Abstract:
A document conversion and use system which converts a first structured document into a second structured document different in structure from the first structured document, comprising: a template storage unit storing a template indicating the structure of the second structured document; a structure specification unit for reading out the template from the template storage unit and causing a user to specify an element or an element content constituting the template; a correspondence definition specification unit for causing the user to define the correspondence definition specification indicating the correspondence between the element in the first structured document and the element in the template; and an unit for analyzing the template structure to specify the element or the element content specified by the structure specification unit, searching for the element defined by the correspondence definition starting from the element or the element content, and performing conversion processing according to the search result.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of international PCT application No. PCT/JP2005/006070 filed on Mar. 30, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a structured document processing and converting system for converting a structured document generated by an SGML (Standard Generated Markup Language), an XML (eXtensible Markup Language), an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), etc. into a structured document having another structure.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     With drastic progress of the Internet, there are an increasing number of events in which data on the Internet is described in a structured document because once the structured document is described in the structured document, it can be easily changed and extended later. For example, in the Web contents on the Internet, there are some sites such as the site of the press etc. that continue publishing the latest data and information. To constantly and continuously publish the latest Web contents, it is necessary to easily update the Web contents.  
         [0006]     The Web contents are mainly configured by data and styles. The data and the styles are rarely updated simultaneously, and normally updated separately. For example,  FIG. 1  shows an example of updating only data, that is, only the data indicating the contents of the items of the abstract and the date is updated.  FIG. 2  shows an example of updating only the style, and the font for use on the display is changed without changing the contents of the display of each item.  
         [0007]     The definition of the data and the style is performed using a structured document.  FIG. 3  shows an example of a structured document. The structured document is configured by a plurality of elements, and each element is formed by an item name (tag) and element content (data).  
         [0008]     At present, in the structured documents, an XML is used in defining data, and an HTML is especially used in defining a style.  
         [0009]     The present application is to process and analyze the tag and data in the structured document, and pass a part of them to the user application. The user application aims at offering various services by performing data processing on the basis of a received document.  
         [0010]     Since data and a style are stored together in the HTML, it is hard to separately manage the data and the style in the HTML. Therefore, to flexibly represent data in the XML and separately define a style is proposed by prior art.  
         [0000]     (1) Prior Art 1: HTML Conversion Using an XSLT  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  shows the outline of the prior art 1.  
         [0012]     In the system according to the prior art 1, a style sheet (XSL) extensible style sheet language)  43  for conversion of an XML document  41  is generated.  
         [0013]     In  FIG. 4 , the XML document  41  is converted into an HTML document  44  by a conversion engine (XSLT: XML Stylesheet Language Transformations)  42  on the basis of the style sheet  43  described in the XSL.  
         [0014]     In this system, once a style is defined, the document can be automatically converted into the HTML document although the data in the XML document  41  is changed.  
         [0000]     (2) Prior Art 2 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-042289)  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  shows the outline of the prior art 2. The prior art 2 has been proposed by applicant of the present invention to solve the problems of the systems such as the patent document 1 etc. in which the data structure of a structured document is managed by dividing the structure of the document into subtrees, the attribute of each element and the element content are managed as position information, a document is extracted according to the position information, and the extracted data is assigned directly to a document converting template, thereby reducing the load of a CPU.  
         [0016]     In the system of the prior art 2, a document converting template  54  is extracted from a prepared HTML design. Only a tag defined by a one-to-one correspondence definition  53  is extracted from an XML document  51 , and the extracted data is specified and embedded in the document converting template  54 .  
         [0017]     In this system, since the HTML design can be used as is, it is not necessary to perform XSLT programming.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  shows the demerit of the system of the prior art 1.  
         [0019]     In the system according to the prior art 1, an HTML design  62  is generated by an HTML editor  61 , and an XSLT tag is embedded in the HTML design  62 , thereby programming  63  s XSL style sheet  64  on the basis of the XML. As a result, when the HTML editor  61  cannot be directly used in changing the design. Therefore, since a display style cannot be directly watched on the HTML editor  61  although a changing process is to be performed while checking the display style, it takes some time to perform the process. Furthermore, since the style cannot be changed while the process is confirmed by the HTML editor, it is very difficult to update the style. In addition, the XSL style sheet  64  has to be manually generated, there arises the problem of reusability when a design change is to be made.  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  shows the disadvantage of the system of the prior art 2.  
         [0021]     In the system of the prior art 2, when there is a repetitive portion of listing etc. in the HTML design, the portion is to be extracted as is as a template from the HTML design or reprocessed, the reusability of the HTML design is very poor.  
         [0022]     With the above-mentioned problems taken into account, the present invention aims at providing a document conversion and use system capable of using the design generated on the HTML editor.  
         [0023]     The present invention also aims at providing a document conversion and use system capable of visually editing a template displayed on the HTML editor.  
