file" which the invention incorporates into the Scene Processing
Control File along with all other alternative link order control
files. The effect for the reader is that at the end of every
scene's display, a set of links reflecting every one of the link
orders involving that scene is also displayed. The reader may then
choose either to continue with the primary narrative order, which
is clearly identified as such, or to continue reading with an
alternative narrative order as identified in the display.
POV Spreadsheet Software Components of the Invention
[0410] The invention incorporates software elements that operate as
functions within the POV Spreadsheet to build scene control records
from data elements in the spreadsheet. These software elements
perform tasks that would be difficult or onerous using only the
spreadsheet's formulas and functions as provided by its vendor.
[0411] MakeLMCompilationFile: is button-driven, and generates the
control files used in scripts to produce the final scene hypertext
files. [0412] MakeSceneCtlFile: takes a scene entry number as input
and generates a series of file records each containing a set of
names and values for data elements characterizing that scene. The
source of the scene data is the spreadsheet. The output is used in
a set of scripts that transform the scene text files into scene
hypertext files. [0413] MakeAllSceneDataFiles: is button-driven,
and generates the scene data files for placement in the headers of
the scene text files. [0414] MakeSceneDataFile: takes a scene entry
number as input and generates a series of file records each
containing the name and value for a data element characterizing
that scene. The source of the scene data is the spreadsheet. The
output is built as a multi-line HTML comment, even though that may
cause some browser problems. [0415] MakeMasterSceneTable:
constructs a single list containing links to every single scene in
the tapestry, identified by name only. This is intended to be used
to build a "map" page to let browsing readers choose entries to the
narratives on the basis of the titles and their associated map
zones. [0416] BuildDTD: is button-driven, and generates an XML DTD
for the data elements used in building the final scene hypertext
files. [0417] BuildChList: is button-driven, and generates a simple
listing of all the characters of the work. [0418] BuildChScRpt: is
button-driven, and generates a report listing each character in the
work with all the scenes in which that character appears. A
character appearing as a point-of-view (POV) for a scene has the
name marked with an asterisk. Scenes for each character are listed
in entry order, not in story order. [0419] BuildScChRpt: is
button-driven, and generates a report listing each scene in the
work with all the characters appearing in that scene. A character
appearing as a point-of-view (POV) for a scene has the name marked
with an asterisk. Scenes are listed in entry order, not in story
order. [0420] BuildPriScChRpt: is button-driven, and generates a
report listing each scene in the work with all the characters
appearing in that scene. A character appearing as a point-of-view
(POV) for a scene has the name marked with an asterisk. Scenes are
listed in primary story order, with secondary orders following.
There are currently four significant narrative lines: main story
(FirstScn=1), the Pyro thread (FirstScn=1001), the Lejina thread
(FirstScn=2001), and the Derizan thread (FirstScn=3001). Other
lines now in development are not listed in the report, although
their scenes may appear via links from others that are included
here. [0421] rptSeq: traces the narrative thread from scene to next
scene, using a given starting scene number and printing out the
series of scenes following that given. [0422] BuildScLnkRpt: is
button-driven, and generates a report of any links not properly set
up, particularly lins that point back to the file in which they
exist. [0423] chkLnkEntN: validates a link entry number [0424]
GetLinkedScns: requests a scene entry number and opens the scene
source files for the scene and its successor. [0425]
DisplaySceneAndNextScene: uses the input scene entry number to open
two new windows for the scene source file's word processor, one
displaying the specified scene source file, the other displaying
the next scene's source file. [0426] CollectCharNames: uses the
input scene number to build a list of characters appearing in that
scene, marking the POV character name with a flag value. (Used in
Excel Matrix Spreadsheet) [0427] FindPOVFlag: uses the input
character number to search all scenes in the character/scene matrix
for that character, returning the name of the character if found as
a POV in any scene. [0428] IsLinkPOV: uses the input character name
to locate the number of scenes in which that character is POV,
compare that number to a threshold value, and return True if the
number found equals or exceeds the threshold value. [0429]
CountPOVFlags: accepts a character designation and returns the
number of scenes in which the designated character is a POV
character. (Used in Excel Matrix spreadsheet) [0430] ChNtoChName:
uses an input character number to return the corresponding
character name. [0431] CountPresenceFlags: accepts a character
designation and returns the number of scenes in which the
designated character is present either as a POV character or as
another character. (Used in Excel Matrix spreadsheet) [0432]
LinkNextSceneN: uses an input starting scene entry number and a
character number to return the scene entry number for the next
scene in which that character appears. [0433] POVNextSceneN: uses
an input starting scene entry number and a character number to
return the scene entry number of the next scene in which that
character is the POV character. [0434] POVPrevSceneN: uses an input
starting scene entry number and a character number to return the
scene entry number of the previous scene in which that character is
the POV character. [0435] NextSceneLinkChN: uses the input scene
number and a rank number to determine which character appearing in
the given scene has the specified rank. Rank is determined by four
factors: 1) the alphabetical order of characters; 2) whether the
character appears in the scene; 3) whether the character's number
of POV scenes, as counted by CountPOVFlags, equals or exceeds a set
minimum value; 4) whether the character's number of scene
appearances, as counted by CountPresenceFlags, equals or exceeds a
separate minimum value. The number of the character having the
requested rank is returned, or else zero is returned if no such
character is found. [0436] MakeSFCrec: constructs a Scene File
Control Record for a given scene number. [0437] MakeSCCRec:
constructs a Scene Content Control Record for a given scene number.
[0438] MakeSSDCRec: constructs a Scene Source Data Control Record
for a given scene number. [0439] MakeSBLCRec: constructs a Scene
Base Link Control Record for a given scene number. [0440]
MakeSKCRec: constructs a Scene Keyword Control Record for a given
scene number. [0441] MakeSALCRec: constructs a Scene Alternate Link
Control Record for a given scene number. [0442] MakeSPNSLCRec:
constructs a Scene POV Next Scene Link Control Record for a given
scene number. [0443] MakeSPPSLCRec: constructs a Scene POV Previous
Scene Link Control Record for a given scene number. [0444]
MakeSPSLCRec: constructs a Scene Primary Scene Link Control Record
for a given scene number. [0445] MakeSAPLCRec: constructs a Scene
Author Provided Link Control Record for a given scene number.
[0446] MakeSMLCRec: constructs a Scene Master Link Control Record
for a given scene number. [0447] BDERef: accepts a text string
naming a data element and a scene entry number, and returns a
string containing the data element name delimited by "<" and
">", followed by the data element value for the designated
scene, followed by the data element name delimited by "</" and
">". Used in forming scene control records for script
processing. (XML form) [0448] BLDERef: accepts a text string naming
a data element, a linked-scene entry number, and a link index
number, and returns a string containing the data element name
delimited by "<" and ">", followed by the data element value
for the linked scene, followed by the data element name delimited
by "</" and ">". Used in forming scene control records for
script processing. (XML form) [0449] BDRef: takes a data element
name and a data element value as input, and returns a character
string containing the data element name in delimiters followed by
the value for that data element, followed by the data element name
again, in closing delimiters (XML form). [0450] MakeSDFRecs: simply
replaces the usual field separator character in an input string
with a CR (carriage return), enabling the use of the same
field-building code for both scene control files and scene data
files. [0451] GetCRefPair: takes as input a data record in string
form, an index specifying which data element to extract from the
data record, and a separator string marking the end of the data
element name-value pair, and returns the data element name-value
pair with delimiters for the data element name. [0452] GetDVal:
takes as input a data element name-value pair having delimiters for
the data element name, and returns the data element value alone.
[0453] GetDName: takes as input a data element name-value pair
having delimiters for the data element name, and returns the data
element name alone. [0454] genSDFNm: takes a scene entry number as
input and produces a full path and name for that scene's data file.
[0455] genSDFSNm: takes a scene entry number as input and produces
a file name for that scene's data file, without the path. [0456]
genSHFNm: takes a scene entry number as input and produces a full
path and name for that scene's hypertext file. [0457] genSHFSNm:
takes a scene entry number as input and produces a file name for
that scene's hypertext file, without the path. [0458] genSTFNm:
takes a scene entry number as input and produces a full path and
name for that scene's text file. [0459] genSTFSNm: takes a scene
entry number as input and produces a file name for that scene's
text file, without the path. [0460] genSWFNm: takes a scene entry
number as input and produces a full path and name for that scene's
source word processor file. [0461] genSWFSNm: takes a scene entry
number as input and produces a file name for that scene's source
word processor file, without the path. [0462] genSCFNm: takes a
scene entry number as input and produces a full path and name for
that scene's control file. [0463] genSCFSNm: takes a scene entry
number as input and produces a file name for that scene's control
file, without the path.
Glossary Database Spreadsheet (GlDB)
[0464] This spreadsheet contains three tables: the Glossary table,
the Treatments table, and the Glossary Split Files table. The
Glossary table contains the anchor term used to link usages to the
Glossary, any term forms used in texts, any term usage notations,
and the term definition for each term defined for the work--in
effect, the entire Glossary itself. Table X1 details the contents
of the Glossary table in the spreadsheet.
TABLE-US-00011 TABLE X1 Glossary Attributes in GlDB Spreadsheet
Glossary Attribute Glossary Attribute Description Anchor Term the
identifier of the term being defined, preferably the most common
form of the term itself, to be used as a hypertext anchor in the
Glossary. Term Forms Used a generated list of forms of the term
used in the texts of the work. Term Usage Notations any
grammatical, etymological, or other notes on the uses of the term
Term Definition the definition of the term
[0465] The Treatments table lists each term form used, along with
its associated anchor term, its displayed form, the hypertext file
in which its anchor term resides, the anchor term file type, the
display window used for the hypertext file, and the style
specification for the link to the hypertext file. Table X2 details
the contents of the Glossary table in the spreadsheet.
