JP2003076680A - Method for preparing conversion model of structured information, program and device therefor, structured information conversion method, program and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user having no professional knowledge about a notation of conversion rules of structured information to convert the structured information into a form that the user desires, easily. SOLUTION: This invention relates to a conversion model preparation method of the structured information in which the information 15 used as a model when converting the structured information 12 having a hierarchical data structure is generated by a computer. According to this invention, the structured information 10 and the model information 11 displayed so as to be graspable a condition after converting a element predetermined as a element constituting the converted information 13 are displayed. Next, the specification of any factor of the structured information 10 and the specification of arrangement position of the element in the model information 11 are received from the user, and the instruction information indicating the element specified by the user is taken into the arrangement position of the element in the form information 11 to generate the conversion form information 15 used in the conversion.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to, for example, XML (Ex
a structured template conversion method, program, and device used to convert structured information described in tensible Markup Language) into information of a predetermined format,
And a structured information conversion method, program, and device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to exchange information between companies or share information between different types of systems, it is necessary to convert structured information having a hierarchical data structure into information of another format or unstructured information. There may be.

In recent years, such conversion has been realized by utilizing dictionary information such as a term dictionary and a grammar dictionary and applying a technique such as machine translation.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional structured information conversion method.

Structured information 10 described in XML
1 and XSLT (XML St
yle sheet Language Transformation) engine 103
The converted information is read by the XSLT engine 103, the conversion processing using the style sheet 102 is executed, and the converted information 104 is output.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the specific contents of the style sheet 102.

In the style sheet 102, conversion rules are defined, and the converted format of structured information is registered according to a predetermined description method.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the specific contents of the structured information 101.

FIG. 13 is a diagram exemplifying the specific contents of the information 104 after the structured information 101 is converted using the style sheet 102.

[0010]

However, in the conventional conversion method, it is difficult for the user to concretely image the converted information from the structured information before conversion.

For example, in the case of converting the structured information describing the order slip into the structured information in the print format by using the conversion rule described in the dictionary information, what kind of result can be obtained after the conversion is performed by the user in advance. Is difficult to grasp.

Further, the conversion rule needs to be described according to a unique description method, and the creator of the conversion rule needs to have mastered this description method. Therefore, it is difficult for a user who has no knowledge of writing conversion rules to write conversion rules.

In the above example of converting the structured information into the print format, a general user may have knowledge about the order slip and its print format but not about the description method of the conversion rule. Many.

In the conventional conversion method, it is difficult to freely define the function used for conversion. For this reason,
For example, although it is easy to include the result of the four arithmetic operations in the converted information, it becomes difficult to include the calculation result of the average value or the standard deviation in the converted information. Similarly, it is difficult to include the execution results such as cooperation or decomposition of character strings, replacement with regular expressions, conversion of abbreviations into official names, etc. in the converted information.

In the conversion using the style sheet 102 of FIG. 11 and the structured information 101 of FIG. 12, “commodity total” and “price average” are calculated, and the converted information 104 in FIG. 13 is calculated. Is included.

However, in order to calculate the "price average", it is necessary to provide the style sheet 102 with the special description 102a as shown in FIG. 11, and within the scope of the current standard, it is defined by one function. It is not possible. Also,
The function sum used to calculate the “commodity total” and “price average” is a function dependent on XSLT,
It is not possible to modify or add processing individually.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even a user who does not have knowledge about a method of describing a special conversion rule can easily specify the conversion content and obtain an intended conversion result. It is an object of the present invention to provide a structured information conversion template generation method, program, and device, and structured information conversion method, program, and device.

[0018]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Specific means taken to realize the present invention will be described below.

A first aspect of the present invention relates to a structured information conversion template generation method for generating information used as a template by a computer when converting structured information having a hierarchical data structure.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the structured information and the template information that represents the elements determined in advance as the elements constituting the information after conversion so that the state after conversion can be grasped are displayed,
Accepts designation of any element of structured information from the user and designation of the layout position of that element in template information, incorporates instruction information indicating the element designated by the user into the layout position of that element in template information, and converts Generate conversion template information used for.

In the first aspect of the present invention, template information capable of specifically grasping the converted format is prepared, and instruction information indicating a predetermined element of the structured information is incorporated in a blank portion of the template information. Be done.

