Patent Publication Number: US-11650813-B2

Title: Enhanced product development efficiency, communication, and/or security through component-based event generation and/or subscription

Description:
CLAIM FOR PRIORITY 
     This patent application claims priority from, and hereby incorporates by reference: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/995,711, titled ‘SECURE AND EFFICIENT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SUBSCRIPTION TO AN EVENT ASSOCIATED WITH A RESTRICTED DESIGN DEPENDENCY TREE’, filed Aug. 17, 2020, which claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/403,571, titled ‘COMPONENT DESIGN SECURITY THROUGH RESTRICTION OF A DESIGN COMPONENT DEPENDENCY TREE’, filed May 5, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/667,546, titled ‘COMPONENT DESIGN SECURITY THROUGH RESTRICTION OF A DESIGN COMPONENT DEPENDENCY TREE’, filed May 6, 2018. 
    
    
     FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY 
     This disclosure relates generally to data processing devices and, more particularly, to a method, a device, a system and a manufacture of enhanced product development efficiency, communication, and/or security through component-based event generation and/or subscription. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A product lifecycle management (PLM) system may be a software program that helps to manage the lifecycle of a product or technology. For example, a PLM system may help to manage product conception, design, engineering, manufacture, and may even extend into sale, distribution, service and support. A product managed by the PLM system may be a physical product (e.g., a consumer good, such as an automobile or smartphone) or an intangible product (e.g., an integrated circuit design, a software application, a layered graphic design file). The PLM may increase the ability of a small business, large enterprise, or government to lower design and manufacturing cost, increase efficiency, detect and track defects and bugs, manage service and support, coordinate recalls, develop new features, and may include many other potential advantages. 
     The product may have one or more components. For example, an automobile is comprised of an engine, chassis, seats, steering wheel, etc. Similar, each component may have sub-components. For example, the engine may be comprised of pistons, spark plugs, fuel lines, etc. A large number of sub-components may be needed for a component. Each component may depend on another component for operation or assembly. For example, the engine component may depend on a piston sub-component. Each component and each sub-component may have one or more versions. For example, for an engine component of an automobile that is a first design iteration may include a first version having a first piston arrangement. A second version of the engine may have a different piston arrangement. A dependency tree may include the sub-components on which a component depends. 
     Within software and integrated circuit design, each component may depend on numerous other circuit designs and/or computer code files as sub-components. For example, a computer processor may depend on a set of memory registers and an algorithmic logic unit (ALU). Other dependencies may include software applications that help design and/or help test the component or sub-component, for example a “test-bench” and/or a “test kit.” 
     Design complexity may be one challenge that PLM systems manage. For example, the dependency tree of a component may be quite large, including hundreds or thousands of sub-components with one or more versions of each. Each component may be developed or maintained by one or more persons or teams of people who may be responsible for working on the product and its various components of the dependency tree. They may work on the same component simultaneously, or new versions of sub-components may become available which provide new options for the dependency tree. 
     One challenge in working with complex designs may be component relevancy. For example, the dependency tree of a component may include many versions of the component and each sub-component. Only some of the components and versions may be relevant to a given product or project. Others may become deprecated, may have known or newly identified security vulnerabilities, or may not be under active development. Such components may be anywhere in the dependency tree, and it may be difficult for users to identify or communicate changes that affect other users. This complexity if not effectively managed may make working on a project slow, confusing, prone to error, and/or prone to security risk. When such inefficiencies scale to a large number of components and/or persons working on a project, the effects may be delayed project development goals, difficulty finding design flaws, costly mistakes, security breaches, and/or ultimately dissatisfied customers and lost revenue. 
     A similar challenge that may arise in a complex design environment is design security and secrecy. The secrecy of the design may be an important aspect of a component development project as the component and/or its sub-components may be valuable intellectual property (e.g., a trade secret) that may provide substantial economic value and competitive advantage. For example, such intellectual property may be important in the integrated circuit and software design disciplines where computer code and chip designs, and/or the associated knowledge of their architecture, may be easily copied and could be secretly used in a competitor&#39;s product. For example, an enterprise developing a smartphone may need to hire a contractor who may be an expert in building a certain kind of software application that is a critical sub-component of the smartphone. However, because the sub-contractor often works with competitors, the enterprise may worry about exposing other information about the project. 
     Both the challenge of relevancy and security also may overlap. In the last example, the contractor may be working on a component that depends on a sub-component. The sub-component may have several versions, some of which may be commonly available (e.g., an open source software) and others which may be important trade secrets (e.g., a proprietary software). Therefore, the enterprise may have difficulty both helping the contractor manage the complexity of the project while also protecting the enterprise&#39;s trade secrets. 
     Without an effective way to manage project complexity, users may become confused, inefficient, and/or prone to error. Products, components, and projects may turn out inferior, for example, receiving poor consumer reviews, lost credibility and lost revenue. Organizations may have to make tradeoffs between complexity management on the one hand, and security and/or trade secret protection on the other. Trade secrets, that may give a project or organization a significant competitive advantage or an economic value, may be lost. 
     SUMMARY 
     Disclosed are a method, a device, a system, and/or a manufacture of enhanced product development efficiency, communication, and/or security through component-based event generation and/or subscription. 
     In one embodiment, a system for generating events associated with software and computing hardware design data includes a coordination server, a design server, a security server, a subscription server, and a network. The coordination server includes an authentication module comprising computer readable instructions that when executed authenticate a first user and/or a client device of the first user. The design server includes a dependency database stored in a computer memory. The dependency database includes a set of nodes of a directed acyclic graph and a set of dependency references of the set of nodes as directed edges of the directed acyclic graph. A node of the set of nodes stores data of a component, a variant of the component, and/or a version of the component. 
     The security server includes computer readable instructions that when executed determine the first user is authorized to view the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. The security server also includes a database association stored as data, the database association drawn between (i) a unique identifier of the first user and/or a unique identifier of a group profile associated with the unique identifier of the first user, and (ii) a unique identifier of the component, a unique identifier of the variant of the component, and/or a unique identifier of the version of the component. 
     The subscription server includes computer readable instructions that when executed determine occurrence of an event associated with a sub-component of the component, a variant of the sub-component, and a version of the sub-component. The database association is useable to subscribe the first user to events of the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. The subscription server includes computer readable instructions that when executed generate a message describing the event for transmission to the client device of the first user. The system also includes a network communicatively coupling the coordination server, the design server, the security server, and the subscription server. 
     The database association may further subscribe the first user to events of the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. The subscription server may further include computer readable instructions that when executed: determine occurrence of a different event associated with the component, the variant of the component, and the version of the component, and generate a different message describing the different event for transmission to the client device of the first user. 
     The sub-component may be a first level sub-component of the component, the variant of the sub-component may be a variant of the first level sub-component, and the version of the sub-component may be a version of the first level sub-component of the component. The event may be generation of an error log, determination of a bug, determination of a security vulnerability, and/or storage of at a new component, a new version of the component, a new variant of the component, a new sub-component of the component, a new variant of the sub-component, and/or a new version of the sub-component. 
     The subscription server may further comprising computer readable instructions that when executed generate a notification that the component, the variant of the component, the version of the component, the sub-component of the component, the variant of the sub-component, and/or the version of the sub-component is deprecated, unsupported, and/or no longer actively developed. 
     The system may include a file server that includes one or more workfiles and computer readable instructions that when executed receive from a second user a workfile request for retrieval of a workfile associated with the version of the component and/or a version of the sub-component to assemble a design workspace for the second user. The security server may further include computer readable instructions that when executed determine the second user is not authorized to access the version of the component and/or the version of the sub-component. The security server may further include computer readable instructions that when executed generate a security vulnerability notification describing the security vulnerability associated with the component, the variant of the component, the version of the component, the sub-component of the component, the variant of the sub-component, and/or the version of the sub-component. The security server may further include computer readable instructions that when executed transmit the security vulnerability notification to the client device of the first user. 
     The security server may further include computer readable instructions that when executed: (i) extract a security profile associated with the sub-component, (ii) extract a permission profile associated with the first user and/or the group profile, (iii) compare the permission profile to the security profile to determine the second user is not authorized to receive the message describing the event, (iv) remove read access of the first user and/or the group profile to the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component, and (v) generate an un-subscribe request. The subscription server may further include computer readable instructions that when executed delete the database association between (i) the unique identifier of the first user and/or the unique identifier of the group profile, and (ii) the unique identifier of the component, the unique identifier of the variant of the component, and the unique identifier of the version of the component. 
     In another embodiment, a method for component-centric event-based design security includes authenticating a first user and/or a client device of the first user, and receiving a subscription request to subscribe to events of a component, a variant of the component, and/or a version of the component. The subscription request includes a unique identifier of the first user generating the subscription request and the unique identifier of the component, the unique identifier of the variant of the component, and/or of the unique identifier of the version of the component. The method includes determining the first user is authorized to access the version of the component and subscribing the first user to receive a message describing an event associated with the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. The method receives from a device of a second user a request to assemble a design dependency tree that includes the version of the component, the request to assemble the design dependency tree including at the unique identifier of the version of the component and/or a unique identifier of a version of a different component acting as a root node of the design dependency tree. 
     It may be determined that the second user is not authorized to access the version of the component. The method may generate a security vulnerability notification describing a security vulnerability in the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. The security vulnerability notification may then be transmitted to the device of the first user. 
     The method may store the component in a design database comprising a set of nodes and a set of dependency references defining a directed acyclic graph stored in a computer memory. A set of versions of components may be stored as the set of nodes of the directed acyclic graph and the set of dependency references may be drawn between the set of nodes as directed edges of the directed acyclic graph. From the second user may be received a workfile request for retrieval of a workfile associated with the version of the component. 
     The method may also determine the version of the component includes a permission type associated with the version of the component that comprises whether the component is in active development. It may then be determined that the component and/or the version of the component is no longer under active development. 
     The method may remove read access of the first user and/or a group profile associated with the first user to the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. The method may generate an un-subscribe request, and delete a database association between (i) the unique identifier of the first user and/or the unique identifier of the group profile, and (ii) the unique identifier of the component, the unique identifier of the variant of the component, and/or the unique identifier of the version of the component. 
     A request for retrieval of a dependency tree of a version of the component ay also be received, the request for retrieval includes a unique identifier of the first user generating the request for retrieval and a unique identifier of the version of the component as a root version of the dependency tree. 
     The unique identifier of the version of the component may be submitted as a query to the design database to query a node of the directed acyclic graph. The method may then compare the unique identifier of the version of the component and a unique identifier of a version of each of a set of sub-components of the root version to a unique identifier of the first user to determine an authorization status for the root version and the version of each of the set of sub-components of the root version. Dependency reference following may be terminated at the version of a second sub-component to result in a terminated branch of the dependency tree of the root version, and the unique identifier of the version of a sub-component may be stored in a tree data to result in a continuing branch of the dependency tree of the root version. 
     In yet another embodiment, a method for event-driven structuring software and/or computing hardware design data includes storing a node of a directed acyclic graph in a computer memory. The node stores data of a component, a variant of the component, and/or a version of the component. The directed acyclic graph includes a set of nodes and a set of dependency references of the set of nodes as directed edges of the directed acyclic graph. A first user and/or a client device of the first user is authenticated, and the method then determines whether the first user is authorized to view the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. 
     The method stores a database association between (i) a unique identifier of the first user and/or a unique identifier of a group profile associated with the unique identifier of the first user, and (ii) a unique identifier of the component, a unique identifier of the variant of the component, and/or a unique identifier of the version of the component to subscribe the first user to an event of the component, the variant of the component, and/or the version of the component. The method determines occurrence of the event associated with a sub-component of the component, a variant of the sub-component, and/or a version of the sub-component, and generates a message describing the event for transmission to the client device of the first user. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which: 
         FIG.  1 A  is a product management network for managing complexity and/or security of a component design database, including a client device, a coordination server, a design server, a security server, a file server, and a subscription server, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  1 B  is a data structure for modeling, representing, and storing within a computer readable memory a component and its dependent sub-components, along with versions of each, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  1 C  further illustrates the data structure of  FIG.  1 B , including a component group comprising a component, a variant of the component, and a version of the variant, with grouping references drawn between each to define the component group, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  1 D  is another data structure illustrating a first dependency tree of a first version of a component and a second dependency tree of a second version of the component, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  1 E  is another data structure illustrating dependency references of a version of component and versions of sub-components of the component, and specifically a version dependency tree, each version a node of a directed acyclic graph and each dependency reference an edge of the directed acyclic graph, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  1 F  is yet another data structure illustrating the components associated with the dependency tree of  FIG.  1 E , each component having a logical dependency to form a component dependency tree, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  1 G  is an example detail of the data structure of  FIG.  1 B ,  FIG.  1 C ,  FIG.  1 E , and/or  FIG.  1 F , and further illustrating the version referencing a directory comprising one or more workfiles, for example design files or software code, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates the client device of  FIG.  1 A , comprising a request module, a tree normalization engine, a storage for workfiles associated with a dependency tree, and a design workspace, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates the coordination server of  FIG.  1 A , comprising a request agent, an authentication module, a subscription agent, a tree query engine, a tree restriction engine, a tree normalization engine, and a tree assembly engine, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a design server of  FIG.  1 A  comprising a dependency database that comprises a plurality of components, variants, and/or versions stored as nodes that may define a graph data structure, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates the security server of  FIG.  1 A , comprising a permission database associating a unique identifier of a user with a unique identifier associated with a component, a user database having user profiles, and a security database associating a security profile with a unique identifier within a component group, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates a file server comprising a file repository with directories each corresponding to a version of a component in the dependency database of  FIG.  4    and each directory comprising one or more workfiles, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates a subscription server comprising an event generation module and a subscription database comprising a unique identifier of a user associated with a unique identifier within a component group, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  8    is a dependency tree assembly process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  9    is a dependency tree normalization process flow illustrating a conflict resolution process, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  10    is another dependency tree normalization process flow illustrating a contextual dependency conflict resolution process, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  11    is a normalized and/or restricted dependency tree workspace generation process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  12    is yet another dependency tree normalization process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  13    is a conflict resolution process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  14    is another normalized and/or restricted dependency tree workspace generation process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  15    illustrates a dependency tree of a component comprising contextual dependencies and dependency references to conflicting versions of sub-components, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  16    illustrates a normalization of the dependency tree of  FIG.  15   , according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  17    is an authenticated dependency tree request process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  18    is a dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  19    is another dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  20    is yet another a dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  21    is still another dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  22    illustrates the dependency tree of a version of a component, including but not limited to the formation of terminating branches of the dependency tree for unauthorized versions, variants and/or components, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  23    illustrates the restricted dependency tree data resulting from the restriction of the dependency tree of  FIG.  22   , according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  24    is a subscription request and conflicted versioning process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  25    is a subscriber event permission withdraw process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  26    is a subscriber event permission verification process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
         FIG.  27    is a subscriber event permission, conflict, and automated workfile delivery process flow, according to one or more embodiments. 
