1. A method for data stream identification, comprising: receiving a data stream from a data source; executing a first transform on the data stream to determine if the data stream comprises a first characteristic associated with the first transform, the first transform part of a transform tree comprising a plurality of transforms arranged in a hierarchy; executing one or more additional transforms to determine if the data stream comprises one or more additional characteristics associated with the one or more additional transforms; computing an efficiency level associated with the execution of each transform; and identifying a path through the transform tree wherein the computed efficiency level of each transform in the path is above a threshold value to determine characteristics of the data stream.