Method for transformation of regular expressions
First Claim
1. A method for transforming a first regular expression, the method comprising:
- converting the first regular expression into a first form;
segmenting the first form into a first collection and a first representation, the first collection comprising two or more segments from the first form, the first representation comprising data representing relationships between the two or more segments in the first collection, the first representation and first collection together defining a first language used to describe the first regular expression;
deriving a second collection of segments from the first collection;
deriving a second representation from the first representation and second collection of segments such that a second language defined by the second representation and the second collection is an approximation of the first language; and
creating a second form comprising the second representation and second collection, the second form representing the transformed first regular expression.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for transforming regular expressions into a less resource intensive representation is disclosed. The method and apparatus converts a collection of regular expressions into a multi-level representation in which the memory requirements of the lowest level representation is reduced when compared with a conventional finite state automaton representation. The method and apparatus converts a collection of regular expressions into a collection of segments and a higher level representation in a way that retains the semantics of the original set of regular expressions. This transformation is performed through the use of an intermediate form. The resulting representation and collection admit an implementation which avoids the potentially costly memory requirements of a traditional implementation of the original expressions.
65 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for transforming a first regular expression, the method comprising:
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converting the first regular expression into a first form;
segmenting the first form into a first collection and a first representation, the first collection comprising two or more segments from the first form, the first representation comprising data representing relationships between the two or more segments in the first collection, the first representation and first collection together defining a first language used to describe the first regular expression;
deriving a second collection of segments from the first collection;
deriving a second representation from the first representation and second collection of segments such that a second language defined by the second representation and the second collection is an approximation of the first language; and
creating a second form comprising the second representation and second collection, the second form representing the transformed first regular expression. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An apparatus configured to transform regular expressions, the apparatus comprising:
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a module adapted to convert a first regular expression into a first form;
a module adapted to segment the first form into a first collection and a first representation, the first collection comprising two or more segments from the first form, the first representation comprising data representing relationships between the two or more segments in the first collection, the first representation and first collection together defining a first language used to describe the first regular expression;
a module adapted to derive a second collection of segments from the first collection;
a module adapted to derive a second representation from the first representation and second collection of segments such that a second language defined by the second representation and the second collection is an approximation of the first language; and
a module adapted to create a second form comprising the second representation and second collection, the second form representing the transformed first regular expression. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification