back-and-front-end-separation

The distinction between the storage system (back-end) that manages true structure and the user interface (front-end) that displays and interacts with the data.

1 chapter across 1 book

The Report on Project Xanadu Concerning Word Processing, Electronic Publishing, Hypertext, Thinkertoys, Tomorrow's Intellectual Revolution, and Certain Other Topics Including Knowledge, Education and Freedom (1981)Ted Nelson

CHAPTER 2 PROPOSAL FOR A UNIVERSAL ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING SYSTEM AND ARGHIVE We are all agreed that your theory ts crazy. The question which divides us ts whether tt ts crazy enough to have a chance of betng correct. My oum feeling ts that tt ts not crazy enough. Niels Bohr quoted in Kenneth Brower, The Starship and the Canoe, 46 LITERARY Z/\ MACHINES

Chapter 2 of Ted Nelson's report proposes a universal electronic publishing system called the Arghive, emphasizing the need to represent and store the 'true' intrinsic structure of textual information rather than conventional, amalgamated formats. It outlines a design philosophy that prioritizes simplicity, user control, and faithful representation of interconnected documents, reflecting literature as an ongoing system of linked writings. The chapter also highlights the technical challenges overcome by the Project Xanadu team to enable efficient storage, retrieval, and delivery of complex document structures.