At the time of this writing, a basic HyperCode package for C is nearly complete. However, there are more avenues for development than we will be able to pursue on our own. Languages other than C need to be supported; programmers in numerous languages will benefit from implementations of HyperCode. In addition, programmers in every language would benefit from an integrated editor which could maintain and update HyperCode links while code development was occurring.
In parallel with our basic HyperCode effort, we are developing a database for server-supported HyperCode. Functional server-supported HyperCode will open a number of new development avenues in the area of Global Cooperative Computing ([DBE+94]). For instance, applications can be constructed to take advantage of HyperCode directly; a compiler could be made able to directly access code segments by URL, while a simple program could provide additional support by periodically checking with a HyperCode database to see if any code being used locally had been updated with bug reports, fixes, or new versions. To support such applications, a distributed database providing canonical home-sites for code segments should be developed to provide consistent, reliable access to required code.
A HyperCode demonstration and current status report is available at http://www-codemaster.ai.mit.edu:8001.