11. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the input hierarchical data structure is represented by an input data structure tree having a root node and a plurality of children nodes, each node representing a key in the input hierarchical data structure; and for each node of the input hierarchical data structure tree, specifying an associated scope dictionary containing zero or more key value pairs in the temporary data structure.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the input hierarchical data structure is represented by an input data structure tree having a root node and a plurality of children nodes, each node representing a key in the input hierarchical data structure; and for each node of the input hierarchical data structure tree, specifying an associated scope dictionary containing zero or more key value pairs in the temporary data structure. 12. The method of claim 11 , wherein generating the output hierarchical data structure comprises inserting at least one default key value pair into the scope dictionary associated with the root node.