TABLE-US-00012 TABLE X2 Treatment Attributes in GlDB Spreadsheet
Treatment Attribute Treatment Attribute Description Found Term Form
a form of a term used in the literary work. Anchor Term the
identifier of the term being defined, used as a hypertext anchor in
the Glossary. Displayed Term Form the displayed form of the term
found, used when the term's link is installed in the work. Anchor
Term File the identifier of the file in which the anchor term is
placed. Name Anchor Term File Type any grammatical, etymological,
or other notes on the uses of the term Anchor File Display an
identifier of the display window to be used to show the file Window
containing the anchor term. Link Stylesheet Name the name of the
stylesheet defining the appearance and behavior of the displayed
link. Earliest Reference Date a date value indicating the earliest
point in the timeline defined in the narrative for which the
glossary term link may be applied Latest Reference Date a date
value indicating the latest point in the timeline defined in the
narrative for which the glossary term link may be applied POV
Dependency (reserved for future use) Split Anchor File Name The
identifier of the file in which the anchor term is placed in the
split-Glossary embodiment of the invention.
[0466] The Glossary Split Files table lists the names of the files
into which the Glossary is to be split in its split-glossary-file
embodiment. With each name is listed the associated initial letters
or symbols of terms to have their glossary anchors in the
associated file.
POV Spreadsheet Software Components of the Invention
[0467] The Glossary Database spreadsheet also has a set of VBA
functions and subroutines to produce the following outputs: the
AutoGlDefs.txt from the Glossary table (see Table 3a below), and
the AutoGlP.txt, AutoGlPSpl.txt, AutoGlPCR.txt, and AutoGlPSplCR
files from the Treatments tables (see Tables 3b below). Each file
is in text form, with the same records and fields as in the
corresponding table. The spreadsheet's functions and subroutines
are: [0468] genGlFiles--the main routine, which calls all the
others. [0469] incUsages--combines all usage entries for each
Glossary term into a list for inclusion in the Glossary itself. If
there is no usage entry for a Glossary term, the anchor term is
inserted in the . [0470] genGlP--builds the AutoGLP.txt file from
the Treatments table. [0471] genGlPCR--builds the AutoGLPCR.txt
file from the Treatments table (for the layered-reference
embodiment). [0472] genGlPSpl--builds the AutoGLPSpl.txt file from
the Treatments table (for the split-glossary-file embodiment).
[0473] genGlPSplCR--builds the AutoGLPSplCR.txt file from the
Treatments table (for the split-glossary-file layered-reference
embodiment). [0474] genGlDefs--builds the AutoGlDefs.txt file from
the Glossary table. [0475] BldSGlHTM.txt--builds the
BuildSGlossHTM.txt script file using the Split Files table (for the
layered-reference embodiment). [0476] sortGTTables--reorders both
the Glossary and the Treatments tables for comparison and output
[0477] sortTTable--reorders the Treatments table for output to
scripting file GlP.txt. Non-glossary entries must sort ahead of
glossary entries if found terms match leading characters. [0478]
isFoundTerm--tries to find a term in the Treatments table's Found
Term Forms, returning True if found, False if not. [0479]
bldMissedRec--formats a record for a missed treatment to be added
if desired. [0480] prependForm--inserts a term form at the head of
a comma-separated list of term forms in the Glossary for a given
term. [0481] protHyphens and unProtHyphens--work around a sorting
problem that causes spurious insertion of synonyms for some
hyphenated terms.
[0482] The incUsages routine writes out two added files during its
processing: the Missed Uses file, with any glossary entries having
no treatments listed for them, and the Unmatched Uses file,
containing the treatment entries having no corresponding glossary
entry matching on the anchor term. Both files can be used for
correction of the glossary and the treatments if needed.
[0483] In the invention's layered-reference embodiment, to apply a
time dependency to scene references for a specific term, the author
or editor adds an entry to the glossary database which contain an
earliest date and/or a latest date for which the term's entry is to
be used. When the invention converts the scene from a scene text
file to a scene hypertext file, and finds a term in the scene
matching a date-marked term in the database, it tests the scene
date against the time interval defined in the entry in the
database. If the scene date falls within the range specified for a
term in the database, the link for that term is taken from the
date-marked entry. If the scene date does not fall within the range
specified, the link for that term, if any, is taken from any
matching non-date-marked entry in the database that may be
present.
[0484] This method shields a reader from seeing glossary entries
which may disclose story information prematurely, by redirecting
the reader to a reference entry that restricts disclosure of the
story information. When the reader reads a later scene, however,
the invention uses the later scene date to direct the reader to the
appropriate glossary entry which contains the information by that
point known to the reader.
[0485] In the layered-reference embodiment, the invention's GlP.txt
file and the glossary database add temporal data elements (and
possibly other conditionals, such as POV) to the Treatments table.
Specifically, the Treatments table in the glossary database in this
embodiment contains the following elements:
[0486] 1. Found Term Form
[0487] 2. Linked Anchor Term
[0488] 3. Displayed Term
[0489] 4. Anchor File
[0490] 5. Anchor File Type
[0491] 6. Display Window
[0492] 7. Link Stylesheet Name
[0493] 8. Earliest Reference Date
[0494] 9. Latest Reference Date
[0495] 10. POV Dependency
[0496] showing three added fields for each table entry: Earliest
Reference Date, Latest Reference Date, and POV Dependency (this
last field reserved for future use). The default case is to have
all three fields empty, which permits the current type of
processing to work. The presence of a reference date, either
earliest or latest or both, triggers additional processing at the
time when a link to the reference entry (reference or glossary) is
being installed in a linking scene file. The additional processing
is the use of the scene date, as specified in the second line of
the scene text file, to compare with the available reference dates.
If the scene date falls outside the range (before earliest date or
after latest date), the match to the reference entry fails. If the
scene date falls inside the range (on or after earliest date and on
or before latest date), the match to the reference entry succeeds,
and the link to the reference entry is installed in the scene text
file.
Glossary and Glossary Reference Processing File Generation
[0497] Authors and editors construct glossaries, notes, and
appendices in many different forms. The invention takes as its
first input a set of glossary term entries in a form that will
permit listing of each entry as one line containing all required
information for the entry in a set of defined fields. The invention
loads the glossary term entries into the Glossary table. The
invention accepts as its second input a set of term usages each
corresponding to a Glossary term entry. The invention loads the
term usage entries into the Treatments table. The loading process
uses spreadsheet text file loading processes well-known in the
art.
[0498] The invention uses this set of fields for each Glossary
entry as a reference processing file for the insertion of hypertext
links in each text scene file. The input Glossary entries may take
the form of entries in a single hypertext file, each one defined
using HTML code such as the conventional usages for constructing a
dictionary entry:
TABLE-US-00013 <dl><dt><a
name="[ANAME]"></a>[NAME]</dt><dd>[DEFINITION]</dd-
></dl>
[0499] The invention's reference processing file generation scripts
convert input file entries in a format such as the above to the
forms defined in Tables 3a, 3b, and 3c.
TABLE-US-00014 TABLE 3a Glossary Definition File Content
(AutoGlDefs.txt) Data Item Data Item Description Anchor Glossary
Term the word or phrase of interest [ANAME] Form of Term Used a
specific form or usage of the glossary term [NAME] Usage Notes
annotations such as part of speech, etymology, as found in a
dictionary Definition definition of the glossary term.
[DEFINITION]
TABLE-US-00015 TABLE 3b Glossary Reference Processing File Content
(AutoGlP.txt and AutoGlPSpl.txt) Data Item Data Item Description
Glossary Term the word or phrase of interest, as defined in the
Glossary Definition File [NAME] File Reference the file (glossary,
encyclopedia, sidebar, footnote, or other file) in which the
Glossary Term is defined Term Anchor Reference the exact location
in the File Reference at which the Glossary Term is defined [ANAME]
Displayed Term the displayed text or image for the Glossary Term in
any references made to it in text [NAME] Target Window the window
in which the definition will appear when the Glossary Term is
selected in the text. Reference Class the style of presentation of
the definition of the Glossary Term
[0500] The author or editor can then augment the Glossary
Definition File with usage notes, and the Glossary Reference
Processing File with: 1) added entries for different forms of the
same term or added reference files to be linked from specific uses
of their names in text, and 2) changes to entries to alter their
appearance or placement in displays for the reader using a
browser.
[0501] The invention's Glossary Database Spreadsheet contains the
entire Glossary and all of the information in Tables 3a, 3b, and
3c. The Glossary Database Spreadsheet's VBA functions and programs
prepare the AutoGlDefs.txt, AutoGlP.txt, and AutoGlPCR.txt files as
first steps in: 1) generating the entire Glossary in XHTML format,
along with the Glossary Reference Processing File; 2) generating
the Glossary Reference Processing File for later use.
TABLE-US-00016 TABLE 3c Glossary Time-Dependent Reference
Processing File Content (AutoGlPCR.txt and AutoGlPSplCR.txt) Data
Item Data Item Description Glossary Term the word or phrase of
interest, as defined in the Glossary Definition File [NAME] File
Reference the file (glossary, encyclopedia, sidebar, footnote, or
other file) in which the Glossary Term is defined Term Anchor
Reference the exact location in the File Reference at which the
Glossary Term is defined [ANAME] Displayed Term the displayed text
or image for the Glossary Term in any references made to it in text
[NAME] Target Window the window in which the definition will appear
when the Glossary Term is selected in the text. Reference Class the
style of presentation of the definition of the Glossary Term
Earliest Reference Date a date value indicating the earliest point
in the timeline defined in the narrative for which the glossary
term link may be applied Latest Reference Date a date value
indicating the latest point in the timeline defined in the
narrative for which the glossary term link may be applied
[0502] In its single-glossary-file embodiment, the invention uses
the AutoGlDefs.txt and AutoGlP.txt files as inputs to construct a
first command script (Gl.sed) for finding glossed terms in a text
file and replacing each such term with a complete hypertext
reference. In its layered-reference embodiment using the single
glossary file, the invention uses the AutoGlPCR.txt file as input
for finding time-dependent glossed terms in a text file and
replacing each such term with a complete hypertext reference.