         [0024]     The present invention further aims at providing a document conversion and use system capable of automatically converting a document, while it is being edited, by specifying an element content without generating the XSLT as in the conventional system or extracting data from the HTML design.  
         [0025]     Also the present invention aims at providing a document conversion and use system having high reusability although a document includes a repetitive structure such as a table, a list, etc.  
         [0026]     Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2003-67403  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]     The document conversion and use system according to the present invention converts a first structured document into a second structured document having a structure different from that of the first structured document. To solve the above-mentioned problem, it includes a template storage unit, a structure specification unit, a correspondence definition specification unit, and a conversion processing unit.  
         [0028]     The template storage unit stores in the second structured document a template indicating the structure after conversion.  
         [0029]     The structure specification unit reads the template from the template storage unit, and allows a user to specify the element or element content that forms the template.  
         [0030]     The correspondence definition specification unit allows the user to define the correspondence definition indicating the correspondence between the element of the first structured document and the element in the template.  
         [0031]     The conversion processing unit designates the element or element content specified by the structure specification unit by analyzing the structure of the template, searches the element defined by the correspondence definition using the element or element content as a start point, and performs a conversion processing on the basis of a result of the search.  
         [0032]     With the above-mentioned configuration, when the first structured document is converted into the second structured document, the data structure after conversion is separately generated using a template, and the conversion is performed almost without processing the template, thereby separately managing data and design for reusability.  
         [0033]     The structure specification unit can be configured to display the template read from the template storage unit, and allow the user to specify on the display screen an element or element content that configures the template. The specification is performed by, for example, the user inputting a reserved word on the display screen.  
         [0034]     With the configuration, the user can visually specify the data while displaying the template.  
         [0035]     Furthermore, a search unit can be further included to convert the template into a tree structure object, and search an element or element content specified by the user from the tree structure object through the structure specification unit. The search unit can also be designed to search a structure in the direction of a parent element from the position of the element or element content specified by the structure specification unit.  
         [0036]     The component detected with the configuration can be uniquely determined.  
         [0037]     The conversion processing unit can also be configured to enter the element content in the template together with the element of the template associated by the correspondence definition when the element of the first structured document defined by the correspondence definition has only the element content as a child element, and to enter in the template the elements of the template corresponding to the child elements when the element of the first structured document defined by the correspondence definition has data other than element content as a child element.  
         [0038]     With the configuration, a case in which a list and a repetitive structure are included can be appropriate processed.  
         [0039]     The present invention is not limited to a document conversion and use system, but includes as an appropriate scope a document converting method, its program, and portable storage medium. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0040]      FIG. 1  shows an example of updating only the data of the Web contents;  
         [0041]      FIG. 2  shows an example of updating only the style of the Web contents;  
         [0042]      FIG. 3  shows an example of a structured document;  
         [0043]      FIG. 4  shows the abstract of the prior art 1;  
         [0044]      FIG. 5  shows the abstract of the prior art 2;  
         [0045]      FIG. 6  shows the defect of the system according to the prior art 1;  
         [0046]      FIG. 7  shows the defect of the system according to the prior art 2;  
         [0047]      FIG. 8  shows the abstract of the conversion processing by the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment;  
         [0048]      FIG. 9  shows the process of specifying a structure according to the present embodiment;  
         [0049]      FIG. 10  shows the process of searching a document structure according to the present embodiment;  
         [0050]      FIG. 11  shows the outline of the entire configuration of the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment;  
         [0051]      FIG. 12  shows a practical example of converting a document by the document conversion and use system;  
         [0052]      FIG. 13  shows an example of a conversion source structured document;  
         [0053]      FIG. 14  shows an example of correspondence definition;  
         [0054]      FIG. 15  shows an example of a tree structure object of a conversion source structured document according to the first embodiment;  
         [0055]      FIG. 16  shows an example of a tree structure object of a template according to the first embodiment;  
         [0056]      FIG. 17  is a flowchart of the process by the conversion engine according to the first embodiment;  
         [0057]      FIG. 18  shows a conversion source structured document converted according to the second embodiment;  
         [0058]      FIG. 19  shows a template for use in the second embodiment;  
         [0059]      FIG. 20  shows the correspondence definition of “ID 1 ”;  
         [0060]      FIG. 21  shows the correspondence definition of “ID 2 ”;  
         [0061]      FIG. 22  is a flowchart showing the operating process of the document conversion and use system according to the second embodiment;  
         [0062]      FIG. 23  shows a tree structure object of a conversion source structured document according to the second embodiment;  
         [0063]      FIG. 24  shows a tree structure object of a template according to the second embodiment;  
         [0064]      FIG. 25  shows a conversion result according to the second embodiment;  
         [0065]      FIG. 26  shows a system environment of the information processing device; and  
         [0066]      FIG. 27  shows an example of a recording medium. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0067]     A mode for embodying the present invention is described below by referring to the attached drawings.  