     
    
    
     Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     , the described systems. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the preceding disclosure. Disclosed are a method, a device, a system and/or a manufacture of enhanced product development efficiency, communication, and/or security through component-based event generation and/or subscription. Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. 
       FIG.  1 A  is a product management network for managing complexity and/or security of a component design database, according to one or more embodiments. The network of  FIG.  1 A  comprises a network  100 , a user  101 , a client device  200 , a coordination server  300 , a design server  400 , a security server  500 , and/or a file server  600 . The user  101  may be a person designing or otherwise working with a product, the components of the product, and/or the versions of the components for an organization such as an enterprise. For example, the product may be a consumer product an industrial product, a software application, and/or an integrated circuit design. 
     A basic description of a process by which the user  101  may work with, contribute to, test, and/or design the product is first provided. The user  101  may utilize the client device  200  to work on the product. The product may be stored as one or more workfiles  606  that are electronic data stored within a storage  206 . The relationship of the workfiles  606  to aspects of the product may be maintained in a dependency database  402 . The product may be treated as a root component that depends on a set of one or more sub-components. Similarly, a version of the root component of the product may be a root version  130 * that depends on a set of one or more versions  130  of sub-components  110 . A tree data  150  may be a set of data specifying each component  110  on which the root component  110 * depends. Specifically, the product that is the root component  110 * may be a version  130  of the product (e.g., an automobile model for the year 2019), and that root version  130 * may depend on specific versions  130  of sub-components  110  (e.g., a specific model and type of disk brake). In another example, the root component  110 * may be a smartphone operating system (Beta version 0.4431) that depends on a specific USB controller (e.g. USB  3  version 4.36512). The dependency database  402  may be stored as data structures shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  1 B ,  FIG.  1 C , Figure D,  FIG.  1 E ,  FIG.  1 F , Figure G and/or  FIG.  4   , and throughout the present embodiments. 
     The user  101  may request the tree data  150  associated with the product (e.g., the root component  110 * and/or the root version  130 *) by generating the request  103 . The coordination server  300  receives the request over the network  100 , authenticates the user  101  and/or the client device  200 , and/or may add additional data to and/or modify the request  103  to result in the request  105 . The network  100  may be a local area network, a wide area network, a virtual private network, and/or the internet. The request  105  may be generated and communicated through the network  100  to the design server  400  to retrieve the tree data  150  associated with the root component  110 * and/or the root version  130 *. The tree data  150  may be communicated back to the client device  200 . The tree data  150  may specify a version  130  of each component  110  and/or may specify a directory  604  or another location in which the workfiles  606  associated with the version  130  may be retrieved through the network  100 . The user  101  may then generate the request  107  to retrieve a set of one or more workfiles  606  associated with version  130  specified by the tree data  150 . The coordination server  300  and/or the file server  600  receives the request and extracts workfiles  606  from each directory  604  referenced in the request  107 . 
     The workfiles  606  may be transmitted through the network  100  to the client device  200  and stored as a design workspace  208  of the product and/or a version  130  of the product. The user  101  may then modify, improve, and/or test the workfiles  606 . For instance, the user  101  may define new versions  130  of the components  110  of the tree data  150 , update the dependency database  402 , and/or upload new workfiles  606  associated with modifications of the user  101  to the file repository  602 . 
     The dependency tree of the product may be complex and/or large, resulting in a complex and/or large tree data  150  retrieved from the dependency database  402 . Illustrative examples of the dependency tree of the product and/or the dependency tree data  150  are shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  1 B ,  FIG.  1 C ,  FIG.  1 E ,  FIG.  4   ,  FIG.  15    and  FIG.  22   , and throughout the present embodiments. In some instances, conflicts may arise within the dependency tree. For example, different versions  130  of the same component  110  may be referenced (e.g., a version  130 A, a version  130 B), a component  110  may only be relevant in certain contexts (e.g., it is a test kit of the component  110  that depends on it), and/or two components  110  may be mutually exclusive (e.g., two alternative components, for example a robotic arm that can have a first gripping mechanism or a second gripping mechanism). 
     In one or more embodiments, the network of  FIG.  1 A  may remove conflicts by normalizing the tree data  150  to form the normalized tree data  152 . The client device  200  generates the request  103  utilizing the request module  202 . For example, the user  101  may utilize the user interface  210  of the user client device  200  to select a component  110  and/or a version  130  of the component  110  for which to retrieve the dependency tree. A tree data  150  is the data of a specific dependency tree of a node  160  stored in the dependency database  402 . For example, the tree data  150  may be independently transmitted, stored, and evaluated from the dependency database  402 . 
     The coordination server  300  receives the request  103  with a request agent  302 , and may authenticate the user  101  and/or the client device  200  with the authentication module  304 . The coordination server  300  generates the request  105  specifying the root component  110 * and/or the root version  130 * for which to retrieve the tree data  150 . The design server  400  may receive the request  105 , query the dependency database  402 , and may extract the tree data  150 . The tree data  150  may be communicated over the network  100  to the coordination server  300 . 
     The coordination server  300  receives the tree data  150  and may submit the tree data  150  to the tree normalization engine  310 . The tree normalization engine  310  evaluates the tree data  150  to (i) remove contextual dependencies, (ii) remove conflicted components  110 , variants  120  of components  110 , and/or versions  130  of components  110 , (iii) remove mutually exclusive components  110 , variants  120  of components  110 , and/or versions  130  of components  110 , and/or (iv) to perform additional functions, as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  3   ,  FIG.  9   ,  FIG.  10   ,  FIG.  12   ,  FIG.  13   ,  FIG.  15   ,  FIG.  16   , and throughout the present embodiments. A tree assembly engine  330  rebuilds a normalized tree data  152 . The normalized tree data  152  may be returned to the client device  200  through the network  100 . The user  101  may review the normalized tree data  152 , and may then generate the request  107  for retrieval of the workfiles  606  associated with the normalized tree data  152 . As a result, the user  101  generates a normalized instance of the workspace  208  that may aid in streamlined and efficient product development and design. 
     The organization owning and/or developing the product may desire data security related to the dependency database  402 , its component  110  and/or the file repository  602 , and its workfiles  606 . For example, the user  101  may be a contractor that only needs to work on a specific sub-component  110  of the product, and the dependencies of the sub-component  110 . Even in such a case, the organization may not with the contractor to see all dependencies, or latest versions of dependencies of the sub-component, especially if unneeded for the contractor&#39;s work. 
     A security server  500  may include a permission profile  504  specifying permissions of the user  101  (and/or a group to which the user  101  belongs, e.g., the group profile  525 ). The security server  500  may also include a security profile  514  that may be associated with one or more of the components  110 , variants  120  of components  110 , or versions  130  of components  110  stored within the dependency database  402 . 
     When the user  101  generates the request  103 , the coordination server  300  may authenticate the user  101  and/or client device  200  with the authentication module  304 . The coordination server  300  may request the permission profile  504  associated with the user  101 . For example, the permission profile  504  may include a list (e.g., the permission list  505 ) of unique identifiers of components  110  (e.g., the component UID  112 ) stored in the dependency database  402  for which the user  101  may have an authorized access right. Similarly, the permission profile  504  may include a security level (e.g., the security level  518  of  FIG.  5   ). The coordination server  300  extracts the permission profile  504  associated with the user  101  and appends the permission profile  504  to the request  105 . 
     The tree data  150  associated with the dependency tree of the root component  110 * and/or the root version  130 * is extracted from the dependency database  402  of the design server  400 . The tree data  150  may be returned to the coordination server  300 . The tree data  150  may then be submitted to the tree restriction engine  320 . The tree restriction engine  320  parses the tree data  150  to evaluate any instance of the security profiles  514  associated with components  110 , variants  120  of components  110 , and/or versions  130  of components  110  (and/or their dependencies) unauthorized by the permission profile  504 , and/or to perform additional functions, as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  3   ,  FIG.  5   ,  FIG.  17   ,  FIG.  18   ,  FIG.  19   ,  FIG.  20   ,  FIG.  21   ,  FIG.  22   ,  FIG.  23   , and throughout the present embodiments. The tree assembly engine  330  rebuilds a restricted tree data  154 . The restricted tree data  154  may be returned to the client device  200  through the network  100 . The user  101  may review the restricted tree data  154 , and may then generate the request  107  for retrieval of the workfiles  606  associated with the restricted tree data  154 . As a result, the user  101  has a restricted instance of the workspace  208  that may protect the secrecy and security of product development of the organization. The tree data  150  may be operated on by both the tree normalization engine  310  and the tree restriction engine  320 , sequentially or in coordination, to produce the normalized-restricted tree data  156 . 
     The network of  FIG.  1 A  may additionally manage, including any associated conflict or security challenges, subscriptions of the user  101  to events of the tree data  150  (including instances of the tree data  150  such as the normalized tree data  152 , restricted tree data  154 , and/or the normalized-restricted tree data  156 ). The user  101  may submit a request to subscribe to an event associated with one or more components  110 , variants  120  of components  110 , and/or versions  130  of components  110 , including, for example, each version  130  of each component  110  within the normalized tree data  152 . The subscription of the user  101  is stored in a subscription database  704  of a subscription server  700 . The event, for example, may be a new version  130  that has been defined of a component  110  to which the user  101  subscribes. Another example of the event is an error log or security vulnerability notification. 
     Updates to the permission profile  504  and/or the security profile  514  may automatically result in un-subscribing the user  101  from the subscription database  704 . Similarly, an event may initiate re-evaluation of the dependency tree to which the user  101  subscribed. The user  101  may be alerted of new components  110 , variants  120  of components  110 , and/or versions  130  of components  110  that have been defined, and/or new associated workfiles  606  may be delivered to the client device  200  (including automatic delivery, including determining if the user has not modified the workfile  606  associated with a new version  130 ). As a result, several or many users  101  may stay aware of group work and progress, and have the most up-to-date dependency tree and associated workfiles  606  of a component  110  and/or a version  130  of a component  110 . At the same time, the organization may retain its ability to protect secrecy and confidentiality of aspects of the design, or easily change the permission profile  504  and/or security profile  514 . 
       FIG.  1 B  is a data structure for modeling, representing, and storing within a computer readable memory a component  110  and its dependent sub-components  110 , along with versions  130  of each, according to one or more embodiments. Each component  110  of the data structure may model and/or represent a component, for example a component of a product that may be designed, engineered, and/or fabricated by the organization. Each component  110  may be dependent on other components  110  (in such case, the other components may be referred to as sub-components of the component  110 ). Specifically, each component  110  may be incorporated into a given component  110  to become a sub-component  110  of the given component  110 . For example, the component  110 . 2  may be an automobile car door design. The component  110 . 2  may draw a dependency to several sub-components, such as a component  110 . 3  that is a window glass specification, a component  110 . 4  that is a hinge (not shown), and a component  110 . 4  that is a circuit board for operating an automatic door lock (not shown). The component  110 . 2  may also be a sub-component of a component  110 . 1  that is an automobile assembly (that is, the component  110 . 1  draws a dependency to the component  110 . 2 ). 
     Each component  110  may have one or more versions  130 . The versions  130 , for example, may model and/or represent different prototypes, production versions, development releases, beta versions, and/or models of the component  110 . An instance of the version  130  may also draw dependency references  131  to other versions  130 , and/or have dependency references  131  drawn to the instance of the version  130 . A version  130  may have a sub-version  130  that may be analogous to a component  110  and a sub-component  110 , respectively. For example, in the embodiment of  FIG.  1 B , the version  130 . 2 A is a 1st level sub-version  130  of the version  130 . 1 A. However, throughout the present embodiments the designation may be described other ways, for example referred to as simply a version  130  under a root version  130 *. 
     An instance of the component  110  groups one or more versions  130  associated with the instance of the component  110 , as shown and described in greater detail in conjunction with the embodiment of Figure C. As described below, intermediate groupings are also possible, for example, a variant  120 . 
     Each version  130  may comprise references to one or more associated workfiles (e.g., the workfiles  606 ). The workfiles  606  may be computer files that the user  101  works with, modifies, defines, and/or builds. For example, the workfile  606  may be a block of software code (e.g., a computer program written in Java®), a computer-aided design (CAD) file (e.g., an AutoDesk® component, a SolidWorks® assembly file), a graphic design (e.g., in Adobe® Illustrator), etc. A set of workfiles  606  define an instance of the version  130 . The version  130  may reference the workfile  606  through a workfile reference  134 , as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  1 G . 
