JP2000035913A - Hypertext document updating detection method and client - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect the updating of a designated Web page while reducing a storage capacity only on a client side without changing a server side including a file name invariable reference file. SOLUTION: When registration is instructed from a user for a Web page during display at a display means 42, by the control of a page information management means 47, a check sum calculation means 43 calculates the check sum of the HTML file and reference file of the Web page and stores a check sum total and an URL in a nonvolatile storage means 44. Thereafter, the Web page is read through the internet 1 at a time interval predetermined by the user, the check sum total calculated in the check sum calculation means 43 and the check sum total previously stored in the nonvolatile storage means 44 are compared in a check sum comparison means 45. When change is present, it is considered that the Web page is updated, the user is notified by a user notifying means 46 and the check sum total of the nonvolatile storage means 44 is updated as well.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hypertext document update detection method and a client, and more particularly, to a hypertext document specified by a user in advance.
The present invention relates to a hypertext document update detection method for periodically detecting presence / absence of an update and informing a user of the update, and a client employing the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It has been common practice to incorporate figures and tables in a single document. In a document file on a computer, figures and tables having different formats in the original text document file are used. It is realized as "hypertext" incorporating a function of referring to a data file of an image, searching for a data file of a reference destination in response to a user operation, and displaying it together with a document.
The file to be referred to here is not limited to data files of figures and tables in different formats, and may be other text format document files or files in which moving images and sounds are recorded in digital format. This is called a reference file. Note that these reference files are often stored on the same computer as the reference source document file, but may be stored on another computer connected via a network.

[0003] In recent years, the World Wide Web (WWW)
Hypertext databases distributed on the Internet, which are called on the Internet, are being widely used, and vast databases are being built around the world. In this WWW, the user
Using software called W browser, URL (U
The information provided by the information provider (hereinafter, referred to as a Web page) is specified by a niform resource locator, and the latest information can be obtained in an interactive manner. This WWW browser uses HTML (Hypertext Markup Lang
uage), a document file described in a language for describing a document in a hypertext format, and a reference file therein are read, edited, and displayed via the Internet.

A conventional WWW browser is provided with a Web page registration function for registering a Web page frequently viewed by a user as a "favorite page", and the user can easily select from a list of registered pages. The desired Web page can be acquired by simple operation,
The labor for inputting L can be saved. As a method of confirming whether or not a registered Web page has been updated, an external storage of a client that uses a HTML-format document file (hereinafter referred to as an HTML file) of the Web page that the user has accessed before is used. It is stored in the device and the HTML of the Web page is periodically
A method of reading a file and automatically performing comparison and collation using a file image is known. However, in this method, the images referenced in the HTML file,
For reference files such as audio and video, if the file names are the same, no update can be detected.

[0005] Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-27867 discloses that
The acquisition history of the registration page specified by the user is recorded on the client side, and when the registration page is read and displayed, the information of the last update time is acquired from the server in addition to the contents of the Web page, and the last access time is obtained. A method is disclosed in which whether or not the content is the same as when the user accessed last time is determined by comparing with the previous time, and the presence or absence of the update is distinguished by changing the display color or the like.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional method of storing the HTML file of the registration page in the external storage device of the client, reading it periodically, and automatically performing the comparison and collation using the file image, the HTML file is used. Updates cannot be detected if the file names are the same for reference files such as images, sounds, and moving images that are referred to within. In order to detect the update of the reference file as well, a method of storing the reference file in the external storage device of the client and periodically performing comparison and collation may be considered.
Since many reference files have a large data amount, there is a problem that the storage capacity of the external storage device of the client is squeezed.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-27867, it is sufficient that the last update time information of the HTML file of the Web page and the reference file can be obtained from the server. Also, it is necessary to take a countermeasure, and it is difficult to request a countermeasure from all of a large number of information providers distributed on the Internet.

