Extending document management systems with user-specific active properties

ABSTRACT

Document properties are a compelling infrastructure on which to develop document management applications. A property-based approach avoids many of the problems of traditional heierarchical storage mechanisms, reflects document organizations meaningful to user tasks, provides a means to integrate the perspectives of multiple individuals and groups, and does this all within a uniform interaction framework. Document properties can reflect not only categorizations of documents and document use, but also expressions of desired system activity, such as sharing criteria, replication management, and versioning. Augmenting property-based document management systems with active properties that carry executable code enables the provision of document-based services on a property infrastructure. The combination of document properties as a uniform mechanism for document management, and active properties as a way of delivering document services, represents a new paradigm for document management infrastructures. The Placeless Documents system is an experimental prototype developed to explore this new paradigm. It is based on the seamless integration of user-specific, active properties. We present the fundamental design approach, explore the challenges and opportunities it presents, and show our architectures deals with them.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.4 Systems and Software
          Subjects: Distributed systems

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.4 Distributed Systems
          Subjects: Distributed databases

  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.3 File Systems Management
          Subjects: Distributed file systems

  E. Data
  E.5 FILES
      Subjects: Organization/structure

  H. Information Systems
  H.3 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
      H.3.2 Information Storage
          Subjects: File organization
      H.3.3 Information Search and Retrieval
          Subjects: Search process

General Terms:
Design

Keywords:
active properties, component software, document management systems, document services, user experience