Structured Document Search Using Syntactic Index Streams
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing structured document management systems face inefficiencies in storage and search performance due to the hierarchical structure of XML data, leading to increased disk input/output and CPU overhead, especially when dealing with large datasets and complex search queries.
Innovation Solution
A structured document searching apparatus that stores data streams and index streams based on syntactic analysis, allowing for a scanning plan to be created and executed to efficiently search through structured document data, reducing unnecessary scanning and improving search responsiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If structured document data is stored with hierarchical structure in secondary memory, then storage capacity is improved, but search speed deteriorates due to frequent accesses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the structured document data into multiple tables (element information table, parent-child relationship table, sibling relationship table, text data table) based on different structural aspects. This segmentation allows the search system to access only relevant portions of the data needed for a given query, rather than scanning the entire hierarchical structure, thereby improving search speed while maintaining storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary organization of structured document data into normalized tables during the storage phase. Element information, relationships, and text data are pre-separated and stored in dedicated tables with appropriate indexing. This preliminary action enables fast retrieval during search operations without requiring frequent accesses to the original hierarchical structure in secondary memory.
2Quantity of substance
If complex mapping is used to associate hierarchical XML structure with flat table, then storage efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the complex mapping task into manageable segments by creating separate tables for different aspects of the hierarchical structure. The element information table stores node properties, the parent-child relationship table stores hierarchical connections, the sibling relationship table stores horizontal connections, and the text data table stores textual content. This segmentation reduces system complexity by handling each aspect independently rather than requiring a single complex mapping mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary tables that act as mediators between the hierarchical XML structure and the flat storage system. These tables (element information table, relationship tables) serve as intermediate representations that simplify the mapping process. The search system interacts with these intermediaries rather than directly mapping complex hierarchical structures, reducing overall system complexity.
3Measurement precision
If tracing elements in hierarchical structure is performed, then search accuracy is improved, but processing time increases with larger datasets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the search process into targeted queries on specific tables based on the search criteria. Instead of tracing through the entire hierarchical structure, the system queries only the relevant tables (element information table for element properties, parent-child relationship table for hierarchical constraints, text data table for text matching). This segmentation maintains search accuracy by preserving structural relationships while reducing processing time by avoiding unnecessary traversals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary organization of hierarchical relationships into normalized tables with appropriate indexing during data storage. Parent-child and sibling relationships are pre-captured in dedicated tables. This preliminary action enables the search system to quickly retrieve elements matching specific structural criteria without performing time-consuming tracing operations on large hierarchical datasets, thus reducing processing time while maintaining search accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A structured document searching apparatus that stores structured document data each including hierarchized elements stores a data stream in which the elements included in the structured document data are arranged in the order of the syntactic analysis result, and stores while at least one index stream in which the elements included in the structured document data and serving as an index in a structured document data search are arranged in the order of the syntactic analysis. The structured document searching apparatus creates a scanning plan that instructs the scanning of the data stream and the index stream, based on a search criterion for the structured document data search, and executes the scanning of at least either one of the data stream and the index stream instructed by the scanning plan.