[0008] The object of the present invention, taking into account the above-mentioned situation, can be realized only on the client side without any change on the server side, and can be performed by the user without squeezing the storage capacity of the external storage device of the client. A hypertext document update detection method capable of detecting an update of a specified registration page including a reference file such as an image, a sound, and a moving image referred to in an HTML file and notifying a user, and a client adopting the method. To provide.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hypertext document update detection method, comprising a hypertext document comprising an HTML file stored in a server on a network and a reference file referred to in the HTML file. A method for detecting update of a hypertext document at a client side, wherein a check sum of an HTML file and a reference file constituting a specified hypertext document is calculated, and a check standard is stored in a nonvolatile storage device. The checksum or the total checksum as a value is the UR of the hypertext document.
L, and thereafter, the checksums of the HTML file and the reference file, which are configured by reading the designated hypertext document at separately determined time intervals, are calculated and stored in the nonvolatile storage device. It is configured to compare with an inspection reference value, determine that the hypertext document has been updated when detecting a mismatch, notify the user, and update the inspection reference value of the storage device with a newly calculated value. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the hypertext document update detection method according to the first aspect, wherein each of the checksums of the HTML file and the reference file and the total checksum are stored as the inspection reference value. The updated portion is notified to the user in file units.

A client according to a third aspect of the present invention is a client provided with a WWW browser for reading, editing, and displaying a hypertext document described in HTML from a server on a network. Checksum calculating means for calculating each checksum, and non-volatile storage for storing each checksum of the HTML file and the reference file constituting the hypertext document together with the URL of the hypertext document or the total checksum as an inspection reference value Means, a checksum comparing means for comparing each checksum calculated by the checksum calculating means or the checksum total with an inspection reference value stored in the nonvolatile storage means, and a mismatch between the checksum comparing means. A user notification means for notifying the user that the hypertext documents upon detection has been updated, the checksum calculating means, nonvolatile storage means, checksum comparison means, user notification means and W
The information of the hypertext document designated by the user is registered in the non-volatile storage means by controlling a WW browser, and thereafter, the checksums of the HTML file and the reference file are calculated by reading the information at a separately determined time interval. Page information management means for notifying the user when the values do not match as compared with the inspection reference value stored in the means and for supervising the processing for updating the inspection reference value.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the client according to the third aspect, the inspection reference value of the hypertext document stored in the non-volatile storage means is set to each of an HTML file and a reference file constituting the hypertext document. The user notification means comprises a checksum and a checksum total, and is configured to notify the user of the update of the hypertext document in file units.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the client according to the third or fourth aspect, the user notifying unit notifies the user by changing the display on the list screen, and the page information managing unit determines the page information by the user. The inspection reference value is updated after a confirmation response to the display change is obtained.

A client according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the client according to the third, fourth or fifth aspect, further comprising an automatic start / stop unit for starting and stopping the apparatus including turning on and off the power, and It is characterized in that the management means operates the automatic start / stop means as needed to read the designated hypertext document during a time period when the network load is small.

[0015]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a WWW system according to the present embodiment includes an Internet 1, a WWW server 2 and a WWW client 4 connected thereto.
And a storage device 3 in which a Web page (hypertext document) provided by the WWW server 2 is stored.

The WWW server 2 is one of a number of servers connected to the Internet 1, and transmits Web pages stored in the storage device 3 to users via the Internet 1.

The WWW client 4 is one of a large number of clients having a WWW browser 41 and a display means 42. The checksum calculation means 43, the non-volatile storage means 44, the checksum A comparison unit 45, a user notification unit 46, and a page information management unit 47 are provided.

The WWW browser 41 is connected to the Internet 1
The Web page is read by accessing the WWW server 2 connected to the Web server 2, and the display means 42 outputs the image, audio, video, and the like.

The checksum calculation means 43 operates according to an instruction from the page information management means 47, and outputs the WWW browser 41
Calculates the checksums of the HTML file and the reference file that constitute the Web page read by, and uses them to calculate the total checksum.

The non-volatile storage means 44 stores the total of checksums of the HTML file and the reference file constituting the Web page together with the URL of the Web page specified by the user as an inspection reference value for detecting whether or not the file has been updated. Storage means such as a hard disk or E
This is realized by an EPROM or the like.

The checksum comparing means 45 operates according to an instruction from the page information managing means 47, and compares the total checksum calculated by the checksum calculating means 43 with the inspection reference value stored in the non-volatile storage means 44. Thus, the presence or absence of the update of the information of the Web page is detected.

