Internet Informed by full book as pdf Redacted

Author:full book as pdf Redacted [Redacted, full book as pdf]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-27T12:58:04+00:00

hidden from view meaning not displayed on the webpage but visible in the HTML.

What is not commonly known is that while connecting a database to the internet is a technical feat that challenges anyone lacking a degree in computer science, moving a form is simplicity itself. We can pick up, move and indeed alter any form we find on the internet. We can take it from one page and move it to another as we desire. We can easily shift the form for Google’s search box and place it on our homepage within the context of our choosing. I call this ‘embedded forms’.

As part of the Spire Project, seven years ago I embedded over 130 forms within the supporting text that explained how and when to use certain search tools. Articles on patent research, government publications and searching discussion lists stacked embedded forms one over another within a discussion of what an ideal search involves. Search the various significant databases in turn, all from within the one article. Simply start at the top of the article and gradually work down the page.

It was a good innovation because a better search often needs only a few choice words of when to use a certain database, of what punctuation it accepts and what to use next. My difficulty was the mammoth unpaid task of keeping such advice current.

Using forms in this manner shaves steps from a search. No longer must we visit a webpage, then send a request, travel to another webpage to access a different database, then travel on to a third. Now we do all of this from one location. Furthermore, to help others search effectively, simply share our search page. They too can work their way down a webpage, following our steps.

The technicalities of shifting a form are simple but not intended for this book. I wrote the instructions as an article in the ONLINE magazine by Information Today33 and since I retain copyright, I am happy to provide a copy of the text at SpireProject.com/art20.htm. I will, however, draw your attention to two enhancements to embedded forms that demonstrate just how flexibly we can remake the internet to our advantage.

Firstly, and typical to all computing situations, it is rare indeed when we cannot find someone who has solved a problem for us. Remember I mentioned how forms cannot overlap? This is a slight overstatement since many years ago I found and adapted an early javascript by Adolfo Quevedo that folded multiple forms together into one.

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