DE102018213288A1 - System for creating and managing a commentable electronic book, corresponding computer program, and method for creating - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for creating and managing a commentable electronic book, which comprises: a database stored on a server, which can be accessed by at least one publisher and several users of the electronic book, the database being set up so that a publisher has first database elements with a first Can create a data structure, in each of which a text block of the commentable content of the electronic book, which is broken down into text blocks, is stored, the database also being set up so that users can create second database elements with a second data structure, in each of which a comment of a first database element is stored and which are in each case assigned to the user creating, one or more second database elements being assigned to a first database element, first database elements being editable by a publisher, but not by users, and second database elements that can be changed by the creating user, but not by unassigned users. The system further comprises: transmission means, display means, input means and output means.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system for creating and managing a commentable electronic book, a corresponding computer program and a method for creating a commented electronic book.

Description of the prior art

In some areas there is an increased need to comment on books, i.e. To provide parts of the text with markings such as underlines or comments in the form of additional text. An example of this are legal texts that can be difficult to understand without such comments. Users of such books therefore often mark their copies with markings to emphasize relevant information and with notes, such as explanations or references to additional sources of information.

In the case of a printed book, such comments are typically made by hand. This has the disadvantage that when the book content is updated, a new edition of the book, handwritten markings and notes have to be transferred to a new book. In areas in which book contents are updated regularly, for example in the form of annual editions, and in which it is important for users to use the current version of the book, in particular repeated transmission of all handwritten comments can be very labor intensive and one represent high inhibitions.

Attempts have been made to reduce this effort by replacing a bound book with a loose-leaf collection, which can be arranged in a folder, in which updates are published in the form of exchange pages. However, the problem remains that even with the smallest (especially purely editorial) change to the page content, the entire page would have to be replaced and all markings and comments on the original page would have to be transferred to the exchange page, even for parts that did not change of the text on which the markings or comments are based. In addition, there is the effort of manually arranging the exchange pages in the right place in the folder. With an extensive update, it can also be difficult to find the originally commented position in an exchange page with extensive changes, and an extensive update in terms of the number of pages can come close to a complete book exchange.

Another known approach is to publish a book as an editable electronic book to users in the form of copies of a text file with layout functionality. In such a text file, each user can make his own markings of the original text and additional text comments electronically. Here too, however, there remains the problem that if the publisher updates the book content by issuing an updated text file, the user comments would have to be transferred manually to the new file. The publisher no longer has access to the originally published files, which have now been provided with user comments, so that he cannot make any changes to them. Some text editors allow automatic merging of different versions of a text file that users could use. However, this does not work reliably with extensive changes to the file by both the publisher and the user, for example in the event of content being moved to other places or distinctions between text passages added by the publisher and the user. As an alternative to publishing updated text files, the publisher can only publish the intended changes to the original text (e.g. as an errata on a website), which each user can then make in their commented file (instead of transferring their comments to a new file). However, this can also involve considerable effort and can also be prone to errors, since users have a poorer overview of the entire book. In addition, the published changes cannot take into account the user's individual comments, e.g. may have led to other page breaks, so that taking over the errata can be associated with additional search effort. Regardless of this, the publisher can hardly limit any modification and reproduction of the book by publishing an editable electronic version of his book.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides improvements to the above-described disadvantages of the prior art; in particular, it allows the publisher of an electronic book to update the content of the published book for all users at the same time, even if the content has already been annotated by the users. Here, the update effort of the actual book content arises only for the editor, and the effort for users, theirs Transferring markings and annotations to the updated version is minimized by not having to adapt them for unchanged text blocks, but at most for changed text blocks.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for creating and managing a commentable electronic book according to the claims 1 to 8th provided. According to further aspects of the present invention, a method for creating an annotated electronic book according to claim 9 and a computer program according to claim 10 are provided.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

list of figures

• 1 shows a schematic representation of a system according to an embodiment.
• 2 shows a schematic representation of a database according to an embodiment.
• 3A and 3B show schematic representations of a display by a display means on a client terminal for different users according to an embodiment.
• 4 shows a schematic comparison between output pages of a display means and an output means according to an embodiment.
• 5A and 5B show schematic representations of database or display by a display means according to an embodiment during an update process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

Various exemplary embodiments, features and aspects of the invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present disclosure relates to an electronic book that is designed as a publisher-controlled centralized database application that allows the creation and management of user-commented versions of the book that can be viewed, customized, stored, and printed by the user. For this purpose, a system is provided in the form of a computer program or a software platform, with which an electronic book that can be commented on can be created and managed.

In this disclosure, comments or annotations designate markings of the underlying text, i.e. the actual or original text content of the electronic book published by the publisher, in the form of text highlighting (e.g. underlining, colored background, colored text, italic or bold text, framed text) or graphic highlighting (e.g. symbols, arrows, lines, geometric figures), as well as annotations that are added to the underlying text as additional text, but not changes to the underlying text itself. Annotations can be text blocks delimited from or inserted into these (also within sentences), whereby a text block (eg in the case of references) is only made up can consist of a few characters and can contain other characters such as symbols, arrows and the like in addition to text characters. In addition to text characters, the underlying text can also contain graphic elements. Commenting means adding and / or changing comments. Commentable therefore means the possibility of adding and / or changing or removing comments. Thus, an electronic book that can be commented differs from an electronic book that cannot be edited (which does not allow any text changes by the user), as well as a (freely) editable electronic book, which also allows changes to the underlying text, i.e. Letters of this text could be deleted or replaced by others.

In this disclosure, managing the electronic book refers to operations such as commenting on the electronic book, updating the content that can be commented on, adding users, displaying the commented content, or outputting it to an output file. Creating the electronic book refers to processes such as disassembling and first importing or adopting the underlying commentable text.

The commentable content of the electronic book is broken down into text blocks, ie text passages that are preferably smaller than a printed page, for example paragraphs; Chapters, sentences or words are also possible (that is, connected letters and special strings without text marks). These text blocks are individually assigned comments and can be updated or changed individually by the publisher. When the content of such a text block is updated, comments that are assigned to other text blocks remain valid, and thus also adjacent comments that would be output on the same page, for example if the book were printed. Comments that are assigned to the changed text block can may be adopted or adapted by the user.

Database

As in the 1 and 2 illustrated schematically, the functions mentioned are realized by the text blocks as the first database elements ( 31 . 32 ) with a first data structure ( 30 ), ie of the type first data structure, in a database (application) ( 11 ), for example an SQL database. The database is set up by defining the first data structure, for example as a class from which first database elements can be created as objects (in pseudocode: "FirstStruct FirstElement = new FirstStruct ()"). The first data structure defines the properties of the first database elements. Each element of the first data structure type therefore stores the content of at least one text block (in pseudocode: "class FirstStruct {string textblock}). Furthermore, the first data structure can provide an identifying designation for the element, a position, a seniority, etc.

Comments on the text blocks of the first database elements are saved as second database elements ( 41 . 42 . 43 ) with a second data structure ( 40 ), ie of the type second data structure, created in this database and each assigned to a first database element, it also being possible to assign a plurality of second database elements to a single first database element. It would also be conceivable to assign a second database element to several first database elements. The database is set up for this by also defining the second data structure therein, as previously described for the first data structure (eg as a class). The second data structure differs from the first, and determines other properties of its elements. These are at least comment content, but can also include a comment type, an identifying name for the element, a reference to something outside the electronic book (e.g. a hyperlink), the creating user, assigned user, assigned first database elements, etc. Possible comment types of the second data structure are a first comment type, which represents a comment of the assigned first database element as an annotation in the form of a text block outside the text block of the first database element; a second type of comment that represents a comment as an annotation in the form of a text block that is inserted into the text block of the first database element and moves its characters; and a third type of comment that represents a comment marking a text portion of the text block of the first database element. For second database elements of the second comment type, in addition to the assignment to a first database element, the position of the comment text block is also stored in the text block of the first database element (and accordingly a storage space is provided in the second data structure). For second database elements of the third comment type, instead of a simple position, a marking area (for example, as the starting position and end position of the text part) and a marking style (for example, underlined or bold, see highlighting forms described above) are saved. In this way, the first and second database elements map the content of an annotated electronic book in the form of first and second data structures.

