IDENTIFYING AND REPRESENTING CHANGES BETWEEN EXTENSIBLE MARKUP LANGUAGE (XML) FILES

• US 20120109905A1
• Filed: 12/09/2011
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Architecture Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Architecture Technology Corporation
• Inventors: Joyce, Robert A., Stillerman, Matthew A., Tingstrom, Daniel James, Brueckner, Stephen Kurt, Bar, Haim Yehuda
• Granted Patent: US 8,984,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/690
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/1873 Versioning file systems, temporal file systems, e.g. file system supporting different historic versions of files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/219 Managing data history or versioning querying versioned data G06F16/2474; querying temporal data G06F16/2477
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/146 Coding or compression of tree-structured data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/154 Tree transformation for tree-structured or markup documents, e.g. XSLT, XSL-FO or stylesheets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/194 Calculation of difference between files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/197 Version control for software G06F8/71
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

This disclosure is directed to techniques for providing comparing first and second XML files to one another. According to these techniques, a computing device (e.g., a version control service executing on the computing device), may be configured generate at least two edit transcripts that each include one or more operational changes that may be applied to data elements of the first XML file to arrive at data elements of the second XML file (or vice versa). The computing device may select at least one optimal edit transcript based on which of the number of operational changes of the at least two edit transcripts.

Claims

1. A method of identifying one or more differences between a first extensible markup language (XML) file and a second XML file, comprising:

determining a first plurality of symbols associated with the first XML file;

determining a second plurality of symbols associated with the second XML file;

determining a first edit transcript that comprises a first plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols;

determining a second edit transcript that comprises a second plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols; and

selecting one of the first edit transcript or the second edit transcript as an optimal edit transcript based on whether the first number of operational changes is less than the second number of operational changes.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using the selected optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a first plurality of data elements of the first XML file and a hierarchical arrangement of the first plurality of data elements of the first XML file;

and

wherein the second plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a second plurality of data elements of the second XML file and a hierarchical arrangement of the second plurality of data elements of the second XML file.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the optimal edit transcript is a first optimal edit transcript, and further comprising:

determining at least one second optimal edit transcript that comprises a same number of changes as the first optimal edit transcript.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

selecting one of the first optimal edit transcript or the at least one second optimal edit transcript.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

using the selected one of the first optimal edit transcript or the second optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first XML file comprises a first web services descriptive language (WSDL) file that represents a first version of a first web service of a service oriented architecture (SOA) system, and the second XML file comprises a second WSDL file that represents a second version of the first web service of the SOA system;

and

wherein providing the user with the at least one indication of the one or more differences comprises providing a user with an indication that executing the second version of the first web service within the SOA system will cause a change in operation to at least one second web service of the SOA system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first number of operational changes and the second number of operational changes comprise one or more operational changes selected from the group consisting of:

a replacement of first data element by a second data element;

a substitution of the first data element by the second data element; and

insertion of a new data element in one of the first plurality of data elements or the second plurality of data elements.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a first vector comprising the first plurality of symbols by serializing a first plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the first XML file; and

generating a second vector comprising the second plurality of symbols by serializing a second plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the second XML file.

10. A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions configured to cause a computing device to:

determine a first plurality of symbols associated with a first XML file;

determine a second plurality symbols associated with a second XML document;

determine a first edit transcript that comprises a first plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols;

determine a second edit transcript that comprises a second plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of v to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols;

select one of the first edit transcript or the second edit transcript as an optimal edit transcript based on whether the first number of operational changes is less than the second number of operational changes.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

use the selected optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the first plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a first plurality of data elements of the first XML file and a hierarchical arrangement of the first plurality of data elements of the first XML file;

and

wherein the second plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a second plurality of data elements of the second XML file and a hierarchical arrangement of the second plurality of data elements of the second XML file.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the optimal edit transcript is a first optimal edit transcript, and wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

determine at least one second optimal edit transcript that comprises a same number of changes as the first optimal edit transcript.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

select one of the first optimal edit transcript or the at least one second optimal edit transcript.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

use the selected one of the first optimal edit transcript or the second optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the first XML file comprises a first web services descriptive language (WSDL) file that represents a first version of a first web service of a service oriented architecture (SOA) system, and the second XML file comprises a second WSDL file that represents a second version of the first web service of the SOA system;

and

wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to provide the user with the at least one indication of the one or more differences by providing a user with an indication that executing the second version of the first web service within the SOA system will cause a change in operation to at least one second web service of the SOA system.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the first number of operational changes and the second number of operational changes comprise one or more operational changes selected from the group consisting of:

a replacement of first data element by a second data element;

a substitution of the first data element by the second data element; and

insertion of a new data element in one of the first plurality of data elements or the second plurality of data elements.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

generate a first vector comprising the first plurality of symbols by serializing a first plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the first XML file; and

generate a second vector comprising the second plurality of symbols by serializing a second plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the second XML file.

