THOT
A structured document editor

Thot allows the user to create, to modify and to consult interactively documents that comply with models. These models permit the production of homogeneous documents. Formatting and typography are handled by the system: the user can then focus on the organization and on the contents of documents.

Thot performs other operations for the user such as numbering, updating cross references, building index tables, spelling correction, etc.

Thot can produce documents in various output formats such as Postscript, LaTeX or HTML.

Structured edition

In Thot, a document is represented by its logical structure, which refers to its organization in terms of elements such as titles, chapters, sections, paragraphs, notes, figures, etc. These elements constitute tree structures which account for inclusion and order between elements. The text and other basic elements (symbols, graphics, pictures) constitute the terminal elements of these tree structures.

The logical structure is constrained by a structure schema which mainly specifies the types of usable elements and the relationships that can relate them. Each document type is defined by a structure schema and new document types can be defined as necessary.

The logical structure of a document is built by the Thot editor, under the user's control. The editor ensures that each document being handled complies with the model of its structure schema. Thus, it only allows operations which lead to a logical structure consistent with the structure schema. It also uses the structure schema to guide the user or to generate automatically certain parts of the document structure.

Integrated editor

Thot is an integrated and extensible system. It allows to process with the same tool and within the same document not only structured text but also graphics, complex tables, mathematical formulae, etc. This is not an exhaustive list: users can add other types of information by specifying the appropriate models.

Open system

Thot is an open system. It is able to exchange documents with other systems through a flexible exporting tool. For example, Thot documents can easily be converted into LaTeX and HTML.

Thot can also be included in other applications through its programming interface and its external call facility. See the article "Making Structured Documents Active" and the online Thot tool kit API manual.

Avaibility

The Thot Editor and the Thot Library are now available in source form. See here to get information about their distribution.

For more information

Consult the bibliography of Opéra project.