Abstract: The present invention provides an automated metadata producer, or “markup manager.” According to one aspect, the markup manager allows disparate resources to be made into useful objects by producing appropriate metadata and associating it with the original resources. In one example, a markup manager according to the invention first analyzes the original resources and outputs appropriate, descriptive metadata; then it creates a new document which includes both the metadata and an indicator to the original resource. The resource analysis and metadata production is accomplished by an algorithm in which first a “metadata schema” and a “perspective” (or facet) is selected (by the user or requesting program); then an automatic categorization step is taken where the appropriate metadata are found with respect to the selected perspective; then a transformation step is taken in which the autocategorized analyses are translated into the target metadata schema.