By generating the conversion template information by such a method, the user can describe the conversion rule based on the special knowledge as long as he or she has knowledge about the structured information before conversion and the information after conversion. Without, conversion can be done easily. Further, the user can easily grasp the state of the information after conversion from the conversion template information.

The second invention is the same as the first invention,
Accepts the specification of a function and the layout position of the function in the template information from the user, incorporates the information indicating the function specified by the user into the layout position of the function in the template information, and converts the conversion template information used for conversion. To generate.

In the second invention, the function used for conversion can be freely defined. In addition, the function can be created independently of the structured information before conversion and the information after conversion. Therefore, a function can be created even if there is no specialized knowledge in the field related to conversion.

Further, by using the second aspect of the present invention, the function can be put out and managed separately, and can be easily reused.

A third invention relates to a structured information conversion method in which the structured information to be converted is converted by a computer by using the modified template information generated by the first invention.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the structured information to be converted and the template information that represents the elements determined in advance as the elements constituting the converted information so that the converted state can be grasped are structured. The conversion template information that incorporates the instruction information indicating the information element is read, the instruction information included in the modified template information is converted to the element of the structured information of the conversion target corresponding to the instruction information, and the converted information To generate.

As in the third aspect of the invention, by using the modified template information including the instruction information indicating where to insert the element of the structured information, it is possible to obtain a specific complicated information when converting any structured information. Conversion is possible without having to write conversion rules.

Therefore, even a user who has knowledge about the structured information before the conversion and the information after the conversion but has no knowledge about the conversion rule can easily perform the conversion.

A fourth invention is the same as the third invention,
The transformation template information incorporates information indicating a function, and when the transformation template information includes information indicating a function, the information indicating the function is converted into the execution result of the function, and the converted information is To generate.

As a result, the function used for conversion can be freely defined, the execution result of the function can be easily included in the converted information, and the structured information can be converted more flexibly.

The above-mentioned first to fourth inventions can be realized by a program read by a computer.
In this case, the program for generating structured template conversion template information or the program for converting structured information can be recorded in a recording medium and applied to a computer.

By applying the structured information conversion template generation program, the structured information conversion program, or the recording medium recording these programs to a computer,
The function of implementing the structured information conversion template generation method or the structured information conversion method can be easily realized on a computer.

Further, a structured information conversion template generation device and a structured information conversion device provided with means for carrying out the first to fourth inventions may be the subject of the invention.

[0035]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, a conversion template generation method for generating conversion template information used for conversion of structured information and a structured information conversion method for converting the structured information to be converted into specific information. explain.

In the present embodiment, conversion template information is generated, and appropriate elements are extracted from the structured information to be converted based on the instruction information described in the conversion template information, and the converted information is generated.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a computer that implements the conversion template generation method and the structured information conversion method according to this embodiment.

The computer 1 reads and executes the structured information conversion template generation program 3 and the structured information conversion program 4 recorded on the recording medium 2.

Structure information conversion template generation program 3
Causes the computer 1 to implement the reading function 5, the display function 6, and the embedding function 7 in order to generate the conversion template information 15 based on the structured information 10 and the template information 11.

The reading function 5 reads the structured information 10 and the template information 11.

The structured information 10 read by the reading function 5 is, for example, the structured information 12 to be converted.
It has the same data structure as.

In this example, the structured information 10 has an element “list” and a child element “item”, and further has an element “ite”.
It has child elements "name" and "price" of "m".

The first "item" has a value of "name" of "T".
The value of "V" and "price" has "30000".

The second "item" has a value of "D" as "D".
The value of "V" and "price" have "50000".

The template information 11 is information that represents in advance the elements that are predetermined as the elements forming the information 13 after conversion so that the state after conversion can be specifically grasped. For example, as shown in FIG. To be done.

In the template information 11, the converted information 13
As elements constituting the above, the elements "shopping list", first "commodity", second "commodity", "commodity total", etc. are predetermined. The first “product”, the second “product”, and the “product total” are child elements of the element “shopping list”.

In the template information 11, the first "product",
The respective values of the second “commodity” and “commodity total” change depending on the contents of the structured information 12 to be converted, so that the template information 11 is empty. Note that instruction information indicating a predetermined element is incorporated between "" and "" by the incorporating operation described later.

