Document processing method and system, and computer-readable recording medium having document processing program recorded therein

• US 6,651,069 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2002
• Issued: 11/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Toru, Aoyama, Yuki, Takita, Yukie, Hoshi, Yukio
• Primary Examiner(s): Corrielus, Jean M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FLEURANTIN, JEAN B
• Application Number:
  US10/051,037
• Publication Number:
  US 20020073093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 665 Days
• Field of Search: 707/100-104, 707/1-10, 707/500-502, 717/162, 717/164, 717/122, 345/764
• US Class Current: 707/695
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A computer-implemented method and system for processing a document such as a structured document in which information such as a term, name and belonging department is used as shared information and word consistency or modification can be automatically and easily reflected on all documents. In the document processing method, a shared information editing program edits shared information shared information frequently described in a plurality of documents, a shared information storage program stores the edited shared information in a secondary memory, a shared information list-up program lists up the shared information for each information type, a structured document editing program edits a structured document to describe a link to the shared information selected from the edited shared information listed up, a structured document storage program stores the structured document in the secondary memory, and a structured document output program reads out the shared information and structured document from the secondary memory and embeds the contents of the shared information in the structured document for its display or printout.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing a structured document comprising the steps of:

generating a shared information block as a set of shared information appearing in a plurality of structured documents;

storing said shared information block to correlate with a date and an hour of generation of the shared information block;

generating a link-described structured document in which a link to said shared information is described into the structured document;

storing said link-described structured document to correlate with a date and an hour of generation of the link-described structured document;

in response to receipt of a change input included in said stored shared information block, changing the stored shared information block and generating a changed shared information block including information corresponding to the change input, and storing said changed shared information block to correlate with a date and an hour of generation of said changed shared information block;

reading out said stored link-described structured document, and selecting shared information based on said described link in the read-out document and included in a shared information block generated prior to the date and the hour correlated in said read out link-described structured document, and embedding the selected shared information into said link-described structured document; and

outputting information representing said shared information-embedded link-described structured document.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein information concerning a version is provided to each of said shared information block and said link-described structured document in order of a date and an hour of generation of the version, and said shared information selecting step includes a step of comparing a date and an hour of generation of the shared information block correlated to said shared information block of the latest version and a date and an hour of generation of a link-described structured document correlated to said link-described structured document, and wherein only when said shared information generation date and hour is earlier than the link-described structured document generation date and hour is said shared information selected and the selected shared information is embedded into said link-described structured document, while when said shared information generation date and hour is later than the link-described structured document generation date and hour, said shared information block generation date and hour is replaced with a date and an hour of shared information block of a version generated immediately before the version of said shared information block, and said link-described structured document generation date and hour is compared with said replaced date and hour to continue said comparing step.

3. A system for processing a structured document, comprising:

means for generating a shared information block as a set of shared information appearing in a plurality of structured documents;

means for storing said shared information block to correlate with a date and an hour of generation of the shared information block;

means for generating a link-described structured document in which a link to said shared information is described into the structured document;

means for storing said link-described structured document to correlate with a date and an hour of generation of the link-described structured document;

means, in response to receipt of a change input included in said stored shared information block, for changing the stored shared information block and generating a changed shared information block including information corresponding to the change input, and for storing said changed shared information block to correlate with a date and an hour of generation of said changed shared information block;

means for reading out said stored link-described structured document;

means for selecting shared information based on said described link in the read-out document and included in a shared information block generated prior to the date and the hour correlated in said read out link-described structured document; and

means for embedding the selected shared information into said link-described structured document; and

means for outputting information representing said shared information-embedded link-described structured document.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein information concerning a version is provided to each of said shared information block and said link-described structured document in order of a date and an hour of generation of the version, and said shared information selecting means includes means for comparing a date and an hour of generation of the shared information block correlated to said shared information block of the latest version and a date and an hour of generation of a link-described structured document correlated to said link-described structured document, and wherein only when said shared information generation date and hour is earlier than the link-described structured document generation date and hour is said shared information selected and the selected shared information is embedded into said link-described structured document, while when said shared information generation date and hour is later than the link-described structured document generation date and hour, said shared information block generation date and hour is replaced with a date and an hour of shared information block of a version generated immediately before the version of said shared information block, and said link-described structured document generation date and hour is compared with said replaced date and hour to continue said comparing.