         [0068]     First, the abstract of the present embodiment is described.  
         [0069]      FIG. 8  shows the abstract of the conversion processing by the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment.  
         [0070]     The document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment satisfies the following requirements to solve the above-mentioned problem. 
        The template (HTML design) edited by an HTML editor can be used as is.     The same repetitive form can be represented by normally configuring data using a plurality of records (unit of information configured by plural pieces of data) to process a structure including repetitive data such as a table, a list, etc.        
 
         [0073]     To satisfy the requirements, the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment performs conversion processing on the basis of the structure specification portion (element or element content) specified by a user on the template (HTML design), and the correspondence definition described by the user.  
         [0074]     A structure can be specified by a user specifying an element or an element content by inserting, for example, a reserved word indicating a point specification into the element content of the element in the HTML design. The insertion of the reserved word can be performed on the HTML editor by writing the reserved word as an element content to the HTML design. The insertion of the reserved word has no influence on the HTML design.  
         [0075]     Then, the position of the element described by the correspondence definition is analyzed using the position of the tag including the reserved word as a start point. On the basis of the analysis result, a pointer of a tag of a repetitive structure is extracted, and only the pointers are operated, thereby performing various processes such as insertion etc.  
         [0076]     The procedure of the document conversion in the document conversion and use system is practically described below by referring to  FIG. 8 . The following descriptions (1) through (5) correspond to the parts ( 1 ) through ( 5 ) shown in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0000]     (1) In HTML design  85 , a reserved word  86  (“$point;” in  FIG. 8 ) is assigned to the portion into which data of an XML document  81  is to be inserted.  
         [0000]     (2) A user describes in correspondence definition  84  the correspondence of the tags between an HTML document  83  and the XML document  81 .  
         [0000]     (3) A conversion engine  82  searches the location of the reserved word  86  in the HTML design  85 .  
         [0000]     (4) The element described in the correspondence definition  84  is searched for in the direction of the parent element from the position of the reserved word  86 .  
         [0000]     (5) The position of the tag of the element searched for in (4) above is extracted, and the data of the XML document  81  is inserted into the position.  
         [0077]     Thus, in the document conversion according to the present embodiment, a template (HTML design) can be used without processing. Therefore, high reusability is guaranteed. Furthermore, since the process of inserting a reserved word can be performed on the HTML editor, thereby having a higher affinity for an HTML editor than the conventional technology.  
         [0078]     When the conversion destination structured document is complicated as the HTML design, the conventional technology temporarily describes the template of the conversion destination and processes it. Therefore, the process is laborious, the template is further processed, and the reusability of the template is low. The present embodiment is high in reusability of the template because the template is not processed.  
         [0079]     The document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment has an effect of easily converting data structure of a structured document.  
         [0080]     In the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment, the conversion destination template is described while confirming the data using the HTML editor, and the template can be used as is. Then, the structure of each element of the conversion source structured document and the template is specified, and the correspondence definition describing the correspondence is described separately, and the conversion is performed on the basis of the correspondence. Accordingly, since the template is not processed, the high reusability of the template can be guaranteed, and the data structure of a structured document can be easily converted.  
         [0081]     In the document conversion and use system according to the present mode for embodying the present invention, the structure can be easily specified.  
         [0082]      FIG. 9  shows the process of specifying the structure according to the present embodiment.  
         [0083]     The most popular structured document is an HTML. An HTML editor  91  is normally used in editing an HTML. Since the HTML editor  91  cannot show the structure of a tag, it is difficult to specify a structure. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when an element (structure) is to be specified for a template by the HTML, a reserved word  92  is inserted into the contents of the element on the display screen by the HTML editor  91 , thereby specifying the structure on the HTML editor.  
         [0084]     In the document conversion and use system according to the present mode for embodying the present invention, the search is performed in the direction of the parent element from the child element. As a result, the structure can be easily specified.  
         [0085]      FIG. 10  shows the process of searching for a document structure according to the present mode for embodying the present invention.  
         [0086]     In the present embodiment, when an element specified by the correspondence definition is searched for, elements are traced in the direction of the parent elements  102 ,  103 , etc. from a reserved word  101  as a start point. Thus, the search in the direction of the parent elements enables the structure to be easily specified because the element to be detected can be uniquely determined as compared with the downward search from the root.  
         [0087]     In the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment, the method of converting a document structure can be easily determined on the basis of whether the element to be converted includes only tags or includes also element contents.  
         [0088]     The document structure conversion includes element conversion, and conversion of only element content.  
         [0089]     Therefore, it is necessary to specify the conversion depending on element or element content only. Accordingly, when an element is converted, its child element is also converted. When only the element content is converted, the reserved word inserted into the conversion destination replaced.  