The user notifying means 46 operates when the checksum comparing means 45 detects a mismatch according to an instruction of the page information managing means 47, and notifies the user that the Web page has been updated. For this purpose, for example, when the registered page list is displayed, a method of changing the display color of the row of the corresponding Web page or blinking it, or providing a remarks column to display a message can be considered.
The changed display is returned to the normal display if no change is detected at the next check.

The page information management means 47 controls the checksum calculation means 43, the non-volatile storage means 44, the checksum comparison means 45, the user notification means 46, and the WWW browser 41 to monitor the Web page designated by the user. The URL and the checksum total are stored in the non-volatile storage means 44 as targets, and thereafter, the total sum of the checksums of the HTML file and the reference file is calculated by reading the data at each time interval separately set by the user. And notifies the user when the values do not match as compared with the inspection reference value stored in the non-volatile storage means 4.
4 to control a series of processes for updating the inspection reference value.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG. First, when a user issues an instruction to register a Web page being displayed by the display unit 42 as an update detection target, the page information management unit 47 recognizes this and performs registration processing. First, an HTML file and a reference file of the Web page being displayed are sent from the WWW browser 41 to the checksum calculating means 43, where the HTML file and the image file, audio file, moving image file, and the like referenced in the HTML file are sent. A checksum for each file is calculated for all referenced files, including bitmap files,
Based on this, the total checksum of all files is calculated (step S1).

When the total checksum is calculated, the page information management means 47 determines the U of the registered web page.
The RL is separately stored together with the identification information such as the title name, and the URL and the checksum total are stored in the nonvolatile storage means 44 in association with each other (step S2). As a result, the specified Web page is registered as a target for detecting the presence or absence of an update.

When the registration of the update detection is completed, the page information management means 47 retrieves the URL of the registered Web page at every time interval separately set by the user, and sequentially passes the URL to the WWW browser 41 to transmit the URL to the Internet 1. Read the corresponding web page via
The checksum total is newly calculated by the checksum calculation means 43 for the HTML file and the reference file of the page (steps S3 and S4).

When the total checksum is calculated again,
In accordance with the instruction from the page information management unit 47, the checksum comparison unit 45 compares the checksum with the total checksum stored as the inspection reference value in the nonvolatile storage unit 44 (step S5). If there is no change in the total checksum, the Web page has not been updated, and if there is a change in the total checksum, it is considered to have been updated.

Through the above steps S1 to S5, when the registered URL web page is updated, the WWW client 4 can detect the presence or absence of the update within a separately designated time interval.

As a result of the comparison, if there is a change in the total checksum, the user notification means 46 notifies the user that the Web page has been updated (step S6). Thereby, the user can know that the update has been performed without accessing the Web page of the WWW server 2 by himself / herself. Thereafter, the inspection reference value stored in the non-volatile storage unit 44 is updated by the recalculated checksum total by the page information management unit 47 (step S7). Thus, the WWW client 4 can continuously detect the update of the registered Web page.

In the above description of the embodiment, only the total checksum is stored in the nonvolatile storage means as the inspection reference value. This makes it possible to detect whether or not the Web page has been updated, including the reference file. However, if each checksum is stored in addition to the total checksum as the inspection reference value, the storage capacity increases, but it is possible to detect which part of the Web page has been updated in file units and notify the user. It becomes possible. The same function can be realized without storing only the checksums and not storing the total checksum.

Also, it has been described that the user notification means notifies the user of the update by changing the screen display, and the inspection reference value of the non-volatile storage means is updated when the processing of the screen change is performed. There is no problem if the time interval for periodically checking for update detection is relatively long and the user frequently uses it, but when using after pausing the user for a period longer than the check time interval During the suspension of use, two checks are performed, and the first update is detected.
If it is not detected the first time, the display of the screen is not updated, and the display is shifted in relation to the state before use suspension which the user is aware of. To avoid this, the inspection reference value may be updated when the user inputs a confirmation response to the change notification screen display.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a user registers a Web page to be subjected to update detection, the page information management means separately specifies the URL of the specified Web page together with identification information such as a title name. It is described that the URL and the checksum total are stored in association with each other in the non-volatile storage means. However, identification information such as a title name may also be stored in the non-volatile storage means and the two may be combined.

