System and method for comparing extensible markup language (XML) documents
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method for comparing XML documents, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a first XML object corresponding to a first document and a second XML object corresponding to a second document;
receiving a third XML object, wherein the third XML object includes a list of one or more XML items from the first XML object, the second XML object, or both the first and the second XML objects, the third XML object being an exclusion list of XML items, an XML item to be excluded being described by a name, a type, and a path;
comparing content of the first XML object with content of the second XML object, wherein the one or more XML items of the third XML object is excluded from the step of comparing, and wherein the step of comparing includes finding differences in content; and
generating a result XML object from the results of the step of comparing, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object if the item appears in the first XML object but not the second XML object, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object in the result XML object if the item appears in the first XML object and a second different item appears in the second XML object, and the result XML object not including an item from the second XML object if the item appears in the second XML object but not the first XML object;
wherein the first XML object, the second XML object, and the third XML object are formatted according to a Document Object Model representation.
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Abstract
A system and a method for comparing Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents includes providing two XML documents as XML objects to a comparison tool and providing a list of XML items to be either included or excluded from the comparison. The comparison tool provides an application program interface (API), which allows it to be plugged into any application. The adaptability of the comparison tool to any application and the ability to exclude items from the comparison, or limit the comparison to specific items, provide for a flexible tool that improves performance for a user.
206 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for comparing XML documents, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a first XML object corresponding to a first document and a second XML object corresponding to a second document; receiving a third XML object, wherein the third XML object includes a list of one or more XML items from the first XML object, the second XML object, or both the first and the second XML objects, the third XML object being an exclusion list of XML items, an XML item to be excluded being described by a name, a type, and a path; comparing content of the first XML object with content of the second XML object, wherein the one or more XML items of the third XML object is excluded from the step of comparing, and wherein the step of comparing includes finding differences in content; and generating a result XML object from the results of the step of comparing, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object if the item appears in the first XML object but not the second XML object, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object in the result XML object if the item appears in the first XML object and a second different item appears in the second XML object, and the result XML object not including an item from the second XML object if the item appears in the second XML object but not the first XML object; wherein the first XML object, the second XML object, and the third XML object are formatted according to a Document Object Model representation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer code for implementing a method of comparing XML documents, wherein the computer code comprises:
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code for a first reception step of receiving a first XML object corresponding to a first document and a second XML object corresponding to a second document; code for a second reception step of receiving a third XML object, wherein the third XML object includes a list of one or more XML items from the first XML object, the second XML object, or both the first and the second XML objects, the third XML object being an exclusion list of XML items, an XML item to be excluded being described by a name, a type, and a path; code for a comparison step of comparing content of the first XML object with content of the second XML object, wherein the one or more XML items of the third XML object is excluded from the comparison step, and wherein the comparing step includes finding differences in content; and code for a result generation step of a result XML object from the results of the comparison step, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object if the item appears in the first XML object but not the second XML object, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object in the result XML object if the item appears in the first XML object and a second different item appears in the second XML object, and the result XML not including an item from the second XML object if the item appears in the second XML object but not the first XML object, wherein the first XML object, the second XML object, and the third XML object are formatted according to a Document Object Model representation.
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15. A computer-implemented method for comparing XML documents, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a first XML object corresponding to a first document and a second XML object corresponding to a second document; receiving a third XML object, wherein the third XML object includes a list of one or more XML items from the first XML object, the second XML object, or both the first and the second XML objects, the third XML object being an exclusion list of XML items, an XML item to be excluded being described by a name, a type, and a path; comparing content of the first XML object with content of the second XML object, wherein the one or more XML items of the third XML object is excluded from the step of comparing, and wherein the step of comparing includes finding differences in content; generating a result XML object from the results of the step of comparing, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object if the item appears in the first XML object but not the second XML object, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object in the result XML object if the item appears in the first XML object and a second different item appears in the second XML object, and the result XML object not including an item from the second XML object if the item appears in the second XML object but not the first XML object; and providing an application programming interface to allow other computer implemented methods written in an object oriented programming language to interact with said steps for receiving a first, second, and third XML object, said step for comparing content of the first XML object with content of the second XML object and said step for generating a result XML object.
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16. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer code for implementing a method of comparing XML documents, wherein the computer code comprises:
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code for a first reception step of receiving a first XML object corresponding to a first document and a second XML object corresponding to a second document; code for a second reception step of receiving a third XML object, wherein the third XML object includes a list of one or more XML items from the first XML object, the second XML object, or both the first and the second XML objects, the third XML object being an exclusion list of XML items, an XML item to be excluded being described by a name, a type, and a path; code for a comparison step of comparing content of the first XML object with content of the second XML object, wherein the one or more XML items of the third XML object is excluded from the comparison step, and wherein the comparison step includes finding differences in content; code for a result generation step of a result XML object from the results of the comparison step, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object if the item appears in the first XML object but not the second XML object, the result XML object including an item from the first XML object in the result XML object if the item appears in the first XML object and a second different item appears in the second XML object, and the result XML object not including an item from the second XML object if the item appears in the second XML object but not the first XML object; and code for providing an application programming interface to allow applications written in an object oriented programming language to interact with said code for implementing the first reception step of receiving a first XML object and a second XML object, the second reception step for receiving a third XML document, the comparing step for comparing content of the first XML object with content of the second XML object, and the result generation step for generating a result XML object.
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Specification