     References are drawn between and among the components  110 , the variants  120 , and/or the versions  130 . The grouping reference  141  is a type of reference between or among members of a component group (e.g., the component group  140 ). A dependency of one version  130  on another version  130  is stored as a dependency reference  131 . A dependency of one component  110  on another component  110  is referred to as a logical dependency  111 . The logical dependency  111  may be explicitly defined within the data structure, and/or may be implied or determined from one or more dependency references  131  of a version dependency tree  151  (e.g., by following grouping references  141  from a set of versions  130  connected by dependency references  131 , as described below). 
     As physically stored within the dependency database  142 , the component  110 , the variant  120 , and the version  130  are all instances of a node  160 . Arrows between and among the component  110 , the variant  120 , and the version  130  are all instances of a directed edge  162 . The directed edge  162  is also referred to in the present embodiments as simply an edge  162 . References are stored in the memory as what may be known in the art as a “property”, “attribute”, or “field” of each node  160 . Each property may have a paired and/or associated value stored in the memory. For example, the value for a property that is a reference may be a unique identifier of a node  160  that is referenced (e.g., the component UID  112 ). Each edge  162  may have a specific type, for example a dependency reference  131 , a grouping reference  141 , and/or a logical dependency  111 . As shown and described in the present embodiments, one or more of the specific type of references may be defined such there are no cycles in directed edges of the specific type of references (e.g., “acyclic” references), which may form a directed acyclic graph. For example, all dependency references  131  may be defined to be acyclic within the dependency database  402 . 
     Each instance of the version  130  has an associated dependency tree of zero to an arbitrary number (denoted ‘n’) of dependencies (e.g., the version  130  draws zero to ‘n’ dependency references  131 , the node  160  directs zero to ‘n’ edges  162 ). When an instance of the version  130  is selected to be examined for its dependency tree, the instance is referred to as a root version  130 *. Within the stored data structure, the root version  130 * may also be referred to as a root node  161 . The dependency tree of a version  130  is referred to as the version dependency tree  151 . 
     In one or more embodiments, although not required in other embodiments, each version  130  draws a dependency reference to one and only one version  130  of a component group  140  (e.g., one and only one version  130  associated with a component  110 , as the version  130  may be connected to the component  110  through one or more grouping references  141 ). However, two versions  130  within a dependency tree of a root version  130 * may draw dependency references  131  to different versions  130  within a component group  140  (which, in one or more embodiments, may create a “version conflict”). In one or more embodiments, although not required in other embodiments, dependency references  131  are acyclic within the dependency database  402 . 
     The component  110  may also have an associated dependency tree of zero to ‘n’ dependencies (e.g., draws zero to ‘n’ logical dependencies  111 ). When an instance of the component  110  is selected to examine its dependency tree, the instance is referred to as a root component  110 *. In one or more embodiments, the logical dependencies  111  may be implied by the dependency references  131  of versions  130  associated with the components  110 , as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  1 E  and  FIG.  1 F . 
     A first instance of a node  160  within the dependency database  402  may have a “distance” from another node  160  within the dependency database  402  by determining a number of intervening edges  162  between the nodes  160 . For example, where a version  130 A draws a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 B, and the version  130 B draws a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 C, the version  130 A and the version  130 B have an edge distance of one edge  162 , and the version  130 A and the version  130 C have an edge distance of two edges  162 . 
     Distances within the data structure may also be referred to as “levels” when applied to dependency references (e.g., the logical dependency  111 , the dependency reference  131 ). For example, sub-components  110  of a root component  110 * may be referred to in levels. As shown in the embodiment of  FIG.  1 B , the component  110 . 2  is a first level sub-component  110  of the component  110 . 1  that is the root component  110 . 1 . An arbitrary number of sub-component levels may be defined underneath or above any given component. For example, a component  110  that may have no references at a first time may represent a stand-alone product, whereas at a second time the stand-alone product may be incorporated into an assembly such that the assembly may be selected as a component  110 , with the stand-alone product a sub-component  110 . 
     The version dependency tree  151  and the component dependency tree  153  may play different roles for the user  101 . For example, the version dependency tree  151  may be used to track workfiles  606  associated with a particular root version  130 *. For example, the version  130  may draw a dependency reference  131  to one and only one version  130  of a component group  140  and ensure dependency references  131  are drawn acyclically so that each version  130  and its dependencies are strictly defined. This may be useful for assembling the design workspace  208  of the user  101 . On the other hand, it may be difficult for the user  101  to select the root version  130 *, or evaluate the version dependency tree  151 , without viewing a component dependency tree  153  that may be in a more human-readable format. Abstraction from a version  130  to a component  110  may be helpful in presenting the information to the user  101 . For example, the user  101  may understand the logical dependencies  111  of components  110 A (and/or variants  120 ) more easily than dependency references  131  of versions  130 . For instance, the node  160  of each version  130  may be designated with a version number, whereas each component  110  may be designated by a name (e.g., “automobile,” “algorithmic logic unit”) and/or an image representing the component  110 . 
     However, this may also potentially create alternative components  110  within the component dependency tree  153 . For example, a version  130 A and a version  130 B may be within the component group  140 A of a component  110 A. The version  130 A may draw a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 C that is within the component group  140 B of a component  110 B. The version  130 B may draw a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 D that is within the component group  140 C of a component  110 C. The version dependency tree of version  130 A* will include the version  130 A and the version  130 C. The version dependency tree  153  of version  130 B* will include the version  130 B and the version  130 D. However, the component dependency tree  153 A* will include two alternative logical dependencies  111 , one to the component  110 B and one to the component  110 C. 
     In general, in the present embodiments, unless where noted or where to demonstrate network connections or process flows, an arrow with a solid line indicates an instance of the dependency reference  131 , an arrow with a dashed line represents a grouping reference  141 , such as a variant reference  114  and component reference  126 , and an arrow with a dotted line represents a logical dependency  111 . A dot-dashed line, depending on labeling and context, may represent (i) a contextual dependency  133 , (ii) an override reference  142 , or (iii) an exclusion reference  144 . Additional arrow types may also be further described in the present embodiments. In addition, for brevity “reference” and “ref” are used interchangeably in the present embodiments, the figures, and the accompanying text. Similarly, “unique identifier” and “UID” are used interchangeably in the present embodiments, the figures, and the accompanying text. The term “sub-component” is used to refer a component  110  that, in the state context, is not the root component  110 * but is within the dependency tree of the root component  110 *. A component  110  of a dependency tree may refer to any of the components  110 , including the root component  110 * and each sub-component  110 . 
       FIG.  1 C  further illustrates the data structure of  FIG.  1 B , including a component group  140  comprising a component  110 . 1 , a variant  120 A of the component  110 . 1 , and a version  130 A of the variant  120 A (and/or of the component  110 . 1 ), with grouping references  141  drawn between each to define the component group  140 , according to one or more embodiments. While bi-directional references are shown (e.g., the variant  120 A references the component  110 . 1 , and the component  110 . 1  references the variant  120 A), only one grouping reference  141  is needed to define the component group  140  (and/or other means of associating the component  110 . 1 , the variant  120 A, and/or the version  130 A). In one or more embodiments, grouping references  141  may be defined as a type of acyclic reference within the dependency database  402 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIG.  1 B  and  FIG.  1 C , the version  130 . 1 A includes a “0.1” designation to illustrate its association within the same component group  140  as the component  110 . 1 . However, in one or more other embodiments, the association within the same component group  140  is not designated with a decimal, for example where  FIG.  1 D  where the version  130 A and the version  130 B are shown within the same component group  140  as the component  110 . 1  of  FIG.  1 D . 
       FIG.  1 D  is another data structure illustrating a first dependency tree of a first version  130 A of a component  110 . 1  and a second dependency tree of a second version  130 B of the component  110 . 1 , according to one or more embodiments. Variants  120  are not used within the embodiment of  FIG.  1 D . Component  110 . 1  may be a stand-alone instance of a component  110  (e.g., a product) and/or may be a sub-component  110  of another component (e.g., a component  110 . 0 , e.g., a different product). The component  110 . 1  may be included within a component group  140 , along with the version  130 A of the component  110 . 1  and the version  130 B of the component  110 . 1 . 
     The version  130 A may be selected as a root version  130 A* (e.g., the root node  161 ) of a first dependency tree. The version  130 A of component  110 . 1  draws a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 C of the component  110 . 2  (and may also draw a dependency reference  131 , not shown in the embodiment of  FIG.  1 D , to additional instances of the version  130  of components other than the component  110 . 2 ). The version  130 C of the component  110 B draws a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 F of the component  110 . 3 . The version  110 . 3  may then draw a dependency reference  131  to additional instances of the version  130 , not shown. 
     The version  130 B of the component  110 . 1  may alternatively be selected as a root version  130 * of a second dependency tree. The version  130 B of component  110 . 1  draws a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 D of the component  110 . 2 . The version  130 B of component  110 . 2  may then draw a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 H of the component  110 . 3 . In the embodiment of  FIG.  1 D , a versions  130  of a “higher” level (not shown) may additional draw a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 B of the component  110 . 1 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIG.  1 D , where either the version  130 A or the version  130 B is selected as a root version  130 * of a dependency tree, following all grouping references  141  shown in  FIG.  1 D  will lead to the component  110 . 1 , the component  110 . 2 , and the component  110 . 3 . In one or more embodiments, the component  110 . 1 , the component  110 . 2 , and the component  110 . 3  may be presented on the user interface  210  of the client device  200 , along with information about the version  130 A of the component  110 A forming the root version  130 *, such that the dependency tree of the root version  130 * is more easily understandable to the user  101  as the dependency tree of the component  110 . 1 . 
       FIG.  1 E  is another data structure illustrating dependency references  131  of a version  130 A of component  110 . 1  and versions  130  of sub-components  110  of the component  110 . 1 , and specifically a version dependency tree  151  that may be an instance of the dependency tree, each version  130  a node  160  (e.g., stored within the dependency database  402 ) of a directed acyclic graph, with the version  130 A a root node  161  of the version dependency tree  151 , and each dependency reference  131  an edge  162  of the directed acyclic graph, according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment of  FIG.  1 E , the version  130 A of component  110 . 1  depends upon and draws dependency references  131  to a version  130 B of a component  110 . 2 , a version  130 E of a component  110 . 3 , and a version  130 F of a component  110 . 4 . The version  130 B of the component  110 . 2  depends upon and draws dependency references  131  to a version  130 H of a component  110 . 5 , a version  130 I of a component  110 . 6 , and a version  130 J of a component  110 . 7 . The version  130 G of the component  110 . 4  draws a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 K of the component  110 . 7 , meaning that both the version  130 J of the component  110 . 7  and the version  130 K of the component  110 . 7  are dependencies and within the dependency tree of the version  130 A* of the component  130 . 1 * (e.g., both instances of the node  160  are referenced through a continuous chain of edges  162  from the root node  161 ). Additionally, a version  130 L of a component  110 . 8  may reference the version  130 H of the component  110 . 5 , illustrating that, in one or more embodiments, a node  160  that is outside of the dependency tree of the root node  161  may still depend on, reference, and/or draw dependency references  131  to nodes  160  within the dependency tree of the root node  161 . For example, the version  130 H of the component  110 . 5  may represent a fastener used in many mechanical devices, or a block of software code or integrated circuit architecture usable in more than one software application or chip design, respectively. 
       FIG.  1 F  is yet another data structure illustrating the components  110  associated with the version dependency tree  151  of  FIG.  1 E , each component  110  having a logical dependency  111  to form a component dependency tree  153 , according to one or more embodiments. The grouping references  141  of each version  130  of  FIG.  1 E  may be followed within the dependency database  402  to its associated component  110 , each grouping reference  141  an instance of the edge  162  within the directed acyclic graph and each component  110  an instance of the edge  162 .  FIG.  1 F  demonstrates a component dependency tree  153  that may be presented to the user  101  on the client device  200 , according to one or more embodiments. Each logical dependency  111  may be inferred from dependency references  131  of the version dependency tree  151  and/or data specifying the dependency references  131  may be included within the dependency database  402 . 
       FIG.  1 G  is an example detail of the data structure of  FIG.  1 B ,  FIG.  1 C , Figure D,  FIG.  1 E , and/or  FIG.  1 F , and further illustrating the version  130  referencing a directory  604  comprising one or more workfiles  606 A through  606 N, for example design files or software code, according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment of  FIG.  1 G , the component  110  is a data object stored in a computer memory, for example a node  160  of the dependency database  402 . The component  110  comprises a component UID  112  by which the component  110  may be referenced (e.g., referenced by other nodes  160  of the dependency database  402  and/or queried). The component  110  may include one or more variant references  114 A through  114 N. Where the component group  140  associated with the component  110  does not include variants  120 , the variant references  114  may be replaced by version references  124  for direct reference to one or more versions  130 . The component  110  may include a security profile  514 , as described below. The security profile  514  may be utilized as the security profile  514  for the component group  140 . For example, where the version  130  of the component group  140  is queried, grouping references  141  may be followed to the component  110  of the component group  140  where the security profile  514  for all variants  120  and/or version  130  is stored for the component group  140 . 
     The component  110  may include one or more logical dependencies  111 . The logical dependencies  111  may be stored as references, e.g., as properties of the node  160  storing the component  110 . In one or more other embodiments, the logical dependencies  111  may be inferred from the dependency references  131  of the versions  130  of the component  110 . The component  110  may also have one or more logical dependencies  111  drawn to the component  110  from other components  110  (and/or have inferred logical dependencies  111  from the other components  110 ). 
