JP4265300B2 - Information processing apparatus and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method, and in particular, information processing for processing a structured document described in a markup language represented by HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), or the like. The present invention relates to an apparatus and an information processing method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to structure information and facilitate processing and distribution, a markup language such as XML has begun to be used as an information description format. In an information processing apparatus that processes a document described in XML, various processes are performed after the XML data is normally analyzed and converted into an internal representation format that can be processed by the information processing apparatus. At this time, it is converted into a tree structure format or the like.
[0003]
However, when converting the structure information held in the XML document, additional information such as structure information indicating the parent-child relationship between the elements constituting the sentence needs to be held, so that the data is more than the original XML document. The capacity increases and a large amount of memory is required. Depending on the device to be incorporated, the temporary storage area is limited, and the converted structure information cannot be held. Although it is possible to save and store the structure information in the secondary storage area, it takes time to access the saved information.
[0004]
Thus, it has been proposed to reduce the amount of data required for internal representation by changing the original structure information. For example, techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have been proposed.
[0005]
In the technique described in Patent Document 1, an increase in data capacity is suppressed by combining and storing a plurality of elements together with information indicating their positional relationship as one element.
[0006]
In the technique described in Patent Document 2, the data access efficiency is improved by reducing the amount of operation memory by making the structured document hierarchy shallow.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-108850 A (first page, FIG. 2)
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-297569 (first page, FIG. 5)
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 can reduce the data capacity in applications that handle a large number of elements having a similar structure such as record information representing individual data registered in a database. However, the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 have a problem that the amount of reduction is small for a sentence having little structural similarity, such as a general sentence. In addition to general text information, the text may include data that requires special processing such as graphics information and mathematical formula information. In this case, there is a problem that when a mathematical expression processing routine is called during the general text processing routine operation, a plurality of routines are executed simultaneously, the processing load increases, and the amount of work memory used also increases.
[0009]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and suppresses an increase in the amount of data when a structured document is analyzed with respect to a structured sentence including elements having little structural similarity. An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing method.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  To achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is described in a markup language.Consists of multiple chapters with multiple sectionsAnalyzing means for analyzing the structured document and converting it into an expression format that can be processed by the device itself, and a predetermined hold for determining whether to hold the analysis for each element constituting the structured document A determination means for determining whether or not the analysis can be suspended according to conditions;Setting means for setting a part other than a part necessary for generating cover data or table of contents data of the structured document as the predetermined holding condition;Based on the element and context information stored by the storage means, the storage means for storing the element for which the analysis is suspended and the context information to be referred to when the element is analyzed when the determination means determines that the storage is possible Control means for controlling the analysis means so as to continue the analysis of the element, in the cover data generation or table of contents data generation of the structured document,After analyzing the part necessary for cover data generation or table of contents data generation by the analysis means,The control means,in frontThe analysis unit is controlled to sequentially resume the analysis of the elements determined to be suspendable by the determination unit based on the context information stored in the storage unit.
[0011]
  The analysis means is described in a markup language.Consists of multiple chapters with multiple sectionsThe structured document is analyzed and converted into an expression format that can be processed by the device itself. For example, a structured document described in a markup language such as XML can be converted into an expression format such as a tree structure that can be processed by its own device by analyzing the lexical content of the document. When XML is used, an XML parser, a DOM (Document Object Model) interface, or the like can be used.
[0012]
  The determination means determines whether or not the analysis can be suspended for each element constituting the structured document. For example, it is determined whether or not the analysis can be suspended based on the namespace of the XML element. For example, another routine must be executed in parallel to process the elements of the name space. For example, when the memory usage is large, it is possible to determine that the analysis is suspended.
  The setting means sets a part other than the part necessary for generating cover data or table of contents data of the structured document as a predetermined holding condition.
[0013]
The storage unit stores the elements determined to be suspendable by the determination unit and the context information to be referred to (e.g., incidental information of the elements) required when analyzing the element.
[0015]
In this way, when analyzing a structured document, elements that can be held are held without analysis, and the elements held later are analyzed, so that multiple routines can be executed simultaneously or work memory It is possible to suppress the amount of data required at the time of analysis by suppressing the increase or by sequentially deleting unnecessary data after the analysis. That is, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of data when analyzing structured information for a sentence with little structural similarity.
[0016]
Note that, as in the invention described in claim 2, setting means for setting a holding condition for determining whether or not analysis can be held may be further provided by the determining means.
