Towards a scholarly editing system for the next decades

Abstract

As almost all texts of interest to scholarly editors exist in multiple versions, efficient systems of collation are crucial. The .first part of the paper explains desiderata for computer-based collation. The second part of the paper argues that the most radical impact of the digital revolution is to transform scholarly editing from the work of single scholars, working on their own on single editions, to a collaborative, dynamic and fluid enterprise spanning many scholars and many materials.