Patent ID: 7930630

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for parsing an input file in a markup language, comprising: utilizing an Application Programmer Interface (API) to parse the input file, wherein the API includes methods comprising: a get next element method, a get element method, a get current element method, a get first child element method, a get next sibling element method, a get value method, a get attribute method, a push context method, a pop context method, and a check context method; parsing the input file using the API into nodes that represent a structure and content of the input file; wherein after the input file is parsed into the nodes, the nodes are explorable in any direction, wherein the input file is parsed in a forward direction or in the forward direction and a reverse direction; changing states in a state machine using the API in response to context events encountered while parsing the input file; and storing context events in a stack in response to changes in the state machine.