A Compressed XML Schema Representation for Metadata Processing in Mobile Environments

Efficient packaging and communication of metadata are critical in multimedia communications to achieve seamless mobility. The XML schema compression proposed here comprises a method for decomposing an XML schema into a sequence of atomic elements. This representation reorganizes the given XML schema with the threefold purpose of facilitating dynamic schema switching and reconfiguration of metadata decoders, increasing the efficiency of binary metadata decoding, and storing XML schemas in binary format. As a result, schemas can be efficiently transmitted over congested networks and stored in devices with limited resources. Since each schema may represent the metadata structure for a different type of media format, this allows a system to support different profiles (schemas) and media formats, enabling dynamically reconfigurable metadata encoders and decoders