[0503] In its single-glossary-file embodiment, the invention uses
the AutoGlDefs.txt and AutoGlP.txt files as inputs to construct a
second command script (GlGl.sed) for finding glossed terms in the
Glossary itself and replacing each such term with a complete
hypertext reference, and to construct a third command script
(RefGl.sed) for finding glossed terms in other reference files and
replacing each such term with a complete hypertext reference. Each
complete hypertext reference take the form:
TABLE-US-00017 <a
href="[FILE-REFERENCE]#[TERM-ANCHOR-REFERENCE]"
target="[TARGET-WINDOW]" class="[REFERENCE-CLASS]">
[DISPLAYED-TERM]</a>
[0504] where the entries shown in square brackets are defined as in
the preceding tables.
[0505] In its split-glossary-file embodiment, the invention uses
the AutoGlDefs.txt and AutoGlPSpl.txt as inputs to construct a
first command script (Gl.sed) as for the single-glossary-file
embodiment. In its layered-reference embodiment using the split
glossary files, the invention uses the AutoGlPSplCR.txt file as
input for finding time-dependent glossed terms in a text file and
replacing each such term with a complete hypertext reference.
[0506] The user applies the first command script (Gl.sed) of the
invention to construct a first subordinate command script listing
all permutations of all glossary references and the instructions
for converting said references to hypertext references as shown
above. The invention's first subordinate command script may then be
used in all subsequent steps for any collection of scene text files
to be compiled into a literary macrame.
TABLE-US-00018 TABLE 4 Augmented Scene Text File Content Data Item
Data Item Description Scene Title the title of the scene Location
Information the date, time, place, and other information
identifying the scene's locale Section* the number of the section
or part of the chapter in which the scene appears Scene* the number
of the scene within the section POV* the identity of the point of
view Scene Source File* the original word processor file containing
the scene text Year* the year within the world of the macrame
Month* the month within the world of the macrame Day* the day
within the world of the macrame Hour* the hour within the world of
the macrame Minute* the minute within the world of the macrame
Copyright Year* the year in which the scene was copyrighted Chapter
Name* the name of the chapter Scene Stylesheet* the name of the
stylesheet used to display the scene Scene Class* the hypertext
class of the scene's display Keywords 1* a first set of keywords
characterizing the scene Keywords 2* a second set of keywords
characterizing the scene Scene Character List* identifiers for all
characters present in scene, separated by commas Scene Text Lines
one line for each paragraph of text in the scene
[0507] The user applies the second command script (GlGl.sed) of the
invention to construct a second subordinate command script listing
all permutations of all glossary references and the instructions
for converting said references in the Glossary itself to hypertext
references as shown above.
[0508] The user applies the third command script (RefGl.sed) of the
invention to construct a third subordinate command script listing
all permutations of all glossary references and the instructions
for converting said references in reference files to hypertext
references as shown above.
[0509] Additional command scripts may be provided in order to
support references to other documents as needed.
Reference Hypertext File Preparation
[0510] Each reference hypertext file supporting the Glossary and
the literary macrame as a whole originates as a standalone
word-processing document similar to a scene source file. One key
distinction for reference hypertext files is the possible presence
of specially-formatted components such as lists, tables, figures,
diagrams, and custom links to other documents. Scene source files
in general do not contain such features. The invention provides for
support and maintenance of the reference hypertext pages,
performing the following tasks: [0511] Accepts a reference document
in word-processor form having XHTML in it; [0512] Sets aside the
reference document's XHTML headers and footers; [0513] Keeps the
reference document's text-embedded HTML intact except for Glossary
links, which it removes, leaving only the displayed term; [0514]
Reinstalls all Glossary links in the reference document's text,
incorporating all changes affecting Glossary links; [0515] Restores
the reference document's XHTML headers and footers; [0516]
Republishes the reference document as a reference hypertext file
(reference Web page); [0517] Preserves any and all
author-introduced XHTML through all automated processes, without
needing manual efforts for each such introduced component.
[0518] The invention's UpdateRefHTM script performs the tasks
listed above, rebuilding a reference Web page with updated Glossary
links while preserving all XHTML features in the original reference
Web page. The UpdateRefHTM script generates and applies commands
needed to install links to Glossary entries in the reference texts,
using the AutoGlP.txt file constructed from the GlDB.xls
spreadsheet as described earlier. The UpdateRefHTM script is
described in detail below, in the section detailing the scripts of
the invention.
Scene Text File Preparation
[0519] The author begins use of the invention by breaking down the
source literary work into a set of scene text files containing the
text and other components required for each scene in the work. The
author decides where the beginning and end of each scene occurs in
the narrative, selects the scene's text, and makes any textual
changes needed to support smooth transitions into and out of the
scene for readers. For example, the author may decide to add a name
identifying a point-of-view character at the start of the scene, or
modify the narrative near the end of the scene to create ambiguity
for the reader to be resolved in later scenes in different
sequences of subsequent scenes.
[0520] During the creation of each scene text file, the author adds
to each scene text file a set of separate data elements
characterizing the scene, as listed in Table 4. The invention uses
certain of these data elements later in its construction of the POV
Spreadsheet via its initialization script, and propagates their
values forward for storage in the final scene hypertext files.
[0521] In a simplified embodiment, the first two lines of the scene
text file comprise a header for the file. The first line of each
scene text file contains only the scene title. The second line of
each scene text file contains only a block of information used to
situate the scene in space and time.
[0522] In an enhanced embodiment of the invention, each scene text
file contains additional lines of header information preceding the
text (the added information lines are marked with * in Table 4).
Once the author or editor has incorporated the header information
in its scene file, the header information is used to construct the
contents of the POV spreadsheet. In further-enhanced embodiments of
the invention, scene header information are encoded in a
markup-language form such as that of XML (Extensible Markup
Language) or, more generally, of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup
Language).
POV Spreadsheet Preparation
[0523] Using the scene text files and their data elements, the
author builds the POV Spreadsheet, which contains one line for each
scene in each of two worksheets. In an enhanced embodiment of the
invention, the scene text files constitute a first input to an
initialization script of the POV Spreadsheet. The initialization
script uses an empty POV spreadsheet template as a second input,
adds one row to the spreadsheet in each of two worksheets to
contain scene data elements, and adds one column in the second of
the two worksheets to contain character and scene correlation data.
Each spreadsheet row for a scene in the first worksheet contains
the invention's formulas, listed in Tables 1b, 1c, and 2, for
generated data elements related to each scene. Each spreadsheet row
for a scene in the second worksheet contains the invention's
formulas, listed in Table 1d, for generated data elements related
to each scene.
[0524] The next step is defining multiple orders of narrative. Each
order of narrative comprises a sequence of scenes to be read by the
reader in a given reading of the work. Using the POV spreadsheet,
the author may enter information to define as many alternate orders
of narrative as he or she wants to include in the macrame. Usually
the source literary work already has a canonical order of narrative
as originally prepared by the author. The invention provides
convenient means of selecting and incorporating both the canonical
and alternate orders of narrative to be included in the
macrame.
[0525] The invention's formulas in the POV spreadsheet support the
definition and use of alternative orders of narrative. The
invention generates automatically several sets of alternative
links, each of which traces a narrative thread for a character in
the set of characters assuming a point of view in the work.
[0526] Note that no scene link titles are given for the previous
and next scene links in the primary narrative sequence--these links
are displayed only as `previous` and `next`. This practice
simplifies selection for the reader.
[0527] To support reader focus on the primary narrative sequence
during sequential reading, the alternate scene link titles may be
reduced in contrast, presented in a typeface that is decorative,
obscure, or differently-sized, presented in a font from an
alternative language, or otherwise made more attractive only for
readers who wish to browse or read by alternative paths in the
narratives. The invention facilitates such changes in presentation
by allowing the specification of different stylesheet classes for
each link.
Scene Processing Control File Preparation
[0528] The generation and linking of the scene hypertext files
requires the invention's use of a series of file preparation
scripts which build the linked files from the scene text files. To
control its scripts properly, each scene text file has associated
with it a scene processing control file which carries certain scene
characteristics extracted from the spreadsheet. The scene
processing control file originates in the POV spreadsheet as
generated processing control records formatted by the spreadsheet
from author-supplied data. The record types are as shown in Table
5a. The data items of each record type in the scene processing
control file are shown in Table 5b.
TABLE-US-00019 TABLE 5a Scene Processing Control File Record Types
Record Identifier Record Description [FILES] the record listing
file characteristics for the scene [SCENE] the record listing scene
characteristics for the scene [SOURCE] the record listing the
source data elements for the scene [BASELINKS] the record listing
information for the essential links for the scene [KEYWORDS] the
record listing the keywords characterizing the scene [LINKMAIN] the
record listing the full set of link entry numbers for the scene
[LINKS] the record listing characteristics for additional links for
the scene
[0529] The [LINKS] record may be repeated for as many secondary
narrative sequences as the author decides to link to (or from) the
scene hypertext file for the given scene processing control
file.
