The Image Communication Information Board: A Hypermedia Information System for Standards and Activities in the Area of Image Communication

As image communication is a major issue toay for more and more application areas, harmonization is needed. Only if information about existing standards and new activities, their interrelationships, and their usage is available and accessible, there will be the possibility to develop new, future proof standards and products in the area of image communication. Information structuring and access are the basis for harmonization. therefore we have developed an Image Communication Information Board (ICIB) to establish a way for effective information exchange. This information of the board is based on the definition of a taxonomy of "image communication", which is described in detail. The ICIB allows access to information on standards, activities, and organizations working in the area of image communication standardization. The ICIB can be accessed via the World Wide Web, a distributed hypermedia system for information exchange. In order to support the specific requirements of the ICIB, an ex tended hypertext server that allows for sophisiticated text searches and queries on definitions has been developed.