The display function 6 displays a screen 14 for displaying the structured information 10 and the template information 11 in a comparable state.

The built-in function 7 specifies one of the elements of the structured information 10 and the template information 11 of the specified element.
And the placement position in the.

Then, the embedding function 7 incorporates the instruction information designating the element of the structured information 10 designated by the user into the layout position in the template information 10 designated by the user to generate the conversion template information 15. Output.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the operation of incorporating the template information.

Here, a case will be described in which the operation of incorporating the instruction information into the template information 10 is performed using a GUI (graphical user interface).

First, the structured information 10 is displayed on the left side of the screen 14 displayed by the display function 6, and the template information 11 without instruction information is displayed on the right side.

The template information 11 can be read from the definition file by the reading function 5, but a part of the template information 11 can also be manually input by the user.

Among the elements of the structured information 10, the user
The element to be converted is dragged and dropped at the arrangement position of the template information 11. Then, the instruction information is automatically incorporated in the template information 11. Also, the user can select a function used for conversion in a pop-up menu format.

In the example of FIG. 3, the value "TV" of the "name" in the first "item" is specified, and the "dic function" for converting the abbreviation into Japanese is selected. As a result, “<t” of the first “product” in the “shopping list” of the template information
arget href = ””> ”with the instruction information“ dic ('/ list / item [1] /
name / text () ') "is included.

The instruction information “dic ('/ list / item [1] / name / tex
"/ list / item [1] / name / text ()" in "t () ')"
Represents the character string of the child of "name" of the child of the first "item" of the child of "list".

The instruction information "dic ('/ list / item [1] / na
me / text () ') ”, this“ /
"list / item [1] / name / text ()" is passed.

The above-described assembling operation is repeated,
When the “conversion template information output button” is pressed, conversion template information 15 as shown in FIG. 4 is output.

Subsequently, the structured information conversion program 4 in FIG. 1 has the read function 8 and the conversion function to generate the converted information 13 based on the structured information 12 to be converted and the conversion template information 15. The function 9 is realized in the computer 1.

The reading function 8 reads the structured information 12 to be converted and the conversion template information 15.

For example, the conversion template information 15 read by the reading function 8 is information generated based on the structured information 10. The structured information 12 to be converted which is read by the reading function 8 together with the conversion template information 15 has the same data structure as the structured information 10.

The conversion function 9 interprets the instruction information included in the conversion template information 15 using the instruction information analysis processing 9a, acquires the element corresponding to this instruction information from the structured information 12 to be converted, The instruction information and the acquired element are replaced, and the converted information 13 is generated and output.

The conversion function 9 uses the function analysis processing 9b to interpret and execute the function included in the instruction information,
The result is included in the converted information 13.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the generated information 13 after conversion.

The function executed by the function analysis processing 9b can be added at any time. For example, when a function as shown in FIG. 6 is added, the function analysis processing 9b executes this function when the function name with the same name included in the conversion template information 15 is interpreted. The function "sum" shown in FIG. 6 calculates the sum of the array values passed as arguments.

The operations performed by the conversion template generation program 3 and the structured information conversion program 4 will be described below.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the embedding operation executed by the conversion template generation program 3.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying a means for generating instruction information from the element of the structured information designated by the user.

The user designates one or more elements to be incorporated in the converted information from the structured information 10. The built-in function 7 of the conversion template generation program 3 receives the designation of such an element (S1).

Next, the built-in function 7 generates an identifier that is unique in the structured information 10 for the designated element (S2).

Next, the built-in function 7 generates instruction information based on the identifier (S3). For example, the tree structure of each element of the structured information 10 can be recognized, and the absolute path indicating the element designated by the user can be used as the instruction information.

The user designates the arrangement position (place to be incorporated) of the designated element in the template information 11. The built-in function 7 receives the designation of the arrangement position (S
4).

Then, the incorporating function 7 incorporates the instruction information into the designated position (S5).

Further, when it is desired to incorporate the elements of the structured information 10 into the template information 11, the same operation is repeated. If there are no elements you want to embed, embed function 7
Outputs the template information 11 including the instruction information as the converted template information 15 (S6).