         [0090]     Furthermore, there can be the case where correspondence definition itself refers to a parent-child relationship, the conversion processing is recursively performed on the child elements.  
         [0091]     Next, the configuration and the operation of the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment are described below in more detail.  
         [0092]      FIG. 11  shows the outline of the entire configuration of the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment.  
         [0093]     In  FIG. 11 , the document conversion and use system includes a document holding unit  111 , a conversion engine  112 , a template display unit  113 , and a reserved word specification unit  114 .  
         [0094]     The document holding unit  111  stores various types of information for use in the conversion processing performed by the document conversion and use system, and includes the memory of the information processing device, a portable storage medium, and its reader.  
         [0095]     In  FIG. 11 , the document holding unit  111  stores a template  1111  in which the basic structure of a converted structured document is defined (the size, the arrangement, the color, etc. of the table of a converted HTML document are defined using the converted HTML design as element content of a structured document and an attribute value); a conversion source structured document  1112  as a structured document whose data is described in the XML format, and which is to be converted by the present system; and a correspondence definition  1113  storing the correspondence of data structure such as each element, element content, attached drawings, etc. described in the conversion source structured document  1112  and the template  1111  specified by the user.  
         [0096]     The conversion engine  112  converts the conversion source structured document  1112  read from the document holding unit  111  and to be converted into a structured document in the HTML etc. for display, and includes a structured document analysis unit  1121 , a structured document search unit  1122 , and the correspondence definition  1113 .  
         [0097]     The structured document analysis unit  1121  analyzes the data structure of the conversion source structured document  1112  and a template  115  provided with reserved word, and generates an object in a tree structure. The structured document search unit  1122  searches the tree structure objects  1126  and  1127  on the basis of the relationship between the template  1111  and the tags in the conversion source structured document  1112  set in the correspondence definition  1113 . The correspondence definition  1113  inserts the data of the conversion source structured document  1112  in to the HTML design on the basis of the tree structure objects  1126  and  1127  generated by the correspondence definition  1113  and the structured document search unit  1122 , and generates an HTML document as a conversion result  116 .  
         [0098]     The structured document analysis unit  1121 , the structured document search unit  1122 , and the correspondence definition  1113  can be realized by exclusive hardware or can be read by software by realizing various functions described later by the CPU of the information processing device executing the program in the memory.  
         [0099]     The template display unit  113  is formed by a display etc., and presents a user with the template  1111  on the display screen. The reserved word specification unit  114  is formed by a pointing device, a keyboard, etc., and allows a user to specify a reserved word in the template displayed on the template display unit  113 , which is described later.  
         [0100]     In the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment, the template  1111  for prescribing the display layout after conversion is generated using the HTML editor etc., and stores it in the document holding unit  111 . When a conversion process is performed, the template  1111  is first read, and displayed on the screen of the template display unit  113 . While watching the screen, the user operates the reserved word specification unit  114  and specifies a reserved word on the displayed template.  
         [0101]     The template  115  on which the reserved word is specified is input to the structured document analysis unit  1121 . The structured document analysis unit  1121  reads from the document holding unit  111  the conversion source structured document  1112  to be converted, converts it into a tree structure object  1124 , and outputs the result to the structured document search unit  1122 . When the template  115  in which a reserved word is specified is input from the template display unit  113 , it is converted into a tree structure object, and outputs the result to the structured document search unit  1122 .  
         [0102]     Also the user defines the correspondence between the tag in the conversion source structured document  1112  and the tag in the template  1111  as the correspondence definition  1113 .  
         [0103]     The structured document search unit  1122  performs search of a document on the basis of the position of the reserved word specified by the user on the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document  1112  and a tree structure object  1125  of the template  115  in which the reserved word is specified from the structured document analysis unit  1121 , generates the tree structure objects  1126  and tree structure object  1127  defined as associated, and output the result to the correspondence definition  1113 , which is described later.  
         [0104]     The template display unit  113  inserts the tree structure object  1126  of the conversion source structured document defined as associated into the tree structure object  1127  of the template defined as associated, and generates an HTML document as the conversion result  116 .  
         [0105]     Next, each component of the document conversion and use system shown in  FIG. 11  and contents of its processing operation are described below in detail by referring to a practical example.  
         [0106]      FIG. 12  shows a practical example of the document conversion by the document conversion and use system shown in  FIG. 11 .  FIG. 13  shows an example of a conversion source structured document, and  FIG. 14  shows an example of correspondence definition. In  FIG. 12 , the components basically the same as those shown in  FIG. 11  are assigned the same reference numerals.  
         [0107]     In  FIG. 12 , an information processing device  120  is provided with the document holding unit  111  and the conversion engine  112 . An HTML editor  122  for holding and displaying the template  115  can be the function of the information processing device  120  or separate equipment such as a user terminal etc. connected to the information processing device  120 .  
         [0108]     When a user inputs the reserved word  121  on the template  115  displayed by an HTML editor  121  at the position into which the element content of the conversion source structured document  1112  is to be inserted, the template  115  provided with the reserved word is input to the structured document analysis unit  1121 . In  FIG. 12 , the user inputs “$point;” as the HTML editor  121  to the position below the item category on the display screen displaying the template.  
         [0109]     Then, the user defines the correspondence definition  1113 .  
         [0110]     The user defines in the correspondence definition  1113  the correspondence of the tags between the template  1111  in the conversion source structured document  1112 . The definition of the correspondence is performed by associating the element name of the conversion source structured document  1112  with the reserved word in the template  1111 .  
         [0111]      FIG. 14  shows an example of the configuration of the correspondence definition  1113 .  
         [0112]     In the example shown in  FIG. 14 , the conversion source structured document  1112  shown in  FIG. 11  is to be output as a table as shown in  FIG. 12  as the conversion result  116 , definition  141  defines the &lt;news&gt; tag of the conversion source structured document  1112  to correspond to the reserved word &lt;tr&gt; tag indicating one line of the table in the template  1111 . As the child element of the &lt;news&gt; tag is to be output to each line of the table, definition  142  defines &lt;category&gt;, &lt;abstract&gt;, and &lt;date&gt; tags as child elements of the &lt;news&gt; tag of the conversion source structured document  1112  to correspond to the &lt;td&gt; tag having the &lt;tr&gt; tag in the template  1111  as a parent element.  
         [0113]     In the correspondence definition shown in  FIG. 14 , “.” represents the relationship between the parent element and the child element, and “tr.td” of the definition  142  represents the &lt;td&gt; tag having the &lt;tr&gt; tag as a parent element.  
         [0114]     The structured document analysis unit  1121  analyzes the data structure of the conversion source structured document  1112  and the template  115  provided with the reserved word, and generates the tree structure object  1124  and the tree structure object  1125  indicating the parent-child relationship on the basis of the relationship of each tag.  
         [0115]      FIG. 15  shows an example of the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document.  
         [0116]      FIG. 15  shows a part of the case where the conversion source structured document shown in  FIG. 13  is a tree structure object.  
         [0117]     From the tree structure object shown in  FIG. 15 , it is certain that the conversion source structured document shown in  FIG. 13  has two elements &lt;news&gt;, each element &lt;news&gt; has elements &lt;category&gt; &lt;abstract&gt;, and &lt;date&gt; as child elements, the upper child elements &lt;category&gt;, &lt;abstract&gt;, and &lt;date&gt; have “politics”, “up-to-the-minute election news”, and “12/23” as element contents, and the lower child elements &lt;category&gt;, &lt;abstract&gt;, and &lt;date&gt; have “weather”, “fine”, and “12/23” as element contents.  
         [0118]      FIG. 16  shows an example of the tree structure object  1125  of the template  115 .  
         [0119]     In  FIG. 16 , the tags are represented by the shaded squares, the attributes are represented by the ovals, and the element contents are represented by non-shaded squares.  
         [0120]      FIG. 16  shows that the reserved word  121  is arranged at the portion where data is defined in the line forming part of the table of the template.  
         [0121]     The structured document search unit  1122  searches for the position of the reserved word  121  the tree structure object  1125  of the template as shown in  FIG. 16 .  
         [0122]     Then, the structured document search unit  1122  searches for an element described in the correspondence definition  1113  the tree structure object  1125  of the template. The search of the element is performed in the direction of the parent element from the position of the reserved word  121  as a start point.  
         [0123]     The structured document search unit  1122  sequentially searches for the parent element, a parent element of the parent element using the position of the reserved word  121  as a start point. During the search, if the element (“td” in the present example) first described in the correspondence definition  1113  is detected, the element (“tr” in the embodiment) described in another correspondence definition is searched for, the corresponding portion is extracted from the tree structure object  1125  of the template, and the tree structure object  1127  of the template described in the correspondence definition is generated.  
         [0124]     The structured document search unit  1122  sequentially searches for the element described in the correspondence definition  1113  from the root of the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document  1122 , detects the element described in the correspondence definition  1113 , and generates the tree structure object  1126  of the structured document search unit  1122  described in the correspondence definition.  
         [0125]     If the element described in the correspondence definition  1113  is detected in the search in the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document, it is certain that the element has a child element, and a parent element is defined as an element of the template  1111  associated in the correspondence definition, then a structured document conversion unit  1123  copies the tree structure object  1127  of the template described in the correspondence definition, and inserts the tree structure object  1127  into the position next to the position where it is extracted. For example, if the element detected in  FIG. 13  is a &lt;news&gt;  1501  having a child element &lt;category&gt;  1302 , then the copied tree structure object  1127  is inserted into the position next to &lt;tr&gt;  1602  below &lt;table&gt;  1601 .  
