VIRTUAL EDITING AND MICROVERSIONS:
OSMIC
(The Name Needs Changing*)
Most people do not understand the problems of versioning.
As in many areas where computer people are given control,
they tend to think either:
1) either the problem is simple,
or
2) the problem ought to be MADE simple, and to hell with
users who think they want more.
The result has been the present popular models of "undo" and file locking. These crush and mangle creative work wherever computers are now used.
The problems of versioning and backtrack are not simple and need to be appreciated-- and solved-- in their full complexity, rather than simplified for programmer convenience.
Our prototype demonstration has two parts: a server in
Perl, and a client in Emacs. They may both be run on one machine
(for instance, Windows or Linux) or connected across the Internet.
We hope to create a more robust version for distribution,
without further functionality. However, when made reliable, it may
be useful as a good way of backing up text-- unbound to applications--
across the net.