[0017]
  Furthermore, in the generation of cover data or table of contents data for structured documents,After analyzing the necessary parts for generating cover data or table of contents data by analysis means,Control means, SizeBased on the context information stored in the storage unit, the analysis unit controls the analysis unit so that the analysis is sequentially resumed for the elements determined to be suspendable by the disconnection unit. That is, the cover data and the table of contents data can be generated by analyzing the necessary parts and holding down the other parts and suppressing the amount of data converted into an expression format that can be processed by the own apparatus.
[0018]
  Claim2The invention described inSetting means;Analysis means, judgment means,, KeepA structured document that is described in a markup language and that is composed of a plurality of chapters having a plurality of sections.PredeterminedAn information processing method for an information processing apparatus that performs processing,The setting means sets, as a predetermined condition for determining whether or not to suspend analysis, except for a part necessary for generating cover data or table of contents data of the structured document,The analysis unit analyzes the structured document and converts it into an expression format that can be processed by the own device, and the determination unit determines, for each element constituting the structured document,AboveJudgment is made to determine whether or not to hold the analysis according to a predetermined holding condition, and when the storage unit determines that the holding can be held by the determining unit, it should be referred to at the time of analysis of the element for which analysis is held Save contextual information,In the cover data generation or the table of contents data generation of the structured document, after analyzing the portion necessary for display data generation or table of contents data generation by the analysis means,The control means isIt is determined by the determination means that the suspension is possible,Elements stored by the storage meansSaved by the storage meansBased on contextual information,orderResume next analysisTo control the analysis meansIt is characterized by that.
[0019]
  According to invention of Claim 2,The setting means sets a part other than the part necessary for generating the cover data or the table of contents data of the structured document as a predetermined condition for determining whether or not to hold the analysis, and the analyzing meansAnalyzes structured documents written in markup language and composed of multiple chapters with multiple sections, and converts them into an expression format that can be processed by the device.. Also,For each element that makes up the structured document,According to the predetermined hold conditionsDetermining whether analysis can be suspended. SoAnd it was determined that the hold could be made by the determination means.If the analysis is suspendedThe element and context information (for example, incidental information of the element) to be referred to when the element is analyzed are stored by the storage unit.
[0020]
For example, a structured document described in a markup language such as XML can be converted into an expression format such as a tree structure that can be processed by its own device by analyzing the lexical content of the document. When XML is used, an XML parser, a DOM interface, or the like can be used. At this time, the element that can be reserved at the time of the analysis is reserved and the element and context information are stored.
[0022]
In this way, when analyzing a structured document, elements that can be held are held without analysis, and the elements that are held later are analyzed, so that multiple processing routines can be executed simultaneously or work memory can be analyzed. It is possible to suppress the increase in data, or to delete unnecessary data after analysis, and the like, and it is possible to suppress the amount of data that increases during analysis. That is, an increase in the amount of data can be suppressed when analyzing structured information for a sentence with little structural similarity.
[0024]
  Then, in the cover data generation or table of contents data generation of the structured document, the analysis unit analyzes the part necessary for display data generation or table of contents data generation, and then the control unit determines that the determination unit can hold and saves it. For elements stored by means,Context information stored by the storage meansIn the newsResume sequential analysis based onTo control the analysis means. As a result, the necessary part is analyzed, and the cover data and the table of contents data can be generated while suppressing the amount of data converted into an expression format that can be processed by the own apparatus because other parts are reserved.
[0025]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0026]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described as being applicable to a printer. The information processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can convert a structured document described in a markup language transmitted from the outside into an internal representation format and record it on a recording medium such as paper. In this embodiment, an example using XML as a markup language will be described.
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 10 includes a main control unit 12, a data acquisition unit 18, a hold condition setting unit 16, a data analysis unit 14, a storage unit 20, an analysis context storage unit 22, and an analysis context expansion unit 24. have.
[0028]
The main control means 12 corresponds to the control means of the present invention, and controls the data acquisition means 18, holding condition setting means 16, data analysis means 14, storage means 20, analysis context storage means 22, and analysis context expansion means 24, respectively. Then, control for analyzing the data of the structured document and converting it into the internal representation format is performed.
[0029]
The data acquisition unit 18 acquires data to be processed from the outside. For example, a print request made up of structured document data described in XML performed by a user from a computer is acquired via a network (for example, the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network)).
