Apparatus and method for dynamically creating a document

A method of electronically constructing a document, comprising the steps of:

• reading an entity reference;
• matching the entity reference with an entity identifier provided in a catalog containing a plurality of entity identifiers, each of the plurality of entity identifiers in the catalog being associated with an entity resolution process;
• invoking one of a plurality of entity resolving processors to effectuate a resolution process associated with a matching entity identifier in the catalog;
• resolving the entity reference to a resolved entity using the invoked entity resolving processor;
• linking the resolved entity to a location in the document;
• outputting the document in one of a printed and electronic form;
• generating a plurality of distinct document versions of the resolved text components using an artificial intelligence expert system to create each of the plurality of document versions based on a decision generated by the expert system's set of predetermined formatting rules;
• and
• selecting one of the plurality of the document versions to be used as the document.

A system for electronically constructing a document, comprising:

• a central processor coupled to a display and a user input device;
• a local memory, coupled to the central processor, configured to store a plurality of catalogs each containing entity resolution strategies and corresponding entity identifiers;
• a plurality of entity resolution processors implementable by the central processor;
• comparing means for comparing an entity reference read from the user input device with a matching entity identifier contained in the plurality of catalogs stored in the local memory;
• and
• a communications interface coupled to a communications channel and a remote information storage device;
• wherein the central processor implements one of the plurality of entity resolution processors indicated by an entity resolution strategy of the matching entity identifier so as to resolve the entity reference read from the user input device to a resolved entity by using information stored in the remote information storage device, the resolved entity subsequently being incorporated into each of a plurality of document versions based on a decision generated by the expert system's set of predetermined formatting rules, selecting one of the plurality of the document versions to be used as the document.

A computer program product, comprising:

• a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer to construct a document by a method including the steps of:
• reading an entity reference;
• comparing the entity reference to a plurality of entity identifiers provided in a catalog, each of the entity identifiers in the catalog being associated with a resolution strategy;
• invoking, in response to successfully comparing the entity reference with a matching entity identifier in the catalog, one of a plurality of entity resolving processors associated with the matching entity identifier;
• resolving the entity reference to a component using the invoked entity resolving processor to effectuate the resolution strategy associated with the matching entity identifier;
• outputting the component for subsequent incorporation in the document;
• generating a plurality of distinct document versions of the resolved text components using an artificial intelligence expert system to create each of the plurality of document versions based on a decision generated by the expert system's set of predetermined formatting rules;
• and
• selecting one of the plurality of the document versions to be used as the document.