It is desirable that reading of the registered Web page for checking is performed during a time period when the network load is small, such as at night. To this end, it is preferable to provide an automatic start / stop unit for starting and stopping the apparatus including turning on and off the power of the client apparatus, and to operate the page information management unit as necessary to perform reading. .

[0035]

As described above in detail, according to the hypertext document update detection method and client of the present invention, the UR of the hypertext document specified by the user is determined.
The checksum of the HTML file and the reference file or the total checksum of the reference file is stored in the non-volatile storage means as the inspection reference value in correspondence with L, and the WWW server is periodically accessed to read out the hypertext document and read out the HTML.
The presence or absence of an update is detected by calculating the checksum of the file and the reference file and comparing the checksum with the inspection reference value. Therefore, there is no need to make any changes on the server side, and the present invention can be realized only on the client side.

Thus, the client only needs to store the URL and the checksum or the total checksum.
Unlike the related art, it is not necessary to store the HTML file, so that the storage capacity of the storage device can be reduced. In addition, a slight update that is easily overlooked and an update of the reference file without changing the file name can be detected. Also, since the registered hypertext document is automatically checked at a predetermined time interval, the user can know whether or not there is an update without having to perform an operation of accessing the server by himself once registered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Internet 2 WWW server 3 Storage device 4 WWW client 41 WWW browser 42 Display means 43 Checksum calculation means 44 Nonvolatile storage means 45 Checksum comparison means 46 User notification means 47 Page information management means

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. H stored in a server on a network
A hypertext document update detection method for detecting, on a client side, whether a hypertext document composed of a TML file and a reference file referred to in the HTML file has been updated, and constitutes a specified hypertext document. Calculate each checksum of the HTML file and the reference file and store the checksum or the total checksum together with the URL of the hypertext document as a check reference value in a non-volatile storage device. HTML that reads and specifies the specified hypertext document
The respective checksums of the file and the reference file are calculated and compared with the inspection reference values stored in the non-volatile storage device, and when a mismatch is detected, it is determined that the hypertext document has been updated and the user is notified. And updating the inspection reference value of the storage device with the newly calculated value. 2. The hyper according to claim 1, wherein each check sum of the HTML file and the reference file and a total checksum of the reference file are stored as the inspection reference value, and an updated portion is notified to a user in file units. Text document update detection method. 3. A client equipped with a WWW browser for reading, editing, and displaying a hypertext document described in HTML from a server on a network, and calculates respective checksums of an HTML file and a reference file constituting the hypertext document. Checksum calculating means, a non-volatile storage means for storing the checksum of the HTML file and the reference file constituting the hypertext document together with the URL of the hypertext document or a total checksum as an inspection reference value, A checksum comparing means for comparing each checksum calculated by the sum calculating means or the total checksum with an inspection reference value stored in the non-volatile memory means; User notifying means for notifying the user that the text document has been updated; and hypertext designated by the user by controlling the checksum calculating means, the non-volatile storage means, the checksum comparing means, the user notifying means, and the WWW browser. The information of the document is registered in the non-volatile storage means, and thereafter read at each separately determined time interval to calculate each checksum of the HTML file and the reference file, and compare with the inspection reference value stored in the non-volatile storage means. And a page information management means for notifying the user when there is a mismatch and for updating the inspection reference value. 4. The inspection reference value of the hypertext document stored in the non-volatile storage means comprises checksums of an HTML file and a reference file constituting the hypertext document and a checksum total, and the user notification 4. The client according to claim 3, wherein the means is configured to notify the user of the update of the hypertext document in file units. 5. The user notification means notifies the user of a change in display on a list screen, and the page information management means updates the inspection reference value after receiving a confirmation response to the display change by the user. The client according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the client is configured as follows. 6. An automatic start and stop unit for starting and stopping the apparatus including turning on and off a power supply, wherein the page information management unit operates the automatic start and stop unit as needed during a time period when a network load is small. 6. The client according to claim 3, wherein the designated hypertext document is read.