AbstractsComputer Science

Levine, David A number of tools have been developed to improve the readability of documents. These tools assist users to make changes which result in an easy to read document. Most of these tools were developed for users who work independently with little interaction with other users. However, in recent years, because of the proliferation of Internet, there has been increased collaboration between users. A user may need to share his document repositories with others so that both can benefit. Another set of users may work with information from a specific domain. These domains may be located in different geographical areas. Some users may like to import the result of the readability tool to other applications. With improved computer processing power, storage capacity and transmission speed it is possible to develop systems to meet such needs. Current development in Graphical User Interfaces has also made it possible to develop a better editing tool. With these tools, it is possible to offer users more alternatives to restructure and simplify the document. This thesis describes a number of techniques to develop tools for improving document readability both in local and distributed environments. A Prototype has been developed for each of these techniques and it has been found that such systems are feasible and practical.