         [0126]     If the element described in the correspondence definition  1113  is detected in the search in the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document, the element has only an element content, and the element of the template associated in the correspondence definition has no child element, the structured document conversion unit  1123  determines that the element is an end element content, considers that the reserved word  121  is described at the corresponding position, and replaces the element content with the reserved word  121 . For example, when the element retrieved in  FIG. 15  is an element &lt;category&gt;  1502  having only an element content “politics”  1503  as a child element, the reserved word  121  is replaced with the element content “politics”.  
         [0127]     If the search of the tree structure object  1124  by the structured document search unit  1122  and the process by the structured document conversion unit  1123  on the retrieved element are performed on all elements in the conversion source structured document  1112 , then the conversion engine  120  terminates the process, and outputs the HTML document generated as the conversion result  116 .  
         [0128]     Thus, the conversion of the conversion source structured document  1112  is performed by the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment. In the conversion, the converting process can be performed only by entering the reserved word  121  in the template  1111  from the defined HTML editor. Thus, the data and the design can be separately changed and managed.  
         [0129]     The tree structure objects  1124 ,  1125 ,  1126 , and  1127  described above can be, for example, a DOM (Document Object Model), etc. If each element can be traced in a tree structure, a similar effect can be obtained on other objects.  
         [0130]      FIG. 17  is a flowchart of the process by the conversion engine according to the first embodiment. The process shown in  FIG. 17  is realized by exclusive hardware or the CPU executing the program in memory.  
         [0131]     When the process is started in  FIG. 17 , first in step S 1 , the template  1111  is displayed on the template display unit  113 , and the reserved word specification unit  114  allows a user to input on the display screen a reserved word (“$point;”) at a position where the conversion source structured document is to be inserted.  
         [0132]     Next, in step S 2 , the conversion engine allows the user to input the correspondence definition of the corresponding portions between the conversion source structured document and the template, and store the definition in the document holding unit  111 .  
         [0133]     Then, the retrieval engine reads the conversion source structured document  1112  and the template  115  provided with a reserved word from the document holding unit  111 . In step S 3 , the retrieval engine makes the structured document analysis unit  1121  analyze the document structure of the conversion source structured document  1112  and the template  115  provided with the reserved word, and generates the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document and the tree structure object  1125  of the template.  
         [0134]     In step S 4 , the structured document search unit  1122  searches the tree structure object  1125  of the template for the reserved word  121 , and checks the position.  
         [0135]     The structured document search unit  1122  also searches the tree structure object  1125  of the template for an element described in the correspondence definition  1113  in step S 5 . The search is performed in the direction of a parent element from the position, as a start point, of the reserved word  121  retrieved in step S 4 . When an element described in the correspondence definition is first detected, an element described as another correspondence definition is retrieved.  
         [0136]     Next, the structured document search unit  1122  sequentially searches the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document for an element described in the template display unit  113  from the root in step S 6 .  
         [0137]     If no element is detected as a result (NO in step S 7 ), then control is passed to step S 13 .  
         [0138]     If an element defined in the correspondence definition  1113  is detected in step S 7  (YES in step S 7 ), then it is determined whether or not the detected element has a child element, and the element in the corresponding template has a defined parent element in step S 8 . If the detected element has a child element and the element in the corresponding template has a defined parent element (YES in step S 8 ) in step S 8 , then it copies the tree structure object  1127  of the template, and inserts the tree structure object  1127  into the position (the portion  1603  shown in  FIG. 16 ) next to the position where it is extracted in step S 9 , thereby passing control to step S 13 .  
         [0139]     If the retrieved element does not satisfy the condition in step S 8  (NO in step S 8 ), then it is determined in step S 10  whether or not the retrieved element has only an element content, and whether or not the element in the corresponding template has no child element. If YES (YES in step S 10 ), it is considered that a reserved word is described as a content of an end element, the element content is replaced with the reserved word in step S 1 , and control is passed to step S 13 . If it is determined in step S 10  that the retrieved element does not satisfy the condition in step S 10  (NO in step S 10 ), then it is determined that wrong correspondence has been detected, and the process is terminated due to an error in step S 12 .  
         [0140]     In step S 13 , it is determined whether or not the search has been performed on all elements defined in the correspondence definition  1113 . If the search has not been performed on all elements (NO in step S 13 ), then control is returned to step S 6  and the processes in steps S 6  through S 13  are repeated until the search is performed on all elements.  
         [0141]     If the search is performed on all elements (YES in step S 13 ), then the conversion result is output, thereby terminating the process in step S 14 .  
         [0142]     If the detected element has a child element and the child element has another element before conversion defined in the correspondence definition as a child element in step S 7 , the processes in steps S 8  to S 12  are similarly performed on the child element of the above-mentioned child element.  
