Efficient interpretation of tabular documents

We present efficient techniques for the interpretation and representation of tabular documents. Our goal is to achieve processing times that are fast enough for an interactive table conversion system. The techniques are based on the run-length encoded representation of scanned documents. We use DSX assignment tables, a predominant type of engineering drawing in telephone company central offices, as sample images in this paper. However, the techniques presented can be applied directly to tabular documents in any application