19. A device configured to identify one or more differences between a first extensible markup language (XML) file and a second XML file, comprising:

means for determining a first plurality of symbols associated with the first XML file;

means for determining a second plurality of symbols associated with the second XML document;

means for determining a first edit transcript that comprises a first plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols;

means for determining a second edit transcript that comprises a second plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols;

means for selecting one of the first edit transcript or the second edit transcript as an optimal edit transcript based on whether the first number of operational changes is less than the second number of operational changes.

20. The device of claim 19, further comprising:

means for using the selected optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

21. The device of claim 19, wherein the first plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a first plurality of data elements of the first XML file and a hierarchical arrangement of the first plurality of data elements of the first XML file;

and

wherein the second plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a second plurality of data elements of the second XML file and hierarchical arrangement of the second plurality of data elements of the second XML file.

22. The device of claim 19, wherein the optimal edit transcript is a first optimal edit transcript, and further comprising:

means for determining at least one second optimal edit transcript that comprises a same number of changes as the first optimal edit transcript.

23. The device of claim 22, further comprising:

means for selecting one of the first optimal edit transcript or the at least one second optimal edit transcript.

24. The device of claim 23, further comprising:

means for using the selected one of the first optimal edit transcript or the second optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

25. The device of claim 19, wherein the first XML file comprises a first web services descriptive language (WSDL) file that represents a first version of a first web service of a service oriented architecture (SOA) system, and the second XML file comprises a second WSDL file that represents a second version of the first web service of the SOA system;

and

wherein providing the user with the at least one indication of the one or more differences comprises providing a user with an indication that executing the second version of the first web service within the SOA system will cause a change in operation to at least one second web service of the SOA system.

26. The device of claim 19, wherein the first number of operational changes and the second number of operational changes comprise one or more operational changes selected from the group consisting of:

a replacement of first data element by a second data element;

a substitution of the first data element by the second data element; and

insertion of a new data element in one of the first plurality of data elements or the second plurality of data elements.

27. The device of claim 19, further comprising:

means for generating a first vector comprising the first plurality of symbols by serializing a first plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the first XML file; and

means for generating a second vector comprising the second plurality of symbols by serializing a second plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the second XML file.

28. A system, comprising:

at least one database configured to store a first XML file and a second XML file; and

a version control service (VCS) configured to;

determine a first plurality of symbols associated with the first XML file;

determine a second plurality symbols associated with the second XML document;

determine a first edit transcript that comprises a first plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols;

determine a second edit transcript that comprises a second plurality of operational changes that may be applied to at least one of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols to arrive at the other of the first plurality of symbols or the second plurality of symbols; and

select one of the first edit transcript or the second edit transcript as an optimal edit transcript based on whether the first number of operational changes is less than the second number of operational changes.

29. The device of claim 28, wherein the VCS is further configured to:

use the selected optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

30. The device of claim 28, wherein the first plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a first plurality of data elements of the first XML file and one or more symbols that indicate a hierarchical arrangement of the first plurality of data elements of the first XML file;

and

wherein the second plurality of symbols comprises one or more symbols that indicate a second plurality of data elements of the second XML file and one or more symbols that indicate a hierarchical arrangement of the second plurality of data elements of the second XML file.

31. The device of claim 28, wherein the optimal edit transcript is a first optimal edit transcript, and wherein the VCS is further configured to:

determine at least one second optimal edit transcript that comprises a same number of changes as the first optimal edit transcript.

32. The device of claim 31, herein the VCS is further configured to:

select one of the first optimal edit transcript or the at least one second optimal edit transcript.

33. The device of claim 32, wherein the VCS is further configured to:

use the selected one of the first optimal edit transcript or the second optimal edit transcript to provide a user with at least one indication of one or more differences between the first XML file and the second XML file.

34. The device of claim 28, wherein the first XML file comprises a first web services descriptive language (WSDL) file that represents a first version of a first web service of a service oriented architecture (SOA) system, and the second XML file comprises a second WSDL file that represents a second version of the first web service of the SOA system;

and

wherein the VCS is further configured to provide a user with an indication that executing the second version of the first web service within the SOA system will cause a change in operation to at least one second web service of the SOA system.

35. The device of claim 28, wherein the first number of operational changes and the second number of operational changes comprise one or more operational changes selected from the group consisting of:

a replacement of first data element by a second data element;

a substitution of the first data element by the second data element; and

insertion of a new data element in one of the first plurality of data elements or the second plurality of data elements.

36. The device of claim 28, wherein the VCS is further configured to:

generate a first vector comprising the first plurality of symbols by serializing a first plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the first XML file; and

generate a second vector comprising the second plurality of symbols by serializing a second plurality of hierarchically arranged data elements of the second XML file.