Validating and enabling validation of package structures

• US 8,954,396 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2006
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Leonard, Arthur C., Shur, Andrey, Boske, Kevin J., Belianski, Igor, Dunietz, Jerry J., Foehr, Oliver H., Kim, Young Gah, McGatha, Jesse D., Pollock, Joshua M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): MUELLER, KURT A
• Application Number:
  US11/558,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20080114813A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,014 Days
• Field of Search: 707/687
• US Class Current: 707/687
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing

Abstract

This document describes tools capable of validating and enabling validation of a package'"'"'s structure. To do so, constraint grammar is provided that is capable of enabling a person to build a set of machine-readable constraints for a package'"'"'s structure. Based on this set of constraints, a package validator module may accurately and automatically validate that a package'"'"'s structure meets these constraints.

Claims

1. One or more tangible computer-readable storage devices having computer-readable instructions stored therein that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform acts comprising:

receiving a set of one or more constraints for Open Packaging Convention (OPC) package validation;

receiving constraint grammar, the constraint grammar including application-specific limitations on OPC packages;

comparing the set of one or more constraints with the constraint grammar to determine whether the set of one or more constraints conforms to the constraint grammar;

receiving a package;

identifying one or more parts of the package, wherein each part of the one or more parts is reachable by a chain of relationships;

determining, without user interaction, whether the one or more parts and their relationships conform to the set of one or more constraints; and

if any of the one or more parts or their relationships do not conform to the set of one or more constraints, providing data identifying the one or more parts or their relationships that do not conform to the set of one or more constraints; and

if the one or more parts and their relationships conform to the set of one or more constraints, distributing the package to one or more computing applications.

2. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 1, wherein the constraint grammar further comprises eXtensible Markup Language (XML) grammar.

3. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises determining that one or more parts and their relationships conform to the set of one or more constraints if sibling elements associated with constraints on a relationship in the package which follows the OPC include unique values for their attributes identifying relationship types.

4. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 1, wherein each part of the one or more parts is reachable by chains of relationships starting at a root part of the package and ending at the one or more parts.

5. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises determining that the package does not conform to the set of one or more constraints if any of the one or more parts or their relationships do not conform to the set of one or more constraints.

6. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 1, wherein the providing the data identifying the one or more parts or their relationships that do not conform to the set of one or more constraints further comprises identifying which constraint of the one or more constraints the one or more parts or their relationships are determined to not conform.

7. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device, the method comprising:

enabling a constraint drafter to build a set of one or more constraints based upon one or more constraint grammar instructions, wherein;

the one or more constraint grammar instructions informs the constraint drafter how to write the set of one or more constraints for validating an Open Packaging Convention (OPC) package, and

the one or more constraint grammar instructions include application-specific limitations on OPC packages;

comparing the set of one or more constraints with the one or more constraint grammar instructions to determine whether the set of one or more constraints conforms to the one or more constraint grammar instructions;

receiving an OPC package having one or more parts to be validated, wherein each of the one or more parts of the OPC package is reachable by a chain of relationships;

identifying one or more parts of the package, wherein each part of the one or more parts is reachable by a chain of relationships;

determining whether the one or more parts of the OPC package and their relationships conform to the set of one or more constraints; and

if any of the one or more parts or their relationships do not conform to the set of one or more constraints, determining that the structure of the OPC package is invalid and providing data identifying the one or more parts or their relationships that do not conform to the set of one or more constraints; and

if the one or more parts and their relationships conform to the set of one or more constraints, determining that the structure of the OPC package is valid and distributing the package to one or more computing applications.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the enabling provides human-readable text indicating how to build machine-readable constraints.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the human-readable text further indicates how to write the machine-readable constraints in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) conforming to the one or more constraint grammar instructions in XML Schema Definition (XSD).

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the set of one or more constraints conforms to eXtensible Markup Language (XML) grammar.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more constraint grammar instructions conform to XML Schema Definition (XSD).

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising validating that the set of one or more constraints follows verification rules that sibling elements associated with constraints on a relationship in the OPC package have unique values for their relationship type attributes.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein if any of the one or more parts or their relationships do not conform to the set of one or more constraints, further providing an error file indicating why the one or more parts or relationships do not conform and indicating one or more constraints that are associated with the determining that the one or more parts or relationships do not conform.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising providing human-readable text describing how to build constraints conforming to the one or more constraint grammar instructions and one or more verification rules.

15. One or more tangible computer-readable storage devices having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device, enable the computing device to perform acts comprising:

receiving a set of constraints for an Open Packaging Convention (OPC) package wherein the set of constraints requires each part of the OPC package be reachable by a chain of relationships;

receiving constraint grammar comprising multiple layers, including a layer for application-specific limitations on OPC packages;

comparing the set of constraints with the constraint grammar to determine whether the set of constraints conforms to the constraint grammar;

receiving the OPC package including one or more parts;

identifying one or more parts of the package, wherein each part of the one or more parts is reachable by a chain of relationships; and

automatically determining whether each part of the one or more parts is reachable by the chain of relationships and whether the one or more parts of the OPC package conform to the set of constraints; and

if each part is reachable by the chain of relationships and the one or more parts conform to the set of constraints, distributing the OPC package to one or more computing applications.

16. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 15, wherein the constraint grammar is one of an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) grammar and an XML Schema Definition (XSD) grammar indicating that the one or more parts of the OPC package are reachable by a chain of relationships.

17. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 15, wherein the set of constraints further follows rules that sibling elements associated with constraints on a relationship in the OPC package have unique values of their relationship type attributes.

18. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 15, wherein the set of constraints comprises a set of computer generated constraints.

19. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 15, wherein the multiple layers further include an OPC requirements layer and an XML Paper Specification (XPS) layer.

20. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage devices of claim 15, wherein the acts further comprise, if any of the one or more parts or their relationships do not conform to the set of constraints, providing data identifying the one or more parts or their relationships that do not conform to the set of computer generated constraints.