Re: [office-comment] Proposal for new document element, "Document history"

[Michiel Leenaars <michiel.ml@nlnet.nl>]

Hi Dennis,

> An in-document versioning/snapshot model that is also designed 
> to avoid redundant replication is very interesting (though I 
> have a nagging concern for existing IP that may be out there 
> on this kind of provision).   It also seems to me that we are 
> talking of some sort of cross-session Undo/Redo prospect, 
> since all of the information seems to be retained for that 
> (including accepted changes, more than the current retention 
> of only those changes needing-review-approval-rejection determination).

If you download a copy of AbiWord, you will notice the option 'Full history'
which indeed tracks down all that happens to a document. This is an option
in that software which has been around for a long time.

I don't think you need massive changes to the standard in order to 
enable efficient document versions. You could use a URI fragment ID like 
xlink:href="/Versions/Version1#IMAGES/image.png" to refer to 
an object inside another object (in this case the embedded file). 
If there is a patent on that, that would be pathetic - ample prior art. 
The 'current' version of the document then does not have to hold the 
same object, it can use the archived version just as it would a remote 
object - e.g. an image on a webserver. If the user starts editing 
such an object, the application should make a copy of that file 
to the active document and change the reference over to that new 
file in the package - at which point it will not be a duplicate 
anymore. If he or she removes the object, you just remove the
reference. So both cases are easy - and this would mean a 
a huge improvement in file size. 

Thanks for your questions, I hope the TC will find some use for
the answers I provided. 

Best,
Michiel Leenaars
NLnet Foundation