Use of Configuration Management Systems For collaborative writing a shared work environment is necessary. Through a network authors must have access to all common resources, i.e. various types of documents and document parts. Documents and their parts are structured in directories based on their positions in the whole document, on their relationships to other documents and on their current versions. The following figure shows an example of a document structure. Document 1 consists of 3 parts, document 2 of 2, etc.
All documents build together the entire document.
By using branch and merge functions of CM systems multiple authors can modify same documents at the same time. One is the access of multiple authors to same document parts at the same time . Author 1 sends an access request to the server. If the requested item is idle, i.e. not locked by another author, the CM system allows the access to this item. In case of a write access, the item is locked by author 1 by marking it with appropriate data like author's identification, date and type of access, etc.