         [0143]     In the process according to the first mode for embodying the present invention, the conversion processing can be easily performed only by entering a reserved word in the template displayed on the HTML editor. As a result, the data and the design can be separately managed and changed.  
         [0144]     Since a reserved word can be assigned to a template on the HTML editor, the process can be performed while confirming the process on the display of the HTML editor.  
         [0145]     Furthermore, since the template is not processed, the template has high reusability, and the data structure of a structured document can be easily converted.  
         [0146]     Since the search is performed in the direction of the parent element from the position of the reserved word, the structure can be easily specified.  
         [0147]     The second example of the conversion using the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment is described below.  
         [0148]      FIG. 18  shows a conversion source structured document to be converted according to the second embodiment.  FIG. 19  shows a template used in the second mode for embodying the present invention.  
         [0149]     In the second embodiment, the conversion source structured document shown in  FIG. 18  is converted into an HTML document using the template shown in  FIG. 19 .  
         [0150]     In  FIG. 19 , reserved words “ID 1 ”  1901  and “ID 2 ”  1902  are inserted, and the user inputs the correspondence definition for each word.  
         [0151]      FIG. 20  shows the correspondence definition of the “ID 1 ”  1901  and  FIG. 21  shows the correspondence definition of the “ID 2 ”  1902 .  
         [0152]     In  FIG. 20 , the &lt;abstract&gt; of the conversion source structured document is associated with the tag &lt;li&gt; of the template. In  FIG. 21 , &lt;outline&gt; of the conversion source structured document is associated with the tag “li” of the template. When the search is performed from the reserved word “ID 1 ”  1901 , the document conversion and use system associates &lt;abstract&gt; with “li”. When the search is performed from the reserved word “ID 2 ”  1902 , the document conversion and use system associates &lt;outline&gt; with “li”.  
         [0153]      FIG. 22  is a flowchart of the operating process of the document conversion and use system according to the second embodiment.  
         [0154]     Described below by referring to the flowchart in  FIG. 22  is the operation of the document conversion and use system performed when the conversion source structured document shown in  FIG. 18  is converted using the template shown in  FIG. 19  and the correspondence definition shown in  FIGS. 20 and 21 .  
         [0155]     The configuration of the document conversion and use system according to the second embodiment is basically the same as the configuration according to the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 11  except that a plurality of reserved words and a plurality of correspondence definition  1113  are used in the second embodiment.  
         [0156]     When the process is started as shown in  FIG. 22 , the template  1111  is displayed on the template display unit  113  in step S 21 , and the user is prompted to input the reserved words (ID 1 , ID 2 ) at the position into which the conversion source structured document is to be inserted on the display screen through the reserved word specification unit  114 .  
         [0157]     Next, in step S 22 , the conversion engine prompts the user to input the corresponding portions between the conversion source structured document and the template with the correspondence definition as shown in  FIGS. 20 and 21  associated with the reserved words ID 1  and ID 2 , and the input data is stored in the document holding unit  111 .  
         [0158]     Then, the retrieval engine reads the conversion source structured document  1112  from the document holding unit  111 , and analyzes the document structures of the conversion source structured document  1112  and the template  115  with a reserved word using the structured document analysis unit  1121  in step S 23 , and generates the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document and the tree structure object  1125  of the template.  
         [0159]      FIG. 23  shows the generated tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document.  FIG. 24  shows the tree structure object  1125  of the template.  
         [0160]     The tree structure objects shown in  FIGS. 23 and 24  include the specification of a plurality of reserved words in the tree structure object  1125  of the template shown in  FIG. 24 , and are basically the same as those according to the first embodiment.  
         [0161]     Next, the document conversion and use system searches the tree structure object  1125  of the template for a reserved word using the structured document search unit  1122 , and checks the position in step S 24 . If the reserved word is detected (YES in step S 25 ) as a result, in step S 26 , the structured document search unit  1122  searches the tree structure object  1125  of the template for the element described in the correspondence definition  1113  in the direction of the parent element from the position of the reserved word detected in step S 25  as a start point, and detects the element described in the correspondence definition corresponding to the reserved word detected in step S 24 .  
         [0162]     Next, the structured document search unit  1122  sequentially searches the tree structure object  1124  of the conversion source structured document from the root in step S 27 , and detects the element described in the correspondence definition  1113  used in step S 26 .  
         [0163]     If the element is not detected as a result (NO in step S 28 ), control is passed to step S 29 .  
         [0164]     If the element defined in the correspondence definition  1113  is detected in step S 28  (YES in step S 28 ), then in step S 29  it is determined whether or not the detected element has a child element, and the element of the corresponding template has a defined parent element. If the detected element has a child element, and the element of the corresponding template has a defined parent element (YES in step S 29 ), then, in step S 30 , the tree structure object  1127  of the template is copied, and the tree structure object  1127  of the template  1111  is inserted into the position next to the position where it is extracted, and then control is passed to step S 34 .  
