What is an electronic

Document

Document management systems serve for the administration of electronic documents. The term document is interpreted still very different today. In the anglo-saxon it is used frequently for text files. This shows up for example clearly in the used ending"” .doc"” for file names of text documents. It becomes therefore also between document Imaging, the administration of scanned record, and document management, which differentiated administration from already digitally produced texts.

In German the term document has a concrete purchase to paper-bound record. By a document frequently also a document with high contentwise quality and legal meaning is understood. The document is moved very close thereby to the document term embodied in the law. This particularly shows up in derived terms such as document authenticity. German users think therefore with the term document management first of scanned record and move thereby only in a subsection of these technologies. In the angloamerikanischen linguistic area contentwise/legally defined document the term record corresponds to that. Record management therefore there with document management is also not equated.

The term"” electronic document"” refers in principle to all kinds of weak-structured or unstructured information, which is present as closed unit in a data processing system as file. Thereby a digitally conveyed fax can act in addition, around a file out of a text processing program, a data base excerpt or a list around a scanned facsimile or. With documents, which from a similar format, as paper or language was e.g. seized, by Digitaliserung and as not directly evaluable data stream or picture to be present, speaks one of NCI "“Non Coded information"”. With documents, those by character sets are coded and by programs to be directly evaluated can speak one of CI "“Coded information"”. By techniques such as ocr NCI documents are transferred into CI-documents.

A further source for the term document in connection with document management systems is the designation"” documentation"”, which refers to a composition from documents to certain circumstances. Some"” classical"” document management systems therefore pursue also the goal of arranging from different individual components, which can be present in different versions, at a defined time, a current documentation closed in itself.

From the different origins of the term document becomes also understandable, as in the case of offerers and users misunderstandings could result regarding the different meanings. Important is to be determined therefore, which documents are to be transferred into a document management solution and how they are physically, formal and contentwise developed. For the administration the use and the right character of the documents are furthermore decisive: dynamic text files in treatment are to be differentiated from unchangeable and on a long-term basis documents which can be kept. A document has therefore the usually following characteristics:

physical characteristics (paper, file

formal characteristics (structure, organization

Order (technical affiliation, sequence, version

Contents of (contentwise purchase

A character (archiving worthyness, a right character, processing options

Time (production date, expiration date, last use

Producer (sender, creator, author

User (receiver, entitled editor, reader, last editor

Usually all result these characteristics from the document. They are used in data processing systems for the administration, the access and the supply. From them also the protection and search characteristics for the document management system result. Attributes such as order or a character, which apply to all documents of a class, e.g. periods for safekeeping, destruction times, common key words, authorizations etc., can be left over document classes.

In the following the term becomes document for electronic documents from most different sources, which uses a component of a file or an object in a data processing system as file, to be present.

Forms of documents

Documents can arrive from different sources into a document management system:

from systems produced objects such as files (for example pressure or text file) or data records (for example table from a data base),

similar objects such as facsimile (scanned images) or Videofilme with clay/tone, changed into a digital format, language etc., which is seized with camera or microphone.

A document can further from one or more Einzelobjekten as for example

Documents from text processing, spread-sheet analysis or diagram,

Image, for example scanned paper documents and photos,

Forms, for example electronics DATA interCHANGE (EDI),

COLD documents (computer output ton of lasers disk; see ECM components),

ASCII of text documents,

Video tie-clip or

Sound and language tie-clip, for example a noted interview,

exist.

According to their complexity elementary documents, Compound document and container documents can be differentiated.

Elementary documents, which consist of an object, contain only data a type, thus no embedded diagrams, pictures or calls of other objects.

From several objects compound documents are called also Compound document. Compound documents consist of compound files, which can contain text, format information, pictures, tables etc. as well as hyper+on the left of or references to other components.

Einzelobjekte, complex objects, reference information, left, meta data and internal administrative data can be combined into the better handling also in containers.

Selfdescribing electronic documents

Container documents can be divided, interpreted and indicated usually only by the producing program. Only once if a stored document from different connections is to be used or be accessed over others than the producing program individual components of the container, the container document must carry all necessary structure, identification and administrative information with itself. If these conditions are fulfilled, one calls documents "“describing"”.

A describing electronic document consists beside its contents of attribute data (meta data), which permit the access to documents and their listing. These are mostly illustrated today in XML on basis DTD or a pattern. In the English linguistic usage such objects are called"” Selfcontained document Object"”. In German they are called also"” describing information objects"”. They consist of any contents contents of (Einzelobjekt, container, list and an upstream"” header"” connected with the contents component. The header component can be compound from different parts even. It usually begins with a neutral description, which characteristics and attributes in the header can be expected. On this description the self-describing character of the documents is based.

A header contains the generally following attributes, which belong as meta data to the document:

Code for self explanation functionality

To it for example number and sequence of the following attributes, attribute name, belong attribute formats etc., today mostly in XML defined and externally in DTD or a pattern referenziert

Clear identification of the object

This is usually handled by a"” Unique Identifier"”, a clear key for the identification of each object. For Unique Identifier exist both general standardisations and industry-internal definitions. The Unique Identifier is used, in order to access the object and to identify it as uniquely existing document. Usually are in the Unique Identifier developing place and - date of the object with time codes.

Information to kind, number and structure of individual parts of the contents component

By this the structure of the contents component is to be understood, only from an individual facsimile, in addition, of a structured data processing list, a multilateral document or a compound container to consist can.

Format information

To it describing data of the production of the contents component belong. Format information is evaluated for the reproduction of the information (for example for announcement, treatment and pressure).

Use information

Examples of use information are producer, intended user group, status of the information or linkage on permissible working on operations.

Protection information

To it check totals, access protection characteristics, if necessary an electronic signature and other attributes belong.

Reference information

Reference information contains the affiliation to other objects such as continuation pages, pre-defined document classes, replacement of other documents by"” logical deletion"”, notes, version management, background facsimile, etc.

Contentwise information

By this describing attributes and organization characteristics are to be understood, which are usually used in the administrative data base for the direct access. They serve in the header for test, re-establishment and indicator functions.

The attributes can be also evaluated, if the administrative data base is not in the access or the information object were dispatched to an environment outside of the producing system.

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