     The component  110  may include one or more instances of an override reference  142  that may be drawn to a component  110 , variant  120 , and/or a version  130  to specify the component  110  that will be prioritized in any conflict between components  110 , the variant  120  that will be prioritized in any conflict between variants  120 , or the version  130  that will be prioritized in any conflict between version  130 . The override reference  142  is further shown and described in conjunction with the embodiment of  FIG.  9   . The component  110  may include one or more instances of an exclusion reference  144 . The one or more exclusion references  144  may each be drawn to one or more other components  110  that may be mutually exclusive if both are included in the same instance of the dependency tree (e.g., the version dependency tree  151  and/or the component dependency tree  153 ). The component  110  may be referenced by one or more exclusion references  144  of other components  110 . 
     The component  110  may include one or more variants  120 . The variant  120  comprises a variant UID  122  that by which the variant  120  may be referenced (e.g., referenced by other nodes  160 ). The variant  120  comprises one or more version references  124 A through  124 N, and may include a security profile  514 , and described below. The variant  120  may also include a component reference  126  drawn to the component  110 . The variant  120  may include one or more exclusion references  144  drawn to other variants  120 , for example other variants  120  within the component group  140  of the variant  120 . The variant  120  may include one or more override references  142  drawn to other components  110 , variants  120 , and/or version  130 . Multiple layers of variant  120  may be defined from the version  130  to the component  110 , in which case a variant  120  refers to another variant  120 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIG.  1 G , the variant  120  may include one or more versions  130 . Each version comprises a version UID  132 , a workfile reference  134 , and one or more dependency references  131 A through  131 N. The version  130  may also include a variant reference  114  (and/or a component reference  126 , for example where no variants  120  are defined) and a security profile  514 , as described below. The version  130  may be referenced by one or more dependency references  131 , and may reference one or more versions  130 . The version  130  may include one or more contextual dependency references  133  that are treated as and/or converted into a dependency reference  131  depending on a distance from the root version  130 *. The version  130  may include one or more exclusion references  144  drawn to other version  130 . The version  130  may also include one or more override references  142  drawn to other versions  130 . The version  130  may be references by the contextual dependency references  133  and/or the override references  142  of other version  130 . 
     The workfile reference  134  specifies a location of and/or points to one or more workfiles  606  associated with the version  130 . For example, in one or more embodiments the workfile reference  134  specifies a directory  604  identified by a directory URL  612  (e.g., a file path, or file extension). The directory  604  comprises one or more workfiles  606 A through  606 N. For example, the workfile  606  may be an executable software code file such as an .exe, a software application written in a programming language (e.g., C++, Java®, Golang), a markup language file (e.g., an .html or .css file), a server microservice, a software container (e.g., a Docker® container), or other forms of human and/or computer readable software. The workfile  606  may also be, for example, a circuit design, a circuit architecture, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design, a microservice architecture design, a computer aided design (CAD) file and/or a CAD assembly file. Although not shown, the directory  604  may include one or more references to a version  130 , a variant  120 , and/or a component  110 . 
     Each of the nodes  160  and/or edges  162  of the data structure is used to build the a set of data that is the dependency tree, referred to as the tree data  150 . In one or more embodiments, the tree data  150  comprises data of a root node  161  that is a version  130  (e.g., a root version  130 A* of a root component  110 A*) and each version  130  on which the root version  130 A* depends, that is, each instance of a versions  130  in which an unbroken chain of dependency references  131  can be drawn from the root version  130 * to a given instance of the version  130 . Each version  130  within the tree data  150  need not contain all data of the version  130  stored in the dependency database  402 . Rather, a unique identifier of each version  130  (e.g., the version UID  132 ) may be included such that the tree data  150  may be transmitted as an array of version UIDs  132 . Optionally, the dependency references  131  and/or data specifying relationships between and among the versions  130  may be included in the tree data  150 . Optionally, the tree data  150  may include the workfile ref  134  of each version  130 . Alternatively, the dependency references  131  and/or the workfiles references  134  may be independently request (e.g., by the clinet device  200 ) using one or more unique identifiers of the versions  130  within the tree data  150 . 
       FIG.  2    illustrates the client device  200  of  FIG.  1 A , comprising a processor  201 , a memory  203 , a request module  202 , a storage  206  that may store in computer readable memory one or more workfiles  606  associated with one or more dependency tree of components  110  and/or versions  130 , a design workspace  208  comprising the workfiles  606  associated a tree data  150 , and a user interface  210 , according to one or more embodiments. The client device  200  may include a unique identifier (not shown), such as a MAC address, an operating system identifier, a static IP address, and/or another way to identify the client device  200 . The client device  200  may also include the tree normalization engine  310 , in one or more embodiments, as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  3   . Additionally, the client device  200  may store workfiles  606  on a remote storage server  250  associated with the client device  200  (which may be distinct from the file server  600 ). For example, the client device  200  may act as a cloud storage system accessible through the network  100  for workfiles  606  that the user  101  is currently working with and/or modifying. The storage server  250  may include a synchronization module  252  to backup workfiles  606  and synchronize workfiles  606  of the storage  206  with the workfiles  606  of the storage  256 . 
     The client device  200 , for example, may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and/or a server computer. The client device  200  may even be a mobile device, tablet computer, and/or a voice controlled computer. The processor  201  is a computer processor that can execute stored instructions sets, and the memory  203  is a computer readable memory for storing instruction sets and associated data (the memory  203  may be, e.g., RAM, a solid-state memory such as a Serial ATA (“SATA”) drive). The user interface  210  may include but is not limited to a graphical user interface of a display, a voice interface, a keyboard and/or mouse, a haptic controller, and additional means for working on the product, the component, and/or one or more workfiles  606 . 
     The request module  202  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor generates a request (e.g., the request  103 ) to retrieve a dependency tree of a component  110  and/or a version  130  of a component  110 . For example, a summary of available versions  130  may be presented to the user  101  on the graphical user interface and the user may select a version  130  to act as a root node  161  (e.g., the root version  130 *) of a version dependency tree  151 . The request module  202  generates a request  103  with a unique identifier of a root node  161 , for example the root component  110 * and/or the root version  130 *. For example, if a dependency tree of a version  130  of a component  110  is to be requested, a unique identifier of the version  130  (e.g., the version UID  132 ) is included in the request  103 . Additionally, the unique identifier of the user  101  and/or the client device  200  may be included in the request  103  for authentication, security, to apply preferences of the user  101  and/or the client device  200 , and for additional reasons. The unique identifier of the version  130 , the user  101  and/or the client device  200  may be a text string that is a version name, a randomly generated string of numbers and characters (e.g., the output of a SHA-256 algorithm), a globally unique identifier (GUID), and/or other indicia of discrete selection. The request  103  is transmitted to the coordination server  300 . 
     The coordination server  300 , as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  3    and throughout the present embodiments, returns the tree data  150  to the client device  200 . The tree data  150  may be normalized (e.g., the normalized tree data  152 ), restricted (e.g., the restricted tree data  154 ), or, as shown in the embodiment of  FIG.  2   , both normalized and restricted (e.g., the normalized-restricted tree data  156 ). In the embodiment of  FIG.  2   , the normalized-restricted tree data  156  shows four workfile references  134  each drawn to a different instance of the workfile  606 . The client device  200  may retrieve the four workfiles  606  by sending a request  107  with a value of the workfile reference  134  for each version  130  to the file server  600  over the network  100 . The workfiles  606  are returned over the network  100  and stored in the storage  206  (and/or the storage  256 ). The storage  206  may be, for example, the memory  203 , a magnetic spinning disk, or another data storage device for storing computer readable data. The workfiles  606  of the normalized-restricted tree data  156  form the design workspace  208  of the product that the user  101  may work on, modify, manage, and/or contribute to. Where the design workspace  208  is generated from the normalized tree data  152 , the design workspace  208  may be referred to as a normalized design workspace. Where the design workspace  208  is generated from the restricted tree data  154 , the design workspace  208  may be referred to as a restricted design workspace. 
       FIG.  3    illustrates the coordination server  300  of  FIG.  1 A , comprising a processor  301 , a request agent  302 , a memory  303 , an authentication module  304 , a tree query engine  306 , a tree normalization engine  310 , a tree restriction engine  320 , a tree assembly engine  330 , a subscription agent  340 , and a profile update module  350 , according to one or more embodiments. The processor  301  is a computer processor that can execute stored instructions sets, and the memory  303  is a computer readable memory for storing instruction sets and associated data (the memory  303  may be, e.g., RAM, a solid-state memory). 
     The request agent  302  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor receive and parse a request to: (i) retrieve data of the dependency database  402  that can be returned to the user  101  to enable selection of a root node  161  (e.g., a list of the components  110  and/or versions  130  and/or metadata of either); (ii) retrieve a dependency tree of a component  110  and/or version  130 ; (iii) retrieve a component group  140 ; and/or (iv) retrieve one or more workfiles  606  associated with a tree data  150 . The request agent  302  may analyze a request type, may check whether data that may be required to complete the request (e.g., the request  103 ) is included, may extract unique identifiers necessary for retrieving data, and/or forward or call for additional data required by processes of the coordination server  300 , for example, to generate the request  105  and/or forward the request  107  of the client device  200 . 
     The authentication module  304  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor causes the processer to receive and parse a unique identifier of a user  101  and/or a client device  200  (e.g., the user UID  526 ) along with one or more security credentials of the user  101  and/or the client device  200 . The authentication module  304  may determine the asserted identity of the user  101  and/or client device  200  exists and whether the asserted identity is active by querying a user profile  524  of the security server  500 , for example with the unique identifier of the user  101  and/or the client device  200 . The authentication module  304  may verify the one or more credentials to validate the asserted identity of the user  101  and/or the client device  200  generating a request (e.g., the request  103 , the request  107 ) and/or communicating within the network of  FIG.  1 A . The authentication module  304  may utilize a single factor authentication (e.g., a password), double factor authentication (e.g., a password and a physical device such as a smartphone or fob), or triple factor authentication (e.g., a password, a physical device such as a smartphone, and a biometric such as a fingerprint scan). 
     The tree query engine  306  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor extracts a unique identifier of a root node  161  (e.g., a root version  130 * to act as a root of a dependency tree), may designate a type of requested dependency tree (e.g., a version dependency tree  151 , a component dependency tree  153 ), and transmits the unique identifier of the root node  161  to the design server  400  to be queried against the dependency database  402 . The tree query engine  306  may further comprise computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor receives the tree data  150  from the query thrown against the dependency database  402  and passes the tree data  150  into the tree restriction engine  320  and/or the tree normalization engine  310 . 
     The organization may configure the network of  FIG.  1 A  and/or each of its servers and components to normalize and/or restrict the tree data  150 , and/or specify under what circumstances to do so. For example, the organization may specify in a configuration file stored on the server  300  that may specify normalization for a certain type of conflict between versions  130 . 
     The tree normalization engine  310  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor selects a node  160  where two or more nodes  160  conflict, the selection made according to a conflict resolution rule. The tree normalization engine  310  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor may remove contextually dependent nodes  160 , the inclusion of which may depend on their distance in edges  162  from the root node  161  (e.g., dependency level under the root node  161 ) within a dependency tree of the root node  161 . The tree normalization engine  310  comprises a context dependency module  312 , a conflict recognition module  314 , a node selection module  316 , and a tree assembly engine  330 . 
     The context dependency module  312  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor detect a contextual dependency (e.g., a contextual dependency reference  133 ) within the tree data  150 . Inclusion of a node  160  referenced by a contextual dependency reference  133  may be determined with a property and/or an attribute value pair of the node  160  that may, for example, specify a threshold distance, measured in edges  162  from the root node  161 . For example, a version  130 X may include a contextual dependency of “less than or equal to two,” meaning that the contextual dependency reference  133  drawn to the version  130 X will be included (e.g., as if a dependency reference  131 ) where the component  110  associated with the version  130 X is either a 1st-level sub-component or a 2nd level sub-component of the component  110  associated with the root version  130 A* that may be the root node  161  of the dependency tree. Example processes that may be utilized by the context dependency module  312  are shown and described in conjunction with the embodiment of  FIG.  10   . 
     The conflict recognition module  314  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor determines a conflict between two or more nodes  160  within the dependency tree. The conflict may be defined by a first dependency reference  131  drawn to a version  130 A, and a second dependency reference  131  drawn to a version  130 B, where the version  130 A and the version  130 B are within the same component group  140  (e.g., draw grouping references  141 , including via one or more variants  120 , to the same instance of a component  110 ). For example, the conflict recognition module  314  may submit the version UID  132  of each version  130  to the dependency database  402  to receive its associated component UID  112  within the component group  140 , then compare each returned component UID  112 . Where a match occurs in the component UID  112 , and the associated version UIDs  132  are not identical, a conflict may be determined between the versions  130 A and the version  130 B. The conflict may also be defined by the inclusion of two or more versions  130  associated with mutually exclusive components  110  within the dependency tree. For example, where a component  110 A calls for a mechanical fastener in a design but may be either a rivet (e.g., a component  110 B) or a bolt (e.g., a component  110 C), conflicting components  110  may arise. Example conflicts are shown and described in conjunction with the embodiment of  FIG.  15   . 