TABLE-US-00020 TABLE 5b Scene Processing Control File Content
Record Identifier Data Element Data Element Description [FILES]
Input file name the input linked scene text file name [FILES]
Output file name the output scene hypertext file name [SCENE] Scene
title the title of the scene [SCENE] Scene copyright date the date
of copyright of the scene text file [SCENE] Scene stylesheet the
stylesheet or format controlling file for the scene [SCENE] Scene
year the year (in story time) of the scene [SCENE] Scene month the
month (in story time) of the scene [SCENE] Scene day the day (in
story time) of the scene [SCENE] Scene hour the hour (in story
time) of the scene [SCENE] Scene minute the minute (in story time)
of the scene [SCENE] Scene locale information the location of the
scene in the story's world as needed [SOURCE] Chapter the chapter
number of the scene [SOURCE] Section the section number of the
scene [SOURCE] Scene the scene number [SOURCE] POV the point of
view for the scene [SOURCE] Scene_Source_File the name of the
source text file for the scene [SOURCE] Scene_Entry_Number the
spreadsheet entry number for the scene [SOURCE] Chapter_Name the
chapter name for the scene [SOURCE] Scene_Stylesheet the stylesheet
for the scene [SOURCE] Scene_Class the display class for the scene
[SOURCE] DR_2005_Scene_Seq_No. the main sequence number for the
scene [SOURCE] Part_No. the part number for the scene [SOURCE]
Part_Name the part name for the scene [SOURCE] ORIGINAL_NOVEL_SCENE
the identifier of the scene in the original work [SOURCE]
Original_Chapter_Number the number of the chapter in the original
work [SOURCE] DR_2001_Scene_Seq_No. (sequence number from earlier
source) [SOURCE] Teshill_Scene_Seq_No. (sequence number from
earlier source) [SOURCE] Pyro_Scene_Seq_No. (sequence number from
earlier source) [BASELINKS] Previous scene hypertext file the name
of the scene hypertext file linking to the current name file in the
primary narrative sequence [BASELINKS] Next scene hypertext file
name the name of the scene hypertext file to which the current file
in the primary narrative sequence links [BASELINKS] Introduction
hypertext file name the name of a hypertext file providing basic
links to other scene hypertext files in the macrame [KEYWORDS]
First set of keywords one or more keywords characterizing the scene
[KEYWORDS] Second set of keywords one or more keywords
characterizing the scene [LINKMAIN] Link entry number list the list
of linked-scene entry numbers for the scene, one for each [LINKS]
record that follows [LINKS] Linked scene hypertext file name the
name of the scene hypertext file to which the current file in a
secondary narrative sequence links [LINKS] Linked scene title the
displayed identifier of the scene hypertext file to which the
current file in a secondary narrative sequence links [LINKS] Link
class the stylesheet class to be used for the secondary narrative
link
[0530] Each record in the scene processing control file contains
data elements in a form that facilitates the independent retrieval
and processing of each data element. Following the record
identifier as shown in Table 5a is a first field separator. After
the first field separator a first data element name appears,
enclosed in "<" and ">", followed by a first data element
value corresponding to the first data element name, again followed
by a field separator, and further pairs of data element names and
values, separated in the same way, with a final field separator at
the end. An example, in which line breaks are included only for
readability:
TABLE-US-00021 [LINKS]|
<Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_1>Ferdinand-00-00-01.htm|
<Linked_Scene_Title_1>FERDINAND DRINKS: Ferdinand|
<Link_Class_1>masked|
[0531] Scene compilation is done using the scene processing control
file as the sole source of information for the scene to be
compiled. Macrame compilation is simply the compilation of all
scenes into one folder or directory so as to enable proper
functioning of all hypertext links among the component scene files
and reference files.
Scene Hypertext File Preparation
[0532] The invention produces each scene hypertext file as a single
scrollable and pageable Web page. The scene title appears at the
top of the Web page. The scene hypertext (including all unmarked
links embedded in the text) appears next. At the bottom of the Web
page the page's explicit links to other scene hypertext files are
displayed. See FIG. 6A. In a basic fixed-output embodiment, the
invention positions and labels the explicit links in a fixed form,
with a single primary narrative sequence specified and labeled as
such.
[0533] In a dynamic-output embodiment, the invention positions and
labels the explicit links in a form which depends on the reader's
choice of narrative sequences. Thus if a reader choose a particular
character whose narrative he or she wishes to follow, the invention
repositions and relabels each scene's links to designate the
reader's choice as the primary narrative sequence.
Compilation of the Macrame
[0534] Once the POV spreadsheet contains all entries needed, the
glossary database spreadsheet contains all entries needed, and all
the scene text files are complete, the invention is operated to
compile the complete macrame in hypertext form as directed by the
author, editor, or publisher. The user selects the button in the
POV spreadsheet labeled "Make Ctl Files", which triggers the
invention's generation of a command script wherein a single command
for each scene interprets the scene processing control file and
creates the scene hypertext file with all its links included. The
user then executes the resulting command script. All scenes are
thereby compiled into a single folder or directory, called the
macrame folder, for reading using a conventional Web browser.
[0535] The invention then copies all hypertext files containing
reference information (glossaries, tables of contents, footnotes,
encyclopedia articles, sidebars, etc.) into the macrame folder, so
that the scene links to such materials, and the reference
materials'links to the scenes, may work correctly. Once all
materials are in the macrame folder, the macrame is complete, and
may be accessed by any reader using a standard Web browser.
[0536] Revisions to the invention's glossary require that links to
the glossary file or files be updated in all text containing such
links. This is done by rerunning all programs and scripts in the
compilation process to generate a fully-updated version of each
hypertext page. Manual intervention in the process is minimal.
Software Functions and Scripts of the Invention
[0537] The invention's scripts operate in three independent phases:
scene text file preparation, glossary processing, and scene
processing. The glossary processing provides input to the scene
processing in the form of a script for detecting and converting
glossary terms in the scenes into hypertext references to the
glossary and other reference files as needed by the author or
editor. The scene processing is the central component of the
invention, converting all scene text files prepared by the author
into scene hypertext files linked and ready for use by a
reader.
Scene Text File Preparation Script
[0538] A single script of the invention, in the form of a
WordPerfect PerfectScript program called PrepScen, facilitates
scene text file preparation. FIG. 5 shows the steps performed by
the PrepScen program, and FIG. 6 shows the steps performed by the
HmarkVoice and HmarkVoiceVarying subprograms. The PrepScen,
HmarkVoice, and HmarkVoiceVarying program source code is listed on
the enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled PrepScen.txt.
Glossary Processing
[0539] The invention provides the reader with links to
substantially every instance of every glossary item found in the
text of the work. First, the author provides a file of glossary
entries including terms and their definitions. The invention uses
as its input the author's glossary file defined conventionally in
HTML, reads the file, and generates as output a list of terms and
their intended treatments in the final work. The author then
modifies the contents of this list to account for special
treatments of individual glossary terms, such as plural or tense
forms, alternate spellings, or cross-references, any of which maybe
encountered in the text of the work. The invention subsequently
converts the list into command files for converting terms found in
a scene text file, Glossary, or other reference into hypertext
links.
[0540] Before any other work is done, the first phase of glossary
processing must be the extraction of terms to be glossed from the
author's sources. The form of this process depends heavily on the
form of the sources to be used. Here is an example of an extraction
process using a glossary already existing in HTML form:
TABLE-US-00022 ExtractGlNms # # This script reads a Glossary in
.htm form as standard input and writes # standard output as an awk
command script containing the name anchors # for hrefs and other
required data. The output is used in the manual # creation of a raw
form of the GLP.txt file, called GLPRaw.txt, for # required manual
augmentation and editing. # awk `/<a name="[{circumflex over (
)}"]*">/ { print $0; }` | awk `/{circumflex over (
)}<dl><dt>/ { print $0; }` | sed
`s/<dl><dt><a name="//; s/">.*$//` | awk `{ print
"Gl.htm|" $0 "|" $0 "|" $0 "|gl|book"; }` >GLPRaw.txt
[0541] The resulting output, GLPRaw.txt, requires manual editing by
the author or user to eliminate terms not to be incorporated,
correct any terms not properly processed, and add any terms or
forms of terms to be searched out in the text in which links to the
glossed items will be placed. Following is a sample from a GLP.txt
file, after a user has edited the GLPRaw.txt file to produce
it.
TABLE-US-00023 GLP.txt (sample) ...
Gl.htm|Andrew|Andrew|Andrew|gl|book Andro Notes.htm|Andro
Notes||Andro Notes|en|book
Gl.htm|androspace|innerspace|androspace|gl|book
Gl.htm|andro|andro|andro|gl|book ...
[0542] By using a simple text file loading procedure as indicated
in FIG. 7, the author or user may load the GLP.txt file into the
Glossary Database spreadsheet so that the field contents shown for
each record of the GLP.txt file load into the following columns of
the spreadsheet's Treatments table:
[0543] 1. Anchor_File
[0544] 2. Found_Term_Form
[0545] 3. Linked_Anchor_Term
[0546] 4. Displayed_Term
[0547] 5. Display_Window
[0548] 6. Link_Stylesheet_Name
[0549] An analogous loading process allows an author or user to
load records into the Glossary Definitions table itself in the
spreadsheet. Once Treatments and Glossary records are loaded, the
invention's software functions listed in the next section prepare
the tables for further script processing.
Glossary Processing Functions
[0550] As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the invention's Glossary
Database spreadsheet converts author-supplied definitions into two
files: AutoGlDefs.txt (409), the glossary definitions with their
usages and treatments; and AutoGlP.txt (411), the glossary
treatments list. (The split-glossary-file, layered-reference, and
split-glossary-file layered reference embodiments follow closely
similar paths of processing.) Some of the conversion process is
done by simple spreadsheet formulas. Most of the conversion is done
using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), a programming language.
The principal VBA software components of the invention, as stored
in the invention's spreadsheet workbooks, are enclosed on CD-ROM.
The comments at the head of each function or subroutine explain its
purpose. In the program listings, some long lines of code wrap
around to more than one printed line; this wraparound does not
appear in the code itself. The glossary processing code, called in
its overall form the genGlFiles program source code, is listed on
the enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled genGlFiles.txt.
Glossary Processing Scripts
[0551] See FIG. 10. The invention uses the two outputs 409, 411
produced by the Glossary Database spreadsheet as inputs to build
command file scripts for link installation. A first output command
file 415, GlGl.sed, is applied to the Glossary itself during the
creation of the Glossary hypertext file 48. As shown in FIG. 12, a
second output command file 421, RefGl.sed, is applied to each
reference text during the conversion of the reference hypertext
file 42 into an enhanced reference hypertext file 44. As shown in
FIG. 14, a third output command file 419, Gl.sed, is applied to the
scene text during the conversion of the augmented scene text file
30 into a scene hypertext file 91.
