System to view and manipulate artifacts at a temporal reference point

A method to view and manipulate artifacts at a temporal reference point, comprising:

• receiving a command that edits a first artifact;
• adding a time stamp to the command;
• storing the command in a command stack;
• storing a current state of the first artifact and the command stack as an artifact draft, wherein the first artifact has a plurality of artifact drafts associated with the first artifact;
• and
• in response to detecting that the command comprises an action performed from the first artifact that accesses a second artifact, creating a traceability link between said artifact draft and a second artifact draft associated with said second artifact, wherein the traceability link comprises an indication at the first artifact as a consumer and a first link pointing to an offset and length in the artifact draft's content where the action occurred, and an indication at the second artifact as a producer and a second link pointing to an offset and length of the second artifact's content that is accessed, the second artifact draft corresponding to the second artifact's current state as of a time of the action performed in the first artifact that accesses the second artifact, wherein the action that accesses the second artifact responsive to which the traceability link is created comprises at least an automated action that is not an explicit user action on the second artifact wherein the second artifact is automatically identified, the artifact draft and the second artifact draft forming traceability vertices, the second artifact having a plurality of second artifact drafts associated with the second artifact, wherein a user is enabled to traverse an artifact draft graph comprising said traceability vertices, wherein viewing a state of the first artifact enables the user to view all artifacts connected to the first artifact in said all artifacts' states as said all artifacts' states were at points in time at which respective connection to the state of the first artifact was created,
• wherein the artifact draft represents the current state of the first artifact at a point-in-time corresponding to the time stamp, and the command stack comprises one or more commands issued since initial creation of the artifact draft to the current state, wherein the artifact draft is editable until it is sealed and becomes a complete draft, and wherein a new child draft can be created based on the artifact draft that becomes complete,
• wherein the artifact draft is selectable by point in time.