A method for displaying literary and/or linguistic information about a "lookup"
word/phrase from an information set is provided. The information set is comprised
of one or more node link structures. Each node link structure is comprised of a
plurality of related nodes. Each node contains information and relationships between
nodes provide information about words/phrases. A display system receives a request
for information about a "lookup" word/phrase (1). A node link structure
is selected and retrieved (2). Hierarchical addresses are assigned to each
node, representing a tree structure (4). Display addresses are assigned
to each node based on a surface function (e.g., hyperbolic function), representing
a mapping of the tree structure to a surface shape corresponding to the surface
function (6). The tree structure is rendered to the display. The display
simultaneously provides detailed information about the "lookup" word/phrase and
its context within the associated node link structure.
