Documentbut

Documentbut is a term used in discussions of document-centric computing to describe a hypothetical framework that treats documents as primary objects within automated workflows. It is not an established standard and should not be confused with any specific software package. The concept is commonly used in academic and industry discussions to explore how content, metadata, and permissions might be integrated in end-to-end processes.

In the documentbut model, each document comprises content, structured metadata, and a state value (draft, reviewed, approved, published). A layered architecture combines a storage backend, a metadata service, a policy engine, and an event-driven router that assigns tasks based on rules and roles. Interoperability is emphasized via open formats, RESTful APIs, and pluggable back-end providers.

Typical workflows include creation, editing, review, approval, and publication. Versioning is immutable by default, with an audit log that records changes, authorship, and decisions. Access control is role-based, and conflicts are managed with merge or notification strategies. The framework supports templates, automated validations, and hooks for external systems.

Documentbut is used as a conceptual reference in discussions of digital governance, compliance, and collaborative editing. It can inform the design of document management systems, content repositories, and workflow platforms by illustrating how provenance, permissions, and routing could be modeled.

Because documentbut is a hypothetical construct, it has no formal standard, implementation, or widespread adoption. Critics point to potential complexity, performance concerns, and the risk of vendor lock-in when adopting any tightly coupled document-centric framework.