‘Documentics’: the electronic management of technical documents

How can technical documents be managed without actually having physical access to the data contained in them, and yet provide a means for updating this data and distributing it in a manner that suits me various work environments (i.e. design departments, commercial departments, manufacturing, etc.) for which it is intended? The answer: through the use of computers that make it possible to retrieve each technical document rapidly and easily. Computers can simultaneously manage both the data contained in each document and the document itself, by means of documentary references adapted to me configuration of the documentation.