Interactive control of document updates

1. A computer program product, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a document comprising one or more segments, wherein each segment has a position within a hierarchy of the document and is configured to be generated automatically based at least in part on data from a data source associated with that segment;

receiving a plurality of visual changes, which includes one or more visual graphical changes and/or one or more visual textual changes, to be applied to the document or a portion thereof and created by a first entity;

prior to applying the received plurality of changes, presenting to a second entity the plurality of changes to be applied to the document, including by displaying only those portions of the hierarchy of the document that would be affected by the plurality of changes if the plurality of changes were applied to the document;

receiving from the second entity a selection of one or more of the presented plurality of visual changes to be applied; and displaying the document with the selected changes applied in response to receiving from the second entity the selection of one or more of the presented plurality of changes to be applied.

2. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein displaying includes using a visual effect to point out the portions of the document affected by the plurality of changes if the plurality of changes were applied to the document.

3. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein presenting includes displaying a processing instruction used to process the data from a data source.

4. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , the computer program product further comprising computer instructions for determining that there is a change to the document or a portion thereof.

5. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , the computer program product further comprising computer instructions for determining that there is a change to the document or a portion thereof using an XPATH statement.

6. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein a data expression is used to identify the data from the data source associated with the segment.

7. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein a data expression is used to identify the data from a data source associated with the segment, and the data expression includes an XPATH statement.

8. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein a processing instruction is used to process the data from a data source associated with the segment.

9. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein a processing instruction is used to process the data from a data source associated with the segment, and the processing instruction includes XSLT.

10. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , the computer program product further comprising computer instructions for collecting information to be recorded associated with the subset of changes affecting the document, such that the recorded information is accessible using the document.

11. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , the computer program product further comprising computer instructions for collecting information to be recorded associated with the subset of changes affecting the document, such that the recorded information is accessible using the document, wherein the recorded information includes a timestamp.

12. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein: the received plurality of changes includes an update marker that (1) is associated with at least one of the segments in the document and (2) includes a test expression; and the computer program product further comprises computer instructions for evaluating the test expression included in the update marker and determining whether there is a change to the segment associated with the update marker based at least in part on the evaluation of the test expression.

13. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 , wherein the computer instructions displaying only those portions, of the hierarchy of the document that would be affected by the plurality of changes if the plurality of changes were applied to the document include using an indented list, wherein the indentations in the indented list reflect levels of hierarchy.

14. A computer program product as recited in claim 13 further comprising computer instructions for: displaying, in a same window as the displayed indented list, a graphical user interface (GUI) control associated with previewing; and in response to the second entity activating the GUI control associated with previewing:

generating one or more instructions by applying (1) an XSLT snippet associated with a selected portion of the hierarchy selected from the indented list to (2) data targeted by a data XPATH, wherein the generated instructions are the same instructions that would be passed to a rendering engine if those instructions were to be applied; and

displaying to the second entity the generated instructions.

15. A computer program product as recited in claim 1 further comprising computer instructions for: receiving from the second entity a second selection of one or more changes, applied to the document by the second entity, which are to be undone; and displaying the document with the selected changes undone in response to receiving from the second entity the second selection of changes.

16. A system, including: a processor; and a memory having instructions stored thereon, that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving a document comprising one or more segments, wherein each segment has a position within a hierarchy of the document and is configured to be generated automatically based at least in part on data from a data source associated with that segment;

receiving a plurality of visual changes, which includes one or more visual graphical changes and/or one or more visual textual changes, to be applied to the document or a portion thereof and created by a first entity;

prior to applying the received plurality of changes, presenting to a second entity the plurality of changes to be applied to the document, including by displaying only those portions of the hierarchy of the document that would be affected by the plurality of changes if the plurality of changes were applied to the document;

receiving from the second entity a selection of one or more of the presented plurality of visual changes to be applied; and

displaying the document with the selected changes applied in response to receiving from the second entity the selection of one or more of the presented plurality of changes to be applied.

17. A system as recited in claim 16 , wherein: the received plurality of changes includes an update market that (1) is associated with at least one of the segments in the document and (2) includes a test expression; and the processor is further configured to evaluate the test expression included in the update marker and determine whether there is a change to the segment associated with the update marker based at least in part on the evaluation of the test expression.

18. A system as recited in claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured to displaying only those portions of the hierarchy of the document that would be affected by the plurality of changes if the plurality of changes were applied to the document by using an indented list, wherein the indentations in the indented list reflect levels of hierarchy.

19. A system as recited in claim 18 , wherein the processor is further configured to: display, in a same window as the displayed indented list, a graphical user interface (GUI) control associated with previewing; and in response to the second entity activating the GUI control associated with previewing:

generate one or more instructions by applying (1) an XSLT snippet associated with a selected portion of the hierarchy selected from the indented list to (2) data targeted by a data XPATH, wherein the generated instructions are the same instructions that would be passed to a rendering engine if those instructions were to be applied; and

display to the second entity the generated instructions.

20. A system as recited in claim 16 , wherein the processor is further configured to: receive from the second entity a second selection of one or more changes, applied to the document by the second entity, which are to be undone; and display the document with the selected changes undone in response to receiving from the second entity the second selection of changes.

21. A method, including:

receiving a document comprising one or more segments at a processor, wherein each segment has a position within a hierarchy of the document and is configured to be generated automatically based at least in part on data from a data source associated with that segment;

receiving a plurality of visual changes, which includes one or more visual graphical changes and/or one or more visual textual changes, at the processor to be applied to the document or a portion thereof and created by a first entity;

prior to applying the received plurality of changes, presenting to a second entity the plurality of changes to be applied to the document using the processor, including by displaying only those portions of the hierarchy of the document that would be affected by the plurality of changes if the plurality of changes were applied to the document;

receiving from the second entity, at the processor, a selection of one or more of the presented plurality of visual changes to be applied; and

displaying the document with the selected changes applied in response to receiving from the second entity the selection of one or more of the presented plurality of changes to be applied using the processor.

22. A method as recited in claim 21 , wherein: the received plurality of changes includes an update marker that (1) is associated with at least one of the segments in the document and (2) includes a test expression; and the method further includes evaluating the test expression included in the update marker and determining whether there is a change to the segment associated with the update marker based at least in part on the evaluation of the test expression.

23. A method as recited in claim 21 , wherein displaying only those portions of the hierarchy of the document that would be affected by the plurality of changes if the plurality of changes were applied to the document includes using an indented list, wherein the indentations in the indented list reflect levels of hierarchy.

24. A method as recited in claim 23 further comprising: displaying, in a same window as the displayed indented list, a graphical user interface (GUI) control associated with previewing; and in response to the second entity activating the GUI control associated with previewing:

generating one or more instructions by applying (1) an XSLT snippet associated with a selected portion of the hierarchy selected from the indented list to (2) data targeted by a data XPATH, wherein the generated instructions are the same instructions that would be passed to a rendering engine if those instructions were to be applied; and

displaying to the second entity the generated instructions.

25. A method as recited in claim 21 further comprising: receiving from the second entity a second selection of one or more changes, applied to the document by the second entity, which are to be undone; and

displaying the document with the selected changes undone in response to receiving from the second entity the second selection of changes.