Structure
The underlying file format is ASN.1, with tag/length/value blocks. Text values of attributes and elements are therefore stored with length prefixes rather than end delimiters, so there is no need to escape special characters. The equivalent of end tags ("terminators") are only needed at the end of a list of child-elements, and binary data need not be base64 encoded.
Fast Infoset is a higher level format built upon ASN.1 formalisms. Element and attribute names are stored within the octet stream, unlike traditional ASN.1. This means that it is possible to recover a conventional XML file from the binary stream without the need to reference any XML Schema. It does not attempt to convert an XML Schema directly into an ASN.1 definition. (ASN.1 "Tags" are just type names, e.g. String, Integer, or complex types.) ASN.1 together with ECN is used to define the file format.
An index table is built for most strings, which includes element and attribute names, and their values. This means that the text of repeated tags and values only appears once per document.
Read more about this topic: Fast Infoset
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One tiny crack throughout the structure spreads,
And its own weight soon brings it toppling down.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
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