Patent ID: 7155705

Claim:
A method for automatically generating a description of a data exchange format based on computer program source code expressed in a source language, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of: receiving, from a source code file, comment data including first data indicating a parameter of the data exchange format, wherein the comment data is ignored by a source code processor of the source language; receiving from the source code file second data, associated with the comment data, indicating a statement that defines a class of data objects in the source language; wherein the data exchange format defines, using symbolic tags, a hierarchical structure of data that is exported from, and imported to, data objects of the class of data objects; automatically generating, based on the first data and the second data, third data that describes the data exchange format, wherein the third data comprises instructions defining a mapping between attributes of the class of data objects and elements of the data exchange format; and generating a marshalling module to convert a data object of the class of data objects into a data item of the data exchange format as described by the third data.