Document management system with delimiters defined at run-time

Claim 1

In a computer network formed of a plurality of nodes, a document management apparatus, comprising: a repository for storing at least one document, the repository being formed of memory of a first node in the network; means for a user at search run-time to define a delimiter said delimiter indicating a location in said at least one document; a working memory directly coupled to a processor, the working memory and processor being of a second node in the network; means for launching a search of said at least one document in said repository for a first occurrence of said delimiter, and for launching a search of said at least one document for a second occurrence of said delimiter; means responsive to said means for launching a search, for retrieving a chunk of said at least one document from said repository, said chunk of said at least one document from said repository beginning after the first occurrence of said delimiter and ending before the second occurrence of said delimiter; and means for transferring and depositing said chunk of said at least one document in said working memory of the second node such that portions smaller than whole attributes of documents and portions smaller than whole documents are transported across the network thereby reducing network traffic.