[0030]
Whether the holding condition setting unit 16 holds the data processing for analyzing each element when the data of the structured document acquired from the outside by the data acquiring unit 18 is converted into the internal representation format by the data analyzing unit 14. Set the conditions for determining. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, by setting a hold condition, a resume condition, a save context condition, and the like, the element information that is the conversion target is generated in the processing by XSLT (Xml Stylesheet Language Transformation). In addition, the element to be held can be determined. Note that the hold condition setting means 16 may be provided outside the information processing apparatus 10, for example, in an external system that requests XML analysis.
[0031]
The data analysis unit 14 corresponds to the analysis unit of the present invention, and lexically analyzes the data of the structured document acquired from the outside by the data acquisition unit 18 and converts each element constituting the sentence into an internal representation format such as a tree structure. To do. For example, it is converted into an internal representation format using an XML parser, a DOM interface, or the like.
[0032]
The data analysis means 14 also corresponds to the determination means of the present invention, and mainly holds the data processing for analyzing each element according to the hold condition set by the hold condition setting means 16 at the time of data analysis. It is controlled by the control means 12. For example, it is possible to suspend processing of tag sets having different name spaces, suspend processing by partially preceding processing, or suspend unanalyzed references when sequentially processing.
[0033]
The storage unit 20 stores the data of the structured document acquired by the data acquisition unit 18, the holding condition set by the holding condition setting unit 16, the analysis result by the data analysis unit 14, the analysis context information, and the like.
[0034]
The analysis context storage unit 22 corresponds to the storage unit of the present invention. When the data processing for analyzing each element by the data analysis unit 14 is suspended according to the suspension condition set by the suspension condition setting unit 16, the analysis context storage unit 22 Necessary analysis context information is extracted and stored in the storage means 20.
[0035]
For example, the analysis context storage unit 22 may store information based on the analysis context such as information for resolving the namespace of the XML element, information on automatic assignment of chapter / section numbers, and the like.
[0036]
In addition, the analysis context storage means 22 may indicate the progress of the process if an unresolved element (such as at the end of the XML data) is referenced when a process including a reference by XPath (Xml Path Language) occurs. You may make it preserve | save in the memory | storage means 20. FIG. Information that has already been analyzed but is pending analysis may be referred to each time during analysis of subsequent text information or after the analysis is completed, and may be analyzed by the data analysis means 14 when it is determined that analysis is possible. .
[0037]
Further, the analysis context storage unit 22 may store the processing contents such as the analysis method to be used when the analysis is continued and the internal representation format creation method in the storage unit 20.
[0038]
The analysis context expansion unit 24 reads out the analysis context information stored by the analysis context storage unit 22 from the storage unit 20 and expands it when resuming the analysis of each suspended element.
[0039]
Next, data processing executed under the control of the main control means 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0040]
In step 100, a hold condition is set for temporarily holding the analysis process when each element of the structured document is analyzed by the hold condition setting means 16. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the hold condition is set by a set of a hold condition, a process restart condition, and context information held at the time of hold. In the example of the first line in the figure, when a namespace (data type to be processed) is changed, it is suspended (holding condition), mapping information between a namespace prefix and a namespace identifier, and a suspended data type (stored) Context) is stored in the storage unit 20 by the analysis context storage unit 22 as analysis context information required at the time of resumption, and represents a setting for resuming when the current process, that is, the current name space is completed (restart condition). . In the example of the second line, when the reference to the unanalyzed part is made (pending condition), the reference context (save context) such as the reference source and reference destination is saved as the analysis context information required at the time of restart. The setting is stored in the storage unit 20 by the unit 22 and is restarted (restart condition) when the reference destination part is an analysis target. In the example of the third line, in the case of processing a section element that is assigned a chapter number in the table of contents generation processing, etc., it is suspended (holding condition), and the number of the chapter to which the reserved section belongs (save context) is resumed. This represents a setting (resumption condition) that is saved in the storage means 20 by the analysis context saving means 22 as analysis context information that is sometimes required, and is resumed at the end of chapter number assignment.
[0041]
In step 102, the data analysis unit 14 performs data analysis processing. In the process, the analysis is performed while referring to the condition set in step 100 while the process is suspended and resumed. When all the data is analyzed, the data process ends.
[0042]
The data analysis process performed by the data analysis means 14 is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, for example.
[0043]
That is, in step 200, it is determined by the data analysis means 14 whether there is data to be resumed that can be resumed in the data pending analysis. In this determination, it is determined whether or not there is data for which the analysis can be resumed based on the location of the original data currently being analyzed and the restart condition of the pending information. If there is no pending data, such as at the start of analysis processing, or if the determination is denied because there is no resumable pending data, the process proceeds to step 202 to determine whether there is unprocessed data. It is determined by the data analysis means 14.