[0552] The invention provides a master script, BuildGlossHTM, for
the creation of both the Glossary itself in XHTML format and the
files for replacing glossed terms with hypertext references. The
BuildGlossHTM script uses as its inputs the AutoGlDefs.txt and
AutoGlP.txt files 409, 411 produced by the Glossary Database
spreadsheet. From the AutoGlDefs.txt file, the BuildGlossHTM script
builds the Glossary hypertext file 48, and from the AutoGlP.txt
file, the BuildGlossHTM script builds the Gl.sed file 419 for
replacing glossed terms in the scene text files and general
references, and the GlGl.sed file 415 for replacing glossed terms
in the Glossary itself. The BuildGlossHTM script is listed on the
enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled BuildGlossHTM.txt.
[0553] Each glossed item in the AutoGlP.txt file must be found in
all its appearances in the literary work, and references inserted
in the literary work pointing to the glossary entry for each
occurrence of that item.
[0554] The split-glossary-file embodiments of the invention require
flexibility in the number, names, and contents of the component
files comprising the Glossary. Since these attributes may vary at
the user's discretion, the invention's VBA code in the GlDB.xls
spreadsheet builds a script similar to the BuildGlossHTM script,
called the BuildSGlossHTM script. The BuildSGlossHTM script is
listed on the enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled
BuildSGlossHTM.txt.
[0555] The GlSedgen.awk script generates a sed script from the
AutoGlP.txt, AutoGlPCR.txt. AutoGlPSpl.txt, or AutoGlPSplCR.txt
file, and the sed script will be used to find and insert glossary
references for all glossed terms appearing in the Glossary itself.
The GlSedgen.awk script is listed on the enclosed CD-ROM in the
file labeled GlSedgen.awk.
[0556] Following is a sample portion of a set of commands generated
using the GlSedgen.awk script, and called GlGl.sed. GlGl.sed is
used to insert glossary links in the Glossary itself.
TABLE-US-00024 GlGl.sed (sample) 1,$ s/\*/=!=/g ... 1,$
s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(bioandroid\)\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">bioandroid<\/a>\3/g 1,$ s/\({circumflex over
( )}bioandroid\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">bioandroid<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex over
( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(bioandroid$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro"
target="gl" class="book">bioandroid<\/a>/g 1,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andros\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andros<\/a>\3/g 1,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}andros\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andros<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andros$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro"
target="gl" class="book">andros<\/a>/g 1,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(android\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">android<\/a>\3/g 1,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}android\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">android<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(android$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro"
target="gl" class="book">android<\/a>/g 1,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andro\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andro<\/a>\3/g 1,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}andro\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andro<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andro$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro"
target="gl" class="book">andro<\/a>/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(Andrew\)\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Andrew" target="gl"
class="book">Andrew<\/a>\3/g 1,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}Andrew\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#Andrew" target="gl"
class="book">Andrew<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(Andrew$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Andrew"
target="gl" class="book">Andrew<\/a>/g... 1,$ s/=!=/\*/g
s/{circumflex over ( )}@// s/@|@/|/ s/@|/|/ s/|@/|/ s/@ @/ /g
s/@-@/-/g s/@/ /g
[0557] The Sedgen.awk script generates a sed script from the
AutoGlP.txt, AutoGlPCR.txt. AutoGlPSpl.txt, or AutoGlPSplCR.txt
file, to be used to find and insert glossary references for all
glossed terms appearing in the literary work, apart from those in
the Glossary itself or in the references. The Sedgen.awk script is
listed on the enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled Sedgen.awk.
[0558] Following is a sample portion of a set of commands generated
using the Sedgen.awk script, and called Gl.sed:
TABLE-US-00025 Gl.sed (sample) 3,$ s/\*/=!=/g ... 3,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andros\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andros<\/a>\3/g 3,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}andros\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andros<\/a>\2/g 3,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andros$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro"
target="gl" class="book">andros<\/a>/g 3,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(android\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">android<\/a>\3/g 3,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}android\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">android<\/a>\2/g 3,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(android$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro"
target="gl" class="book">android<\/a>/g 3,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andro\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andro<\/a>\3/g 3,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}andro\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#andro" target="gl"
class="book">andro<\/a>\2/g 3,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(andro$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#andro"
target="gl" class="book">andro<\/a>/g 3,$ s/\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(Andrew\)\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Andrew" target="gl"
class="book">Andrew<\/a>\3/g 3,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}Andrew\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#Andrew" target="gl"
class="book">Andrew<\/a>\2/g 3,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>@]\)\(Andrew$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Andrew"
target="gl" class="book">Andrew<\/a>/g ... 3,$ s/=!=/\*/g
3,$ s/@/ /g 1,1 s/{circumflex over ( )}[ ]*/<!-- Scene Title
line stored in text was: / 1,1 s/.$/&\/ -->/
[0559] The invention uses the sed script produced in the above
process as an input to the scene processing stage, converting terms
having Glossary entries or other similar references into hypertext
links.
[0560] To construct the hypertext Glossary itself in the
single-glossaary-file embodiment, the invention combines a
hypertext header file, a generated glossary body, and a hypertext
trailer file. The invention generates the glossary body using the
AutoGlDefs.txt file as input to a five-step process. These steps
are:
[0561] 1. Remove all existing hypertext links from the glossary
definitions file, AutoGlDefs.txt.
[0562] 2. Insert protective codes in the output from Step 1. so
that no links will be installed in fields in the glossary
definitions file that do not require them. This insertion is
performed by an awk script, PrepGlDefs.awk.
[0563] 3. Install all Glossary hypertext links to other Glossary
entries in the Step 2. glossary term definitions themselves. This
insertion is performed using the generated sed script,
GLGL.sed.
[0564] 4. Sort the Glossary entries from Step 3. into the order
desired for their appearance in the finished Glossary.
[0565] 5. Convert the sorted Glossary entries from Step 4. into the
finished Glossary body, using the awk script GlGen.awk.
[0566] The PrepGlDefs.awk script simplifies the task of the
link-insertion scripts by inserting signal characters in the Anchor
Glossary Term and Form of Term Used fields. The PrepGlDefs.awk
script is listed on the enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled
PrepGlDefs.awk.
[0567] The generation of the Glossary body is the task of the
GlGen.awk script. The GlGen.awk script is listed on the enclosed
CD-ROM in the file labeled GlGen.awk.
[0568] Once the header and footer are wrapped around the generated
Glossary body, the first output of the BuildGlossHTM script is the
Glossary itself. In the preferred embodiment, the Glossary is a
single XHTML file; in additional embodiments, the Glossary may be
broken up into multiple files.
[0569] The second output of the BuildGlossHTM script is the Gl.sed
script, used in scene text file processing to insert links in each
scene hypertext file.
[0570] In its split-glossary-file embodiment, the invention
executes the generated BuildSGlossHTM script to build a Glossary
header with an introduction and an index, and then a series of
Glossary files, one for each subset of terms in the Glossary. The
process is substantially the same as that described above for the
single-glossary-file embodiment.
[0571] To implement a split-glossary-file embodiment by adaptation
from the single-glossary-file embodiment required about a day's
work, illustrating the invention's flexibility and adaptability in
generating new forms of processing and outputs.
Reference File Processing
[0572] See FIG. 11. Reference files, not including the Glossary,
may originate as word processing documents 22 that may incorporate
tables, images, and other non-text components. Such documents are
converted first into hypertext form using conventional conversion
tools, but then require editing to make them consistent with the
invention's glossary and scene hypertext files. A manual editing
process must replace the existing XHTML header with a header
consistent with the invention's scheme, creating reference
hypertext files 42.
Reference File Processing Scripts
[0573] One master script 437, UpdateRefHTM, updates all Glossary
links in each reference hypertext file 42. UpdateRefHTM performs
all of the following tasks:
[0574] 1. Constructs the sed file 421 called RefGL.sed, for
detecting and linking Glossary terms within a reference hypertext
file 42. This step is performed by an awk script, RefSedgen.awk,
using the AutoGlP.txt file 411 constructed from the Glossary
spreadsheet. (Details are in FIG. 9.) The RefSedgen.awk script is
listed on the enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled
RefSedgen.awk.
[0575] 2. Sets aside the input reference document's XHTML headers
and footers. This step is performed by a pair of sed scripts,
ExtractHHead 431 and ExtractHFoot 432, using the input
document.
[0576] 3. Keeps the reference document's text-embedded HTML intact
except for Glossary links, which it removes, leaving only the
displayed term. See also FIG. 12. This step is performed by the
ExtractHText, DeleteHLinks, and HideHTM sed scripts 433, 434, and
435 respectively using the input reference hypertext file 42.
[0577] 4. Reinstalls all Glossary links in reference hypertext file
42's text, incorporating all changes affecting Glossary links. This
step is performed by the RefGL.sed sed script 421, using the output
of Step 3.
[0578] 5. Restores the reference document's text-embedded HTML.
This step is performed by the UnHideHTM script 436, creating
reference hypertext file updated text section 440. The UpdateRefHTM
script 437 then combines header section 42a, reference hypertext
file updated text section 440, and footer section 42b.
[0579] 6. Produces enhanced reference hypertext file 44 (reference
Web page), the UpdateRefHTM script's output.
[0580] The UpdateRefHTM script is a bash shell script containing
the others described above. The UpdateRefHTM script is listed on
the enclosed CD-ROM in the file labeled UpdateRefHTM.awk. The
ExtractHHead. ExtractHFoot, ExtractHText, DeleteHLinks, HideHTM,
and UnHideHTM scripts are listed on the enclosed CD-ROM in the file
labeled UpdateRefHTM sed scripts.txt.
