Inheritance Meta-data Index for XPath Querying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies lack efficient methods for querying meta-data in XML documents, particularly in supporting meta-data indexing and access for XPath location steps, which is crucial for querying quality and sensitivity meta-data alongside the data.
Innovation Solution
The development of an inheritance meta-data index that associates actual meta-data levels with XML elements and non-leaf nodes, allowing for efficient querying and dynamic maintenance of meta-data levels using navigation-based and join-based XPath evaluation strategies, with the use of a stack data structure for traversing and updating meta-data levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If meta-data is annotated and stored with every XML element to enable querying, then query capability is improved, but storage complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the XML data structure with meta-data annotations into a unified storage model where meta-data levels are integrated directly into the XML element definitions. This merging eliminates the need for separate meta-data storage structures, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining full query capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The meta-data level attribute serves multiple functions simultaneously: it enables querying operations, provides inheritance mechanisms for hierarchical data structures, and supports range constraint evaluations. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized structures for each function.
2Measurement precision
If meta-data levels are explicitly specified for all XML elements, then query accuracy is improved, but processing time and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-computing and storing meta-data level information in the XML structure during document creation or loading. This allows the query processor to directly utilize pre-prepared meta-data levels without performing expensive real-time computations, thereby maintaining query accuracy while reducing processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The XML elements themselves carry their own meta-data level attributes, enabling them to self-identify their classification without requiring external lookup tables or separate metadata stores. This self-service approach eliminates additional processing steps required to retrieve meta-data information.
3Stability of the object's composition
If inheritance mechanisms are implemented for meta-data levels, then data consistency is improved, but index structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements inheritance by nesting meta-data level definitions in the XML hierarchy, where parent elements define meta-data levels that are automatically inherited by child elements. This nested structure mirrors the natural XML hierarchy and enables data consistency through inheritance without requiring complex external index structures.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed that efficiently support the querying of meta-data in XML documents. The techniques include efficiently identifying XML elements along each location step in an XPath query that satisfy range constraints on ordered meta-data. The techniques include generating an inheritance meta-data index in which actual meta-data levels are associated only with elements for which a value is explicitly specified and associating non-leaf nodes of the index structure with inherited meta-data levels and inheritance source nodes. The techniques may be used with navigation-based and join-based XPath evaluation strategies.