The first and second data structures make it possible to add further database elements of the respective type (i.e. first and second database elements) at any time. The order of the first database elements can be stored in them themselves (e.g. as a position) or in a separate order table (e.g. via identifying names of the elements) in the database. The assignments of the second database elements to first database elements and users can also be stored in the second database elements themselves or in one or more tables. The database (application) enables individual access for a respective user, and furthermore enables individual database elements to be changed without any undesirable effects on other database elements, and rearrangement of the first database elements in their (to be shown) sequence, as a result of which the assigned second database elements are also rearranged accordingly , The first database elements can also be repeated elsewhere in the book (to be displayed) (e.g. by multiple entry of the respective identifying name in a sequence table), with assigned second database elements preferably being repeated accordingly in order to ensure consistency.

The named database (application) ( 11 ) is on a server ( 10 ) is saved and executed on it. The server can be a dedicated hardware unit, a virtual server, or a server application distributed over several servers and can be designed as an Internet server (for example as a cloud service) or as an intranet server in a local network.

The database enables rights management with separate access areas. At least one publisher ( A ) and multiple users ( B . C ) of the electronic book access the database stored on the server. Access requires authentication, for example by specifying an identification name and a password. An editor referred to in this Disclosure an author who has at least partially written the content to be commented on, or a publisher who has unchanged an existing content in the commentable electronic book, and more generally a user of the electronic book with extended permissions. By contrast, a user designates a user of the electronic book with restricted authorizations, for example a reader of the book. There can be multiple editors who can act individually or as a group. It is also provided that several users can form a group and that several user groups can be formed, whereby one user can also belong to several groups.

In this disclosure, for the sake of clarity, one or more publishers, unless otherwise stated, are addressed as singles. New publishers or users can be added at any time.

Publishers are authorized to create and / or change the first database elements. Users are not authorized to create or change the first database elements. In this disclosure, changing a database element means deleting the content of the database element or replacing it with another element, or also removing the entire database element. Users can create a second database element as a comment on a first database element, i.e. add a marker to the text of the first database element or add an annotation in the form of additional text. Second database elements created in this way are assigned to the creating user and the respective first database element. Second database elements can be changed by the creating user, but not by unassigned users. Optionally, second database elements can also be created by a publisher and assigned to several users, preferably by user group or to all users (and the publisher). Such second database elements can be identified in the database by appropriately adapting the second data structure as originating from the publisher and treated separately. For example, such second database elements cannot be changed by the users who are assigned but not creating them. It is also possible to make it possible to change second database elements for all assigned users, i.e. also for non-investing users. Newly added users can be assigned second database elements created by the publisher from the start. This can also be understood as an authorization group (e.g. all users), which are always assigned to second database elements created by the publisher.

2 shows a schematic representation of such a database. Two first database elements ( 31 . 32 ) are published by a publisher ( A ) of the type of the first data structure ( 30 ) (arrows with dashed line). A first user ( B ) creates a second database element ( 41 ) of the type of the second data structure ( 40 ) (arrow with dotted line), which the first user creating ( B ) and one of the first database elements ( 31 ) is assigned (arrows with a solid line). A second user ( C ) places another second database element ( 42 ) (arrow with dotted line), which is now the second user (C) and the same first database element ( 31 ) is assigned (arrows with a solid line). Publisher ( A ) also creates a second database element ( 43 ) (arrow with dotted line), which both users ( B . C ) and another first database element ( 32 ) is assigned (arrows with a solid line).

With this configuration, publishers have access to the commentable content of the electronic book (in the form of first database elements) and can change it even after the content has already been commented on by users. The user comments (second database elements created by the respective users) are retained by a publisher's change or update and should only be checked by the users for the second database elements belonging to the changed first database elements and adjusted if necessary. Conversely, user comments are stored where updates of the underlying content to be commented on and, if applicable, publisher comments (second database elements created by the publisher) can be automatically imported by the publisher, and without conflicting with other users. This system also enables feedback on the book content to publishers, e.g. by an option to enable the display of certain user comments for publishers, or by providing dedicated feedback comments in the database, which in turn can be assigned to first or second database elements.

