Method of streaming size-constrained valid XML

• US 8,266,312 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2007
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mammen, Ashok Cherian
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Hua
• Application Number:
  US11/780,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,880 Days
• Field of Search: 709/231
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/10 Streamlined, light-weight or high-speed protocols, e.g. express transfer protocol [XTP] or byte stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/26 Special purpose or proprietary protocols or architectures network applications for proprietary or special purpose networking environments H04L67/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/326 in the transport layer [OSI layer 4] H04L69/16 takes precedence

Abstract

Methods (100), systems (200), computer program products, and signal bearing mediums for streaming an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-type document (210) over a communication network (240) are described. A sequence of commands are received and synchronously converted (112) into XML-type fragments (230) for assembling and streaming a single XML-type document for a mobile device (220) in the communication network (240). The size of the XML-type document (210) exceeds the size limit imposed by the available memory on the device but less than the size limit imposed by the transport layer of a communication network (240). A DTD of the XML-type document (210) can be broken up into logically independent elements. The XML-type fragments (230) are assembled (114) in a buffer that is constrained to be smaller in size than the size constraint of the transport layer of the communication network (240). Periodically, the assembled fragments (230) are flushed (116) from the buffer to the transport layer of the communication network (240) dependent upon the DTD of the XML-type document (210) without a limitation on the size of a message to communicate the XML-type document (210) over the transport layer without loss of information.

Claims

1. A method of streaming an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-type document over a communication network, said method comprising:

receiving a sequence of commands in a subject mobile device;

in the subject mobile device, synchronously converting the sequence of commands into a plurality of XML-type fragments configured for-assembling on the fly and streaming a single XML-type document in said communication network, the subject mobile device being a sending mobile device relative to the XML-type document, the size of the XML-type document exceeding a size limit imposed by available memory on the sending mobile device but less than the size limit imposed by the transport layer of the communication network, a DTD of the XML-type document being able to be broken up into logically independent elements;

assembling portions of the plurality of said XML-type fragments one at a time in a buffer of the sending mobile device, the buffer being constrained to be smaller in size than the size constraint of said transport layer of said communication network; and

between times of assembling different portions, flushing the assembled fragments from said buffer to said transport layer of said communication network, said flushing being dependent upon said DTD of said XML-type document, and said flushing removing a limitation on the size of a message to communicate said XML-type document over said transport layer and maintaining information of the XML-type document.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of XML-type fragments comprise at least one of composite commands, commands, and items.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said flushing of said buffer is dependent upon a set of rules.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising, if an element of said XML-type document is one of a command and an item:

appending an opening XML-type fragment representing the element to said buffer; and

reserving space in said buffer for a corresponding closing XML-type fragment.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising, (a) if appending said XML-type fragment to said buffer results in a size limit violation:

removing said opening XML-type fragment from said buffer; and

notifying a user that the element has not been encoded;

(b) if appending said XML-type fragment results in the contents of said buffer being ‘

valid’

;

flushing said buffer to said transport layer; and

notifying a user that the element was encoded;

(c) if appending said XML-type fragment results in the contents of said buffer being ‘

invalid’

;

not flushing said buffer; and

notifying a user that the element has not been encoded.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising,

appending a closing XML-type fragment representing the end of the element to said buffer.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising, (i) if the addition of said closing XML fragment results in the contents of said buffer being ‘

invalid’

;

removing the contents of said buffer starting from the opening XML fragment for said element; and

notifying a user that the element has not been encoded; and

(ii) if the addition of said closing XML fragment results in the contents of said buffer being ‘

valid’

;

flushing the contents of said buffer to said transport layer; and

notifying a user that the element has been encoded.

8. A system for streaming an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-type document over a communication network, said system comprising:

a memory in a sending device, the memory configured for buffering data and instructions;

a communications interface for coupling said system to said communications network; and

a processor coupled to said memory and said communications interface, said processor executing instructions for;

receiving a sequence of commands;

synchronously converting the sequence of commands into a plurality of XML-type fragments configured for assembling on the fly and streaming a single XML-type document on the fly in said communication network, the size of the XML-type document exceeding the size limit imposed by the memory in the sending device but less than the size limit imposed by the transport layer of the communication network, a DTD of the XML-type document being able to be broken up into logically independent elements;

assembling portions of the plurality of said XML-type fragments one at a time in said memory, wherein the memory is constrained to be smaller in size than the size constraint of said transport layer of said communication network; and

between times of assembling different portions, flushing the assembled fragments from said memory to said transport layer of said communication network, said flushing being dependent upon said DTD of said XML-type document, and said flushing removing a limitation on the size of a message to communicate said XML-type document over said transport layer and maintaining information of the XML-type document.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said plurality of XML-type fragments comprise at least one of composite commands, commands, and items.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said periodic flushing of said buffer is dependent upon a set of rules.

11. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium having a computer program recorded therein for streaming an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-type document over a communication network, said computer program product comprising:

computer program code means for receiving a sequence of commands;

computer program code means for synchronously converting the sequence of commands into a plurality of XML-type fragments configured for assembling on the fly and streaming a single XML-type document in said communication network, the size of the XML-type document exceeding the size limit imposed by available memory on a sending mobile device but less than the size limit imposed by the transport layer of the communication network, a DTD of the XML-type document being able to be broken up into logically independent elements;

computer program code means for assembling portions of the plurality of said XML-type fragments one at a time in said memory that is constrained to be smaller in size than the size constraint of said transport layer of said communication network; and

computer program code means for between times of assembling different portions, flushing the assembled fragments from said memory to said transport layer of said communication network dependent upon said DTD of said XML-type document, said flushing enabling;

(i) removal of a limitation on the size of a message to communicate said XML-type document over said transport layer, and (ii) streaming of the XML-type document as valid lossless fragments.

12. The computer program product according to claim 11, wherein said plurality of XML-type fragments comprise at least one of composite commands, commands, and items.

13. The computer program product according to claim 11, wherein said periodic flushing of said buffer is dependent upon a set of rules.

14. A system of streaming an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-type document over a communication network, said system comprising:

an encoder executable by a processor and receiving a sequence of commands in a subject mobile device;

in the subject mobile device, the encoder synchronously converting the sequence of commands into a plurality of XML-type fragments configured for assembling on the fly and streaming a single XML-type document in said communication network, the subject mobile device being a sending mobile device relative to the XML-type document, the size of the XML-type document exceeding a size limit imposed by available memory on the sending mobile device but less than the size limit imposed by the transport layer of the communication network, a DTD of the XML-type document being able to be broken up into logically independent elements;

a buffer assembly assembling portions of the plurality of said XML-type fragments one at a time in a buffer of the sending mobile device, the buffer being constrained to be smaller in size than the size constraint of said transport layer of said communication network; and

flush logic executed by the processor for flushing the assembled fragments from said buffer to said transport layer of said communication network between times of assembling different portions, said flushing being dependent upon said DTD of said XML-type document and said flushing removing limitation on the size of a message to communicate said XML-type document over said transport layer and maintaining information of the XML-type document.