Atomic check-in check-out document copy commands partitioned into document interchange architecture system operands

• US 5,251,315 A
• Filed: 06/21/1990
• Issued: 10/05/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wang, Diana S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): AMSBURY, WAYNE P
• Application Number:
  US07/543,903
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200, 364/900, 364/419, 395/600
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99938 Concurrency, e.g. lock management in shared database
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

This invention relates to a method of maintaining the integrity of changes made to a revisable form document in a shared library. This invention provides a COPY command with options for checking out and checking in a revisable form document to a shared library. The check-out option allows a single user to check out the revisable form document from the shared library and make a copy thereof in a user'"'"'s private storage space. A lock is placed on the revisable form document in the shared library to prevent changes while it is checked out. Information relating the revisable form document to the copy is placed in both documents. This information is used when the copy, with the user'"'"'s changes, is returned to the shared library. Updates are permitted only to the copy in the private storage space. Once updates are completed, the check-in option is used to return the copy to the shared library. Information relating the revisable form document to the copy is removed from both documents and the lock is removed from the revisable form document. The revisable form document will again be made available for check out by a single user. The check-in option also permits the copy placed in the user'"'"'s private storage space to be optionally deleted after the check-in operation is completed.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of checking out a first document from a source library and copying it to a target library as a second document by a user in a data processing system, said first and second documents having a document interchange architecture composed of a plurality of objects including a profile object, contents object, document model object and access object, said method comprising the steps of:

specifying in a first operand of a single copy command in said data processing system by said user said first document in said document interchange architecture in said source library;

specifying in a second operand of said single copy command in said data processing system by said user said second document in said target library;

specifying in a third operand of said single copy command in said data processing system by said user a check out function for said first document in said source library;

executing said single copy command within said data processing system by a library service and in response to said execution;

determining if said first document in said source library is revisable;

determining if document modifications are in progress on said first document in said data processing system;

copying said profile and contents objects of said first document from said source library into said target library as said second document in said target library when said first document is revisable and no document modifications are in progress, and prohibiting copying when said first document is not revisable and/or document modifications are in progress;

creating a first indicator in said document model object to indicate checked out for said first document in said source library, a second indicator in said document model object to indicate checked in for said second document in target library; and

changing said first document in said source library to not revisable.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the determining step further includes the step of determining if said said user has read access to said first document in said data processing system by examining said access object of said first document in said source library.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein said library service inserts the name of the source library in said document model object of said second document in said target library.

4. A computer implemented method of checking in a first document into a target library from a source library, said first document previously copied from a second document in said target library by a user in a data processing system, said first and second documents having a document interchange architecture composed of a plurality of objects including a profile object, contents object, document model object and access object, the document model object of said second document has a not revisable indicator, the document model object of said first document has a name of the target library as its source library name, said method comprising the steps of:

specifying in a first operand of a single copy command in said data processing system by said user said first document in said source library;

specifying in a second operand of said single copy command in said data processing system by said user said second document in said target library;

specifying in a third operand of said single copy command in said data processing system by said user a check in function for said first document in said source library;

executing said single copy command within said data processing system by a library service and in response to said execution;

comparing a checked in indicator within the document model object of said first document in said source library with a checked out indicator within the document model object of said second document in said target library;

copying said profile and contents objects of said first document in said source library into the profile and contents objects of said second document in said target library when said checked in indicator of said first document is equaled to said checked out indicator of said second document and prohibiting copying when said indicators are not equaled;

deleting only the source library name in said document model object of said first document in said source library after said copying step; and

changing said not revisable indicator in said document model of said second document in said target library to revisable.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the copying step further includes the step of deleting said first document in said source library after copying said profile and contents objects into said first document.

6. In a data processing system having a plurality of work stations coupled to a host processor, storage means having a plurality of source and target libraries therein coupled to said host processor and capable of being simultaneously accessed by a plurality of users through said plurality of work stations to check in a first document into one of said plurality of target libraries from one of said plurality of source libraries, said first document previously copied from a second document in said one target library by one of said plurality of users in said data processing system, said first and second documents having a document interchange architecture composed of objects including a profile object, contents object, document model object and access object, the document model object of said second document has a not revisable indicator, the document model object of said first document has a name of said one target library as its source library name, comprising:

means for inputting into a first operand of a single copy command in said data processing system by said one user said first document in said one source library;

means for inputting into a second operand of said single copy command in said data processing system by said one user said second document in said one target library;

means for inputting into a third operand of said single copy command in said data processing system by said one user a check in function for said first document in said one source library;

means for executing said single copy command within said data processing system by a library service, said executing means comprising;

means for comparing a checked in indicator within the document model object of said first document in said one source library with a checked out indicator within the document model object of said second document in said one target library;

means for copying said profile and contents objects of said first document in said one source library into the profile and contents objects of said second document in said one target library when said checked in indicator of said first document is equaled to said checked out indicator of said second document and prohibiting copying when said indicators are not equaled;

means for deleting only the source library name in said document model object of said first document in said one source library; and

means for changing said not revisable indicator in said document model of said second document in said one target library to revisable.

7. The data processing system according to claim 6 wherein the means for copying includes means for deleting said first document in said one of said source libraries after copying said profile and contents objects into said first document.