The configuration described also allows the efficient creation of an electronic book in several language versions. First and second database elements can be created in several languages, whereby the assignments made in one language between first and second database elements are automatically retained in other languages. For second database elements of the second comment type, the position and in the case of those of the third comment type, the marking area in the assigned first database element can still be determined depending on the language. Second database elements can also be created independent of language, especially those of the first comment type. This is preferred if such second database elements are created by users who write comments in a language other than the language used by the editor (for example in their mother tongue). In this way, users can also transfer their comments from one language version of the electronic book to another. The creation of different language versions of the actual book content, ie the first database elements and possibly the second database elements created by the editor, can also be distributed efficiently between the editor and translator. After the publisher has created the above-mentioned elements once in a first language version, a translator can create a book with the same content and automatically the same arrangement by translating elements that are assigned to one another. If the publisher changes individual elements, the translator can also be shown when and where his translation is out of date by adapting a version number of the respective element to be saved.

server version

In order to display the content of the electronic book, the system for creating and managing a commentable electronic book further comprises an interface to the database ( 11 ), e.g. in the form of a web interface (web API) with an SQL driver, as a transmission medium ( 12 ) for transferring the first and second database elements, as well as arrangement information stored in the database, to a client terminal ( 20 ). A client terminal is a computer with a display device on which a computer program is executed and on which a screen output can be displayed, for example a desktop computer, a notebook, a tablet or a smartphone.

The system also includes an application for screen display as display means ( 13 . 23 ) to display the first and second database elements in accordance with the transmitted arrangement information on the client terminal. This display means can be an application or application installed on the client terminal ( 23 ) or a web browser application provided by a server and displayed in a web browser ( 13 ), in which case the transmitted arrangement information can be, for example, an HTML layout or a JavaScript application.

A respective user of the client terminal is shown the first database elements and the second database elements assigned to this user via the display means. The second database elements which are not assigned to them (in particular those of the other users) are preferably not displayed to users, and particularly preferably they cannot be displayed either. A publisher can be shown the first database elements and at least the second database elements created by the publisher on the client terminal.

The 3A and 3B show schematic representations of the described display by the display means ( 13 . 23 ) exemplary for the different users mentioned above ( B ) and ( C ) (see. 2 ). For both users ( B . C ) are those of the publisher ( A ) created first database elements ( 31 . 32 ) are displayed, each representing text blocks of the commentable text of the book (illustrated schematically by character strings of "x" or "y", optionally with a surrounding frame). For users ( B ) is in 3A additionally the second database element assigned to this user ( 41 ) that contains a comment on the first database element ( 31 ) of the first comment type, ie in the form of a text note that is spatially separate from the commentable text (schematically illustrated by character strings of “B”, optionally with a surrounding frame). Such a type of annotation has the advantage of not interrupting the text flow of the commented text. For users ( C ) is in 3B , instead of the user ( B ) assigned second database element ( 41 ) that the user ( C ) assigned second database element ( 42 ) is displayed. The latter in turn provides a comment on the first database element ( 31 ), but here in the form of a comment of the second comment type, the text of which is inserted into the text of the assigned first database element (schematically by strings of “ C “Illustrated in square brackets). Such a type of annotation has the advantage of presenting the additional information to the user as close as possible to the commented text and is not possible with printed books or non-editable electronic books (ie books with non-displaceable letters).

For both users ( B . C ) is in the 3A and 3B also the in 2 from publisher ( A ) created and assigned to both users second database element ( 43 ) is displayed. This makes a comment on another first database element ( 32 ), namely of the third comment type, ie in the form of a text highlighting part of the text of the assigned first database element ( 32 ) (illustrated by underlining the strings of "y"). The way in which such a comment is highlighted (e.g. underlining, colored background, colored text, italic or bold text) can preferably be specifically set by the user and can therefore be adapted to his individual needs.

As also in the 3A and 3B indicated, first and second database elements are preferably displayed in a two-column layout by the display means, ie first database elements ( 31 . 32 ) are shown arranged one below the other in a first column and second database elements ( 41 ) of the first comment type with text content outside the commented text (ie text blocks as separate or spatially delimited annotations) in a second column next to the respectively assigned first database elements ( 31 ). Such an arrangement has the advantage that the assignment of annotations to the associated text blocks is easily recognizable without the text flow of the successive text blocks of the commented text being interrupted. The two columns are particularly preferably of the same width.

Second database elements can contain not only text, but also links that e.g. provide the function of hyperlinks to URLs or to other database elements. Links to other than the first database elements assigned to them can preferably be contained, which enables faster navigation in the electronic book. Such links to other database elements can be inserted, for example, in that after entering a name that enables identification of the respective database element, the desired database element is automatically recognized by the system and the entered name is converted into a corresponding link.