TABLE-US-00026 RefGl.sed (a sample of the file generated by
RefSedgen.awk, including its head and tail): 1,$ s/\*/=!=/g ... 1,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>}@]\)\(Andrew\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z{@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Andrew" target="gl"
class="book">Andrew<\/a>\3/g 1,$ s/\({circumflex over (
)}Andrew\)\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-rt-z{@]\)/<a
href="Gl.htm#Andrew" target="gl"
class="book">Andrew<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>}@]\)\(Andrew$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Andrew"
target="gl" class="book">Andrew<\/a>/g 1,$
s/\([{circumflex over ( )}A-Za-z#=>}@]\)\(Earth\)\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-rt-z{@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Ancient@Earth"
target="gl" class="book">Earth<\/a>\3/g 1,$
s/\({circumflex over ( )}Earth\)\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-rt-z{@]\)/<a href="Gl.htm#Ancient@Earth" target="gl"
class="book">Earth<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-z#=>}@]\)\(Earth$\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Ancient@Earth"
target="gl" class="book">Earth<\/a>/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-z#=>}@]\)\(Ancient Earth\)\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-rt- z{@]\)/\1<a href="Gl.htm#Ancient@Earth" target="gl"
class="book">Ancient@Earth<\/a>\3/g 1,$ s/\({circumflex
over ( )}Ancient Earth\)\([{circumflex over (
)}A-Za-rt-z{@]\)/<a href="Gl.htm#Ancient@Earth" target="gl"
class="book">Ancient@Earth<\/a>\2/g 1,$ s/\([{circumflex
over ( )}A-Za-z#=>}@]\)\(Ancient Earth$\)/\1<a
href="Gl.htm#Ancient@Earth" target="gl"
class="book">Ancient@Earth<\/a>/g ... 1,$ s/=!=/\*/g
s/{circumflex over ( )}@// s/@|@/|/ s/@|/|/ s/|@/|/ s/@ @/ /g
s/@-@/-/g s/@/ /g
Scene Processing
[0581] The invention's POV spreadsheet initiates programmed scene
processing by creating a scene processing control file for each
scene to be included in the work. The scene processing control file
determines the form and connections of each scene in the final
work. An author or editor may make manual changes to this control
file for a scene to change the form and connections as presented to
the reader. This facilitation of author or editor changes is a
feature of the invention. Here is an example of a scene processing
control file for a scene in a novel. The Data Type Identifier
begins each line of the file, and the Data Elements are
concatenated after the corresponding Data Type Identifier on the
same line.
TABLE-US-00027 Sample Scene Processing Control File
(Andrew-03g-01-01.txt) Data Type Identitifer Data Elements [FILES]|
<Scene_Text_File_Name>Andrew POV\Chapter 03g-01-01 (Andrew
POV).txt</Scene_Text_File_Name>|
<Scene_HTML_File_Name>Andrew-03g-01-01.htm</Scene_HTML_File_Name-
>| <Scene_Processing_Control_File_Name>Andrew-03g-01-01-
Ctl.txt</Scene_Processing_Control_File_Name>|
<Scene_Data_File_Name>Andrew-03g-01-01-Data.txt</Scene_Data_File-
_Name>| [SCENE]| <Scene_Title>CONE
COUNTRY</Scene_Title>|
<COPYRIGHT_YEAR>2005</COPYRIGHT_YEAR>|
<Scene_Stylesheet>Demo Stylesheet</Scene_Stylesheet>|
<Story_Year>1544</Story_Year>|
<Story_Month></Story_Month>|
<Story_Day></Story_Day>|
<Story_Hour></Story_Hour>|
<Story_Minute></Story_Minute>|
<Scene_Locale>Novander post</Scene_Locale>| [SOURCE]|
<Chapter>03g</Chapter>|
<Section>01</Section>| <Scene>01</Scene>|
<POV>Andrew</POV>| <Scene_Source_File>Andrew
POV\Chapter 03g-01-01 (Andrew
POV).wpd</Scene_Source_File>|<Scene_Entry_Number>85</Scene-
_Entry_Number>| <Chapter_Name>To
Purusil</Chapter_Name>| <Scene_Stylesheet>Demo
Stylesheet</Scene_Stylesheet>|
<Scene_Class>book</Scene_Class>|
<DR_2005_Scene_Seq_No>80</DR_2005_Scene_Seq_No>|
<Part_No>3</Part_No>| <Part_Name>The Training
Mission</Part_Name>|
<ORIGINAL_NOVEL_SCENE>63</ORIGINAL_NOVEL_SCENE>|
<Original_Chapter_Number>15</Original_Chapter_Number>|
<DR_2001_Scene_Seq_No>62</DR_2001_Scene_Seq_No>|
<Teshill_Scene_Seq_No></Teshill_Scene_Seq_No>|
<Pyro_Scene_Seq_No></Pyro_Scene_Seq_No>| [BASELINKS]|
<Next_Scene_Entry_No>86</Next_Scene_Entry_No>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MouseOver_Link_Class>master</MouseOver_Link_Class>|
<MouseOut_Link_Class>masked</MouseOut_Link_Class>|
<Previous_Scene_Entry_No>84</Previous_Scene_Entry_No>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MouseOver_Link_Class>master</MouseOver_Link_Class>|
<MouseOut_Link_Class>masked</MouseOut_Link_Class>|
<Intro_HTML_File_Name>L
Intro.htm</Intro_HTML_File_Name>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MouseOver_Link_Class>master</MouseOver_Link_Class>|
<MouseOut_Link_Class>masked</MouseOut_Link_Class>|
[PRLINKS]| <Next_Scene_HTML_File_Name>Andrew-03g-01-
02.htm</Next_Scene_HTML_File_Name>|
<Next_Scene_Title>REACHING THE
COAST</Next_Scene_Title>|
<Link_Class_Next>masked</Link_Class_Next>|
<Next_Scene_Entry_No>86</Next_Scene_Entry_No>|
<Prev_Scene_HTML_File_Name>Zashinhalh-03f2-03-
01.htm</Prev_Scene_HTML_File_Name>|<Prev_Scene_Title>AGAINST
THE FIERY SANDS</Prev_Scene_Title>|
<Link_Class_Prev>masked</Link_Class_Prev>|
<Prev_Scene_Entry_No>84</Prev_Scene_Entry_No>|
[KEYWORDS]| <Keywords_1>Alliji Andrew Hings-Wen Marande
Mentrius Yuss</Keywords_1>|
<Scene_Character_List>Alliji, Andrew*, Hings-Wen, Marande,
Mentrius, Yuss</Scene_Character_List>|
<Keywords_2></Keywords_2>| [LINKMAIN]|
<Scene_Entry_Number>85</Scene_Entry_Number>|
<POV_Char_Number>5</POV_Char_Number>|
<Previous_Scene_Entry_No>84</Previous_Scene_Entry_No>|
<Next_Scene_Entry_No>86</Next_Scene_Entry_No>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_1>86</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_1>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_2>86</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_2>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_3>91</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_3>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_4>86</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_4>|
<POV_Next_Scene_Entry_No>86</POV_Next_Scene_Entry_No>|
<POV_Previous_Scene_Entry_No>84</POV_Previous_Scene_Entry_No>-
| [LINKS]| <Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_1>Andrew-03g-01-
02.htm</Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_1>|
<Linked_Scene_Title_1>REACHING THE COAST:
Andrew</Linked_Scene_Title_1>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MouseOver_Link_Class>master</MouseOver_Link_Class>|
<MouseOut_Link_Class>masked</MouseOut_Link_Class>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_1>86</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_1>|
[LINKS]| <Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_2>Andrew-03g-01-
02.htm</Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_2>|
<Linked_Scene_Title_2>REACHING THE COAST:
Alliji</Linked_Scene_Title_2>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MouseOver_Link_Class>master</MouseOver_Link_Class>|
<MouseOut_Link_Class>masked</MouseOut_Link_Class>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_2>86</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_2>|
[LINKS]| <Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_3>Andrew-03h-01-
02.htm</Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_3>|
<Linked_Scene_Title_3>THE BARE LEDGE:
Marande</Linked_Scene_Title_3>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MouseOver_Link_Class>master</MouseOver_Link_Class>|
<MouseOut_Link_Class>masked</MouseOut_Link_Class>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_3>91</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_3>|
[LINKS]| <Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_4>Andrew-03g-01-
02.htm</Linked_Scene_HTML_File_Name_4>|
<Linked_Scene_Title_4>REACHING THE COAST:
Mentrius</Linked_Scene_Title_4>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MouseOver_Link_Class>master</MouseOver_Link_Class>|
<MouseOut_Link_Class>masked</MouseOut_Link_Class>|
<Linked_Scene_Entry_No_4>86</Linked_Scene_Entry_No_4>|
[LINKS]| <Next_Scene_HTML_File_Name>Andrew-03g-01-
02.htm</Next_Scene_HTML_File_Name>|
<Next_Scene_Title>REACHING THE COAST: Andrew
Viewpoint</Next_Scene_Title>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MOver_Link_Class>master</MOver_Link_Class>|
<MOut_Link_Class>masked</MOut_Link_Class>|
<POV_Next_Scene_Entry_No>86</POV_Next_Scene_Entry_No>|
[LINKS]| <Prev_Scene_HTML_File_Name>Andrew-03f-01-
01.htm</Prev_Scene_HTML_File_Name>|
<Prev_Scene_Title>DAWN WATCH: Andrew
Viewpoint</Prev_Scene_Title>|
<Init_Link_Class>masked</Init_Link_Class>|
<MOver_Link_Class>master</MOver_Link_Class>|
<MOut_Link_Class>masked</MOut_Link_Class>|
<POV_Previous_Scene_Entry_No>81</POV_Previous_Scene_Entry_No>-
|
[0582] The data element values in the above sample are separated by
vertical bars (`|`). The first data element in each record (line)
is an identifier of the type of data in the remaining data elements
in that line. Each subsequent data element consists of a data
element name in "<" ">", followed by a data element
value.
[0583] In the [FILES] record, the first data element contains the
name of the source scene text file to be read
(Andrew-03g-01-01.txt), and the second data element contains the
name of the target scene hypertext file to be written
(Andrew-03g-01-01.htm).
