Processing structured data

Abstract

The present invention provides a fast and efficient way of processing structured data by utilizing an intermediate file to store the structural information. The structured data may be processed into a Binary mask Format (BMF) file which may serve as a starting point for post-processing. A tree structure built on top of the BMF file may be constructed very quickly, and also takes up less space than a DOM tree. Additionally, BMF records may reside entirely in the memory and contain structural information, allowing SAX-like sequential data access.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method for efficiently processing a structured data file, the structured data file including one or more pieces of content, comprising:
 parsing the structured data file by:   creating a first record in an intermediate file, the first record corresponding to a first piece of content in the structured data file, the first piece of content being a left brace, and having information regarding the left brace and a content type field identifying the first record as a left brace type;   creating a second record in an intermediate file, the second record corresponding to a second piece of content in the structured data file, the second record containing one or more descriptors containing information regarding the key name, wherein the second record includes an offset indicting a position for the second piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file;   creating a third record in the intermediate file, the third record corresponding to a third piece of content in the structured data file, the third record containing one or more descriptors containing information regarding the value, wherein the third record includes an offset indicting a position for the third piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file;   create a fourth record in the intermediate file, the fourth record corresponding to a fourth piece of content in the structure data file, the fourth record containing information regarding the left brace, wherein the fourth record includes an offset indicting for the fourth piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file   formatting the intermediate file in a way that allows data from the structured data file to be accessed using both the intermediate file and the structured data file together.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the creating a second record comprises:
 creating a binary mask format (BMF) record in the intermediate file, the BMF record corresponding to the piece of content.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the intermediate file is a BMF file, wherein the BMF file includes one or more BMF records. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the creating a second record further comprises:
 storing a depth value of the piece of content in the BMF record, the depth value indicating a level in a hierarchy of tags in the structured data file.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the creating a second record further comprises:
 storing a content type of the piece of content in the BMF record, the content type indicating a type of information for the piece of content.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the creating a second record further comprises:
 storing a length for the piece of content in the BME record.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the offset indicates a starting position for the piece of content relative to a beginning of the structured data file. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the formatting includes formatting the record in a way that allows data to be accessed using both the intermediate file and the structured data file without traversing the entire structured data file to determine the depth value. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus for efficiently processing structured data, comprising:
 a peripheral component interface (PCI) interface;   a direct memory access (DMA) engine coupled to the PCI interface;   a text processor coupled to the PCI interface, the text processor configured to parse a structured data file by:   creating a first record in an intermediate file, the first record corresponding to a first piece of content in the structured data file, the first piece of content being a left brace, and having information regarding the left brace and a content type field identifying the first record as a left brace type;   creating a second record in an intermediate file, the second record corresponding to a second piece of content in the structured data file, the second record containing one or more descriptors containing information regarding the key name, wherein the second record includes an offset indicting a position for the second piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file;   creating a third record in the intermediate file, the third record corresponding to a third piece of content in the structured data file, the third record containing one or more descriptors containing information regarding the value, wherein the third record includes an offset indicting a position for the third piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file;   create a fourth record in the intermediate file, the fourth record corresponding to a fourth piece of content in the structure data file, the fourth record containing information regarding the left brace, wherein the fourth record includes an offset indicting for the fourth piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file   formatting the intermediate file in a way that allows data from the structured data file to be accessed using both the intermediate file and the structured data file together.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the creating a second record comprises:
 creating a binary mask format (BMF) record in the intermediate file, the BMF record corresponding to the piece of content.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the intermediate file is a BMF file, wherein the BMF file includes one or more BMF records. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the creating a second record further comprises:
 storing a depth value of the piece of content in the BMF record, the depth value indicating a level in a hierarchy of tags in the structured data file.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the creating a second record further comprises:
 storing a content type of the piece of content in the BMF record, the content type indicating a type of information for the piece of content.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the creating a second record further comprises:
 storing a length for the piece of content in the BME record.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the offset indicates a starting position for the piece of content relative to a beginning of the structured data file. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the formatting includes formatting the record in a way that allows data to be accessed using both the intermediate file and the structured data file without traversing the entire structured data file to determine the depth value. 
     
     
         18 . A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for efficiently processing a structured data file, the structured data file including one or more pieces of content, the instructions comprising:
 parsing the structured data file by:   creating a first record in an intermediate file, the first record corresponding to a first piece of content in the structured data file, the first piece of content being a left brace, and having information regarding the left brace and a content type field identifying the first record as a left brace type;   creating a second record in an intermediate file, the second record corresponding to a second piece of content in the structured data file, the second record containing one or more descriptors containing information regarding the key name, wherein the second record includes an offset indicting a position for the second piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file;   creating a third record in the intermediate file, the third record corresponding to a third piece of content in the structured data file, the third record containing one or more descriptors containing information regarding the value, wherein the third record includes an offset indicting a position for the third piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file;   create a fourth record in the intermediate file, the fourth record corresponding to a fourth piece of content in the structure data file, the fourth record containing information regarding the left brace, wherein the fourth record includes an offset indicting for the fourth piece of content relative to a point in said structured data file   formatting the intermediate file in a way that allows data from the structured data file to be accessed using both the intermediate file and the structured data file together.   
     
     
         19 . The program storage device of  claim 18 , wherein the creating a second record comprises:
 creating a binary mask format (BMF) record in the intermediate file, the BMF record corresponding to the piece of content.   
     
     
         20 . The program storage device of  claim 18 , wherein the intermediate file is a BMF file, wherein the BMF file includes one or more BMF records. 
     
     
         21 . The program storage device of  claim 19 , wherein the creating a second record further comprises:
 storing a depth value of the piece of content in the BMF record, the depth value indicating a level in a hierarchy of tags in the structured data file.