     The node selection module  316  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor applies a conflict resolution rule to each conflict identified by the conflict recognition module  314 . For a contextual dependency, the distance of the node  160  to which the contextual dependency is drawn may be measured from the root node  161  and compared to a value of the contextual dependency to determine if it meets and/or exceeds the value. In one or more embodiments, the conflict resolution rule may automatically select the version  130  and/or the component  110  that is a latest in a timestamp and/or latest in a version number. For mutually exclusive components  110 , a priority may be specified in properties of a node  160 , and/or in association with the exclusion reference  144 . Alternatively or in addition, the client device  200  may be queried for input on the selection and/or be provided with a conflict report, for example a manual input provided by the user  101  on the user interface  210 . The node selection module  316  may then discard any unselected unique identifiers. For example, where a version  130 A is selected over version  130 B, the version UID  132  of version  130 A is retained in the memory  303  and the version UID  132  of version  130 B may be discarded from the memory  303 , along with, in one or more embodiments, all dependencies not referenced by another version  130 . For example, where a version  130 Y of a component  110 . 8  draws a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 Z of a component  110 . 9  and the version  130 Y is deleted from the tree data  150 , then the version  130 Z may also be deleted (along with all dependencies) unless another version  130  validly existing within the tree data  150  draws a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 Z. 
     The tree assembly engine  330  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor rebuilds the tree data  150  as the normalized tree data  152  from remaining unique identifiers (e.g., version UIDs  132 , component UIDs  112 ), and any workfile references  134 , dependency references  131 , metadata, and/or additional data. The tree assembly engine  330  may prepare or format the normalized tree data  152  to a standard for communication to the client device  200 , for example an XML or a JSON format. In one or more embodiments, a copy of the normalized tree data  152  that was returned to the client device  200  may be retained, for example by the coordination server  300 . The copy may be used as an audit log, and/or to determine which workfiles  606  are located on the client device  200  without communicating with the client device  200  (e.g., as may be used by the tree re-evaluation module  709  of  FIG.  7   ). 
     The tree data  150  may also be submitted to the tree restriction engine  320 . The tree restriction engine  320  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor restricts the tree data  150  such that one or more nodes  160  and/or dependencies of the one or more nodes  160  are removed from the tree data  150  to form the restricted tree data  154 . The tree restriction engine  320  may comprise a profile comparison module  322  that extracts a permission profile  504  associated with the user  101  and/or the client device  200  generating the request  103  and compares the permission profile  504  either to the unique identifier of each node  160  of the tree data  150 , and/or compares the permission profile  504  to a security profile  514  associated with one or more nodes  160  of the tree data  150 . The permission profile  504  and the security profile  514  are described in greater detail in conjunction with the embodiment of  FIG.  5   . 
     The authorization module  324  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor determines an authorization status for each node  160  of the tree data  150 . For example, in one or more embodiments, a node  160  (e.g., that may store data of a version  130 ) will not be authorized if its unique identifier (e.g., the version UID  132 ) is absent from a list of version UIDs in the permission profile  504  associated with the user  101 . In one or more other embodiments, a node  160  is unauthorized if the permission profile of the user  101  has a security level of “2” but the security profile  514  of the node  160  specifies a security level of “3” for inclusion of the node  160  in the restricted tree data  154 . 
     The node restriction module  326  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor removes unauthorized nodes  160  from the tree data  150  held in the memory  303 , may terminate dependency reference  131  following at an unauthorized instance of the node  160 , and also may delete each dependent node  160  that is not independently referenced through an authorized chain of edges  162  and nodes  160  extending to the root node  161  (e.g., to create a terminating branch  191 ). An example of a process that may be executed by the node restriction module  326  is shown and described in conjunction with the embodiments of  FIG.  26    and  FIG.  27   . The tree assembly engine  330  function as described in conjunction with the tree normalization engine  310 , resulting in the production of the restricted tree data  154 . 
     Where both the tree restriction engine  320  and the tree normalization engine  310  operate on data sequentially, order of operations may define different results and/or contents of the tree data  150 . For example, in one or more preferred embodiments the tree restriction engine  320  may operate on the tree data  150  first. Where the tree restriction engine  320  operates first, conflicts that would otherwise be determined within the tree normalization engine  310  may not arise. Similarly, where the tree normalization engine  310  operates first, unauthorized nodes  160  that would otherwise be determined within the tree restriction engine  320  may not arise. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG.  3   , the tree data  150  may be generated indiscriminately and/or speculatively without input determining whether a node  160  and/or branch of the dependency tree will be included, then is narrowed by the tree normalization engine  310  and/or the tree restriction engine  320 . Alternatively or in addition, the tree query engine  306  may execute concurrently with the tree normalization engine  310  and/or the tree restriction engine  320  (e.g., both finishing a level of dependency before moving onto another level of dependency within the tree data  150 ). Concurrent operation may also pass the forming tree data  150  at different stages of formation between the tree normalization engine  310  and the tree restriction engine  320 . 
       FIG.  4    illustrates a design server  400  including a processor  401 , a memory  403 , a tree retrieval routine  404 , and a dependency database  402  comprising a plurality of components  110 , variants  120 , and/or versions  130  stored as nodes  160  and connected through references stored as edges  162 , according to one or more embodiments. The processor  401  is a computer processor that can execute stored instructions sets, and the memory  403  is a computer readable memory for storing instruction sets and associated data (the memory  403  may be, e.g., RAM, a solid-state memory). 
     The dependency database  402  comprises: (i) data representing the components  110 , variants  120 , and/or versions  130 , each as a node  160 , and (ii) the relationships between nodes  160  as edges  162  (e.g., the variant ref  114 , the version ref  124 , the workfile ref  134 , the dependency ref  131 , the component ref  126 , the exclusion reference  144 , a contextual dependency  133 , and/or other relationships). The dependency database  402  may store the data structures of each of the components  110 , variants  120 , and/or versions  130 , and their associated references, as shown and described in conjunction with  FIG.  1 B ,  FIG.  1 C ,  FIG.  1 E ,  FIG.  1 F ,  FIG.  1 G . In one or more embodiments, the nodes  160  may have one or more types of references defined to be acyclic, e.g., a directed acyclic graph (e.g., the dependency references  131  of the versions  130 ). In one or more embodiments, the dependency database  402  and/or the tree retrieval routine  404  may be implemented with a commercial graph database (e.g, Neo4j®, SAP HANA®, Oracle Spatial and Graph®, etc.). 
     The tree retrieval routine  404  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor queries the dependency database  402  with a unique identifier of a node  160 , evaluates available references of the node  160 , and may follow one or more of the available edges  162  of the node  160  to a next node  160 . For example, the tree retrieval routine  404  may receive a version UID  132 , query the dependency database  402  for the version  130  identified by the version UID  132 , determine that one or more dependency references  131  are included in the version  130 , follow one or multiple of the one or more dependency references  131  by extracting a next set of version UIDs  132  associated with each, and repeat the querying process for each extracted version UID  132  of the next set of version UIDs  132 . Each version UID  132  extracted may be stored in the memory  403  as the tree data  150 , optionally along with data specifying their relationship and/or other additional data such as metadata. Similarly, where a component dependency tree  153  is to be generated, the tree retrieval routine may, for each version  130  within a version dependency tree  151 , follow a variant reference  136  of the version  130  specifying a variant UID  122 , store the variant UID  122 , and then follow a component ref  126  specifying a component UID  112 , and store the component UID  112 . The tree retrieval routine  404  may also query a component  110  with the component UID  112  and follow all instances of grouping references  141  to assemble all nodes  160  within a component group  140 . The tree retrieval routine  404  may determine the tree data  150  is complete when no further dependency references  131  branching from the root node  161  are available to follow, and may then return the tree data  150  to the coordination server  300 . 
       FIG.  5    illustrates the security server  500  of  FIG.  1 A , comprising a processor  501 , a memory  503 , a permission database  502  associating a unique identifier of a user  101  (e.g., a user UID  526 ) with a unique identifier within a component group  140  (e.g., a component UID  112 , a variant UID  122 , and/or a version UID  132 ), a user database  522  comprising user profiles  524 , a security database  512  associating a security profile  514  within a component group  140  (e.g., a component UID  112 , a variant UID  122 , and/or a version UID  132 ), and a group database  528  in which two or more user profiles  524  may be grouped and administered under a group profile  525 , according to one or more embodiments. The processor  501  is a computer processor that can execute stored instructions sets, and the memory  503  is a computer readable memory for storing instruction sets and associated data (the memory  503  may be, e.g., RAM, a solid-state memory). The permission database  502 , the security database  512 , the user database  522 , and/or the group database  528  may be implemented with commercially available databases software, for example an Oracle® relational database, a MySQL open-source relational database, a graph database (e.g., Neo4j®), and additional databases, whether relational, graph, or other organizational models. The permission database  502  comprises the permission profile  504  specifying one or more nodes  160  that the user  101  and/or the client device  200  is authorized to view, include within a dependency tree, and/or retrieve associated workfiles  606  from the file repository  602 . 
     The permission profile  504  is associated with a user profile  524  and/or a group profile  525 . The permission profile  504  may specify a permission list  505 , a permission type  506 , a permission level  508 , and/or a specific permission  510 . The permission list  505  may be a list of the components  110 , variants  120 , and/or version  130  that the user  101  is authorized to access within the dependency database  402 . Alternatively, the permission list  505  may specify the components  110 , variants  120 , and/or version  130  that the user  101  is not authorized to access within the dependency database  402 . The list may be comprised of unique identifiers (e.g., the component UID  112 , the variant UID  122 , and the version UID  132 ). 
     The permission type  506  may specify a type of permission. For example, type of permission may specify “2018” versions, which may permit the user to only receive nodes  160  within the restricted tree data  154  that were defined on or before 2018. Other types of permission may include whether the node  160  is actively being developed, whether the node  160  has a known bug or error associated with it (e.g., through a log file), and other types that may be associated with one or more of the nodes  160 . 
     The permission level  508  may specify an access level of the user  101 . For example, access levels may be defined on a scale of “one” to “five”, with “one” designating a low-level access and “five” designating a high-level access. For example, a database administrator may have a level five access, whereas a new outside contractor may have a level one access. 
     The specific permission  510  may specify a specific access rule. For example, while in one or more embodiments a node  160  is authorized when it can be connected to the root node  161  through at least one chain of authorized nodes  160  and edges  162 , the specific permission  510  may specify that the user  101  may not access a given node  160  regardless of other indicia of authorization (e.g., even if within an access level of the user  101 ). This may be useful, for example, where the organization would like to be certain that no dependency chain of a user  101  can reach a specific component  110 , variant  120 , and/or version  130 . In one or more other embodiments, the specific permission  510  may specify an expiration date that may terminate access associated with a user profile  524  and/or a group profile  525 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIG.  5   , the user UID  526  of a user  101  is associated with a permission profile  504 . However, many other configurations are possible. For example, a permission profile  504  may be set up with a standard authorization right (e.g., a level 2 access right, all versions  120  necessary for a certain product under development, etc.), and then may have one or more users  101  and/or a group profiles  525  associated. 
     The security database  512  comprises one or more security profiles  514 . The security profile comprises a security type  516 , a security level  518 , and/or a security rule  520 . The security type  516  may specify data usable to compare to the permission type  506 . The security type  516  may be a read access, a write access, an owner type whereby an instance of the user  101  that is an owner may specify which other instances of the user  101  may have read and/or write access, and an administrative (e.g., admin) type that may have read and write permissions along with the ability to grant either or both regardless of whether the admin is the owner. The permission type  506  may specify one or more nodes  160  for which the user  101  has read, write, ownership, or admin access. The security rule  520  may specify other rules for security, for example, that the user  101  must have been a part of the organization for a certain time period (e.g., as measured from creation of a user profile  524 ). 
     The security level  518  specifies a security level required for access, for example “level one” or “level two.” In one or more embodiments, the security level  518  may designate a type of personnel, for example “contractor,” “employee”, and/or “administrator”, and/or a position or title, for example “designer,” “project manager,” “senior engineers,” and/or “architect.” 
     The user database  522  comprises one or more user profiles  524 . Each user profile  524  may represent a person (e.g., the user  101 ) and/or a device  200  (e.g., a desktop computer, a workstation, etc.). The user profile  524  comprises a user UID  526 , and may include additional data about the user  101  such as a name, address, position and/or title within an organization, etc. The user profile  524  may also include data sufficient to authenticate the user  101  and/or the client device  200 , for example a hash value of a password, biometric data, etc. Similarly, the group database  528  may include one or more group profiles  525 . The group of the group profile  525  may represent, for example, a project group, a type (e.g., a contractor, an employee), a position (e.g., an engineer, a senior engineer, and architect), and/or additional user groupings. The group profile  525  comprises one or more user UIDs  526  that are associated with the group profile  525 . A user UID  526  may be associated with one or more instances of the group profile  525 . The group profile  525  may also have a unique identifier, the group UID  528 . 
       FIG.  6    illustrates a file server  600  comprising a processor  601 , a memory  603 , and a file repository  602  with one or more directories  604 , each directory  604  corresponding to a version  130  of a component  110  in the dependency database  402  of  FIG.  4    and each directory  604  comprising one or more workfiles  606 , according to one or more embodiments. The processor  601  is a computer processor that can execute stored instructions sets, and the memory  603  is a computer readable memory for storing instruction sets and associated data (the memory  603  may be, e.g., RAM, a solid-state memory). The file repository  602  stores workfiles  606  such that one or more workfiles  606  associated with a version  130  included within a tree data  150  may be specified and retrieved by the client device  200 , for example in the request  107 . In one or more embodiments, and as shown in the embodiment of  FIG.  6   , the file repository  602  may organize each set of workfiles  606  associated with a version  130  into a directory  604 . Each workfile  606  comprises an identifier, the workfile ID  608 , and data of the workfile  606 , the workfile data  610 . For example, the directory  604  may be a file directory within a hierarchical file system (HFS), and each of the one or more workfiles  606  may be an executable file, CAD file, plan, specification, diagram, design file, etc., where the workfile ID  608  is a file name and the workfile data  610  is the contents of the data. 
