Volume management method and system for a compilation of content

• US 6,449,627 B1
• Filed: 01/21/2000
• Issued: 09/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, Pearson Education Incorporated (Pearson plc)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Barker, James A., Hartman, Robert C. Jr., Murray, Janet L., Walkus, Richard W., Kao, I-Ming, Johnson, Eugene Jr., Baer, William J., Robertson, Jerry D. III, Hanapole, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen S.
• Application Number:
  US09/489,090
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 707/514, 707/515, 707/530, 707/100, 707/103.R, 707/103.Y, 707/3
• US Class Current: 715/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/10 Text processing natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30; processing or translation of natural language G06F40/40

Abstract

A web-based system, method and program product are provided for adding content to a content object stored (e.g., a custom compilation or prepublished work) in a data repository as a group of hierarchically related content entities. Each noncontainer content object is preferably stored as a separate entity in the data repository. Each content entity is also stored as a row in a digital library index class as a collection of attributes and references to related content entities and containers. As the user selects desired objects for inclusion in a content object, the system arranges the objects hierarchically, e.g., into volumes, chapters and sections according to the order specified by the user. The system then creates a file object (e.g., a CBO) defining the content object that contains a list or outline of the container and noncontainer entities selected, their identifiers, order and structure. This file object is stored separately in the data repository. The content is hierarchical in nature. Accordingly, entities at each level of the hierarchy except the lowest are defined by “containers”. For example, in the case of textual content, the hierarchical structure of the data may include book containers, volume containers, chapter containers, and subsections (noncontainers) because they are at the leaf level of the hierarchy). As an aspect of the invention, the maximum size of a container may specified. For example, the volume size in a custom book is preferably determined using a threshold value defining maximum amount of content allowable for that container, and a procedure is provided for managing content entities and containers to maintain this maximum.

Claims

1. A method for managing volume container limits in a compilation comprising a plurality of content entities and at least one volume containing the content entities, comprising the steps of:

in response to addition, deletion or movement of content within the compilation,

for each volume X,

A) determine the volume size,

B) if the volume size exceeds a predefined maximum,

determine the last content entity in the volume,

determine if a next volume, X+1, already exists, and if not, create a new volume,

move the last content entity from volume X to the beginning of volume, X+1, and

repeat steps A) and B);

C) otherwise,

if volume X−

1 exists, then

determine the size of the first content entity in volume X,

determine the size of volume X−

1,

If (predefined maximum)−

(size of X−

1)>

(size of first content entity) then move the first content entity from volume X to the end of volume X−

1, and

repeat steps A)-C);

recalculate the page counts for both volume X−

1 and X

D) determine if volume X is empty

if so, delete volume X.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a content entity comprises one of a container and a noncontainer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the compilation is a book and the content entity is one of a chapter and a section.

4. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for managing volume container limits in a compilation comprising a plurality of content entities and at least one volume containing the content entities, comprising the steps of:

in response to addition, deletion or movement of content within the compilation,

for each volume X,

A) determine the volume size,

B) if the volume size exceeds a predefined maximum,

determine the last content entity in the volume,

determine if a next volume, X+1, already exists, and if not, create a new volume,

move the last content entity from volume X to the beginning of volume, X+1, and

repeat steps A) and B);

C) otherwise,

if volume X−

1 exists, then

determine the size of the first content entity in volume X,

determine the size of volume X−

1,

if (predefined maximum)−

(size of X−

1)>

(size of first content entity) then move the first content entity from volume X to the end of volume X−

1, and

repeat steps A)-C);

recalculate the page counts for both volume X−

1 and X

D) determine if volume X is empty

if so, delete volume X.

5. The program storage device of claim 4, wherein a content entity comprises one of a container and a noncontainer.

6. The program storage device of claim 4, wherein the compilation is a book and the content entity is one of a chapter and a section.

7. A system for managing volume container limits in a compilation comprising a plurality of content entities and at least one volume containing the content entities, comprising:

A) means for determine the size of a volume X,

B) means for determining if the size of a current volume X exceeds a predefined maximum,

C) means for recursively performing, for any volume X that exceeds the predefined maximum, the steps of determining the last content entity in the volume, determining if a next volume, X+1, already exists, and if not, creating a new volume, and moving the last content entity from volume X to the beginning of volume, X+1;

D) means for determining, for any volume X that does not exceed the predefined maximum, if a volume X−

1 exists;

E) means for recursively performing, for any existing volume X−

1, the steps of

     1) determining the size of the first content entity in volume X,

     2) determining the size of volume X−

1,

     3) determining if (predefined maximum)−

(size of X−

1)>

(size of first content entity), and

     4) then move the first content entity from volume X to the end of volume X−

1;

F) means for recalculating the page counts for both volume X−

1 and X in response to movement of any content entity;

G) means for determining if volume X is empty; and

H) means for deleting any empty volume X.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein a content entity further comprises one of a container and a noncontainer.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the compilation is a book and the content entity is one of a chapter and a section.