XML data packaging system and method

• US 7,953,769 B1
• Filed: 01/21/2005
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Patrick R., Defrang, Bruce A., Bodine, Gregory L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEUNG, HUBERT G
• Application Number:
  US11/040,145
• Time in Patent Office: 2,321 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/809
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/84 Mapping; Conversion

Abstract

A method for communicating data includes selecting a portion of data for communication to a remote computer, with the data portion in device-dependent format and comprising at least an integer, a real number, or a binary value. An XML tree of values is generated from the selected data portion and the XML tree comprises the selected portion of data with each value associated with one data type. The XML tree of values is bundled into a portable buffer communicated to the remote computer for processing the data portion in a second device-dependent format.

Claims

1. A method for communicating data, comprising:

receiving a dataset to communicate from a first computing device that executes a first operating system to a second computing device that executes a second operating system, wherein the first operating system encodes one or more data values in the received dataset using a first device-dependent format different from and incompatible with a second device-dependent format that the second operating system uses to encode the one or more data values in the received dataset;

transforming, at the first computing device, the one or more data values in the received dataset from the first device-dependent format associated with the first operating system into an intermediate device-independent Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, wherein the transforming the one or more data values from the first device-dependent format into the intermediate device-independent XML format includes;

initializing an XML tree that includes an logical hierarchy to organize the one or more data values in the received dataset;

parsing the received dataset into the one or more data values, wherein the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset are associated with one or more data types; and

populating the initialized XML tree with the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset, wherein the populating the initialized XML tree includes;

determining one or more handles and one or more positions associated with the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset, wherein the one or more determined handles combined with the one or more determined positions represent logical locations that the one or more data values have in the logical hierarchy associated with the initialized XML tree;

associating the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset with one or more identifiers and the one or more data types;

converting the one or more data values from the first device-dependent format into one or more XML strings having the intermediate device-independent XML format; and

inserting the one or more XML strings converted from the one or more data values, the one or more associated identifiers, and the one or more associated data types into the initialized XML tree at the logical locations that the one or more converted data values have in the initialized XML tree, thereby populating the initialized XML tree; and

communicating a portable buffer that packages the populated initialized XML tree from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the second computing device, in response to receiving the communicated portable buffer from the first computing device;

retrieves the one or more XML strings from the logical locations that the one or more converted data values have in the populated initialized XML tree; and

converts the one or more XML strings retrieved from the populated initialized XML tree from the intermediate device-independent XML format into the second device-dependent format to process the one or more converted data values.

2. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having one or more computer-executable instructions stored thereon which when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:

receive a dataset to communicate from a first computing device that executes a first operating system to a second computing device that executes a second operating system, wherein the first operating system encodes one or more data values in the received dataset using a first device-dependent format different from and incompatible with a second device-dependent format that the second operating system uses to encode the one or more data values in the received dataset;

transform, at the first computing device, the one or more data values in the received dataset from the first device-dependent format associated with the first operating system into an intermediate device-independent Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions that cause the one or more processors to transform the one or more data values from the first device-dependent format into the intermediate device-independent XML format further cause the one or more processors to;

initialize an XML tree that includes an logical hierarchy to organize the one or more data values in the received dataset;

parse the received dataset into the one or more data values, wherein the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset are associated with one or more data types; and

populate the initialized XML tree with the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset, wherein the one or more computer-executable instructions that cause the one or more processors to populate the initialized XML tree with the one or more data values further cause the one or more processors to;

determine one or more handles and one or more positions associated with the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset, wherein the one or more determined handles combined with the one or more determined positions represent logical locations that the one or more data values have in the logical hierarchy associated with the initialized XML tree;

associate the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset with one or more identifiers and the one or more data types;

convert the one or more data values from the first device-dependent format into one or more XML strings having the intermediate device-independent XML format; and

insert the one or more XML strings converted from the one or more data values, the one or more associated identifiers, and the one or more associated data types into the initialized XML tree at the logical locations that the one or more converted data values have in the initialized XML tree, thereby populating the initialized XML tree; and

communicate a portable buffer that packages the populated initialized XML tree from the first computing device to the second computing device, wherein the second computing device, in response to receiving the communicated portable buffer from the first computing device;

retrieves the one or more XML strings from the logical locations that the one or more converted data values have in the populated initialized XML tree; and

converts the one or more XML strings retrieved from the populated initialized XML tree from the intermediate device-independent XML format into the second device-dependent format to process the one or more converted data values.

3. A system for communicating data, comprising:

a first computing device configured to execute a first operating system that encodes data using a first device-dependent format;

a second computing device configured to execute a second operating system that encodes data using a second device-dependent format different from and incompatible with the first device-dependent format;

one or more processors configured to;

receive a dataset to communicate from the second computing device to the first computing device, wherein the received dataset includes one or more data values encoded in the second device-dependent format associated with the second operating system;

transform, at the second computing device, the one or more data values in the received dataset from the second device-dependent format associated with the second operating system into an intermediate device-independent Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, wherein to transform the one or more data values into the intermediate device-independent XML format, the one or more processors are further configured to;

initialize an XML tree that includes an logical hierarchy to organize the one or more data values in the received dataset;

parse the received dataset into the one or more data values, wherein the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset are associated with one or more data types; and

populate the initialized XML tree with the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset, wherein to populate the initialized XML tree, the one or more processors are further configured to;

determine one or more handles and one or more positions associated with the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset, wherein the one or more determined handles combined with the one or more determined positions represent logical locations that the one or more data values have in the logical hierarchy associated with the initialized XML tree;

associate the one or more data values in the parsed received dataset with one or more identifiers and the one or more data types;

convert the one or more data values from the second device-dependent format into one or more XML strings having the intermediate device-independent XML format; and

insert the one or more XML strings converted from the one or more data values, the one or more associated identifiers, and the one or more associated data types into the initialized XML tree at the logical locations that the one or more data values have in the initialized XML tree, thereby populating the initialized XML tree; and

communicate a portable buffer that packages the populated initialized XML tree from the second computing device to the first computing device, wherein the first computing device, in response to receiving the communicated portable buffer from the second computing device, is further configured to;

retrieve the one or more XML strings from the logical locations that the one or more converted data values have in the populated initialized XML tree; and

convert the one or more XML strings retrieved from the populated initialized XML tree from the intermediate device-independent XML format into the first device-dependent format to process the one or more converted data values.