Patent ID: 7519574

Claim:
A method for associating information related to a component in a structured document that is stored in its native format in a database system comprising: a) generating a hierarchical node tree comprising a plurality of nodes, wherein each node represents a component in the structured document and wherein each node comprises a header section and a child pointer section wherein the child pointer section comprises at least three formats for a child pointer wherein a first format applies when the child pointer points to an ordered attribute in a different node, a second format applies when the child pointer points to an ordered attribute in an in-lined character array and a third format applies when the child pointer fully describes an associated child and a value thereof; b) for each node, generating a path associated with the node, wherein the path follows the hierarchical structure of the structured document from a root node to the node; c) storing in each node an identifier associated with the path for the node; and d) providing a table that correlates the identifier with information related to the associated path, wherein the information applies to the component represented by the node.