documents as folder trees

5.11: adde/documents as folder trees:
[4.21:
. just as trees of folders can be merged,
the same should apply to documents as well,
with each subtitle being like a subfolder .]
. that introduces a 3rd dimension of merging
(volume, folder path, file);
and,
many merge styles:
# mac style:
. don't merge anything .
# pc style:
. merge folders, replace files .
# versioned merge:
. merge folders and avoid replacing files
by renaming them instead
with appended version numbers .
. the versions numbers rotate through 0...n;
so eventually data is lost .
# subfile merge:
. merge folders and files;
paragraphs are combined rather than replaced
(default is new subsections are appended
to older subsections).
# journaled merge:
. this is like the subfile merge (above)
except that there are instructions such as
delete the nth paragraph of a subsection;
or run a patch over it .
[4.21:
. the journal's files would pay attention to
subtitle pathname
and only then consider character position .
. this is in contrast to the typical
{revision, version}* control system
which measure all changes in terms of
character position .]
--
. intra-document structuring is
necessarily language-specific,
except at the level of characters,
whereas the unix way is tool reuse,
and so the patch tool must be
language-agnostic .
*:
revisions vs versions (terminology proposal):
# revisions are corrections or
efficiency enhancements;
# versions are parameterized configurations
for adapting to various situations
or new design ideas .