Structured data retrieval apparatus, method, and computer readable medium

1. A structured data retrieval method comprising:

storing, in a first memory, (a) a hierarchical structure formed of a plurality of nodes, and (b) a plurality of template IDs each corresponding to a node of the nodes and designating a type of the node and a location in the hierarchical structure, the type being one of a folder node, a document node, an element node, and a text node;

storing, in a second memory, a plurality of structured documents each of which includes a plurality of structure elements, each structure element corresponding to one of the document node, the element node, and the text node of the nodes, and each structure element having an object ID which includes the template ID of a corresponding node in the hierarchical structure, a document ID used to identify a structured document including the structure element, and an element ID used to identify the structure element in the structured document including the structure element;

storing, in a third memory, a plurality of index data items, each of which links one of a plurality of character strings with the object IDs of structure elements each including the one of the character strings;

inputting a query indicating a query structure including a first target node which is one of the nodes in the hierarchical structure, a second target node which is another of the nodes in the hierarchical structure and is included in the first target node, and a target character string included in the second target node;

collating the query structure with the hierarchical structure to obtain, from the hierarchical structure, a first template ID of the text node included in the second target node and a second template ID of the first target node;

retrieving a first object ID of a first structure element from the index data items, the first object ID being linked to the target character string and including the first template ID;

obtaining, from the first object ID, a second object ID of a second structure element by converting the element ID included in the first object ID into the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first structure element and converting the first template ID included in the first object ID into the second template ID, to obtain the second object ID including:

(a) the document ID included in the first object ID,

(b) the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first structure element, and

(c) the second template ID; and

outputting a structured document retrieved including the first and the second structure element.

2. A structured data retrieval method comprising:

storing, in a first memory, (a) a hierarchical structure formed of a plurality of nodes, and (b) a plurality of template IDs each corresponding to a node of the nodes and designating a type of the node and a location in the hierarchical structure, the type being one of a folder node, a document node, an element node, and a text node;

storing, in a second memory, a plurality of structured documents each of which includes a plurality of structure elements, each structure element corresponding to one of the document node, the element node, and the text node of the nodes, and each structure element having an object ID which includes the template ID of a corresponding node in the hierarchical structure, a document ID used to identify a structured document including the structure element, and an element ID used to identify the structure element in the structured document including the structure element;

storing, in a third memory, a plurality of index data items, each of which links one of a plurality of character strings with the object IDs of structure elements each including the one of the character strings;

inputting a query indicating a query structure including:

(a) a target document node which is one of the nodes in the hierarchical structure,

(b) a first and a second target element node which are nodes in the hierarchical structure and are included in the target document node,

(c) a first target character string included in the first target element node, and

(d) a second target character string included in the second target element node;

collating the query structure with the hierarchical structure to obtain, from the hierarchical structure, a first template ID of the text node included in the first target element node, a second template ID of the text node included in the second target element node, and a third template ID of the target document node;

retrieving a first object ID of a first structure element and a second object ID of a second structure element from the index data items, the first object ID being linked to the first target character string and including the first template ID, and the second object ID being linked to the second target character string and including the second template ID;

obtaining, from the first object ID and the second object ID, a third object ID of a third structure element by converting the element ID included in each of the first and the second object IDs into the element ID of an upstream structure element of each of the first and the second structure elements and converting each of the first template ID included in the first object ID and the second template ID included in the second object ID into the third template ID, to obtain the third object ID including:

(a) the document ID included in the first and the second object ID,

(b) the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first and the second structure elements, and

(c) the second template ID; and

outputting a structured document retrieved including the first structure element, the second structure element, and the third structure element.

3. A structured data retrieval apparatus comprising:

a first memory to store (a) a hierarchical structure formed of a plurality of nodes, and (b) a plurality of template IDs each corresponding to a node of the nodes and designating a type of the node and a location in the hierarchical structure, the type being one of a folder node, a document node, an element node, and a text node;

a second memory to store a plurality of structured documents each of which includes a plurality of structure elements, each structure element corresponding to one of the document node, the element node, and the text node of the nodes, and each structure element having an object ID which includes the template ID of a corresponding node in the hierarchical structure, a document ID used to identify a structured document including the structure element, and an element ID used to identify the structure element in the structured document including the structure element;

storing, in a third memory, a plurality of index data items, each of which links one of a plurality of character strings with the object IDs of structure elements each including the one of the character strings;

an input unit configured to input a query indicating a query structure including a first target node which is one of the nodes in the hierarchical structure, a second target node which is another of the nodes in the hierarchical structure and is included in the first target node, and a character string included in the second target node;

a collation unit configured to collate the query structure with the hierarchical structure to obtain, from the hierarchical structure, a first template ID of the text node included in the second target node and a second template ID of the first target node;

a retrieval unit configured to retrieve a first object ID of a first structure element from the index data items, the first object ID being linked to the target character string and including the first template ID;

an obtaining unit configured to obtain, from the first object ID, a second object ID of a second structure element by converting the element ID included in the first object ID into the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first structure element and converting the first template ID included in the first object ID into the second template ID, to obtain the second object ID including:

(a) the document ID included in the first object ID,

(b) the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first structure element, and

(c) the second template ID; and

an output unit configured to output a structured document retrieved including the first and the second structure element.