     In one or more embodiments, the workfiles  606  may be stored such that only changes to each workfile  606  committed by one or more user  101  are stored. For example, if only one line of software code of a workfile  606  is modified and committed by a user  101  to the file repository (e.g., to fix a security vulnerability in the software code), two instances of the version  110  may be defined in the dependency database  402 , while the file repository  602  may track only the modified line of software code (e.g., using a version control software rather than duplicating the entire workfile  606 ). For example, the file repository  602  may be implemented by a commercial database system such as Perforce®. 
     The file server  600  may receive the request  107  of the user  101  and/or the client device  200 , which may include one or more workfiles references  134 . For example, the workfile reference  134  may specific the directory  604  by using a uniform resource locator (URL) and/or a file path of a file system. The file server  600  may then return each of the one or more workfiles  606  to the client device  200  for generation of the design workspace  208 . 
       FIG.  7    illustrates a subscription server  700  comprising a processor  701 , a memory  703 , a subscription registration module  706 , an event generation module  708 , a tree re-evaluation module  709 , and a subscription database  704  comprising a unique identifier of a user  101  (e.g., the user UID  526 ) associated with a unique identifier within a component group  140  (e.g., the component UID  112 , the variant UID  122 , and/or the version UID  132 ), according to one or more embodiments. The processor  701  is a computer processor that can execute stored instructions sets, and the memory  703  is a computer readable memory for storing instruction sets and associated data (the memory  703  may be, e.g., RAM, a solid-state memory). The subscription database  704  comprises one or more unique identifiers of one or more nodes  160  of the dependency database  402  to which the user  101  may subscribe to an event. For example, the event may include definition within the dependency database  402  of a new version  130 , a new variant  120 , and/or a new component  110  and/or a definition of a new reference (e.g., the dependency reference  131 ). The event may be an error log, a bug notification, and/or other messages relevant to a node  160 . 
     In one or more embodiments, a user  101  may subscribe to a component  110  (and/or an entire component group  140 ), e.g., by associating the user UID  526  with the component UID  112 . When a new variant  120  and/or version  130  of the component  110  is defined and/or, the component UID  112  may be extracted from the dependency database  402  and submitted to the subscription server  700  to determine which users  101  should be notified and/or receive workfiles  606  associated with a new version  130 . In one or more other embodiments, users  101  may subscribe to variants  120 . For example, where a user  101  is subscribed to a variant  120 A of a component  110 , but not a variant  120 B of the component  110 , then the user  101  would not receive notification where a new version  130  of the variant  120 B was defined. 
     The subscription registration module  706  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor receive a request for registration of the user  101  and/or the client device  200  comprising the unique identifier of the node  160  to which the user  101  and/or the client device  200  will subscribe, and associate the unique identifier of the user  101  and/or the client device  200  (e.g., the user UID  526 ) with unique identifier of the node  160 . For example, in the embodiment of  FIG.  7   , the component UID  112  is associated with several subscribing users  101  (e.g., the user UID  526 A through the user UID  526 N). 
     The subscription registration module  706  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor receives an event notification associated with a unique identifier of a component  110 , a variant  120 , and/or a version  130  (e.g., the design server  400  may submit the event notification when a new node  160  is defined within the dependency database  402 ), looks up one or more users  101  associated with the unique identifier, and generates a message describing the event. The event generation module  708  may also initiate one or more processes to evaluate workfiles  606  within the design workspace  208 , and possibly to push one or more workfiles  606  associated with a new workfiles  606  to the client device  200  to update the design workspace  208 , as shown and described in conjunction with the embodiment of  FIG.  24    and  FIG.  26   . 
     The tree re-evaluation module  709  comprises computer readable instructions that when executed on a computer processor compares a tree data  150  previously returned to the client device  200  (that may also be the normalized tree data  152 , the restricted tree data  154 , and/or the normalized-restricted tree data  156 ) to a tree data  150  that would result following the event associated with the component  110 , the variant  120 , and/or the version  130  of the tree data  150  previous returned to the client device  200 . The tree data  150  previously returned to the client device  200  may be determined, for example, from the copy stored on the coordination server  300  and/or through database logs of the dependency database  402  and/or the file repository  602 . The tree data  150  previously returned to the client device  200  may be requested from the client device  200  and/or may be determined from examining workfiles  606  on the client device  200 . The tree re-evaluation module  709  may re-submit the root node  161  to the coordination server  300  for retrieval of the dependency tree, similar to the request  103  of the client device  200 . The tree re-evaluation module  709  may compare the resulting tree data  150  (which may be normalized and/or restricted) to the tree data  150  previously returned to the client device  200  to determine whether the event and/or any changes in the security profile  514  and/or any new conflict between or among nodes  160  created by the event would return a different tree data  150  (and/or different nodes  160 ) to the client device  200  of the user  101 . Where a different tree data  150  would be returned, the tree re-evaluation module may determine one or more workfiles  606  associated with the different tree data  150  and optionally push the workfiles  606  to the client device  200 . The tree re-evaluation module  709  may also be stored on and/or executed by the coordination server  300 . The embodiments of  FIG.  24    and  FIG.  26    demonstrate re-evaluation of the tree data  150  previously returned to the client device  200 . 
       FIG.  8    is a dependency tree assembly process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  800  receives a request (e.g., the request  103 ) to retrieve a dependency tree of a version  130  of a component  110 , for example within a dependency database  402 . The version  130  requested is set as the root version  130 *. Operation  802  authenticates the user  101  and/or the client device  200  of the user  101  generating the request. Operation  804  queries the root version  130 * (e.g., a root version  130 A* as a root node  161  of a dependency tree, that may be within a component group  140  of a root component  110 A*), for example within the dependency database  402 . The root node  161  becomes a subject instance of the node  160  for which dependency following and/or branching occurs to continue assembling the tree data  150 . Operation  806  follows a dependency reference  131  of the subject instance of the node  160  to another instance of a version  130  (e.g., a version  130 B that of a component  110 B that is a sub-component of the component  110 A). Operation  808  adds the version UID  132  of the version  130 B to the tree data  150  being assembled and stored in memory (e.g., the memory  303 , the memory  403 ). Operation  810  determines whether the subject instance of the node  160  includes an additional instance of the dependency reference  131 . If the subject instance of the node  160  includes an additional instance of the dependency reference  131 , operation  810  returns to operation  806  to follow the additional instance of the dependency reference  131 . If not, operation  810  proceeds to operation  812 . Operation  812  determines whether an additional version  130  exists for which one or more dependency references  131  have not yet been followed. If an additional version  130  exists for which one or more dependency references  131  have not yet been followed, operation  812  proceeds to operation  814 . Operation  814  sets the subject instance to the version  130  for which one or more dependences references  131  have not yet been followed. Operation  814  then proceeds to operation  806 . Where operation  812  determines that all versions  130  have had all dependency references  131  followed, operation  812  proceeds to operation  816  which assembles a finalized instance of the dependency tree (e.g., the tree data  150 ) in the memory. For example, the tree data  150  may be comprised of unique identifiers of each version  130  (e.g., version UIDs  132 ) within a version dependency tree  151 . The tree data  150  may also include data from the component group  140  of each version  130 , for example the component UID  112 . In one or more embodiments, the dependency tree assembly process flow of  FIG.  8    may be executed by the coordination server  300 , the design server  400 , and/or the tree retrieval routine  404 . The process flow of  FIG.  8    may end, return the tree data  150  to use client device  200 , and/or may proceed to normalize the tree data  150 , for example by proceeding to the process flow of  FIG.  9    and/or  FIG.  10   . 
       FIG.  9    is a dependency tree normalization process flow illustrating a conflict resolution process, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  900  receives a dependency tree data (e.g., the tree data  150  that may be generated by the process flow of  FIG.  8   ). Operation  902  compares either a component UID  112 , variant UID  122 , and/or version UID  123  of the tree data  150  to each other unique identifier of the same kind. For example, a first component UID  112  will be compared to each other component UID  112  within the tree data  150 . Where the tree data  150  comprises only versions  130 , the dependency database  402  may be queried for the component  110  associated with the each version  130  within the tree data  150 . Operation  904  determines whether there is conflict between two or more components  110 , variants  120 , and/or version  130 . For example, a conflict between two components  110  may occur where at least one of the two components  110  may include an exclusion reference  144  to the other (or both of the two components  110  may reference draw an exclusion reference  144  to the other). A conflict between two variants  120  may occur where one draws an exclusion reference  144  to the other. A conflict between two or more versions  130  occurs where the two or more versions (e.g., a version  130 A and a version  130 B) reference the same component  110  and/or are within the same component group  140 . If no conflict is detected, operation  904  proceeds to operation  916 . 
     If a conflict is detected in comparing the unique identifiers, operation  904  proceeds to operation  906 . Operation  906  determines whether an override instance of the component  110 , variant  120 , and/or version  130  has been defined (e.g., referenced with an override reference  142  that may be drawn from a node  160  (and/or from the root node  161 ) to the conflicted version  130  or another node  160  within the component group  140  of the conflict version  130 ). If an override instance has been defined, operation  906  proceeds to operation  908  where the override instance is selected. Operation  908  then proceeds to operation  914 . Where an override instance has not been defined, operation  910  applies a conflict resolution rule. The conflict resolution rule may, for example, determine a most recent instance of the version  130  is to be selected. Operation  912  selects a version  130  resulting from the conflict resolution rule and stores the version UID  132  in a memory (e.g., the memory  303 ), for example, the most recent instance of the version  130 . Operation  914  removes the unique identifiers of all unselected instances of the components  110 , variants  120 , and/or versions  130  from the tree data  150 , including following each dependency reference  131  of the unselected instances of the version  130  and remove unique identifiers of each version  130  not referenced by another version  130  having an unbroken chain to the root version  130 *, and may also remove all dependencies thereof. Operation  916  determines whether an additional component  110 , variant  120 , and/or version  130  remains to be checked for conflicts, in which case operation  916  returns to operation  902 . If all unique identifiers have been checked for conflicts, operation  916  proceeds to operation  918 . Operation  918  assembles a normalized dependency tree (e.g., the normalized tree data  152 ) by grouping remaining unique identifiers (e.g., version UIDs  132 ) for transmission to the client device  200 . 
     In one or more embodiments, conflicts may be resolved in order according to dependency level. For example, all conflicts may be resolved on versions  130  of 1st level of sub-components (e.g., within a same component group  140 ), then on versions associated with 2nd level of sub-components, etc. In such case, operation  902  may evaluate unique identifiers by batch according to distance (e.g., in number of edges  162  from the root node  161 ), operation  916  may determine whether additional unique identifiers remain to be checked within the batch, and an operation  917  between operation  916  and operation  918  may determine if the a last dependency level has been reached. If not, a new batch may be defined and operation  917  may return to operation  902 , whereas if the final dependency level has been reached, operation  917  may proceed to operation  918 . 
     Operation  902  may process unique identifiers in batches of levels from the root version  130 *, for example all version  130  that are a distance of one level from the root version  130 *, then all versions  130  that are two levels from the root version  130 *, etc. For example, after operation  916  returns to operation  902 , a next unique identifier of a given level may be selected until the given level is exhausted. Upon a next return to operation  902  from operation  916 , unique identifiers of a next level may be examined. 
       FIG.  10    is another dependency tree normalization process flow illustrating a contextual dependency conflict resolution process, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  1000  may receive a dependency tree and/or a normalized dependency tree of a node  160  (e.g., the tree data  150  and/or the normalized tree data  152 ). Operation  1002  inspects a dependency reference  131  of a version  130  of a sub-component  110  of the tree data  150 . Operation  1004  determines if the dependency reference  131  is a contextual dependency (which may be referred to as the contextual dependency reference  133 ). The contextual dependency reference  133  may have a designation as a property of the version  130 . If operation  1004  does not determine the dependency reference  131  is a contextual dependency, operation  1004  proceeds to operation  1010 . Where the dependency reference  131  is determined to be the contextual dependency, operation  1004  proceeds to operation  1006 . Operation  1006  determines whether the contextual dependency is greater than or equal to a threshold distance from the root node  161  measured in edges  162 . For example, in the embodiment of  FIG.  10    the threshold distance is greater than or equal to two (e.g., a version  130  of 2nd level sub-component  110  is not equal to or greater than two, and therefore the version  130  will be included within the tree data  150 ). 
     Where the dependency is greater than or equal to 2nd level, operation  1006  removes the unique identifier of the version  130  (e.g., the version UID  132 ), and each dependency (e.g., removes the version UID  132  of each version  130  not having an independent unbroken chain of dependencies to the root version  130 *). Operation  1010  determines whether another unexamined instance of a dependency reference  131  exists. If an unexamined instance of the dependency reference  131  exists, operation  1010  returns to operation  1002  where the unexamined dependency reference  131  is inspected. Otherwise, operation  1010  proceeds to operation  1012  where the tree data  150  and/or normalized tree data  152  is re-assembled into a new instance of the normalized tree data  152  that now lacks any unique identifiers removed in operation  1008 . The process flow of  FIG.  10    may then terminate or proceed to the process flow of  FIG.  11   . 
       FIG.  11    is a normalized and/or restricted dependency tree workspace generation process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  1100  returns the normalized tree data  152  (and/or the restricted tree data  154  and/or normalized-restricted tree data  156 ) to the client device  200  over the network  100 . Operation  1102  generates a workfile request (e.g., the request  107 ) for workfiles  606  associated with the normalized tree data  152  and/or the restricted tree data  154  and/or normalized-restricted tree data  156 , and transmits the workfile request for retrieval of the workfiles  606 . For example, the workfile request may include the workfile reference  134  of each version  130  of the normalized tree data  152 . Each workfile reference  134  may specify one or more directories  604 . Operation  1104  retrieves one or more workfiles  606  from a file repository (e.g., the file repository  602 ). Operation  1106  returns the one or more workfiles  606  to the client device  200 . Operation  1108  generates a normalized and/or restricted workspace that may be an instance of the design workspace  208  generated by downloading workfiles  606  associated with a normalized tree data  152  and/or restricted tree data  154  and/or the normalized-restricted tree data  156 . 
