Data processing: presentation processing of document – operator i – Presentation processing of document – Layout
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-13
2003-10-21
Hong, Stephen S. (Department: 2178)
Data processing: presentation processing of document, operator i
Presentation processing of document
Layout
C715S252000, C715S252000, C715S252000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06635089
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer system, and deals more particularly with a method, system, and computer-readable code for dynamically constructing Document Object Model trees for Extensible Markup Language documents. A composite tree is constructed by using the results of a dynamic data retrieval, along with a predefined static portion of a tree, to create the resulting composite tree.
2. Description of the Related Art
Document Object Model, or “DOM”, is a language-independent application programming interface (“API”) for use with documents specified in the Standard Generalized Markup Language (“SGML”) or a derivative of SGML. SGML is a language that provides for a platform-independent specification of document content and formatting. In particular, DOM is intended for use with the HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”) and Extensible Markup Language (“XML”) derivatives of SGML. DOM is published as a Recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium, titled “Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Specification, Version 1.0” (1998) and available on the World Wide Web at http://www.w3.org/TR/RECDOM-Level-1. (Refer to ISO 8879, “Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)”, (1986) for more information on SGML. Refer to “Extensible Markup Language (XML), W3C Recommendation Feb. 10, 1998” which is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-xml-19980210, for more information on XML.)
The DOM API enables application programs to access a tree-oriented abstraction of a document, and to manipulate document structure and contents (that is, by changing, deleting, and/or adding elements). Further, the DOM enables navigating the structure of the document. While the term “document” is used herein when discussing XML and the corresponding DOM trees, it is to be understood that the information represented using XML may represent any type of information, and is not limited to the traditional interpretation of the word “document”. For example, XML may be used to represent the layout of a user interface for an application program, or the data to be used with a program. For ease of reference, the term “document” will be used herein to refer to these diverse types of information. “DOM tree” refers to the logical structure with which a document is modelled using the DOM. A DOM tree is a hierarchical representation of the document structure and contents. Each DOM tree has a root node and one or more leaf nodes, with zero or more intermediate nodes, using the terminology for tree structures that is commonly known in the computer programming art. A node's predecessor node in the tree is called a “parent” and nodes below a given node in the tree are called “child” nodes.
While the DOM applies to both HTML and XML, HTML is not pertinent to the scope of the present invention. Thus, the subsequent DOM discussions will be in terms of using the DOM with XML. XML is a standardized formatting notation, created for structured document interchange on the World Wide Web (hereinafter, “Web”). XML is a tag language, where specially-designated constructs referred to as “tags” are used to delimit (or “mark up”) information. In the general case, a tag is a keyword that identifies what the data is which is associated with the tag, and is typically composed of a character string enclosed in special characters. “Special characters” means characters other than letters and numbers, which are defined and reserved for use with tags. Special characters are used so that a parser processing the data stream will recognize that this a tag. A tag is normally inserted preceding its associated data: a corresponding tag may also be inserted following the data, to clearly identify where that data ends. As an example of using tags, the syntax “<email>” could be used as a tag to indicate that the character string appearing in the data stream after this tag is to treated as an e-mail address; the syntax “</email>” would then be inserted after the character string, to delimit where the e-mail character string ends.
The syntax of XML is extensible, providing users the capability to define their own tags. As previously stated, XML is based on SGML, which is an international standard for specifying document structure. XML is a simplified version of SGML, tailored to Web document content.
XML is widely accepted in the computer industry for defining the semantics (that is, by specifying meaningful tags) and content of the data encoded in a file. The extensible, user-defined tags enable the user to easily define a data model, which may change from one file to another. When an application generates the tags (and corresponding data) for a file according to a particular data model and transmits that file to another application that also understands this data model, the XML notation functions as a conduit, enabling a smooth transfer of information from one application to the other. By parsing the tags of the data model from the received file, the receiving application can re-create the information for display, printing, or other processing, as the generating application intended it.
Note that the word “file” is used throughout this disclosure to refer to stored data. This is for ease of reference only, and is not meant to imply any particular structure for storing the data, such as conventional “flat files”. The data with which the present invention may be beneficially used may be stored in any number of ways without deviating from the inventive concepts disclosed herein, such as: a data element in a database, an object attribute in a directory entry, an object in flash memory, etc.
When an XML parser processes an XML file, it reads the file and constructs a DOM tree based on the syntax of the tags embedded in the file and the interrelationships between those tags. The tag syntax is stored in the nodes of the DOM tree, and the shape of the tree is determined from the tag relationships. The DOM specification is defined to provide “structural isomorphism”—that is, any XML parser that parses a given XML input file will create an identical DOM tree. The DOM interface is used to change the structure and/or contents of the DOM tree, as previously stated. (Optionally, the XML document may also be revised to reflect this changed information.)
XML may be used to represent any type of structured information, as stated previously. One area in which XML is increasingly important is with on-line directory services. “Directory service” refers generically to a repository of information, along with the access methods and other services that are used with the repository. A particular approach to implementation of a directory service is specified as an international standard in ISO/IEC 9594-1, “The Directory: Overview of Concepts, Models, and Services” (1995), which is also published as ITU Recommendation X.500. An “X.500 Directory” is a directory service according to these specifications. X.500 directories are widely used in the Internet and Web for providing centralized storage and management of information. XML notation is one form in which information may be stored within a directory.
A communications protocol is used to access the stored information in an on-line directory. A popular protocol for accessing directories, such as X.500 directories, is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (hereinafter, “LDAP”). LDAP does not require X.500 directory services, and many implementations of LDAP use directory stores other than X.500. LDAP is specified as IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFC (Request For Comments) 2251. When using LDAP with a directory, the queries to the database (and the results of these queries) may be specified using a proxy that translates between LDAP API calls and XML syntax. The phrase “LDAP Directory” is used herein to refer to directories accessed using LDAP.
The flexibility of XML enables it to be used to represent complex information. Using the DOM APIs, XML can be used not just with information that is static in nature, but also with i
Burkett Charles
Hind John Raithel
Lection David Bruce
Telford Richard Dean
Tidwell, II Leonard Douglas
Doubet Marcia L.
Hong Stephen S.
Huynh Thu V.
Ray-Yarletts Jeanine S.
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