JP2000259464A - Device and method for presenting information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To present information consisting of files expressed with various file formats to a user by interpreting an extracted file presentation program and generating a program peculiar for a platform. SOLUTION: A file presenting means 7 is a function module for running the file presentation program and presenting the contents of a file and is displayed on the screen of a cathode-ray tube(CRT) display, for example. A file presentation program interpreting means 8 interprets the file presentation program and presents the contents of the file by interpreting the file format while generating the file presentation program suitable for the platform of an information presenting device 100. Further, a file presentation program running form generating means 12 transforms the file presentation program inputted from a file presentation program input means 11 into more efficient form, namely, into executable form.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a variety of files
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information presenting apparatus and method for presenting information consisting of a file expressed in a format to a user, and in particular, a file presenting program that operates on a predetermined platform including hardware and an operating system of the information presenting apparatus The present invention relates to an information presenting apparatus and method for presenting a file to a user according to the information.

More particularly, the present invention relates to an information presentation apparatus and method for semi-permanently accessing files represented in various file formats, and more particularly, to file access even when the platform changes. The present invention relates to an information presentation apparatus and method capable of presenting a file to a user.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Along with recent technical innovations, general-purpose computer systems such as workstations and personal computers (PCs) are becoming more sophisticated and multifunctional. Along with this, the data handled on the computer system includes computer data such as text data.
Not only data but also various types of images, sounds, and moving images have come to the fore. A general-purpose computer system processes various data having different properties, manages the data as a file of a predetermined format, and presents the file to a user.

At present, there are many types of file formats that can be handled by a computer. Image information, audio information, video information, document format information, etc.
Formats are available. It is expected that the types of file formats will continue to increase in the future.

[0005] Usually, in order to guarantee access to various file formats for a long period of time, file conversion is performed. For example, converting file formats edited with past word processors to the latest formats is routine in the art.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-126353 discloses that
In order to control the notification of input / output data between an input / output device having a plurality of input and output types and a computer,
An input / output control method for analyzing and converting input / output data to conform to a data format of a notification destination based on predetermined data analysis and conversion information is disclosed. That is, in this input / output control method, input data is converted into data corresponding to a computer, and at the time of output, format conversion is performed according to an output device.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-274580 discloses
A document storage / output system capable of outputting a data file at high speed by connecting a plurality of output devices and storing data in a format optimal for each output device is disclosed. That is, according to the storage / output system, a format optimal for various uses is held in the computer system in advance, and it can be managed in detail according to the use, and an appropriate format can be used.

[0008] These known techniques generally have a basic feature of converting a file format as necessary. Therefore, in order to accept many file formats, many conversion programs must be prepared.

However, the effort to create a format conversion program is generally excessive. The file formats used in the past are enormous, and the file formats that must be accommodated by the conversion program will continue to expand.

Generally, the operating environment of a computer is said to be determined by a combination of computer hardware and an operating system (OS), and this is called a "platform". If the platform changes in the future, all existing format conversion programs will have to be reworked to accommodate the new platform. This is a so-called “transplant” operation. Transplanting is often very labor intensive.

[0011] Further, the task of converting all documents stored in the past into a new format using a format conversion program is extremely laborious for the user. Also, new software may not always be able to faithfully reproduce what previous software represented. Therefore, when relying on the above-described method of allowing file access by format conversion, there is a great risk that information is deformed.

[0012] In short, if the platform of the computer changes (the platform changes with the passage of time!), It becomes impossible to handle files in the previous format. This will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 21, for convenience, it is assumed that the version of the platform, the application running on the platform, and the file format accessible by the application are changed every year. That is, in the figure, “PF / xx” is the platform of the xx fiscal year version, and “AP / xx” is the PF
The xx year version application operable on xx and “FMT / xx” indicate the file format accessible by the xx year version application APxx. (However, in general,
All layers of platforms, applications and file formats rarely change versions in tandem. )

Each platform PF / xx prepares a group of instructions that can be used by the application APxx corresponding to the version. In addition, each application AP
/ Xx is the format FMT /
A file presentation program PR / xx for accessing a file in the xx format and presenting it to the user (for example, displaying the contents of the file on a display screen).
Contains. Here, for the sake of convenience of description, it is assumed that file compatibility due to a version change is not maintained. That is, each file presentation program PR / 95
Shall not be able to access a format file other than the format FMT / 95 format to which the version conforms.

The platform prepares a group of instructions for an application that runs on itself, but this group of instructions is changed for each version of the platform and does not completely match between versions. The lack of platform compatibility support for applications also relies on differences in the set of instructions between versions. As described above, the platform is determined by the combination of the computer hardware and the OS. The hardware is developed by the computer maker, and the OS is developed and provided to the market by the OS vendor. In other words, since the platform is composed of a combination of products of different entities having different market strategies, it is rather impossible to completely maintain compatibility between versions.

Under such circumstances, on the platform PF / 99 released in 1999, 1
Consider presenting a file in the format FMT / 95 created in 995 to the user.

In this case, the application AP / 95 capable of handling the FMT / 95 format file, or the file presentation program PR / 95 which is at least a part thereof, must be ported to the platform PF / 99. . Furthermore, in the 1999 fiscal year, in order to enable file presentation corresponding to the format FMT / xx format of each version, all of the file presentation programs PR / xx for each version must be ported to PF / 99. Must.

