Data processing and difference computation for generating addressing information

• US 7,530,014 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2003
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Abe, Mari, Hori, Masahiro, Ono, Kohichi, Nakaike, Takuya, Koyanagi, Teruo
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong; Stephen S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ludwig; Matthew J
• Application Number:
  US10/612,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20040088652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,134 Days
• Field of Search: 715/511, 715/512, 715/513, 715/234, 715/233, 715/239, 707/4
• US Class Current: 715/234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/194 Calculation of difference between files

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and systems to keep a desired element properly addressed in a structured document in which particular elements are addressed, even if the structured document is modified. In an example embodiment, the invention comprises a difference computation unit for computing a difference between structured documents, and an XPath update unit for generating addressing information from addressing information that addresses a part of a particular structured document based on information on the difference computed by the difference computation unit, the generated addressing information addressing a corresponding part of the other structured document.

Claims

1. A program embodied in computer readable medium for controlling a computer so that the computer performs data processing for addressing at least one predetermined element in a structured document, the program causing the computer to perform:

first processing of, when the structured document having the element addressed by predetermined addressing information is modified, inputting the structured document to analyze the modification and storing an analysis result in a memory; and

second processing of reading the analysis result from the memory and updating the addressing information according to the analyzed modification so that the addressing information addresses at least one corresponding element in the modified structured document; and

wherein the first processing provided by the program comprises the processing of;

converting an unmodified version and a modified version of the structured document into tree-structured data items; and

computing a difference between the tree-structured data items to track a component of the tree-structured data items that is moved in operations required for transformation between the tree-structured data items transformed from one to the other according to modification of the structured document; and

wherein in the second processing provided by the program, the program causes the computer to update the addressing information based on the difference between the tree-structured data items.

2. A program embodied in computer readable medium for controlling a computer so that the computer performs data processing for addressing at least one redetermined element in a structured document, the program causing the computer to perform:

first processing of, when the structured document having the element addressed by predetermined addressing information is modified, inputting the structured document to analyze the modification and storing an analysis result in a memory; and

second processing of reading the analysis result from the memory and updating the addressing information according to the analyzed modification so that the addressing information addresses at least one corresponding element in the modified structured document; and

wherein in the second processing provided by the program, the program causes the computer to update an XPath describing the addressing information by regenerating LocationSteps forming the XPath based on the difference between the unmodified version and the modified version of the structured document.

3. A program according to claim 2,

wherein the first processing provided by the program comprises the processing of:

converting an unmodified version and a modified version of the structured document into tree-structured data items; and

computing a difference between the tree-structured data items, and

wherein in the second processing provided by the program, the program causes the computer to update the addressing information based on the difference between the tree-structured data items.

4. A program according to claim 3, wherein in the processing of computing the difference provided by the program, the program causes the computer to compute the difference between the tree-structured data items to track a component of the tree-structured data items that is moved in operations required for transformation between the tree-structured data items transformed from one to the other according to modification of the structured document.