A further preferred embodiment is a system according to the invention, in which the first database elements can be individually hidden by a user. First database elements that are hidden in this way are preferably not displayed for the respective user by the display means, which allows greater clarity by filtering out less important information. This hide state is stored in the database in order to be retained the next time the electronic book is opened. Such a hide function can also be provided to the respective user in relation to second database elements created by publishers, so that users have the option of replacing these database elements with their own or modified content.

For the inputs mentioned above, users also have a graphical user interface as input means ( 14 . 24 ) for creating and / or changing second database elements on the client terminal, which can be executed in a web browser application, e.g. in JavaScript, and which allows user input on the client terminal, e.g. via a keyboard, a touchscreen, voice input and / or a computer mouse. Such an input means can also be made available to publishers at the client terminal for creating and / or changing first database elements and optional second database elements.

The parts of the system described so far, with the database elements created, represent a user-specific server version of an electronic book which can be commented on individually by users and which can be used to import updates or changes to the underlying book content for all users. If an Internet server is used for the database, the server version is available to users wherever there is an Internet connection; and when using a web browser application, it is even independent of customized client terminals.

Printable version

The system also includes a text typesetting software module as output means ( 15 ) for outputting the electronic book into an output file in which the content of the electronic book is set in a printable page layout, that is to say divided into pages of a predetermined size (for example DIN A4) and has line and page breaks which are retained when printed. The output file can be a file in portable document format, such as a PDF file, and the output means a PDF converter, which uses the TeX typesetting system (for example LaTeX). The text typesetting software module can be executed by the server of the database or a server connected to it and make the output file available for the user to download.

For each user, a user-specific output file is output, which represents the first database elements and the second database elements assigned to the respective user in accordance with arrangement information stored in the database. The second database elements that are not assigned to them are preferably not output to users in their output file. Hidden database elements are also preferably not output. The electronic book content output to the file may include more than the first and second database elements, e.g. additionally a table of contents, an index, or print-specific content such as blank pages between individual chapters of the book.

When using the TeX typesetting system, the one used for file output Arrangement information, for example a TeX layout in the form of one or more TeX control files. The (first) arrangement information (for example HTML layout) transmitted to the client terminal for display differs in general from the (second) arrangement information (for example TeX layout) used for file output. This is due to the fact that the first arrangement information serves to display the screen, the content being able to be broken down as continuous text (for scrolling) and / or into individual pages with different and freely selectable lengths (for scrolling). On the other hand, the second arrangement information is used for output to a file in which the text is set in a printable page layout, which is faithfully reproduced in the page layout when printed out on individual pages. Such a file requires page breaks and generally uses predetermined page sizes, for example DIN A4. The first and second arrangement information are preferably matched to one another in such a way that the screen output by the first arrangement information comes as close as possible to the printed output by the second arrangement information (apart from page breaks) in order to ensure a high likelihood of recognition between the versions and thus to make it easier to find information. Both arrangement information are stored in the database.

4 compares an output page in a schematic representation ( 61 ) of the display means ( 13 . 23 ), e.g. a screen page in a web browser with two output pages ( 71 . 72 ) of the expenditure means ( 15 ), for example in the form of pages in a PDF document. In addition to the first (31, 32) and second database elements ( 41 . 43 ) (see. 3A) another first database element ( 33 ) on the output side ( 61 ) of the display means. The output pages ( 71 . 72 ) of the output means have one from the output side ( 61 ) of the display means different page sizes (here smaller), which lead to a page break between the first database elements ( 32 ) and ( 33 ) leads. Except for such page breaks, the page layouts of display media are correct ( 13 . 23 ) and output means ( 15 ) essentially match.

Preferably, the decomposition of the commentable book content into the text blocks of the first database elements (e.g. paragraphs) is chosen to be sufficiently smaller than the output pages of the output means (e.g. DIN A4), so that several first database elements and their assigned second database elements are displayed on one page when outputting to the output file can. In 4 these are the first database elements ( 31 ) and ( 32 ) and the assigned second database elements ( 41 ) and ( 43 ) on the output side ( 71 ). In this way, even when printing and arranging exchange pages in a folder, valid comments on unchanged text blocks are transferred alongside updated text blocks to shared exchange pages, in contrast to the loose-leaf collection described in the introduction.

A third type of database element with text content can also be created in the database by a publisher or a user and assigned to the first or second database elements. Such third database elements ( 51 ) are indicated by the display means ( 13 . 23 ) is displayed on the client terminal, but not by the output means ( 15 ) is output to the output file (in 4 illustrated by a dashed frame line). They can serve as notes, for example to mark positions that have not yet been commented on.