       FIG.  12    is yet another dependency tree normalization process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  1200  receives a first request  103  for retrieval of a dependency tree of a version  130  of a component  110 , the first request  103  generated by a client device  200  and comprising a unique identifier of the version  130  (e.g., the version UID  132 ) of the component  110  as a root version  130 * of the dependency tree. Operation  1202  queries the root version  130 * of the component  110  with the unique identifier of the root version  130 * of the component  110  (e.g., the version UID  132 ). Operation  1204  returns a first dependency reference  131  (e.g., a dependency reference  131 A) drawn to a version  130  of a first sub-component  110  (e.g., a version  130 A) of the component  110  and a second dependency reference  131  (e.g., a dependency reference  131 B) drawn to a version  130  of a second sub-component  110  of the component  110  (e.g., a version  130 B). Operation  1206  determines that the version  130 A of the first sub-component  110  and the version  130 B of the second sub-component  110  each draw an instance of the dependency reference  131  (e.g., a dependency reference  131 A from the version  130 A and a dependency reference  131 B from the version  130 B) to different versions  130  of a third sub-component  110  (e.g., the different versions  130  may be a version  110 C and a version  110 D of the same sub-component  110 . 1 ). 
     Operation  1208  applies a conflict resolution rule to return a selected version  130  of the third sub-component  110  (e.g., selects the version  110 C). For example, the conflict resolution rule may specify that a latest version as between the version  130 A and the version  130 B is to be selected, e.g., the version  130 B. Operation  1210  stores a unique identifier of the selected version  130  (e.g., the version UID  132 ) of the third sub-component  110  in a normalized tree data  152 , and operation  1210  return the normalized tree data  152  of the root version  130 * of the component  110  to the client device  200 . Operation  1212  returns the normalized tree data  152  of the root version  130 * of the component  110  to the client device  200 . 
       FIG.  13    is a conflict resolution process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  1300  determines a reference drawn to a version  130  of a first sub-component  110  is a contextual dependency (e.g., a contextual dependency reference  133 ) that is dependent on an edge distance (e.g., a number of edges  162 ) from the root version  130 * not exceeding a threshold value (e.g., one, two, forty-seven). Operation  1302  compares the threshold value to an edge distance of the first sub-component  110  to the root version  130 *. The edge distance may be calculated by querying the dependency database  402 , and/or by temporarily storing data of each node  160 &#39;s distance from the root version  130 * as the normalized tree data  152  is being assembled. Operation  1304 , where the threshold value is exceeded by the value of the edge distance of the version  130  of the first sub-component  110  to the root version  130 *, excludes the unique identifiers of one or more versions  130  (e.g., a version  130 A, a version  130 B, a version  130 C) of the first sub-component  110  from the normalized tree data  152  of the component  110 . In contrast, operation  1306 , where the threshold value is not exceeded by the value of the edge distance of the version  130  of the first sub-component  110  to the root version  130 *, stores the unique identifier of a version  130  of the first sub-component  110  in the normalized tree data  152  of the component  110 . In one or more alternate embodiments, the unique identifier of the version  130 A may be excluded from the normalized tree data  152  if the threshold value is not met or exceeded, and included within the normalized tree data  152  if the threshold value is exceeded. 
     Operation  1308  determines an override version  130  of a second sub-component  110  of the component  110 , wherein the conflict resolution rule prioritizes the override version  130 . The override version  130  may be defined with an override reference  142  drawn from the root component  110 * and/or the root version  130 *, and/or may be drawn from the component  110  within the component group  140  of the second sub-component  110 . Operation  1310  extracts a conflict resolution profile associated with a third sub-component  110  of the component  110  and a fourth sub-component  110  of the component  110 . The conflict resolution profile may be stored in the coordination server  300 , in the dependency database  402 , and/or another location. The conflict resolution profile may specify unique identifiers of components  110 , variants  120 , and/or version  130  that are prioritized relative to other components  110 , variants  120 , and/or version  130  within the dependency database  402 . Operation  1312  determines a fifth sub-component  110  and a sixth sub-component  110  are mutually exclusive within the dependency tree of the root version  130 *. For example, the third sub-component  110  may reference the fourth sub-component  110  with an exclusion reference  144 . Operation  1314  terminates dependency reference  131  following at a version  130  of the fifth sub-component  110  to result in a terminated branch (e.g., a terminated branch  191 ) of the dependency tree. Operation  1316  return the normalized tree data  152  of the root version  130 * of the component  110  to the client device  200 . 
       FIG.  14    is another normalized and/or restricted dependency tree workspace generation process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  1400  receives a request (e.g., the request  107 ) for retrieval of one or more workfiles  606  associated with the normalized tree data  152  and/or restricted tree data  154  (and/or the normalized-restricted tree data  156 ) to assemble a design workspace  208 , the request (e.g., the request  107 ) comprising the unique identifier of the root version  130 * (e.g., the version UID  132 ) and the unique identifiers of the version  130  of each sub-component  110  of the normalized tree data  152  and/or the restricted tree data  154 . 
     Operation  1402  retrieves the one or more workfiles  606  associated with the normalized tree data  152  and/or the restricted tree data  154  of the root version  130 * from a file repository  602 . 
     Operation  1404  encrypts the workfiles  606  associated with the normalized tree data  152  and/or the restricted tree data  154  of the version  130  of the root version  130 *. For example, TLS encryption may be utilized, public-private key pair encryption, and other encryption methods for secure transport over the network  100 . Operation  1406  returns the workfiles  606  to the client device  200  of the user  101  for assembly of the design workspace  208 . 
       FIG.  15    illustrates a dependency tree of a root version  130 A* of a component  110 . 1  (not shown), the dependency tree comprising: (i) contextual dependencies references  133 , (ii) dependency references  131  to conflicting versions  130  of sub-components  110  of the component  110 , and (iii) an override reference  142  drawn to a version  130  having a version conflict, according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment of  FIG.  15   , a root version  130 A* is a root node  161  of a dependency tree (e.g., a version dependency tree  151 ). The root version  130 A* has an associated root component  110 . 1 *, not shown in the embodiment of  FIG.  15   . Three types of conflict are shown. First, the root version  130 A* draws a contextual dependency reference  133 A to the version  130 E, and a version  130 D draws a contextual dependency reference  133 B to a version  130 J. The version  130 E is a 1st level dependency of the root version  130 A, and the version  130 J is a 2nd level dependency of the root version  130 A* (similarly, a component  110 . 5  associated with the version  130 E is a first level sub-component  110  of the root component  110 . 1 *, and the version  130 J is a second level sub-component  110 . 8  of the root component  110 *). Second, the version  130 C draws a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 I, and the version  130 D draws a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 H. Both the version  130 H and the version  130 I draw grouping references  141  to the component  110 . 7 , such that both the version  130 H and the version  130 I are within the same component group  140 . However, the version  130 A also draws an override reference  142  to the version  130 H. Third, the version  130 B draws a dependency reference  131  to the version  130 F, and the version  130 C draws a dependency reference to the version  130 G. The version  130 F draws a grouping reference  141  to the variant  120 A, which in turn draws a grouping reference  141  to the component  110 . 6 . The version  130 G draws a grouping reference  141  to the variant  120 B, which also draws a grouping reference  141  to the component  110 . 6 , such that both the version  130 F and the version  130 G are within the same component group  140 . 
       FIG.  16    illustrates the normalization of the dependency tree of  FIG.  15   , according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment of  FIG.  16   , the contextual dependency must be a threshold distance of less than two edges  162  to be included in a normalized tree data  152 . The contextual dependency reference  133 A drawn to the version  130 E is one edge  162  in distance from the version  130 A*, and is therefore converted to and/or treated as a dependency reference  131 , while the dependency reference  131 B of  FIG.  15    is not treated as a dependency reference  131 . The version  130 H is selected due to the override reference  142  drawn from the version  130 A, such that both the version  130 C and the version  130 D draw dependency references  131  to the version  130 H in the normalized tree data  152  of  FIG.  16   . The version  130 G is selected by application of a conflict resolution rule, where the version  130 G is a later version than the version  130 F (in one or more other embodiments, a version  130  of a later defined variant  120 B may be selected overs a version  130  of an earlier defined variant  120 A. As shown in the embodiment of  FIG.  16   , the normalized tree data  152  need not specify the contextual dependency reference  133 , and/or the override reference  142 . 
       FIG.  17    is an authenticated dependency tree request process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  1700  receives a request (e.g., the request  103 ) for a dependency tree of a version  130  of a component  110 . The version  130  is the root version  130 *, and the component  110  is the root component  110 *. Operation  1702  authenticates a user  101  and/or a client device  200  generating the request  103 . Operation  1704  extracts a permission profile  504  associated with the user  101  and/or the client device  200 . Operation  1706  generates a second request (e.g., the request  105 ) for retrieval of a dependency tree of the version  130  (e.g., the root version  130 *). The first request includes the unique identifier of the user  101  and/or the client device  200  (e.g., the user UID  526 ), and the second request may include the permission profile  504  associated with the unique identifier of the user  101 . Operation  1708  queries the version  130  that will be the root node  161  of the dependency tree (e.g., the root version  130 *). The process flow of  FIG.  17    then proceeds to the process flow of  FIG.  18    or  FIG.  19   . 
       FIG.  18    is a dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  1800  follows a dependency reference  131  to a version  130  of a sub-component  110 . The dependency reference  131  followed may be selected at random, or may be resolved in an order specified by a property stored in the node  160  of the version  130 . Operation  1802  compares the unique identifier of a version  130 , a variant  120 , and/or a component  110  to a permission profile  504 . Where a version dependency tree  151  is being assembled, the unique identifiers of the variants  120  and components  110  within the component group  140  of each version  130  may also be included in the version dependency tree  151  (such inclusion may be temporary) for comparison to the permission profile  504 . The permission profile  504 , in one or more embodiments, includes a list of each unique identifier of each version  130 , variant  120 , and/or component  110  the user  101  and/or the device  200  is authorized to include within a requested component dependency tree (and/or therefore may determine which workfiles  606  the user  101  may request from the file repository  602 ). The permission profile  504  may be a whitelist in which nodes  160  identified on the list may be authorized, or a blacklist in which nodes  160  of the list are not authorized. Operation  1804  determines whether the version  130  is authorized. In one or more embodiments, where a component  110  is not authorized, each other variant  120  and version  130  within the component group  140  is not authorized. Similarly, where a variant  120  is not authorized, each version  130  of the variant  120  may not be authorized (although other versions  130  of other variants  120  within the same component group  140  may remain authorized). If authorized, operation  1804  proceeds to operation  1812  in which the version UID  132  is added to the dependency tree data  150  in a computer memory (e.g., the memory  303 ). Otherwise, operation  1804  proceeds to operation  1806  where the unique identifier is discarded. Operation  1806  proceeds to operation  1808 , which terminates dependency reference  131  following at the version  130 , variant  120 , and/or component  110  with the unique identifier that was discarded. Operation  1810  then returns to a previous version  130  (that was authorized), and proceeds to operation  1814 . 
     Operation  1814  determines whether there remains an additional dependency reference  131  to follow in the previous version  130 . If not, the restricted tree data  154  is assembled in the computer memory in operation  1816 . If an additional instance of a dependency reference  131  is detected in operation  1814 , operation  1814  returns to operation  1800  where the additional instance of the dependency reference  131  is followed. Operation  1816  proceeds to the process flow of  FIG.  11   . 
       FIG.  19    is another a dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. The embodiment of  FIG.  19    may operate similarly to the embodiment of  FIG.  18    where like numbering of the figures indicates. However, operation  1900  determines whether a version  130  has an associated security profile  514 . For example, the version  130  may have stored within its node  160  a property storing and/or pointing to the security profile  514 . In another example, one or more grouping references  141  may be followed from the version  130  to a variant  120  and/or component  110 , either of which may store and/or point to the security profile  514 . The security profile  514  may specify an access level (e.g., “security level 4”), or other authorization criteria. Operation  1902  compares the permission profile  504  to the security profile  514 . For example, the permission profile  504  may specify a security level two, and the node  160  may be determined to be unauthorized. Operation  1816  of  FIG.  19    similarly proceeds to the process flow of  FIG.  11   . 
       FIG.  20    is yet another a dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  2000  receives a first request (e.g., the request  103 ) for retrieval of a dependency tree of a version  130  (e.g., a root version  130 *) of a component  110  (e.g., a root component  110 *), the first request generated by a client device  200  of a user  101  and comprising a unique identifier of the user  101  (e.g., the user UID  526 ) and a unique identifier of the version  130  of the component  110  (e.g., the version UID  132 ) as a root version  130 * of the dependency tree. Operation  2002  authenticates the user  101  and/or the client device  200  of the user  101  and extracts a permission profile  504  associated with the unique identifier of the user  101  (e.g., the user UID  526 ). Operation  2004  generates a second request (e.g., a request  105 ) for retrieval of the dependency tree of the root version  130 * of the component  110  (e.g., the root component  110 *), the second request comprising the permission profile  504  and the unique identifier of the root version  130 * of the component  110 . Operation  2006  queries the root version  130 * of the component  110  with the unique identifier of the root version  130 * (e.g., the version UID  132  of the root version  130 *). Operation  2008  follows a first dependency reference  131  to a version  130  of a first sub-component  110  (e.g., a sub-component  110 . 2 ) of the component  110  (e.g., the root component  110 *) and a second dependency reference  131  to a version  130  of a second sub-component  110  (e.g., a sub-component  110 . 3 ) of the component  110 . 
