1. A computer-implemented method for identifying client states, the computer-implemented method on a data processing system comprising: receiving, by a processor of the data processing system, a set of paths representative of a document object model (DOM) associated with a web page of a rich Internet application; for each path in the set of paths received by the processor, extracting a subtree, as Subtree X, for a current path; traversing known sub-paths under the current path and deleting corresponding subtrees from Subtree X; reading contents of and determining states of Subtree X to form a State X; adding the State X to a set of current states; and responsive to a determination no more paths exist, returning the set of current states of the rich Internet application.