[0584] In the [SCENE] record, the first data element contains the
title of the scene (CONE COUNTRY), the second contains the
copyright year (2005), the third contains the hypertext stylesheet
used to format the display of the scene's page (Demo Stylesheet),
the next five contain the year, month, day, hour, and minute of the
scene in the world of the narrative (here only the story year,
1544, is given), and the last contains the locale of the scene
(Novander post).
[0585] The [BASELINKS] record contains the scene entry number,
initial link class, mouseover link class, and mouseout link class
for each of the subsequent scene hypertext file, the previous scene
hypertext file, and the hypertext file for a table of contents or
other higher-level reference (L Intro.htm). The subsequent and
previous scenes designated here are those in the primary narrative
order of the work.
[0586] The [PRLINKS] record contains first the name of the
subsequent scene's hypertext file (Andrew-03g-01-02.htm), and then
the name of the previous scene's hypertext file
(Zashinhalh-03f2-03-01.htm). The subsequent and previous scenes
designated here are those in the primary narrative order of the
work.
[0587] The [KEYWORDS] record contains data elements each of which
holds a series of words which may be used to categorize the scene.
The invention performs default assignments of values to these data
elements. The first data element contains a default assignment of
the POV character's name and the locale of the scene (Andrew
Novander post), while the second contains a default assigned value
consisting of a list of the characters in the scene (Alliji Andrew
Hings-Wen Marande Mentrius Yuss). The third data element is
reserved for later use.
[0588] The [LINKMAIN] record contains scene entry numbers for all
scenes to which the current scene links. It also contains the
number identifying the POV character in the spreadsheet.
[0589] The [LINKS] record, which may have multiple occurrences,
contains first, a link to an alternate subsequent scene; second,
the displayed title of the alternate scene and its POV character;
and finally a link class for the link ('masked', meaning that the
link is not visible except when a pointer passes over it).
[0590] In this scene processing control file example are six
[LINKS] records, each of which generates a separate hypertext link
in the page for the scene. In most cases, each link leads the
reader to the next scene in which the character named in the link's
display, such as Marande in "THE BARE LEDGE: Marande", appears.
That next scene is in the file named Andrew-03h-01-02.htm.
Different characters in the story may lead the reader to the same
scene hypertext file. The characters selected for appearance in
these links may or may not be point-of-view characters, but those
who are point-of-view characters appear first.
[0591] The last two links may be the same as others displayed, but
they will always follow the point of view of the current scene, so
that a reader may follow a specific character through the work. The
first of this link pair leads the reader forward to the next scene
for that character's point of view, and the second takes the reader
backward to the previous scene for that character's point of
view.
Scene Processing Functions
[0592] The invention's POV spreadsheet converts author-supplied
parameters into the information in the scene processing control
files. Some of the conversion process is done by simple spreadsheet
formulas. Most of the conversion is done using VBA (Visual Basic
for Applications), a programming language. The principal VBA
software components of the invention, as stored in the POV
spreadsheet workbook, are included on the enclosed CD-ROM, in the
file labeled MakeLMCompilationFile.txt. The comments at the head of
each function or subroutine explain its purpose. In this listing,
some long lines of code wrap around to more than one printed line;
this wraparound does not appear in the code itself.
Scene Processing Scripts
[0593] The scene processing control files for all scenes are the
primary input to a set of utility scripts. The utility scripts
restructure the data in all the scene text files to build a scene
hypertext file for each scene. See FIG. 20 for the relationships
among the control scripts. In a first embodiment, the invention's
POV spreadsheet executes a function called MakeLMCompilationFile to
generate a shell script called CompileLM. CompileLM compiles the
literary macrame in two major stages. First, CompileLM invokes a
subordinate script called BuildGlossHTM to construct the Glossary
and a pair of scripts for installing links to the Glossary. Second,
CompileLM constructs the complete literary macrame of Web pages
using all scene processing control files and scene text files. A
sample CompileLM script is included on the enclosed CD-ROM, in the
file labeled CompileLM.txt.
[0594] See FIG. 20. The scriptset.awk script 910 breaks down the
process of building the scene hypertext file 97 into a series of
steps. The scriptset.awk script 910 uses three steps 930, 940, 950
to generate three components needed to form a usable scene
hypertext file 97. The three steps are:
[0595] 1. Use the headset.awk script 930 to construct the HTML
header for its output, using a scene header template file 93.
[0596] 2. Use the AutoGlPCR.txt file 411.1, the CRReplScrGen.awk
script 418.1, and the Gl.sed script 419 to construct the HTML
output for the scene itself, using an augmented scene text file 30.
Since the awk program is less effective and flexible in making such
substitutions on a large-scale basis, the invention applies a
sed-program script 419, GL.sed, to do the detailed substitution
work. The sed-program script 419, also called the scene file
reference link insertion script, is generated from the glossary
treatments file 411 (AutoGlP.txt) by a scene file link processing
script generation script 418, Sedgen.awk. The output of the
execution of the scene file reference link insertion script 419 is
the reference-linked scene text file 91.
[0597] 3. Use the footset.awk script 950 to construct the HTML
output for the scene's links and a standard HTML footer for the
scene hypertext file, using a scene footer template file 95.
[0598] The scriptset.awk script 910 concatenates the outputs 91,
93, 95 of its steps into the finished scene hypertext file 97. The
scriptset.awk script is included on the enclosed CD-ROM, in the
file labeled scriptset.awk.
[0599] The headset.awk script 930 uses a template 93 that contains
all substitution variables in a form such as "[Data Definitions]"
(a marker for generation of a complete list of data elements
substituting for the marker), or "[Scene_Title]" (a marker for
direct substitution of the scene's title text for the marker
itself). The headset.awk script is included on the enclosed CD-ROM,
in the file labeled headset.awk.
[0600] See FIG. 20. The footset.awk script 950 uses a template 95
as input, and performs a task critical to the invention's purpose:
the incorporation in each scene of multiple scene-to-scene links
for the reader to follow while reading the work. Links in the
primary (canonical) narrative sequence are presented as visible
displays to the reader. Each additional scene-to-scene link is
presented to the reader without contrast to its background, so that
it does not become visible unless the reader selects (performs a
`mouseover`) of the area the link occupies in the display. Template
95 contains all substitution variables in a form such as "[Link
Table Entries]" (a marker for generation of a complete list of
additional hypertext links), or "[Scene_Title]" (a marker for
direct substitution of the scene's title text for the marker
itself). The footset.awk script is included on the enclosed CD-ROM,
in the file labeled footset.awk.
[0601] Other embodiments of the invention's scripts can be
constructed in similar manner.
Illustrative Description of the Author's Use of the Invention
[0602] See the section titled Details of Method under Method of
Invention, above. One aspect of the author's use of the invention
requires further expansion: the establishment of alternative
sequences of reading for scenes. As described above, the invention
provides for the generation, display, and use of multiple
alternative links to take a reader from one scene hypertext file
display to another.
[0603] The main scene links lead forward to the next scene and
backward to the previous scene in the primary order of reading.
These links are always present, and are clearly displayed.
[0604] In its primary linking embodiment, the invention generates
three additional types of links to subsequent scenes. Its first
type is a link pair which lead forward to the next scene and
backward to the previous scene in which the point-of-view character
is again the point-of-view character. This type of link is useful
for those readers who wish to follow the thread of a given
character. See Table 2a for the details of processing.
[0605] The invention's second type of additional link traces
forward threads for characters appearing in a scene, whether or not
they are point-of-view characters in the next scene. The POV
spreadsheet compiles counts for each character in the work showing
the number of scenes for which that character is a point-of-view
character, and the number of scenes in which that character appears
without necessarily being the point-of-view character. The
invention compares each of these counts to a threshold value to
determine whether or not to build a forward link for that character
and scene, and builds such a link only if one of the threshold
values is exceeded. The author or other user can modify the
threshold value to increase or decrease the number of such possible
generated links from scenes. See Table 2b for the details of
processing.
[0606] The invention's third type of additional link is the
author-supplied link type. Space in each row of the list of scenes
is reserved for the author to enter information for up to four
forward scene links, each entry including scene entry number, scene
caption, and scene link stylesheet identifier. See Table 2c for the
details of processing.
[0607] Nonfiction applications of the invention are numerous.
Playwrights can construct electronic literary macrames to assist
actors, technicians, directors, and filmmakers in mounting a
production. Pronunciation, cues, props, lighting, camera movements,
and all other forms of script annotation become convenient in a
layered form as the invention provides.
[0608] Textbooks in nearly every subject are rich in background
information provided in footnotes, endnotes, sidebars, glossaries,
and appendices, and the invention addresses all of these features
smoothly and easily with sharply-reduced disruption to a student's
of scholar's flow of thought. Furthermore, the invention offers a
textbook author a way to lead a reader through a thread of thought
created by a single source among several the author is presenting
in the work, thereby allowing the reader the source's perspective
on a given topic apart from the other sources also used in the
work.
[0609] The invention supplies unexpected possibilities for texts in
highly-technical subjects such as mathematics. A text containing
axioms, definitions, and proofs of lemmas, theorems, and
corollaries usually contains a wealth of internal cross references
among all these components. The invention's glossary provides ready
access to formal definitions, and the invention's reference pages
are ideal for the sidebar articles that often appear in modern
texts. The invention's threading of narratives allows tracings of
reasoning using a series of theorems in whatever manner an author
would like.
[0610] Sometimes the same theorem may be proved using analytical
methods (one point of view), set-theoretical methods (a second
POV), number-theoretical methods (a third POV), geometrical methods
(a fourth POV), algebraic methods (a fifth POV), or topological
methods (a sixth POV). By choosing a POV, a reader could follow a
specific reasoning approach through the same sequence of theorems,
allowing for shifts where shifts in POV (proof method) are
necessary. It would follow a point-of-view pattern much the same as
in a novel.
[0611] Legal documents rich in annotations and cross-references
would also benefit from the invention's interweaving of pathways
through such works.
