Automatic link generation and repair mechanism for document management

Describes the design and an implementation of a self-evolving database (SEDB) which manages various digital documents with links of different types, and which supports document management tasks by automating link generation and repair. The SEDB only stores links in a centralized fashion, while documents are left in their native formats at their original locations. Each of the links reflects a process-oriented relationship with one of the following five types: process-flow, time-series, classification, detail and reference. The SEDB can generate links by requirements from systems like groupware when documents have been created or modified. The links are filled in automatically by data from both the systems and the SEDB itself The SEDB also 'repairs' dangling links which have lost one or both of their own documents by one of the following three repair operations: link deletion, link merging or dummy document creation.