Abstract:
The present invention relates to a system for creating a manual from at least one item of information originating from a global data warehouse, each item of information from the global data warehouse being able to comprise a link to another item of information from the global data warehouse. The system comprises means for copying at least one item of information from the global data warehouse into the manual, and means for scanning the manual, and, for each link contained in a copied item of information: if the linked information has been copied into the manual, for replacing this link with an explicit reference at the location in the manual where it has been copied, if the linked information has not been copied into the manual, for deleting the link.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a method and a system for creating a manual.  
         [0002]     The invention relates quite particularly to the field of creating technical manuals. A manual includes a document with a structured presentation of information describing a machine.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     In the prior art, an archivist wishing to produce a manual uses a data warehouse which contains items of information classified by type of information: drawing, maintenance procedure text, description of a component, etcetera.  
         [0004]     A data warehouse is a data-processing means for organised storage of a set of data, or a set of data groups in which each group relates to a specific type of data (maintenance, component, etcetera). The storage is controlled either by a single item of software, or by a plurality of items of software, each one controlling a group of data.  
         [0005]     A data warehouse generally includes one or more databases, within each of which the data are organised in accordance with a specific structure which generally relates to a technical storage means.  
         [0006]     The archivist incorporates the relevant information for producing the desired manual in a manual structure which is generally imposed by the user of the machine.  
         [0007]     Each item of information contained in the data warehouse may itself include a link to another item of information from the data warehouse.  
         [0008]     In this manner, a problem of the prior art consists in that the manual generated by the archivist includes links to information outside the manuals, which is not acceptable.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     An object of the invention is to overcome this problem by proposing a method for assembling at least one item of information to be assembled in a data file which is independent of the data warehouse.  
         [0010]     The present invention provides a method for creating a manual from at least one item of information originating from a global data warehouse, each item of information from the global data warehouse being able to include a link to another item of information from the global data warehouse, wherein it includes the steps involving:  
         [0011]     copying at least one item of information from the global data warehouse into the manual,  
         [0012]     scanning the manual and, for each link contained in a copied item of information:  
         [0013]     if the linked information has been copied into the manual, replacing this link with an explicit reference at the location in the manual where it has been copied,  
         [0014]     if the linked information has not been copied into the manual, deleting the link.  
         [0015]     Owing to the invention, not only are the links to information outside the manual deleted, but the links to items of information within the file, that is to say, which are copied therein, are also updated. The file obtained is therefore both complete and independent.  
         [0016]     A method according to the invention may further include one or more of the following features:  
         [0017]     it includes the steps, prior to the step for copying at least one item of information, involving inserting, in the manual, a link to each item of information to be copied, scanning the manual, when a link is found, verifying that the information linked to the manual exists in the global data warehouse, and, if the information does not exist, deleting the link;  
         [0018]     the manual is a data file of the XML type; and  
         [0019]     the copying step involves copying each linked item of information in place of the link;  
         [0020]     The invention also provides a system for creating a manual from at least one item of information originating from a global data warehouse, each item of information from the global data warehouse being able to include a link to another item of information from the global data warehouse, wherein it includes:  
         [0021]     means for copying at least one item of information from the global data warehouse into the manual,  
         [0022]     means for scanning the manual, and, for each link contained in a copied item of information: if the linked information has been copied into the manual, for replacing this link with an explicit reference at the location in the manual where it has been copied, if the linked information has not been copied into the manual, for deleting the link.  
         [0023]     A system according to the invention may further include one or more of the following features:  
         [0024]     it includes means for inserting, in the manual, a link to each item of information to be copied, and means for scanning the manual, when a link is found, verifying that the information linked to the manual exists in the global data warehouse, and, if the information does not exist, deleting the link;  
         [0025]     the manual is a file of the XML type. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]     The invention will be better understood from the following description, given purely by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings, in which:  
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view illustrating a system for generating a manual according to the invention;  
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view of an information module; and  
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating the steps of a method for generating a manual carried out by the system of  FIG. 1 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0030]     In the following description, the data warehouses are databases. Of course, the invention can be directly applied to the case of data warehouses.  