         [0165]     If the detected element does not satisfy the condition in step S 29  (NO in step S 29 ), then in step S 31 , it is determined whether or not the detected element has only an element content, and the element of the corresponding template has no child element. If YES (YES in step S 31 ), it is considered that a reserved word is described as an element content at the end, the reserved word replaces the element content in step S 32 , and control is passed to step S 34 . If the detected element does not satisfy the condition of step S 31  (NO in step S 31 ), then in step S 33 , wrong correspondence is assigned in step S 33 , thereby recognizing an error and terminating the process.  
         [0166]     In step S 34 , it is determined whether or not the search has been performed on all elements defined in the correspondence definition  1113 . If the search has not been performed on all elements (NO in step S 34 ), control is returned to step S 26  and the processes in steps S 27  through S 34  are repeated until the search is performed on all elements.  
         [0167]     If the search has been performed on all elements (YES in step S 34 ), control is returned to step S 24 .  
         [0168]     In step S 24 , a new reserved word is retrieved from a tree structure object  925 . If a new reserved word is found as a result (YES in step S 25 ), the processes in and after step S 26  are performed on the reserved word. If no reserved word is newly detected in step S 25  (NO in step S 25 ), the conversion result is output in step S 35 , thereby terminating the process.  
         [0169]     In step S 28 , if the detected element has a child element, and the child element has another element before conversion defined in the correspondence definition as a child element, the processes in steps S 29  through S 33  are similarly performed on a child element of the child element.  
         [0170]      FIG. 25  shows a conversion result according to the second mode for embodying the present invention.  
         [0171]     In  FIG. 25 , in the respective positions specified by two reserved words, a list into which the element contents corresponding to the related conversion source structured documents are inserted is generated.  
         [0172]     Thus, according to the second mode for embodying the present invention, a reserved word can be specified in a plurality of positions of the template by setting a plurality of reserved words, and the conversion can be made using plural correspondences.  
         [0173]      FIG. 26  shows the environment of the information processing device  120  shown in  FIG. 12 .  
         [0174]     The information processing device  120  in which the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment is implemented includes, as shown in  FIG. 26 , a CPU  261 , a main storage device  262 , an auxiliary storage device  263  such as a hard disk etc., an input/output device (I/O)  264  such as a display, a keyboard, etc., a network connection device  265  such as a modem etc., and a medium reader  266  for reading the stored contents from a portable storage medium such as a disk, a magnetic tape, etc. These components are interconnected via a bus  267 .  
         [0175]     In the information processing system shown in  FIG. 12 , the program and data stored on a magnetic tape, a storage medium  268  such as a magnetic tape, a flexible disk, CD-ROM, MO, etc. are read by the medium reader  266 , and downloaded into the main storage device  262  or the auxiliary storage device  263 . On the basis of the program and data, the CPU  261  realizes the function of the above-mentioned document conversion and use system.  
         [0176]     In the computer system shown in  FIG. 26 , application software can be converted using the storage medium  268  such as a flexible disk etc. Thus, the present invention is not limited to a document conversion and use system or a document converting method, but can also be configured by a computer-readable storage medium  268  used to direct a computer to perform the functions of the modes for embodying the present invention when it is used in a computer.  
         [0177]     In this case, a “storage medium” includes a portable storage medium  276  attachable to and removable from a medium drive device  277  such as CD-ROM, flexible disk (or MO, DVD, removable hard disk, etc.), etc., a storage unit (database etc.)  272  in an external device (server etc.) for transmission through a network circuit  273 , memory (RAM or hard disk etc.)  275  in a body  274  of an information processing device  271 , etc. as shown in  FIG. 27 . A program stored in the portable storage medium  276  and the storage unit (database etc.)  272  is loaded into the memory (RAM or hard disk etc.)  275  in the body  274 , and then executed.  
         [0178]     In addition to the storage medium such as the above-mentioned CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc., the present invention can be realized using various large capacity storage media, for example, a next-generation optical disk storage medium using a blue laser such as Blu-ray Disk (registered trademark), AOD (Advanced Optical Disc), etc., an HD-DVD9 using a red laser, Blue Laser DVD using a blue purple laser, etc.  
         [0179]     According to the present invention, when a structured document is converted into another data structure, converted-to design (data structure) can be separately generated, and the conversion can be performed almost without processing the design. Therefore, the data and the design can be separately managed and reused.  
         [0180]     In the above-mentioned examples, an XML document is converted into an HTML document, but the conversion by the document conversion and use system according to the present embodiment is not limited to this application, but the conversion can be performed between other structured documents such as from an SGML document to an HTML document, etc.