As hypertext systems proliferate and as networks become more ubiquitous, an important problem is to determine how to provide hyperdocument interoperability. Instead of taking the approach of standardizing, and implementing, a large and complex set of browsing features gleaned from some "union" of existing systems, we present an approach that allows each document to encode its own browsing semantics in the links of the hyperdocument. Any implementation offering the "follow link" operation can then simulate the intent of the author. The method requires a mental shift in how a hyperdocument is viewed abstractly. Instead of treating the links of a document as defining a static directed graph, they are thought of as defining an abstract program, termed the links-automaton of the document. A branching temporal logic notation, termed HTL*, is introduced for specifying properties a document should exhibit during browsing. An automated program verification technique called model checking is ..