         [0031]     The system of  FIG. 1 , generally designated  10 , includes two computers  12 ,  14  which communicate with each other by means of a data-processing network  15 .  
         [0032]     One of the computers  12  is a data server in which a database  16  is installed, which is referred to as the global base  16  and which contains items of information which each relate to at least one technical element of at least one machine.  
         [0033]     The global base  16  is intended to be completed by a member of technical staff  18 . The data server  12  thus includes a man/machine interface by means of which this member of technical staff  18  directly completes the global base  16 . The data server  12  is further connected to a plurality of remote computers  19 . The member of technical staff  18  who is not on the site where the data server  12  is located completes the global base  16  remotely by using these remote computers  19 .  
         [0034]     In the global base  16 , the items of information are organised by means of encapsulation in a module.  
         [0035]     With reference to  FIG. 2 , each module  20  includes, on the one hand, a content  22  which includes information relating to one or more technical elements and, on the other hand, an identification unit  24  which contains items of data defining the module  20 .  
         [0036]     The identification unit  24  in particular includes a module identifier  26  and a portion, referred to as the environment portion  28 , for each technical element to which the module  20 , that is to say, the items of information  22  which it contains, relates.  
         [0037]     Each environment portion  28  includes in particular an identifier  30  of the corresponding technical element, and an identifier  32  of a type of manual into which the content can be inserted, for the corresponding technical element. The types of manual are as follows: illustrated catalogue, maintenance guide which contains maintenance tasks, maintenance manual containing maintenance tools, list of spare parts. Of course, this list is non-limiting and other types of manual can be added according to requirements.  
         [0038]     The content  22  of a module is either textual (description, maintenance procedure, etcetera.) or graphic (technical drawing, block diagram, etcetera). This content is structured. For example, a textual content includes indicators of logical portions: chapter paragraph, numbering step, etcetera.  
         [0039]     The content may be static, the information is present in the module  20 , or dynamic, the content includes a link  33  to the information stored outside the module  20 .  
         [0040]     For some modules of the global base  16 , the content  22  thereof refers to one or more other contents of other modules. This reference is indicated by the presence of a link  34  to another module which includes the linked content. The link indicates an identifier  26  for the linked module.  
         [0041]     With reference to  FIG. 1  again, the other computer  14  is intended to be used by an archivist  36  who wishes to create a manual which includes a document having a structured presentation of information describing a machine, such as a carriage set of a train.  
         [0042]     The computer  14  of the archivist includes means  38  for storing numerical data, for example, a hard disk, and processing means  40 : microprocessor, RAM, etcetera, suitable for carrying out software programs, for example, recorded on the storage means  38 . Furthermore, the computer  14  is connected to a printer  42 .  
         [0043]     Three software components  44 ,  46  and  48  are installed on the computer  14  of the archivist  36 .  
         [0044]     The first software component, designated  44 , is designed for the creation of a file for a completed manual template  50 , that is to say, containing information in the form of links.  
         [0045]     The first software component  44  includes a man/machine interface  44 A, by means of which the archivist  36  interacts with this component  44  in order to guide the archivist in creating the manual template. All the functions set out below require the intervention of the archivist  36  using this interface  44 .  
         [0046]     The first software component  44  first includes a function  44 B for defining the manual type, allowing the archivist  36  to indicate the type of manual he wishes to generate.  
         [0047]     Furthermore, the first software component  44  includes a function  44 C for recovering a list of the modules contained in the global base  16  which are linked to the type of manual indicated.  
         [0048]     A display function  44 D displays the list of recovered modules, and displays a structure of the template opposite the list of modules.  