The output file represents an additional version of the electronic book to the server version described above, which can also be referred to as a print version. The publisher no longer has access to the print version, so that it can be saved by users as a permanently (at least by others) unchangeable user-specific version that is available regardless of an Internet connection. Further electronic comments on the print version can be prevented or at least severely restricted. In any case, adjustments are no longer saved in the database on the server. The print version offers the possibility of printing the annotated electronic book with a predictable result and is preferably designed in a design corresponding to the server version in order to produce a recognition effect and to speed up the finding of information.

Update

In order to update the electronic book once it has been created and possibly already commented on, each first database element is preferably given a seniority or time stamp or a time indication. The seniority can indicate the time of creation of the respective database element, the time of the last modification and / or the time of the start or expiry of the validity of the respective database element. The seniority can be provided as a date with or without a time, or as a mere version number. In this way, several versions of the first database elements with different priority can be saved. If a publisher changes a first database element, the original version is preferably retained as the first database element with old ranking and unchanged content, and the changed content is created as a corresponding first database element with new ranking.

The second database elements that have already been created initially remain assigned to the first database element with an older seniority. The assignment can, however, be assigned to a corresponding first database element ( 31a) be changed with a newer rank by the assigned user (B). For this purpose, the input means is designed to offer the respective user the option of transferring the second database elements created by him, optionally also the other database elements assigned to him, to the updated first database element, if necessary after changing the content (ie adapting the comment), ie assign them to the first database element with a newer ranking. For better clarity, the user can use the display means to display the two versions of the first database element and the second database elements assigned to them side by side or one below the other. Maintaining the old version of the first database element also allows a permanent comparison of the contents. Unchanged first database elements retain their seniority and the second database elements assigned to them are retained.

5A shows a schematic representation of the database in such an update process. A first database element ( 31 ) is changed by a corresponding first database element ( 31a ) with changed content and newer seniority, while the old ( 31 ) remains unchanged. 5B shows the corresponding display by the display means for a user ( B ). Above the old first database element ( 31 ) the new modified first database element ( 31a) shown. After comparing the text blocks of ( 31 ) and ( 31a ) decide that the old first database element ( 31 ) assigned second database element of the first comment type ( 41 ), ie his comment on the changed first database element ( 31a ) to transfer (here without changing the comment) what is in the database 5A corresponds to a change in the assignment (illustrated by arrows with dashed lines). Such a change in the assignment is only readily possible with second database elements of the first comment type, ie comment text blocks outside the text blocks of the commented first database elements. In the case of second database elements of the second or third comment type, a position or a marking area in the text block of the newly assigned, modified first database element must also be determined automatically or manually by the user.

The third database elements ( 51 ), which are output by the display means, but not by the output means, to inform users of changes in the electronic book from the publisher side. Such third database elements are assigned to all users and displayed by the display means. For each user, these third database elements represent notes that provide information about parts of the electronic book that are yet to be checked, and that users can remove once they have been completed.

Since the first database elements are part of the user-specific electronic book of each user, this system allows the publisher to update the content of the published book for all users at the same time, even if the content is already provided with comments by the users. At the same time, users have to check and adjust their comments when the publisher is updated only for changed text blocks (changed first database elements) of the publisher update, so that the effort to transfer markings and comments to the updated version is minimized.

The system described thus provides a platform with which an electronic book that can be commented on can be created and managed in an efficient manner. The individual means or units ( 11-15 . 23 . 24 ) of the system can be implemented as software modules that are installed on a server ( 10 ) as in 1 shown or distributed over several servers, and / or on a client terminal ( 20 ) are carried out in order to provide the functions according to the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

10

server

11

Database

12

transmission means

13

Display means (server side)

14

Input means (server side)

20

Client terminal

23

Display means (client side)

24

Input means (client side)

30

first data structure

31

first database element

31a

changed first database element

32

first database element

40

second data structure

41

second database element of the first comment type

42

second database element of the second comment type

43

second database element of the third comment type

51

third database element

Claims (10)