[0044]
If there is no unprocessed data, the determination in step 202 is denied and the data analysis process is terminated. If there is unprocessed data, the determination in step 202 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 204.
[0045]
In step 204, the data analysis means 14 analyzes the original data. The original data is lexically analyzed to extract processing units such as individual tags and text parts.
[0046]
Next, in step 206, the data analysis unit 14 determines whether or not the analysis unit is suspended for the processing unit extracted in step 204. The determination is made by determining whether or not the hold condition set by the hold condition setting unit 16 is satisfied. When the analysis hold condition is satisfied, the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 208. The information of the original data to be held and the analysis context information are stored in the storage unit 20 and the process returns to Step 200. If there is no analysis pending place in step 206, the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 207, the extracted part is converted into the internal representation format and held, and then the process returns to step 200. That is, the original data is analyzed, and if the currently targeted portion does not require analysis pending, it is converted to the internal representation format and then returned to the beginning to proceed with the analysis.
[0047]
On the other hand, if there is data to be resumed in step 200, that is, if the determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 210, and the analysis context information stored in the storage unit 20 is expanded by the analysis context expansion unit 24.
[0048]
In step 212, the data analysis unit 14 analyzes the data based on the analyzed context information. When the analysis is completed, the process proceeds to step 214 where the context information developed in step 212 is deleted to restore the analysis context information, and the process returns to step 200. That is, if there is resumable data, the saved analysis context information is expanded, analysis processing is performed based on the expanded analysis context, and the original analysis context is restored after the analysis is completed.
[0049]
As described above, in the data analysis process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the original data of the structured document described in a markup language such as XML is sequentially analyzed, and if there is a place where the analysis should be suspended, it is stored in the storage unit 20. In addition, each time a subsequent element is analyzed, it is determined whether the suspended analysis process can be resumed, and those that can be suspended are analyzed by analyzing the analysis context information. An increase in work memory can be suppressed, and the amount of data that is increased when a structured document is converted into an internal representation format can be suppressed.
[0050]
After the data analysis in step 212, a process for determining whether or not the analysis is pending is added again. If the analysis is pending, the process proceeds to step 208. If the analysis is not pending, step 214 is performed. You may make it transfer to.
[0051]
Here, an example is given and demonstrated about the data processing performed as mentioned above.
[0052]
FIG. 5 is an example of structured document data described in XML. Note that the structured document described in XML shown in FIG. 5 is a book-like structured document composed of a plurality of chapters having a plurality of sections.
[0053]
For example, when printing such a structured document with a printer, let us consider a case in which not only print data is created from the structured document but also cover data and table of contents data describing the structure of the chapter are created.
[0054]
First, a configuration of a document to be printed on the cover data (list of titles of each chapter, etc.) is created. At this time, only the analysis of the element at the head of each chapter is performed, and the analysis of the section included in the chapter is suspended. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, each chapter is analyzed, and the section of each chapter is put on hold. At this time, the contents of each chapter are stored in the storage unit 20 without being analyzed, and information such as the chapter number of each chapter is also stored in the storage unit 20 as saved context information. At this time, only the part necessary for creating the cover data is performed and the other parts are reserved, so that the amount of data converted into the internal representation can be suppressed. Also, by only creating the cover data, the work memory required when creating the cover data can be released after the creation is completed.
[0055]
Then, after creating the cover data, the contents of each chapter are analyzed to extract the tag data representing the section, and the table of contents data is created. At this time, data analysis other than the tag data representing the section such as the text is suspended again. Finally, all print data is created by analyzing the text of each section. When creating section numbers for the table of contents, the chapter numbers stored as context information are used. By performing such processing, it is possible to proceed while suppressing the amount of data to be converted and the amount of work memory.
[0056]
When printing is performed, in parallel with data analysis, print data can be created and printed sequentially based on the analyzed data. Since data that has been printed is no longer necessary, the amount of data can be reduced by deleting the preceding data that has been printed during the analysis of the subsequent data, and processing can be performed with a small amount of memory.
[0057]
In this way, since the elements that can be held are held and the data analysis process is sequentially performed, an increase in the amount of data for the held elements can be suppressed, and the storage area can be used efficiently. .
[0058]
Next, another example of the data analysis process performed by the data analysis unit 14 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0059]
In step 300, it is determined by the data analysis means 14 whether there is unprocessed data. If there is unprocessed data, the determination is affirmed and the routine proceeds to step 302 where the data analysis means 14 analyzes the original data (data analysis). The original data is lexically analyzed to extract processing units such as individual tags and text parts.