FIG. 9 shows the structured information conversion program 4 described above.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a conversion operation performed by the.

The reading function 8 of the structured information conversion program 4 includes the structured information 12 to be converted and the conversion template information 15.
Is read (T1).

The conversion function 9 scans the conversion template information 15 (T2), and determines whether or not the instruction information appears in the conversion template information 15 (T3).

As a result of the judgment, if the instruction information does not appear, the scanning is continued.

On the other hand, when the instruction information appears, the conversion function 9 analyzes the instruction information by using the instruction information analysis processing 9a (T4), and determines whether the instruction information includes a function (T5). .

As a result of the judgment, if the function is not included,
The conversion function 9 acquires the information corresponding to the instruction information from the structured information 12 to be converted by using the instruction information analysis processing 9a (T6). It should be noted that the method of acquiring the element from the instruction information can be realized by using the reverse method of the method of converting the element to the instruction information.

On the other hand, if the function is included, the conversion function 9
Calls the function analysis processing 9b from the instruction information analysis processing 9a, and analyzes the function part of the instruction information using the function analysis processing 9b. (T7). Furthermore, in the function analysis processing 9b,
Argument portion of function of designated information and structured information of conversion target 12
Based on the above, specific argument information is acquired using the instruction information analysis processing 9a (T8), the function is activated, and the acquired argument information is passed to the function (T9).

Then, the conversion function 9 replaces the information obtained in step T6 or the function execution result obtained in step T9 with the instruction information (T10).

The conversion function 9 repeats scanning if the conversion template information 15 is not scanned to the end (T11). If the conversion template 9 is scanned to the end, the conversion template information 15 in which all the instruction information is replaced is converted. It is output as information 13.

In the conversion template generation method and the structured information conversion method according to the present embodiment described above, even a user who does not have specialized knowledge about a conversion rule description method can easily request the structured information. Can be converted to a format.

For example, in the case of linking systems among a plurality of companies or in linking different types of systems,
The structured information handled by one system may have a format different from the structured information handled by the other system. Even in such a situation, the user can easily convert the structured information,
The cooperation between the systems can be secured.

Further, in the conversion template generation method and the structured information conversion method according to the present embodiment, the template information 11 and the conversion template information 15 by which the converted state can be specifically grasped.
Since the above is used, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a mistake in which conversion that is not intended by the user is actually executed. therefore,
The conversion accuracy and the quality of the converted information 13 can be improved.

Further, in the conversion template generation method and the structured information conversion method according to the present embodiment, since functions can be freely defined and incorporated, more flexible conversion of structured information is possible and production is possible. The property is improved.

For example, various complicated conversions such as a calculation result of an average value or a standard deviation, a result of linking or decomposing character strings, a result of replacing with a regular expression, a conversion result of an abbreviation to a formal name, etc. can be easily performed by a function. realizable. Also, the function can be easily modified and added.

In this embodiment, the structure indicator is used as the instruction information, but information such as an ID uniquely determined in the system may be used as the instruction information.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where one conversion template information 15 is used to convert the structured information 12 of one conversion target is described as an example, but one conversion target is converted. A plurality of pieces of conversion template information 15 may be used for the structured information 12 of. Further, one conversion template information may be used for the plurality of pieces of structured information 12 to be converted.

The function of the conversion template generation program 3 and the function of the structured information conversion program 4 in this embodiment may be distributed on a plurality of computers and used in cooperation with each other. Moreover, each function may be freely combined, or each function may be divided into a plurality of functions.

[0094]

As described above in detail, in the present invention,
Even a user who does not have specialized knowledge about a conversion rule description method can easily convert structured information into a desired format.

Further, since the conversion is carried out by using the information that the state after conversion can be grasped concretely, it is possible to prevent the conversion which is not intended by the user from being actually executed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a computer that implements a conversion template generation method and a structured information conversion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of template information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of an operation of incorporating the template information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of conversion template information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying contents of generated converted information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a specific example of a function.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an embedding operation performed by the conversion template generation program according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram exemplifying a means for generating instruction information from an element of structured information designated by a user.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating a modification operation performed by the structured information conversion program according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional structured information conversion method.

