Method and device for generating reference structural patterns adapted to represent hierarchized data

A device including at least one processor for generating reference structural patterns adapted to represent hierarchized data, comprising:

• an extracting unit constructed to extract primary structural patterns associated with the hierarchized data, each of the primary structural patterns representing a set of pieces of structural information;
• a determining unit constructed to determine a degree of use of the extracted primary structural patterns on a basis of a number of hierarchized pieces of data able to be represented by the extracted primary structural patterns;
• a grouping unit constructed to group the extracted primary structural patterns into groups of primary structural patterns, wherein the grouping comprises grouping primary structural patterns that are close with respect to a distance between the primary structural patterns that is weighted by the degree of use of at least one of the primary structural patterns;
• a determining unit constructed to determine one reference structural pattern per determined group of primary structural patterns, the reference structural pattern being adapted to represent the primary structural patterns of a group associated with it;
• a determining unit constructed to determine pieces of information on difference between the reference structural patterns and the associated hierarchized data;
• and
• a coding unit constructed to code the hierarchized data according to the reference structural patterns and the pieces of difference information,
• wherein the reference structural pattern associated with the group is determined on the basis of at least some of the primary structural patterns of the group and, for each primary structural pattern a measurement of representativeness with resect to the hierarchical data associated with primary structural patterns of the group, the reference structural pattern so determined being referred to as a median reference structural pattern, and
• wherein the reference structural pattern associated with the group is more particularly determined on the basis of the primary structural patterns having the highest representativeness measurements.