Document Version Tracking via Hierarchical Object Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing document management systems struggle to efficiently compare and merge changes between multiple versions of a document, especially when edited by multiple users simultaneously, leading to conflicts and difficulties in tracking and integrating changes.
Innovation Solution
A system that maintains metadata for each document version, including parent versions, authors, and merge flags, allowing for selective merging of changes by identifying contributions and applying them to a working version, while using document comparison engines to determine and display changes, including structural modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple users simultaneously edit a document with traditional document management systems, then collaborative editing capability is enabled, but conflicts and difficulties in tracking and integrating changes occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the document into multiple object models that can be independently tracked and compared. Each object model represents a distinct element or section of the document, allowing changes to be segmented, tracked, and merged independently, thereby reducing conflicts when multiple users edit simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary comparison system that mediates between different user edits. This intermediary mechanism compares object models from different versions, identifies changes, and facilitates reliable integration by resolving conflicts through structured comparison and merging processes.
2Loss of information
If document versions are stored and compared to track changes, then change tracking capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates simplified copies of document versions in the form of object models. Instead of managing complex full document versions, the system uses lightweight object model copies that capture essential structural and content information, enabling efficient change tracking with reduced complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms document comparison from a complex full-document operation into parameter-based object model comparison. By changing the representation parameters to use structured object models with defined properties, the system achieves effective change tracking while simplifying the comparison process.
3Measurement precision
If detailed change comparison is performed between document versions, then change detection precision is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the document into object models that can be compared independently and in parallel. This segmentation allows detailed change detection to be performed on smaller, manageable units simultaneously, maintaining high precision while reducing overall processing time through parallelization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial comparison action by focusing comparison efforts on specific object models that are likely to have changed, rather than performing exhaustive full-document comparison. This selective approach maintains detection precision for critical changes while reducing unnecessary processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention discloses a novel system and method for displaying electronic documents on remote devices and enabling collaborative editing where the system tracks revisions, comments and other content between versions of the document by maintaining hierarchical representation of the version and mapping locations between the hierarchies.