11. An automated authoring and publishing system for generating a customized document about a product, the system comprising: a processor coupled to an input interface; a storage device coupled to the input interface and the processor, the storage device comprising code causing the processor to: a) provide a user with a document manager input interface, the input interface including a definition manager module, an electronic library manager module, an automatic text generator module, a document editor module, an effectivity interface module, and a document builder module; b) define a document definition based on a plurality of predefined data elements arranged in a tree-like data structure using the definition manager module, the predefined data elements being retrieved from a parts library contained in the document builder module, wherein the document definition comprises at least one of (i) organization of sections of the customized document, (ii) maintenance codes specific to the product, and (iii) page formatting information; c) create the customized document from the document definition using the definition manager module; d) store the customized document in a relational database; e) edit one or more of the predefined data elements using the document editor module by using content-specific selection menus to generate revised data elements that are stored in the relational database; f) deconstruct syntax of textual data elements that are syntactically joined with linguistic rules, specifying a category in which to place a business rule, generate one or more tasks associated with the business rule, and apply the business rule to the textual data elements of the customized document using the automatic text generator module; g) modify given data that is standard in particular data structures, and customize the given data for particular applications using the electronic library manager module; h) establish effectivity associations, using the effectivity interface module, for a given component of the product, and thereby define a manner in which a change to the given component is propagated throughout the customized document; i) in response to the user making the change to the given component via the effectivity interface module, propagate the change throughout the customized document according to the effectivity associations established by the user; j) synthesize text from the revised data elements according to (i) the document definition defined by the document definition module, (ii) edits made by the user via the document editor module, (iii) the business rule applied by the user via the automatic text generator module, (iv) the customized data provided by the electronic library manager module, and (v) the effectivity associations established via the effectivity interface module; and k) generate and publish the customized document.
11. An automated authoring and publishing system for generating a customized document about a product, the system comprising: a processor coupled to an input interface; a storage device coupled to the input interface and the processor, the storage device comprising code causing the processor to: a) provide a user with a document manager input interface, the input interface including a definition manager module, an electronic library manager module, an automatic text generator module, a document editor module, an effectivity interface module, and a document builder module; b) define a document definition based on a plurality of predefined data elements arranged in a tree-like data structure using the definition manager module, the predefined data elements being retrieved from a parts library contained in the document builder module, wherein the document definition comprises at least one of (i) organization of sections of the customized document, (ii) maintenance codes specific to the product, and (iii) page formatting information; c) create the customized document from the document definition using the definition manager module; d) store the customized document in a relational database; e) edit one or more of the predefined data elements using the document editor module by using content-specific selection menus to generate revised data elements that are stored in the relational database; f) deconstruct syntax of textual data elements that are syntactically joined with linguistic rules, specifying a category in which to place a business rule, generate one or more tasks associated with the business rule, and apply the business rule to the textual data elements of the customized document using the automatic text generator module; g) modify given data that is standard in particular data structures, and customize the given data for particular applications using the electronic library manager module; h) establish effectivity associations, using the effectivity interface module, for a given component of the product, and thereby define a manner in which a change to the given component is propagated throughout the customized document; i) in response to the user making the change to the given component via the effectivity interface module, propagate the change throughout the customized document according to the effectivity associations established by the user; j) synthesize text from the revised data elements according to (i) the document definition defined by the document definition module, (ii) edits made by the user via the document editor module, (iii) the business rule applied by the user via the automatic text generator module, (iv) the customized data provided by the electronic library manager module, and (v) the effectivity associations established via the effectivity interface module; and k) generate and publish the customized document. 12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor tracks an effectivity in the customized document to track one of the predefined data elements or revised data elements across multiple other documents to enable filtering of content by one or more effectivity.