｢‍｣ Lingenic HyperMedia In Development

Interactive documents — rich content, links, input

Lingenic HyperMedia is a full implementation of the Compose standard, currently in development. It renders .compose documents as interactive hypermedia — rich typography, mathematics, graphics, with navigation and input.

Vision

Documents as the interface. Rich typography, mathematics, graphics. Interactive forms and navigation. Same source renders to screen, PDF, and print.

Aspect	Capability
Rendering	Full typesetting — fonts, math, tables, graphics
Navigation	Links between documents, history, bookmarks
Interaction	`.when-click`, `.when-hover` for responsive UI
Input	`.read` with pattern matching for forms
Output parity	Terminal, PDF, HTML — same document

Comparison

System	Similarity	Difference
HyperCard	Documents as applications	Compose is text-native, not card-based
Web Browser	Navigation, links, forms	Document-centric, no DOM/CSS/JS complexity
PDF Viewer	Rich typography, portable	Compose is truly interactive, not static
Lynx	Text-mode, lightweight	Compose supports rich media too

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   Lingenic HyperMedia                   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│   .compose ──→ Processor ──→ .composed ──→ Renderer     │
│                    │             │           │          │
│              ┌─────┴─────┐  ┌────┴────┐  ┌───┴────┐     │
│              │ Variables │  │ Static  │  │Terminal│     │
│              │ Conditns  │  │ Content │  │ PDF    │     │
│              │ Includes  │  │ + Links │  │ HTML   │     │
│              └───────────┘  └─────────┘  └────────┘     │
│                                                         │
│   Input ←── .read ←── Pattern Matching                  │
│   Events ←── .when-click, .when-hover                   │
│   Navigation ←── links, history, .go-to                 │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Components

Parser

Reads .compose syntax — commands, variables, patterns, content.

Processor

Resolves dynamic elements: variables, conditionals, loops, includes, patterns. Outputs .composed (static content, active links).

Renderer

Typesets content to output: terminal (text or GUI), PDF, HTML. Handles fonts, math layout, graphics, tables.

Input Handler

Processes .read commands with pattern matching. Validates input, captures to variables.

Event Handler

Responds to .when-click and .when-hover. Updates state, triggers navigation, modifies display.

Navigator

Manages document links, history stack, bookmarks. Handles internal refs and external URLs.

Modes

Mode	Output	Use Case
Interactive	Terminal (text or GUI)	Browsing, forms, navigation
Export	PDF / HTML	Print, distribution, archival

Use Cases

Document Networks — Personal wikis, documentation systems, knowledge bases linked together.

Interactive Manuals — Software documentation with working examples, validated input, guided tutorials.

Forms and Wizards — Data collection with pattern validation, branching logic, immediate feedback.

Educational Materials — Language learning with parsed input, math tutoring with rendered equations.

Status

Lingenic HyperMedia is in early development. Core components:

Component	Status
Parser	Implemented (Rust)
Processor	Partial
PDF Renderer	Implemented (Rust)
Terminal Renderer	Planned
Input Handler	Planned
Event Handler	Planned
Navigator	Planned

The Idea

Compose started as typesetting. Through orthogonal design it became text processing, then interactive documents, then HyperMedia.

HyperMedia is the natural endpoint: a document-centric environment where content, computation, and interaction unify.

Not an app platform. Not a web page. HyperMedia — where the document is the application.