Structured document management system, structured document management method, search device and search method

A structured document management method for managing a structured document, comprising:

• decomposing an inputted structured document into plural partial structures in accordance with a setting and generating a relation between the partial structures as first structural information;
• generating a relation between elements in the partial structure for each of the decomposed partial structures as second structural information so that a depth-first node order is assigned to each of the elements in the partial structure and a maximum node order of node orders of elements below the element is associated with the element;
• and
• retaining the first structural information and the second structural information and managing the structured document.

A search method which performs structure searching under a search condition of an ancestor-descendant relation between elements in a structured document, the method comprising the steps of:

• retaining first structural information showing a relation between plural partial structures obtained by decomposing a structured document in accordance with a setting and second structural information showing a relation between elements in the partial structure for each of the partial structures;
• and
• determining by the first structural information an ancestor-descendant relation between the partial structures including elements;
• and if the partial structures are in an ancestor-descendant relation, determining by the second structural information an ancestor-descendant relation between an element which is located on a path from an ancestor partial structure to a descendant partial structure and is a root of a child partial structure of the ancestor partial structure and an element included in the ancestor partial structure.