[0060]
Next, in step 304, the data analysis unit 14 determines whether or not there is an analysis pending portion for the processing unit extracted in step 302. The determination is made by determining whether or not the hold condition set by the hold condition setting unit 16 is satisfied. When the analysis hold condition is satisfied, the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 306. The information of the original data to be held and the analysis context information are stored in the storage unit 20 and the process returns to Step 300. If there is no analysis pending place in step 304, the determination is denied, the process proceeds to step 305, the extracted part is converted into the internal representation format and held, and then the process returns to step 300. That is, the original data is analyzed, and if the current target portion does not require analysis suspension, the analysis is sequentially performed by returning to the beginning after conversion to the internal representation format.
[0061]
On the other hand, if there is no unprocessed data in step 300, that is, if the determination is negative, the routine goes to step 308, where it is determined by the data analysis means 14 whether there is pending data. If the determination is negative, the data analysis process is terminated as it is, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 310.
[0062]
In step 310, analysis context information stored in the storage means 20 is expanded by the analysis context expansion means 24 and analyzed. That is, the analysis context information of the resumable portion among the pending ones is expanded, and the analysis is performed based on the expanded analysis context information.
[0063]
As described above, in the data analysis process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the original data is sequentially analyzed, and if there is a place where the analysis should be suspended, it is stored. By selecting one and restoring and analyzing analysis context information, the amount of data that increases when a structured document is converted into an internal representation format can be suppressed, as in the above embodiment. .
[0064]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when analyzing a structured document described in a markup language, a determination unit that determines whether or not to hold for each element, and when the hold can be held, the element and A storage means for storing the context information to be referred to and a control means for controlling the analysis of the element based on the stored element and the context information, thereby holding the holdable element. However, since it is converted to an expression format that can be processed by the device itself, it is possible to suppress the simultaneous execution of multiple processing routines, increase in work memory, and deletion of unnecessary data after analysis. Thus, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of data when analyzing the structured information.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a table showing an example of a holding condition set by a holding condition setting unit.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of data processing executed by control of main control means in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of data analysis processing.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of structured document data described in XML.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of data analysis processing of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another example of data analysis processing.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Information processing equipment
12 Main control means
14 Data analysis means
16 Hold condition setting means
18 Data acquisition means
20 storage means
22 Context information storage means
24 Analysis context expansion means

Claims (2)

Analyzing means for analyzing a structured document written in a markup language and composed of a plurality of chapters having a plurality of sections, and converting the document into an expression format that can be processed by the device;
A determination means for determining whether or not analysis is suspended according to a predetermined suspension condition for determining whether or not to suspend analysis for each element constituting the structured document;
Setting means for setting a part other than a part necessary for generating cover data or table of contents data of the structured document as the predetermined holding condition;
A storage unit that stores an element for which analysis is suspended and context information to be referred to when the element is analyzed when it is determined by the determination unit that suspension is possible;
Control means for controlling the analysis means to continue analysis of the element based on the element and context information stored by the storage means;
With
In the cover data generation or table of contents data generation of the structured document, after the analysis unit analyzes the part necessary for cover data generation or table of contents data generation, the control unit determines that the determination unit can hold the data. An information processing apparatus that controls the analysis unit so as to sequentially resume the analysis of the elements based on the context information stored in the storage unit. A setting unit, an analysis unit, a determination unit, provided with a save means, and control means, and is described in a markup language, and analyzes the configuration structured document in a plurality of sections having a plurality of sections An information processing method for an information processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing,
The setting means sets, as a predetermined condition for determining whether or not to suspend analysis, except for a part necessary for generating cover data or table of contents data of the structured document,
The analysis means analyzes the structured document and converts it into an expression format that can be processed by the device itself.
Said determining means, for each element constituting the structured document, to determine to determine pending availability of analysis in accordance with the predetermined hold condition,
When the storage unit determines that the determination unit can hold, the storage unit stores the element for which the analysis is suspended and the context information to be referred to when the element is analyzed,
In the cover data generation or table of contents data generation of the structured document, after the analysis unit analyzes the portion necessary for display data generation or table of contents data generation, the control unit determines that the determination unit can hold the data. the About stored by storage means element on the basis of the context information stored by the storing means, the information processing method characterized by controlling said analyzing means for resuming the sequential analysis.

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