1. A method for generating a data parser for parsing an input stream of data objects, the method including: receiving information representative of a hierarchical data format defining a plurality of objects organized in a hierarchy, the objects including one or more schema objects representing data objects, and one or more container objects each associated with one or more schema objects; and processing the received information to form the data parser, the processing including: determining permissible transitions between successive data objects in the input stream, based at least in part on the information representative of the hierarchical data format, including determining permissible transitions between the objects of the hierarchical data format in the input stream, and including generating a compilation tree representation of the hierarchical data format, the compilation tree representation including a plurality of nodes interconnected by a plurality of edges with at least some of the plurality of nodes representing one of the plurality of objects defined by the hierarchical data format and at least some of the plurality of nodes representing compilation specific objects; associating one or more data operations with each of the determined permissible transitions; and storing a specification for configuring a processor to execute the data parser to: (1) recognize a transition between a first data object and a second data object in the input stream, and (2) perform a data operation associated with the recognized transition on a data value within the second data object based at least in part on a context associated with one or more previously recognized transitions.