Binary XML Storage Lexical Fidelity Preservation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing binary XML storage methods lose lexical fidelity during the conversion process, which is critical for document-centric applications and digital signatures, leading to potential data inconsistencies and the need for less efficient CLOB storage.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a token-based binary encoding technique that preserves lexical fidelity by avoiding lossy operations such as whitespace removal, data type conversions, and entity replacements, and using a database system that can store and retrieve XML documents in a lexically equivalent manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If binary XML storage is used to reduce storage size and improve query performance, then storage efficiency and query speed are improved, but lexical fidelity is lost during conversion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the XML document into distinct components: token nodes (for element names, attributes, and values) and text nodes (for preserving exact lexical content). This segmentation allows the binary storage to efficiently store structural information while text nodes preserve lexical fidelity for critical portions of the document, resolving the contradiction between storage efficiency and information preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different storage qualities to different parts of the XML document. Token nodes are stored in a compressed binary format for efficiency, while text nodes containing critical lexical content (such as those required for digital signatures) are stored with full fidelity. This local differentiation allows the system to optimize for performance where appropriate while preserving accuracy where needed.
2Quantity of substance
If lossy operations like whitespace removal and data type conversions are performed during binary encoding, then storage compactness is improved, but document integrity for digital signatures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts critical lexical information into separate text nodes that are preserved without lossy operations. By separating the structural token information (which can be compressed) from the critical text content (which must be preserved), the system can achieve storage compactness while protecting document integrity for digital signatures and other fidelity-critical operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent prepares for potential data integrity issues by preserving exact lexical representations in text nodes before any lossy operations are applied to the overall document structure. This beforehand preservation acts as a cushion, ensuring that even if compression operations modify other parts of the document, the critical signature-verification portions remain intact and unverifiable.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are provided for ensuring lexical fidelity when an XML document is stored in a binary format. Operations, on the XML data, that would cause the loss of lexical fidelity between the original XML document and the binary-encoded version of the XML document are not performed. Such operations include the removal of unnecessary whitespace characters, certain data type conversions, CRLF normalization, the “collapsing” of two-tag empty elements into a single tag empty element, and the replacing of entity references or numeric character references with another value. An XML schema, to which the XML document conforms, may indicate that the XML document is to be stored in a lexical fidelity mode. Additionally, or alternatively, the database statement that (when executed) causes the XML document to be stored in a binary format may so indicate.