         [0049]     This structure is blank when the function  44 D is launched. The first software component  44  offers the alternative of creating the structure manually or importing a structure of a manual template file which has already been created.  
         [0050]     Each module of the list can be moved to a logical portion of the structure by means of dragging and dropping. That is to say, the first software component  44  allows the selection of a tree module and the selection of a logical portion in the structure where the archivist  36  would like to deposit the module in order to associate them.  
         [0051]     The first software component  44  includes a function  44 E for creating a template file  50 . In the example described, the file  50  is in XML format. It takes the structure indicated by the archivist  36  supplemented with links to the modules inserted by the archivist.  
         [0052]     More precisely, the function for creating a template file  44 E is designed to insert, for each module linked by the archivist  36 , a link to the module in the portion of the structure of the associated template of the file  50 . This means that a line which indicates the identifier  26  of the module is inserted in the XML file  50 .  
         [0053]     In this manner, the first software component  44  produces at the output a manual template file  50  in XML format including links to all the information which the archivist  20  wishes the manual to contain. The modules to which the template includes a link are referred to as modules which are directly linked, whilst the modules which are linked to the template only by means of one or several other modules, by means of links  34  between modules, are referred to as modules which are indirectly linked.  
         [0054]     The first software component  44  is suitable for storing this output file  50  in the storage means  38  and launching the second software component  46  which will search for this file  50 .  
         [0055]     The first software component  44  is also designed to load a completed template XML file which has been recorded beforehand in the storage means  38  in order to be used by the second software component  46 .  
         [0056]     The second software component  46  is used to prepare for editing the manual. It expects at the input an XML file  50  of a completed manual template. In the example described, the component  46  takes the architecture of the free software COCOON (cocoon.apache.org), parametrising it for the specific requirements of the invention.  
         [0057]     The editing preparation component  46  includes three consecutive stages, that is to say, carried out in this order, for processing the completed template file  50 : a verification stage  46 A, an assembly stage  46 B and a formatting stage  46 C.  
         [0058]     The verification stage  46 A is configured to scan the template file  50  and verify that each module which is directly linked to the template, that is to say, for which the template includes a link, exists in the global base  16 . This stage  46 A is also configured to delete the link when this module does not exist and insert an error message in its place.  
         [0059]     The verification stage  46 A is further configured to verify, if necessary, the dynamic content of the linked modules. This means that it is capable of verifying that the link  33  which a dynamic content includes does point towards a valid item of data.  
         [0060]     The second assembly stage  46 B is configured in order to carry out three operations.  
         [0061]     First of all, it carries out an operation for copying into an intermediate database  52  the modules that are directly linked from the global base  16  to the storage means  38 .  
         [0062]     Then, it carries out an operation which involves copying, for each module which is directly linked, the information, that is to say, the content, which the module contains, in place of its link in the template file  50 .  
         [0063]     Finally, the third operation involves, when the preceding operation is complete, scanning the template file  50  in order to detect the links which it contains and which originate from the links  34  between modules, that is to say, which are contained in the information copied during the preceding operation. If the link  34  points towards a module which is also directly linked, this link  34  is replaced with a reference to the logical portion of the structure of the template where the information of the module has been inserted. If the link  34  points towards a module which is indirectly linked, that is to say, which the archivist has not inserted in the template, the link  34  is deleted.  
         [0064]     The third formatting stage  46 C is configured in order to format the verified and assembled template, using a style sheet  56  which associates a predetermined typographic style with each portion of the structure, of the template, or of the copied content. This style sheet indicates in particular the font, the size of the characters, the underlining etcetera, to be used for each logical portion of all of the template file  50 : chapter, section, paragraph, informal note, highlighted text, etcetera.  
         [0065]     This third stage  46 C is also designed to control the third software component.  
         [0066]     The third software component has the reference numeral  48  and is a peripheral unit for editing the manual from the template file  50  provided at the output of the second processing software component  46 . In the example described, it is capable of generating a pdf document  58  and recording this document in the storage means  38 . In this manner, the storage means  38  contain the final manuals, in the state as they are delivered to their respective client.  