4. A structured data retrieval apparatus comprising:

a first memory to store (a) a hierarchical structure formed of a plurality of nodes, and (b) a plurality of template IDs each corresponding to a node of the nodes and designating a type of the node and a location in the hierarchical structure, the type being one of a folder node, a document node, an element node, and a text node;

a second memory to store a plurality of structured documents each of which includes a plurality of structure elements, each structure element corresponding to one of the document node, the element node, and the text node of the nodes, and each structure element having an object ID which includes the template ID of a corresponding node in the hierarchical structure, a document ID used to identify a structured document including the structure element, and an element ID used to identify the structure element in the structured document including the structure element;

a third memory to store a plurality of index data items, each of which links one of a plurality of character strings with the object IDs of structure elements each including the one of the character strings;

an input unit configured to input a query indicating a query structure including:

(a) a target document node which is one of the nodes in the hierarchical structure,

(b) a first and a second target element node which are nodes in the hierarchical structure and are included in the target document node,

(c) a first target character string included in the first target element node, and

(d) a second target character string included in the second target element node;

a collation unit configured to collate the query structure with the hierarchical structure to obtain, from the hierarchical structure, a first template ID of the text node included in the first target element node, a second template ID of the text node included in the second target element node, and a third template ID of the target document node;

a retrieval unit configured to retrieve a first object ID of a first structure element and a second object ID of a second structure element from the index data items, the first object ID being linked to the first target character string and including the first template ID, and the second object ID being linked to the second target character string and including the second template ID;

an obtaining unit to obtain, from the first object ID and the second object ID, a third object ID of a third structure element by converting the element ID included in each of the first and the second object IDs into the element ID of an upstream structure element of each of the first and the second structure elements and converting each of the first template ID included in the first object ID and the second template ID included in the second object ID into the third template ID, to obtain the third object ID including:

(a) the document ID included in the first and the second object ID,

(b) the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first and the second structure elements, and

(c) the second template ID; and

an output unit configured to output a structured document retrieved including the first structure element, the second structure element, and the third structure element.

5. A computer readable storage medium storing instruction of a computer program which, when executed by a computer, results in performance of method comprising:

storing, in a first memory, (a) a hierarchical structure formed of a plurality of nodes, and (b) a plurality of template IDs each corresponding to a node of the nodes and designating a type of the node and a location in the hierarchical structure, the type being one of a folder node, a document node, an element node, and a text node;

storing, in a second memory, a plurality of structured documents each of which includes a plurality of structure elements, each structure element corresponding to one of the document node, the element node, and the text node of the nodes, and each structure element having an object ID which includes the template ID of a corresponding node in the hierarchical structure, a document ID used to identify a structured document including the structure element, and an element ID used to identify the structure element in the structured document including the structure element;

storing, in a third memory, a plurality of index data items, each of which links one of a plurality of character strings with the object IDs of structure elements each including the one of the character strings;

inputting a query indicating a query structure including a first target node which is one of the nodes in the hierarchical structure, a second target node which is another of the nodes in the hierarchical structure and is included in the first target node, and a target character string included in the second target node;

collating the query structure with the hierarchical structure to obtain, from the hierarchical structure, a first template ID of the text node included in the second target node and a second template ID of the first target node;

retrieving a first object ID of a first structure element from the index data items, the first object ID being linked to the target character string and including the first template ID;

obtaining, from the first object ID, a second object ID of a second structure element by converting the element ID included in the first object ID into the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first structure element and converting the first template ID included in the first object ID into the second template ID, to obtain the second object ID including:

(a) the document ID included in the first object ID,

(b) the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first structure element, and

(c) the second template ID; and

outputting a structured document retrieved including the first and the second structure element.

6. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 5 , wherein the method further comprises:

inputting a query indicating a query structure including:

(a) a target document node which is one of the nodes in the hierarchical structure,

(b) a first and a second target element node which are nodes in the hierarchical structure and are included in the target document node,

(c) a first target character string included in the first target element node, and

(d) a second target character string included in the second target element node;

collating the query structure with the hierarchical structure to obtain, from the hierarchical structure, a first template ID of the text node included in the first target element node, a second template ID of the text node included in the second target element node, and a third template ID of the target document node;

retrieving a first object ID of a first structure element and a second object ID of a second structure element from the index data items, the first object ID being linked to the first target character string and including the first template ID, and the second object ID being linked to the second target character string and including the second template ID;

obtaining, from the first object ID and the second object ID, a third object ID of a third structure element by converting the element ID included in each of the first and the second object IDs into the element ID of an upstream structure element of each of the first and the second structure elements and converting each of the first template ID included in the first object ID and the second template ID included in the second object ID into the third template ID, to obtain the third object ID including:

(a) the document ID included in the first and the second object ID,

(b) the element ID of an upstream structure element of the first and the second structure elements, and

(c) the second template ID; and

outputting a structured document retrieved including the first structure element, the second structure element, and the third structure element.