FIG. 11 is a diagram exemplifying specific contents of a style sheet.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of specific contents of structured information.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a specific content of information after converting structured information using a style sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Computer 2 ... Recording medium 3 ... Conversion template generation program 4 ... structured information conversion program 5, 8 ... Reading function 6 ... Display function 7 ... Built-in function 9 ... Conversion function 9a ... Instruction information analysis processing 9b ... Function analysis processing 10 ... Structured information 11 ... Template information 12 ... Structured information to be converted 13 ... Information after conversion 14 ... Screen 15 ... Conversion template information

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A structured information conversion template generation method for generating, by a computer, information used as a template when converting structured information having a hierarchical data structure. A step of displaying template information that represents a state after conversion of a predetermined element as an element constituting information, a user specifying one of the elements of the structured information and a step in the template information. The designation of the placement position of the element is accepted, and the instruction information indicating the element designated by the user is incorporated in the placement position of the element in the template information,
And a step of generating conversion template information used for conversion. 2. The conversion template generation method for structured information according to claim 1, wherein information indicating a function designated by a user by accepting designation of a function from a user and designation of a layout position of the function in the template information. A method for generating structured template conversion information, characterized by including the step of generating the converted template information used for conversion by incorporating the above into the layout position of the function in the template information. 3. A structured information conversion method for converting structured information having a hierarchical data structure by a computer, wherein the structured information to be converted and the elements constituting the converted information are predetermined. The step of reading the conversion template information in which the instruction information indicating the element of the structured information is incorporated into the template information that can represent the state after the element conversion, and the instruction information included in the modified template information Converting the structured information element of the conversion target corresponding to the instruction information, and generating the converted information. 4. The structured information conversion method according to claim 3, wherein the transformation model information includes information indicating a function, and when the transformation model information includes information indicating a function, A structured information conversion method, characterized in that information indicating a function is converted into an execution result of the function, and the converted information is generated. 5. A structured information conversion template generation program for generating information used as a template when converting structured information having a hierarchical data structure, wherein the structured information and the converted information are stored in a computer. The function to display the template information that allows the user to grasp the state after conversion of the elements that have been determined in advance as the elements that constitute the information, and the user can specify any element of the structured information and The designation of the layout position of the element is accepted, and the instruction information indicating the element designated by the user is incorporated in the layout position of the element in the template information,
A conversion template generation program for structured information for realizing a function of generating conversion template information used for conversion. 6. The structured information conversion template generation program according to claim 5, wherein the computer receives a function specification from the user and a function allocation position in the template information, and the function specified by the user. A conversion template generation program for structured information that implements a function of generating conversion template information used for conversion by incorporating information indicating the above into the location of the function in the template information. 7. A structured information conversion program for converting structured information having a hierarchical data structure, which is predetermined in a computer as structured information to be converted and elements constituting the converted information. The function to read the conversion template information that incorporates the instruction information indicating the elements of the structured information in the template information that can represent the state after conversion of the existing elements, and the instruction information included in the modified template information A structured information conversion program for realizing the function of converting the element of the structured information to be converted corresponding to the instruction information and generating the converted information. 8. The structured information conversion program according to claim 7, wherein the transformation template information incorporates information indicating a function, and the computer includes information indicating a function in the transformation template information. And a structured information conversion program that realizes a function of converting information indicating the function into an execution result of the function and generating the converted information. 9. A structured information conversion template generation device for generating information used as a template when converting structured information having a hierarchical data structure, wherein the structured information and the converted information are provided. Display means for displaying template information that can represent the state after conversion of elements that are predetermined as constituent elements, and a user specifies any element of the structured information and the element in the template information. Accepting the designation of the placement position of, and incorporating the instruction information indicating the element designated by the user into the placement position of the element in the template information,
A conversion model generation device for structured information, comprising: a conversion means for generating conversion model information used for conversion. 10. A structured information conversion device for converting structured information having a hierarchical data structure, wherein structured information to be converted and elements which are predetermined as elements constituting the converted information are defined. A reading unit that reads conversion template information in which instruction information indicating an element of structured information is incorporated into the template information that can represent the state after conversion, and the instruction information included in the modified template information A structured information conversion device, comprising: a conversion unit that converts the structured information element of the conversion target corresponding to the instruction information and generates the converted information.