System for creating and managing a commentable electronic book, comprising: a database (11) stored on a server (10), which can be accessed by at least one publisher (A) and several users (B, C) of the electronic book, the database being set up so that a publisher can create first database elements (31, 32) with a first data structure (30), in each of which a text block of the commentable content of the electronic book broken down into text blocks is stored, wherein the database is further set up so that users can create second database elements (41, 42) with a second data structure (40), in each of which a comment of a first database element is stored and which are each assigned to the user who created it, one each one or more second database elements are assigned to a first database element, the first database elements being changeable by a publisher but not by users, whereby second database elements can be changed by the creating user, but not by unassigned users, the system further comprehensive: Transmission means (12) for transmitting the first and second database elements, as well as arrangement information stored in the database, to a client terminal (20), Display means (13, 23) for displaying the first and second database elements in accordance with the transmitted arrangement information on the client terminal, the respective database elements and the second database elements assigned to this user being displayed to a respective user as a version of the electronic book of this user, Input means (14, 24) for creating and / or changing second database elements on the client terminal, and Output means (15) for outputting the electronic book into an output file in which the content of the electronic book is set in a printable page layout, a user-specific output file being output for each user, which file contains the first database elements and the second database elements assigned to the respective user in accordance with in represents arrangement information stored in the database. System according to Claim 1 , wherein when outputting to the output file, at least one page (71) shows a plurality of first database elements (31, 32) and their assigned second database elements (41, 43). System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second data structure provides one or more of the following comment types, the type of which can be used to create second database elements: a first comment type, which represents a comment of the assigned first database element as an annotation (41) in the form of a text block outside the text block of the first database element, a second type of comment which represents a comment of the assigned first database element as an annotation (42) in the form of a text block which is inserted into the text block of the first database element and moves the characters thereof, and a third type of comment, which represents one of the comments of the assigned first database element as a marker (43) of a text part of the text block of the first database element. System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, by the display means and / or the output means, first database elements (31, 32) are shown arranged one below the other in a first column, and second database elements of the first comment type (41) in the form of text blocks outside the text blocks of the first database elements are displayed in a second column next to the respectively assigned first database elements (31). System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein third database elements (51), each with a text block, can be created in the database by a publisher and / or a user as notes and assigned to the first or second database elements, and the third database elements are displayed by the display means on the client terminal, but are not output to the output file by the output means. System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein first database elements have a seniority, which is stored in the database, and for changing a first database element (31), a new first database element (31a) with a new seniority and changed content is created and the old first Database element (31) with old seniority and unchanged content is preserved. System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of first database elements are created by a publisher and contain a text which is broken down into text blocks and is to be commented on by the publisher. System according to Claim 7 , second database elements (43) can also be created by the publisher (A) and thereby assigned to several users (B, C), and second database elements are created by the publisher as comments of first database elements (32). Method for creating an annotated electronic book, by means of a database (11) stored on a server (10), which can be accessed by at least one publisher (A) and several users (B, C) of the electronic book, the database being set up so that a publisher can create first database elements (31, 32) with a first data structure (30), in each of which a text block is stored, wherein the database is further set up so that users can create second database elements (41, 42) with a second data structure (40), in each of which a comment of a first database element is stored and which are each assigned to the user who created it, one each one or more second database elements are assigned to a first database element, the first database elements being changeable by a publisher but not by users, whereby second database elements can be changed by the creating user, but not by unassigned users, the process comprising: Decomposing a text to be commented into text blocks and creating a database element corresponding to the text blocks by a publisher, Creation of second database elements as comments of first database elements and assignment of several users, Transferring the first and second database elements and arrangement information stored in the database to a client terminal (20), Displaying the first and second database elements in accordance with the transmitted arrangement information on the client terminal, the respective first database elements and the second database elements assigned to this user being displayed to a respective user as a version of the electronic book of this user, and Outputting the electronic book into an output file in which the content of the electronic book is set in a printable page layout, with a user-specific output file being output for each user, which file represents the first database elements and the second database elements assigned to the respective user in accordance with arrangement information stored in the database , Computer program for creating and managing a commentable electronic book, comprising the following software modules with executable code: a database module as the database (11) according to Claim 1 , a transmission module as the transmission means (12) according to Claim 1 , a display module as the display means (13, 23) according to Claim 1 , an input module as the input means (14, 24) according to Claim 1 , and an output module as the output means (15) according to Claim 1 The database module, the transmission module and the output module are designed to be executed by a server (10), and the display module and the input module are designed to be executed by a server (10) and / or a client terminal (20) become.

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