Invited talk at CIAA'09 on applications of automata in XML processing

Last week I gave an invited talk at the 14th International Conference on Implementation and Application of Automata (CIAA'09) in Sydney, Australia. I talked about applications of automata in XML processing. More specifically, I addressed three problem areas:

1. Using automata for XML validation, where I addressed DTDs and XML Schema (more precisely, restraint competition grammars), their automata theoretic analogs, and efficient streaming validation.
2. Using automata in XML publish-subscribe and complex-event processing systems, and
3. Using automata for evaluating highly expressive node selecting queries with a constant number of sequential passes over the data.

I also talked a little about the industrial importance of complex-event processing systems.

Overall, the conference was a very nice opportunity to meet some old friends. Unfortunately, it was not a equally great opportunity to make new ones among the Koala population (i.e., form a coalition). All the local Koala's seemed to live in zoos and were said to die from stress if one touches them. (So that's illegal.) Generally, the wildlife is well protected there. I saw a sign at the beach which put picking up seashells or barnacles under a fine of up to $22,000.

(Note: the picture is from Wikipedia. I saw no Koalas, just barnacles.)