Text-fragment Content Editing with Markdown Themes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing Web content management systems face challenges in producing output for various display contexts, are expensive to maintain, difficult to use for users, and lack support for bulk changes and sophisticated content structures, especially when storing content in databases or using markup languages like Markdown.

Innovation Solution

A text-fragment based content editing and publishing system that allows users to create and manage content using plain text files, enabling easy editing, versioning, and bulk changes, with support for multiple display contexts through the use of themes and metadata, including image pointers for different device sizes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If content is stored in database tables, then content management is centralized and structured, but maintenance costs increase and user accessibility decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent managementVSAvoiduser accessibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments content into discrete text files with markdown formatting, allowing individual files to be edited independently without requiring database access. Each text file represents a separate content unit that can be managed independently, reducing the complexity of centralized content management while improving user accessibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system generates HTML copies from markdown text files automatically. This allows the original simple text files to remain editable by users while the generated HTML provides the structured, reliable output needed for web publishing, separating the editing simplicity from the publishing reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Stability of the object's composition

If content is stored in database tables, then content structure is organized and queryable, but bulk changes require special software and are difficult to perform

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent structureVSAvoidbulk changes

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the format parameter from database tables to markdown text files. This allows bulk changes to be performed using standard text editors with search-and-replace functionality, while the markdown structure maintains organized content through headers, lists, and other formatting elements that preserve structural integrity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of operation

If Markdown is used for content formatting, then plain text editing is enabled, but sophisticated content structures like multiple columns and sidebars are not supported

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplain text editingVSAvoidcontent structures

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that reads markdown text files and generates HTML output. This intermediary translates the simple markdown syntax into sophisticated HTML structures including multiple columns, sidebars, and nested content, bridging the gap between plain text editing ease and sophisticated content structure capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Ease of operation

If content is stored in text files, then editing and version control are simplified, but support for sophisticated content structures is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveeditingVSAvoidcontent structures

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent substitutes the mechanical limitation of text file storage with a processing layer that converts text to HTML. The text files remain simple and editable, while the conversion process dynamically generates sophisticated structures, replacing the need for complex file formats with a transformation mechanism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

5Reliability

If existing Web content management systems are used, then content can be managed centrally, but maintenance costs are high and user freedom is restricted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent managementVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses simple, disposable text files instead of complex database systems. These text files can be created, edited, and version-controlled using basic tools, eliminating the need for expensive content management systems while maintaining sufficient reliability through the markdown-to-HTML conversion process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

Data Source

PatentUS9852117B1Text-fragment based content editing and publishing

Publication Date: 2017.12.26 HAYDN LABS INC

AI summary

Text-fragment based content editing and publishing, in which a text-fragment is created in response to a trigger event by receiving text and storing the received text into the text-fragment. The text-fragment is added to a text file containing multiple text-fragments. The trigger may be received by an editor from a user interface or through an application programming interface to the editor. A publishable output is generated in response to the text-fragments in the text file and a selected theme defining the appearance of one or more Web pages within the publishable output. One or more previews of the publishable output may be displayed together with one or more of the text fragments within the user interface. Metadata in individual text-fragments may include versioning labels and other information. Ordering of the text-fragments in the text file may indicate an order in which content is provided within the publishable output.