Patent ID: 8341197

Claim:
A decoding method for restoring an initial file, file name, and file hierarchy from an archive file containing one or more files, one or more files contained in a folder, or one or more files and one or more files contained in a folder together with the file name and file hierarchy information, wherein standard hierarchy information which indicates a file name with a file path represented in a predetermined common character coding, irrespective of system environments, is at least included in the file hierarchy information in the archive file, and original hierarchy information which indicates an original character coding used to represent the file name with the file path is stored in association with the standard hierarchy information, when the file hierarchy information in the archive file contains the original hierarchy information, the decoding method comprising: an original hierarchy information decoding step of restoring, when the file hierarchy information in the archive file contains the original hierarchy information and the original character coding is a non-ASCII special character coding that can be used in a system environment where decoding is performed, the original hierarchy information to a character string in the non-ASCII special character coding and of restoring the file name and file hierarchy; and a standard hierarchy information decoding step of restoring, when the file hierarchy information in the archive file does not include the character string in the non-ASCII special character coding or if the non-ASCII special character coding is not a character coding that can be used in the system environment where decoding is performed, the file name and file hierarchy by converting the file name in a standard character coding indicated by standard hierarchy information represented in the predetermined common character coding, irrespective of system environments, in the archive file into a file name in the character coding that can be used in the system environment.