Project Overview: Collens

Collens is a dynamic web-based tool designed for scholars to compare textual variants with annotations. Utilizing machine learning, it offers an efficient workflow for analyzing multiple versions of literary and scholarly documents. Explore the repository on GitHub or visit the live site.

Features

• Document Parsing:

  • Automatically reads TEI/XML-encoded texts with scholarly annotations.
  • Extracts text segments and metadata, preserving critical editorial notes.

• Annotation-Aware Comparison:

  • Custom algorithms align text and annotations.
  • Visualizes the evolution of drafts, capturing changes and commentary.

Workflow Highlights

• User Interface:

  • Side-by-side display of changes for deeper insights into text evolution.

• Team Collaboration:

  • Supports multiple versions and witnesses for thorough analysis.

From Idea to Production

Purpose & Benefits

Literary works evolve through drafts, marginalia, and updates. Collens keeps annotation data intact, offering a detailed view of textual development. It surpasses typical comparison tools by integrating textual analysis with annotations, providing an advanced, annotation-aware approach.

Collens empowers researchers to upload, transcribe, and compare manuscripts side by side, offering a comprehensive digital workspace for literary studies and digital editing.

Key Technologies

• SvelteKit for a modular frontend
• TypeScript for type-safe development
• Bun as a fast package manager
• Tailwind CSS & DaisyUI for UI styling
• IndexedDB for local storage and offline editing

Outstanding Features

• Quick synchronization and annotation across sources
• Intuitive interface for efficient scholarly work
• Flexibility for features like shared notes, tagging, and versioning

Collens represents a remarkable blend of modern web development, offering a user-friendly yet robust solution for digital scholarship today.