         [0067]     In other embodiments, the peripheral editing unit  48  is capable of producing an HTML file or Word file, etcetera.  
         [0068]     Finally, the third software component  48  includes a function for controlling the printer  42  from the file  58  generated, in order to obtain a printed manual.  
         [0069]     The method for generating a manual illustrated in  FIG. 3  includes two main phases: a phase  100  for initialising the system  10  and a phase  200  for implementing this system  10 . The implementation phase  200  is repeated by the archivist  36  for each creation of a new manual, whilst the initialisation phase  100  is carried out in a continuous manner, including during and after the implementation phases  200 , by the members of technical staff  18 , so that the global base  16  includes the latest information available.  
         [0070]     The initialisation phase  100  includes a first step  110  which involves creating the global database  16 , and a second step  120  which involves associating, in the global base  16 , each module with the technical element to which the information it contains refers. During this step  120 , the modules are also associated with at least one type of manual.  
         [0071]     The implementation phase  200  includes a first step  202  during which the archivist  36  launches the first software component  44 .  
         [0072]     He carries out, during a step  204 , the function  44 B in order to indicate to the first software component  44  the type of manual which he wishes to create.  
         [0073]     The first software component  44  carries out, during a step  206 , the function  44 C for recovering the list of modules linked to the type of manual indicated.  
         [0074]     Then, during a step  208 , the first software component  44  carries out the function  44 D for displaying a blank template structure and the list of modules. The archivist also creates the structure during this step  208 .  
         [0075]     During a step  210 , the archivist  20  completes the manual template by dragging and dropping the modules from the module list to a logical portion of the structure of the template.  
         [0076]     The preceding step  210  is repeated as many times as the archivist  20  requires.  
         [0077]     When the archivist  20  has finished the completion operation, he controls the first software component  44  so that it generates, during a step  212  which is carried out by the function  44 E, an XML file  50  of a completed manual template. The first software component  44  stores this file in the storage means  38  and launches the second software component  46  in order to edit the manual template  50 .  
         [0078]     The editing is generally carried out directly after the step  210  for completing the template. However, the editing operation can also take place a long time, sometimes several months, after the template file has been created and stored. This is the case, for example, when the client wishes to obtain a new updated version of his manual.  
         [0079]     The editing is carried out by the editing preparation component  46  and editing component  48 , without the involvement of the archivist  36 .  
         [0080]     In this manner, the implementation phase  200  includes a step  214  for verification of the template file  50 , carried out by the verification stage  46 A.  
         [0081]     There follows a step  216  for assembling the template, carried out by the assembly stage  46 B. The three operations that this stage  46 B is capable of carrying out are implemented. These three operations are illustrated in  FIG. 3  by the sub-steps  216 A,  216 B and  216 C.  
         [0082]     The formatting stage  46 C then carries out the formatting (step  218 ) of the manual template using the style sheet  56 , which has been specified beforehand by the archivist  36 .  
         [0083]     During a final control step  220 , the second software component  46  controls the third component  48  so that it carries out two operations. Firstly, it generates ( 220 A) the final manual in pdf format from the template file obtained following the processing operations carried out by the various stages of the software component  46 . The pdf file  58  which constitutes the final manual is stored in the storage means  38 . Then, the peripheral editing unit  48  controls ( 220 B) the printer  42  in order to print the file and obtain the final printed manual.  
         [0084]     The final manual is independent of the global base  16 , that is to say, the information that the archivist  31  wished it to contain are not linked to this global base  16 .  
         [0085]     As has been explained with reference to  FIG. 1 , controlling the peripheral editing unit can, in other embodiments, generate the manual in html or Word format, depending on the nature of the peripheral unit  48  used, in order to then be printed by the printer  42 .