Efficient incremental validation of XML documents after composite updates

We describe an efficient method for the incremental validation of XML documents after composite updates. We introduce the class of Bounded-Edit (BE) DTDs and XML Schemas, and give a simple incremental revalidation algorithm that yields optimal performance for them, in the sense that its time complexity is linear in the number of operations in the update. We give extensive experimental results showing that our algorithm exhibits excellent scalability. Finally, we provide a statistical analysis of over 250 DTDs and XML Schema specifications found on the Web, showing that over 99% of them are in fact in BE.