Apparatus and method for optimizing descendant path evaluation in xpath/xquery

摘要

An apparatus and method for optimizing descendant path evaluation in XPath/XQuery includes generating a list of unique paths in a tree structure of an XML document. Each unique path includes one or more nodes of the tree structure. A query is received specifying a descendant node for retrieval from the tree structure. From the list, unique paths are identified that include the descendant node. A navigation aid is then generated to assist in traversing the unique paths that include the descendant node. Using the navigation aid as a guide, descendant nodes in the tree structure may be retrieved by traversing only unique paths that include the descendant node.