[0612] The invention couples cleanly with the tools of the Internet
and other media supported by hypertext such as images, audio,
animations, video, and active program elements offering
demonstrations, games, or other forms of interaction to a reader.
By its integration of the world of text publishing with the
potentials of the electronic media, the invention opens new
opportunities for the creators of intellectual property of all
kinds.
[0613] First, integrating the invention with the client-server
technology of the World Wide Web allows the providing author or
publisher the ability to create works which reside entirely on a
reader's client computer system, entirely on the provider's server
computer systems, or on some combination of client and server
systems. See FIG. [7A]. Instead of storage and access entirely
within the reader's computer system or client computer system 62,
the contents of one or more windows 820, 840 can be retrieved from
one or more server systems 61 at remote points in the World Wide
Web to present windows 820.1, 840.1 to the reader. See FIG. 37.
Such a structure accommodates the use of a subscription business
model for access to part or all of the content of the literary
macrame, as is done with software programs and multiplayer online
games. Such business models represent potential revenue streams for
publishers, authors, and other creators of text content.
[0614] Second, such links to servers may be used to connect readers
directly with ongoing processes of developing content for the
literary macrame, such as new installments being created by the
author, supporting information made available by a publisher or
scholar, or additional multimedia facets supporting the work. In
this way, a static work of literature becomes a living, changing
document at the reader's fingertips.
[0615] Third, for publishers carrying extensive backlists of
already-published books for which print republication would be
unprofitable, the invention offer a means for profitable
rejuvenation of such works by integrating them with supporting
material and material of scholarly interest. An author's notes and
working appendices, cross-references to sources and bibliography,
and other materials can give readers considerable added value.
[0616] To offer an example of the added value the invention
creates, the multivolume set titled "History of Middle-earth", by
Christopher Tolkien contains numerous preliminary versions of
various parts of J. R. R. Tolkien's masterpieces The Lord of the
Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion, along with added working
documents written and expanded by the author over the long
development of the finished works. The publication of a literary
macrame of all of the assembled material would present readers and
scholars with a priceless view of the author's creative process,
and gives general readers a far deeper appreciation of Tolkien's
created world.
[0617] Similar steps may be taken with every type of printed work
from schoolbooks to music books, histories and biographies, and all
types of fiction. Conversions to the literary macrame form, as
offered by the invention, can raise the world of literature to new
levels of interconnection and richness, and integrate literature
constructively with the surging world of new communications and
media.
[0618] Finally, the invention provides authors and editors with a
functional realization of the literary device termed `framing`.
Framing is the practice of situating a secondary narrative text in
relationship to a primary narrative text so that the secondary text
comments on, refers to, illustrates, or otherwise enlarges upon the
primary text in such a way as to transform the reader's
relationship with the primary text. Glossaries, references,
footnotes, endnotes, sidebars, as supported by the invention, are a
limited form of framing narratives. A stronger form of framing is
the use of a narrator's commentaries to open and close episodes in
a story, when the narrator is not within the story itself, as in
the novel Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding. The so-called "Greek
chorus" of a play is a framing device.
[0619] Modern literature often applies the practice of frame
violation, for humorous or dramatic effect. An example in cinema is
in the film The Purple Rose of Cairo, where a character in a movie
being shown in a theater leaves the screen to join the characters
in the theater watching the movie. Time-travel stories in which a
character appears multiple times in the same scene constitute
another form of frame violation.
[0620] The invention's scene-by-scene linking mechanisms support
unexpected and interesting violations of the frame normally
presented to a reader. The cinematic example above can be adapted
in a surprising way by linking the story of the on-screen character
directly to the scene when that character leaves the screen to be
the outer world of a second narrative.
[0621] The invention's ability to connect scenes in circular and
interwoven ways facilitates the circular telling of stories such as
E. R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros, in which the story begins again
for its characters because they have enjoyed living it so much. A
second series of books by Eddison, The Zimiamvian Trilogy, is set
in the heaven of The Worm Ouroboros, which would allow an editor
presenting the works using the invention to link directly between
them.
[0622] In such ways, the invention offers an electronic realization
of literary devices that in conventional literature are handled
with words alone. The rich possibilities for framing that the
invention produces with electronic linkage depend solely on the
imagination and creativity of its users.
Illustrative Description of the Reader's Use of the Invention
[0623] The reader, using a conventional Web browser or other
similar program, approaches the literary macrame initially as if
reading an ordinary printed text. Conventional browser controls
allow the reader to scroll, page ahead or back, move back and forth
through displays, resize or reposition windows on the display,
determine the presence of links in the text by passing the mouse
pointer over the text being read, and activate links by selecting
them with the mouse. The invention's transformation of the text
exploits the power of these ordinary operations to enable the
author to achieve literary effects not possible with a printed
narrative.
[0624] The reader may use multiple windows at once. FIG. 31 shows
the display presented when a reader has first selected a link 717
in story text 700, based on the appearance of mouse pointer 611.
The selection of link 717 results in the display in glossary window
840 of the glossary entry for the selected term. If the user then
(FIG. 32) selects a link 737 in glossary window 840, the result is
the display in reference window 820 of an article describing in
further detail the subject of the previously-selected glossary
entry. The reader then selects reference window 820, as shown in
FIG. 33, to bring the article's text to the foreground for
reading.
[0625] The reader may begin reading the macrame by selecting a
single story thread or narrative thread, and following that thread
easily, using the browser controls, until the thread is completed.
If, however, the reader wishes to move from one thread to another
in the course of reading a scene, the reader may do so simply by
selecting the desired thread from the list of links at the end of
each scene. If the reader wishes to backtrack and choose another
thread of narrative, the browser facilitates making such a
choice.
[0626] For the reader, the invention presents the basic links to
the primary succeeding scene, the table of contents, and other
essential points in clear display, as shown in FIG. 34. The
invention presents all alternative scene selection links to the
reader in a concealed form, each one visible only through motion of
the mouse pointer 611 across the link display as shown in FIGS. 22
and 23, so that readers will not find the additional choices
confusing in appearance or presentation.
[0627] FIGS. 34 through 35 show the displays for a part of the
normal reading process. In FIG. 34, story text 700 in window 800
ends with a set of explicit links 760 displayed after it. The
reader may select any of the displayed links. The invention also
provides a set of explicit links 770 as shown in FIG. 22, any one
of which becomes visible only when the reader passes the mouse
pointer 611 over a link 770. In FIG. 23, a different link 770 is
shown as visible, since the mouse pointer is positioned over that
link 770.
[0628] If the reader selects the link 760 labeled `Next`, the next
page in the main narrative thread is displayed as shown in FIG. 35,
and the reading continues in a conventional sequence.
[0629] The reader encountering linked names, terms, or phrases may
summon information about them simply by clicking (selecting) them
to activate their links. Each link will cause information to be
displayed in the appropriate window. Some links skip to remote
points in a narrative and display their target points in the story
window. Some links provide displays of brief definitions in a
glossary window. Some links present displays of sidebars or
extended descriptions in a reference window. If the resulting
window for any activated link is not in the foreground, the reader
may advance the linked window for viewing and then return to the
original display, or else may simply continue reading the original
display.
[0630] Authors may exploit links by taking readers to unexpected
displays. A sequence of links may lead in a circle, so that the
reader never encounters an explicit endpoint. Such a linkage would
be directly applicable to James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake, in
which the unfinished sentence at the end of the novel is continued
at its beginning--the effect of the electronic form of this cycle
would be quite different from that of its printed form. An author
might link the end of one thread of narrative to the beginning of a
different thread, leading to multiple traversals of the same scene
along different paths. Such an approach would work well with a
narrative such as that of the story of Rashomon--here the reader
would be free to choose any of three narratives and follow them in
any order, or would simply use the order the invention offers as a
default. An author might offer the reader a conundrum to solve,
such as the cryptogram in Edgar Allan Poe's story The Gold
Bug--here the narrative might contain an active piece of computer
code to let the reader interact with the text. The invention
facilitates these and other forms of literary play in the making
and use of the tapestries it produces.
Potential Impacts of the Invention
[0631] The author, editor, compiler, or publisher may consider the
electronic literary macrame a living work. Stories and narrative
orders may be added or deleted or rewritten, modes of presentation
may be changed, and any other aspect of the process of deriving the
macrame in its final form for the reader may be varied to produce
different editions as seems appropriate. In effect, the literary
macrame is a work of software that may be released many times as an
author enhances or revises or corrects the contents and its
presentation.
[0632] An opportunity the invention supports is the conversion of
existing literary works into the macrame form. As an example,
consider an interconnected set of novels such as the Skolian Empire
stories written by author Catherine Asaro. Such a set of works can
be converted by the author or one or more editors using the
invention into a single literary macrame, electronically readable,
and fully interlinked as described hereinabove. The electronic form
of the works is thereby enhanced in value by the features offered
via the invention, and this enhancement offers publishers a way to
attract readers in the electronic realm without either the risk
inherent in publishing new works or the risk arising from boring
readers with verbatim electronic repetitions of already-printed
works.
[0633] An additional opportunity the invention supports is the
direct integration of the literary macrame with interactive
components such as games, puzzles, discussion boards, and other
electronic possibilities. For example, hidden or unexpected links
in a narrative may lead a reader to an encrypted message that opens
a new narrative, to a game for the reader to play, or to an online
discussion board. The possibilities are many; the cited ones are
only examples.
[0634] Finally, the invention's software framework offers
publishers innovative opportunities to draw readers into repeated
engagement via the purchase of new editions of the same work as the
author continues to refine, extend, and improve it, in much the
same way that popular software is enhanced and extended. As the
pricepoint for electronic reading devices continues to decline, and
as the convenience, simplicity, and compatibility of such devices
continue to improve, all of the opportunities offered by the
invention will gain in importance. Before the mass markets are
ready for the innovative form of literature which is here termed
the literary macrame, the invention will facilitate meeting the
demands of that market, and will in fact have already contributed
to the expansion of that demand.
* * * * *
References