PDF (Online Text) - EURAC

3.2 Automatic Generation of Electronic Documents
Current Web technology offers the possibility of creating a document upon request.
In this context, the result of an execution of a computer program is a document: a
Web page obtained on the basis of one or multiple resources (program, database,
cascading style sheets, etc.). The automatic generation of Web documents is based
on the use of scripting programming languages whose execution takes place on the
server. These technologies accelerate the treatment, making it possible to surpass the
limits of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), which remains static, and only permits
the handling of the document’s layout. Equally, a connection is established with the
databases where the information to be furnished in a given context is stored. Thanks
to these principles of functioning, and with an appropriate editing program, individual
appropriation by Information Technology non-professionals has developed. The ease
with which it is possible to reuse documentary resources existing on the Web only
contributes to an even greater development of digital document production. The
correction, modification and adding possibilities facilitate digital document production
in an autonomous mode. Production in autonomous mode is defined by a user, who
elaborates the content and defines its layout for his personal use, or for that of other
users. This production is realised with the help of suitable IT material and programs.
The autonomous mode means that the user has all the creative freedom (choice of
layout, colours, fonts, format, file names, diffusion and storage hosting, etc.), but
also presupposes that he has all the technical competence needed. On the other hand,
by conserving the autonomy of production while facilitating the exchange, the semi-
autonomous mode can be applied in a collaborative environment where production
rules need to be followed. It is in this context that we wish to situate our work on
digital document annotation. Our aim is to put at the user’s disposal (in this case,
scholars working on Judeo-Spanish documents) a tool modelled on the principle of
semi-autonomous mode production of digital documents.
In this context, the rules are defined at technical level (layout rules and data
structuration) but the decision to produce and to publish is made by the user (Rouissi
2005). This implies of course that he can be identified by the system, and that the
maintenance and technical assistance service is provided. The user doesn’t produce
in an isolated manner, but in a collaborative work environment, which somewhat
constrains his production, but, on the other hand, offers a conception of the whole
and facilitates the integration of individual work.
271