Structured database system together with structure definition frame storing document body data

Claim 1

A structured database system enabling a plurality of operators to share a structured document through a check-in or check-out of the structured document, said structured database system comprising: a plurality of instances each defining an element of a structured document, wherein each instance is settable to an editable state and an edit inhibited state with respect to respective ones of a plurality of operators; a plurality of edit blocks, each edit block storing a plurality of edit block pointers; a plurality of storage blocks, each storage block storing a plurality of storage block pointers designating respectively corresponding instances of said plurality of instances and said plurality of edit block pointers, of each edit block, indicating connections to respectively corresponding storage blocks; a plurality of storage blocks, each storage block storing a plurality of storage block pointers respectively associated with said plurality of instances and said edit block pointers indicating connections to a respectively corresponding storage blocks; selecting means for selecting an edit block, of said plurality of edit blocks, in response to the check-in of the structured document by a first operator of said plurality of operators, thereby designating remaining operators of said plurality of operators, the plurality of edit block pointers of the selected edit block thereby indicating the connections to respectively corresponding storage blocks and the respectively associated plurality of instances; means for setting the corresponding, selected instances to the editable state with respect to the first operator and to the edit inhibited state with respect to the remaining operators of the plurality of operators; and deselecting means for deselecting the selected edit block in response to a check-out of the structured document by the first operator, and for setting the corresponding, deselected instances to the editable state with respect to all operators.