     Operation  2010  extracts a security profile  514  associated with the first sub-component  110 . For example, the security profile  514  may be stored in a node  160  of the version  130 , a variant  120 , and/or in the sub-component  110 . Operation  2012  compares the permission profile  504  of the user  101  to the security profile  514  associated with the first sub-component  110  to determine exclusion of the version  130  of the first sub-component  110  from the dependency tree of the root version  130 *. Operation  2014  then terminates dependency reference  131  following at the version  130  of the first sub-component  110  to result in a terminated branch (e.g., a terminating branch  191  of  FIG.  22   ) of the dependency tree of the root version  130 *. Operation  2016  stores a unique identifier of the version  130  of the second sub-component  110  in a restricted tree data  154  to result in a continuing branch (e.g., the continuing branch  181  of  FIG.  22   ) of the dependency tree of the root version  130 *. Operation  2018  returns the restricted tree data  154  of the root version  130 * to the client device  200  of the user  101 . 
       FIG.  21    is still another dependency tree restriction process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  2100  receive a first request (e.g., the request  103 ) for retrieval of a dependency tree of a version  130  of a component  110 , the first request including a unique identifier of a user  101  generating the request (e.g., the user UID  526 ) and a unique identifier of the version  130  of the component  110  (e.g., the version UID  132 ) as a root version  130 * of the dependency tree. Operation  2102  extracts a permission profile  504  associated with the user  101  generating the first request (e.g., the request  103 ). Operation  2104  submits the unique identifier of the version  130  of the component  110  (e.g., the version UID  132 ) as a query to a dependency database  402  comprising dependency references  131  defining a directed acyclic graph stored in a computer memory (e.g., the memory  303 , the memory  403 , a data storage disk), the directed acyclic graph comprising a set of components  110  as nodes  160  of the directed acyclic graph and a set of dependency references  131  of at least one of the set of components  110  and a set of versions  130  of the set of components  110  drawn between the nodes  160  as directed edges  162  of the directed acyclic graph. 
     Operation  2106 , starting at the root node  161 , follows the set of dependency references  131  of the version  130  of the component  110  and a set of dependency references  131  of a version  130  of each of a set of sub-components  110  of the component  110 . Operation  2108  compares the unique identifier of the version  130  of the component  110  and the unique identifier of the version  130  of each of the set of sub-components  110  to the permission profile  504  of the user  101  to determine an authorization status for the root version  130 * and each of the versions  130  of the set of sub-components  110 . Operation  2110  stores a restricted tree data  154  comprising a unique identifier of the root version  130 * and the unique identifier of each version  130  of the set of sub-component  110  having both: (i) a positive authorization status and (ii) a connection to the root version  130 * of the component  110  through a dependency chain of versions  130 , each version in the dependency chain having the positive authorization status. 
       FIG.  22    illustrates the dependency tree of a version  130  of a component  110 , including but not limited to the formation of terminating branches  191  within the dependency tree occurring at unauthorized versions  130 , variants  120  and/or components  110 , and continuing branches  181  of the dependency tree occurring at authorized versions  130 , variants  120  and/or components  110 , according to one or more embodiments. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG.  22   , the root version  130 A* references a version  130 B within a same component group  140  as a version  130 C. The version  130 B may not store within its node  160  a security profile  514 . However, upon examination of the version  130 B, the associated component  110 . 2  may be queried to determine storage of the security profile  514 A that may apply to both the version  130 B and the version  130 C. In the embodiment of  FIG.  22   , the permission profile  504  of the user  101 , when compared to the security profile  514 A, may not authorize the version  130 B, resulting in the terminating branch  191 A. 
     The version  130 E may include the security profile  514 B also does not authorize the user  101  to include the version  130 E, resulting in the terminating branch  191 B such that a dependency reference  131  to a version  130 H (e.g., of a component  110 . 8 , not shown) is not followed. However, the version  130 D may, as part of the continuing branch  181 A, reference the version  130 I (e.g., of the component  110 . 8 , not shown). Therefore, a version  130 I of the component  110 . 8  may, in one or more embodiments, be included within the dependency tree of the root version  130 A* to result in the continuing branch  181 D. While a version conflict may be ordinarily detected between the version  130 I and the version  130 J, in the embodiment of  FIG.  22   , subsequent normalization may ignore the version  130 J because it is referenced by a terminating branch  191 B. The version  130 F may include the security profile  514 C that, in the embodiment of  FIG.  22   , authorizes the user  101  to include the version  130 F. As a result, the continuing branch  181  of a dependency reference  131  is initiated to the version  130 I. The version  130 J terminates naturally as a result of having no further dependencies. 
       FIG.  23    illustrates the restricted dependency tree data resulting from the restriction of the dependency tree of  FIG.  22   , according to one or more embodiments. In the embodiment of  FIG.  23   , only instances of the continuing branch  181  remain until a node  160  terminates naturally (e.g., the version  130 J, as shown, having no further dependencies). 
     The tree data  150  and each of its instances (e.g., the normalized tree data  152 , the restricted tree data  154 , and the normalized-restricted tree data  156 ) may be generated, normalized, and/or restricted sequentially or concurrently. For example, in one or more embodiments, the coordination server  300  and the design server  400  may be implemented on the same physical server computer. During a query process of the dependency database  402 , normalization and/or restriction may occur as each node  160  is queried and each edge  162  is followed. In one or more embodiments, each dependency level may be first restricted and then normalized before dependency references  131  are followed to a next dependency level. In such a case, an order of operations may ensure no conflict is detected and/or resolved with a version  130 , variant  120 , and/or component  110  that is unauthorized. Whether initial retrieval of the tree data  150 , the normalization of the tree data  150 , and the restriction of the tree data  150  occur concurrently or sequentially may depend on the contents of the dependency database  402 . For example, where only a few nodes  160  of any given requested dependency tree are expected to be restricted, initial assembly of a full dependency tree data  150  which is then restricted may be preferred. In contrast, where many conflicts and unauthorized nodes may occur, it may be more efficient (but is not required) to concurrently restrict and/or normalize the tree data  150  when initially retrieved from the dependency database  402 . In one or more preferred embodiments, the tree data  150  is sequentially processed by first restriction (e.g., via the tree restriction engine  320 ) and second normalization (e.g., via the tree normalization engine  310 ). 
       FIG.  24    is a subscription request and conflicted versioning process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  2400  receives a dependency tree (e.g., a tree data  150 , a root version  130 * implying its associated dependency tree in the dependency database  402 ) subscription request (e.g., which may be generated by the client device  200  of the user  101 ). The request comprises a unique identifier of a user  101  and/or the client device  200  (e.g., the user UID  526 ). Operation  2402  associates the unique identifier of the user  101  with nodes  160  of the dependency tree. For example, for a version dependency tree  151  the association may occur between the unique identifier of each version  130  (e.g., the version UID  132 ). Alternatively or in addition, a different node  160  of the component group  140  may be utilized, for example the component  110 . 
     In operation  2404 , a new version  130 , a new variant  120 , and/or a new component  110  (specifically, a sub-component  110  within the dependency tree to which the user  101  subscribed) is defined. For example, the new version  130  may be a new release with modified workfiles  606 . Operation  2406  generates a versioning message for the subscribing user  101 , for example to notify the user  101  that a new version  130  is available, a security vulnerability has been detected in a variant  120 , or for example, that a component  110  is deprecated, no longer supported and/or no longer actively developed. 
     Operation  2408  determines, if the new version  130 , variant  120 , and/or component  110  existed when the user  101  generated the tree data  150  to which the user subscribed (and/or submitted the root node  161  to which the user subscribed to its dependency tree), whether a conflict would be determined. For example, a new tree data  150  may be generated and compared to a tree data  150  stored on the coordination server  300  and/or the client device  200 . Where no conflict is determined, operation  2408  may end. Where a conflict would be determined, operation  2408  proceeds to apply a conflict resolution rule in operation  2410 . Operation  2412  selects a unique identifier of a component  110 , a variant  120 , and/or a version  130  to resolve the conflict. In operation  2414 , one or more workfiles  606  associated with a new version  130  are pushed to the client device  200  (and/or the storage server  250 ), which may replace the workfiles  606  from the previous version  130  that was replaced by the new version  130 , automatically updating the design workspace  208 . In one or more embodiments, a comparison is first run to ensure the user  101  has not modified the workfiles  606  associated with the previous version  130  so that no work of the user  101  is lost. 
       FIG.  25    is a subscriber event permission withdraw process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  2500  may receive a dependency tree subscription request, e.g., similar to operation  2400  of  FIG.  24   . Operation  2502  may operate similarly to operation  2402 . Operation  2504  may modify a permission profile  504  of a user  101  (and/or a group of users  101 ) to remove authorization of the user  101  (and/or the group of users  101 ). Operation  2506  generates an unsubscribe request comprising a user UID  526  and a component UID  112 . Operation  2508  deletes the user UID  526  (and/or the group UID  528 ) associated with the component UID  112  in a subscription database  704 . As a result, a user  101  and/or a group of users  101  will not receive events associated with the node  160  for which they are no longer authorized to utilize and/or include within a tree data  150  they may request. 
     Similarly, in one or more embodiments, a process may determine a unique identifier of a sub-component  110  (e.g., the component UID  112 ) and/or a unique identifier of a variant (e.g., the variant UID  122 ) of the sub-component  110  has been removed from the permission profile  504  of a user  101 . Another process may generate an un-subscribe request, and yet another process may delete within the subscription database  704  the unique identifier of the user  101  (e.g., the user UID  526 ) associated with the unique identifier of the sub-component  110  and/or the variant  120 . 
       FIG.  26    is a subscriber event permission verification process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  2600 , operation  2602 , and operation  2604  may operate similarly to operation  2400 , operation  2402 , and operation  2404  of  FIG.  24   . Operation  2606  determines if a security profile  514  is associated with a new version  130 . For example, the security profile  514  may have been defined when the new version  130  was defined and stored in the node  160  of the new version  130 . Similarly, the security profile  514  may be stored in another node  160  of the component group  140  in which the new version  130  was defined, and may have pre-existed the new version  130 . If no security profile  514  is associated, operation  2606  proceeds to operation  2612 . Where a security profile  514  is associated, operation  2606  proceeds to operation  2608 , which compares a permission profile  504  of the user  101  (and/or a group of users  101 ) to the security profile  514 . Operation  2610  determines if the user  101  (and/or a group of users  101 ) remain authorized. If not, the process ends without the user  101  and/or the group of users  101  being notified. However, where authorization remains, operation  2612  may generate a versioning message and operation  2614  may operationally push associated workfiles  606  to the client device  200 , similar to operation  2414  of  FIG.  24   . 
       FIG.  27    is a subscriber event permission, conflict, and automated workfile delivery process flow, according to one or more embodiments. Operation  2700  associates within a subscription database  704  the unique identifier of the user  101  (e.g., the user UID  526 ) with a unique identifier of a sub-component  110  of a component  110  and/or a variant  120  of the sub-component  110  to subscribe the user  101  to an event associated with the sub-component  110  and/or the variant  120 . Operation  2702  determines a new version  130  associated with the sub-component  110  has been defined, for example within the dependency database  402  by one or more other users  101 . Operation  2704 , upon determining the new version  130  of the sub-component: (i) extracts the security profile  514  associated with the sub-component  110 , the variant  120 , and/or the new version  130 , and (ii) compares the permission profile  504  of the user  101  to the security profile  514  to determine continued inclusion of the new version  130  of the sub-component  110  within the restricted tree data  154 . Operation  2706  determines that a version  130  of the sub-component  110  (e.g., a sub component  110 A) and the new version  130  of the sub-component  110  each draw dependency references  131  to different versions  130  (e.g., a version  130 A and a version  130 B) of a second sub-component  110  (e.g., a sub component  110 B). Operation  2708  applies a conflict resolution rule to return a new selected version  130  of the second sub-component  110 . Operation  2710  compares a workfile  606  of an original selected version  130  of the second sub-component stored within a file repository  602  to a workfile  606  of an original selected version  130  of the second sub-component  110  stored within the design workspace  208  of the client device  200 . Operation  2712  determines the workfile  606  of the original selected version  120  within the design workspace  208  of the client device  200  is unmodified by the user  101 . For example, a hash value of the original selected version  130  and the new version  130  may be compared. Operation  2714  generates a versioning message for transmission to the client device  200  of the user  101  and/or pushes to the client device  200  a unique identifier of the new selected version  130  of the second sub-component and/or a workfile  606  of the new selected version  130  of the second sub-component  110 . 
     Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. For example, the various devices, engines and modules described herein may be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry (e.g., CMOS based logic circuitry), firmware, software or any combination of hardware, firmware, and software (e.g., embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable medium). For example, the various electrical structure and methods may be embodied using transistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits (e.g., application specific integrated (ASIC) circuitry and/or Digital Signal Processor (DSP) circuitry). 
     In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations, processes and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable medium and/or a machine-accessible medium compatible with a data processing system (e.g., the client device  200 , the storage server  250 , the coordination server  300 , the design server  400 , the security server  500 , the file server  600 , and/or the subscription server  700 ). Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. 
     The structures in the figures such as the engines, routines, and modules may be shown as distinct and communicating with only a few specific structures and not others. The structures may be merged with each other, may perform overlapping functions, and may communicate with other structures not shown to be connected in the figures. Accordingly, the specification and/or drawings may be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. 
     In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In addition, other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the preceding disclosure.