The file formats that can be handled by the current computer include image information, audio information,
A plurality of types are prepared for each information such as moving image information and document information. Since there is a file presentation program for each file format in each year, the number of programs that must be ported to achieve file access to all file formats on the platform PF / 99 is the number of formats And the number of versions, which is extremely large. FIG. 22 depicts a daunting transplant operation. However, in the figure, “PR / NN: CC” indicates a file presentation program PR / CC for the CC year transplanted to a platform for the NN year.

In summary, since access means and conversion means for the file format are developed for each specific platform, if a new platform is developed in the future, the access and conversion means currently used will be used. It is very likely that the program will not be able to start. Even if users carefully store their current files electronically, it is very likely that the stored content will be effectively lost due to lack of access to or conversion of those files. It is.

It is expected that the file formats handled by computers will continue to increase in the future.
Information stored in formats will be more likely to become inaccessible.

By the way, Java and Smalltalk
In an environment such as “Virtual Machi
The program is executed on a virtual computer called “ne”. The virtual computer converts a group of instructions prepared on a certain platform (tentatively “first platform”) and converts the set of instructions on another platform (tentatively “temporary”). The second platform ") has a function of realizing the instruction group prepared. That is, the second platform is virtually constructed by interposing a virtual computer on the first platform. As a result, an application corresponding to only the second platform can operate on the first platform with the intervention of the virtual computer.

In other words, the virtual computer has a role of emulating another platform on one platform and making the difference between the platforms invisible to the application.

As long as such a virtual computer is provided, the program once created can be executed on any platform. However, such an operating environment only provides a virtual computer, and individual files and a file presentation program for presenting them must be managed and executed at the responsibility of the user.

[0024]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent information presenting apparatus and method capable of presenting information consisting of files expressed in various file formats to a user. .

A further object of the present invention is to present a file created by a file presenting program operating on a predetermined platform constituted by hardware and an operating system of an information presenting device to a user on another platform. An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent information presenting apparatus and method which can perform the information presentation.

It is a further object of the present invention that various files
Files expressed in the format can be accessed semi-permanently even if the platform changes,
An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent information presenting apparatus and method capable of presenting a file to a user.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide future assurance of access to currently owned files on various platforms in the future with minimal effort.

[0028]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and a first aspect of the present invention is to convert a file expressed in a variety of file formats on a predetermined plot form into a file. (A) input means for receiving a user input, (b) file holding means for holding files having various formats, and (c) a program for presenting a file. (E) a file presenting program holding means for holding, (d) a file management information unit group holding means for holding a file management information unit comprising a combination of a file name and a file presenting program for presenting the file name, and (e)
An information unit search unit for searching a corresponding file management information unit from the file management information unit group holding unit in response to a user input from the input unit; and (f) extracted by the information unit search unit. File presentation management means for extracting a corresponding file and a file presentation program from each of the file holding means and the file presentation program holding means in accordance with the file management information unit; and (g) interpreting the file presentation program extracted by the file presentation management means. And (h) file presenting means for executing a program generated by the file presenting program interpreting means and presenting a file to a user. Characterized by having It is a broadcast presentation device.

[0029] The information presentation apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention further comprises a general information unit group holding means for holding fragmentary text information, and a fragmentary information stored in the general information unit group holding means. An information unit group presentation unit for presenting text information to a user may be provided, and the information unit search unit may also search the general information unit group holding unit.

The information presenting apparatus may further include a file presenting program inputting means for inputting a program for presenting a specific file, which can be interpreted by the file presenting program interpreting means.

Further, a file presenting program input means for inputting a program for presenting a specific file, and a program input from the file presenting program input means can be interpreted by the file presenting program interpreting means. And a file presentation program execution format generation means for converting the format into a format.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information presenting method for presenting to a user files represented in various file formats on an information processing system having a predetermined plot form, The information processing system, an input device for receiving a user input,
A storage device for storing information; and an output device for presenting information to a user, wherein the information presentation method includes: (a) storing files having various formats in the storage device; Storing a file presentation program for presenting the file on the output device in the storage device; and (c) storing a file management information unit including a combination of a file name and a file presentation program for presenting the file name in the storage device. Accumulating in the
(D) receiving a user input; (e) responding to the user input; searching and retrieving a corresponding file management information unit from the storage device; and (f) retrieving the file management information unit in the step (e). Extracting a corresponding file and a file presentation program from the storage device according to the file management information unit;
(G) interpreting the file presentation program extracted in step (f) to generate a program specific to the platform; and (h) executing the program generated in step (g) to generate a file. Presenting to a user.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information presenting method, wherein a general information unit composed of fragmentary text information is stored in the storage device, and the general information unit is extracted from the storage device and fragmented. Presenting text information to the user, and in the step (f), a general information unit may be searched.

The information presenting method may further include a step of inputting a program for presenting a specific file, which can be interpreted in the step (g).

The information presenting method further includes a step of inputting a program for presenting a specific file, and a step of converting the input program into a format that can be interpreted in the step (g). You may.

[0036]

The information presentation device has a predetermined platform. The term “platform” used here refers to the hardware of the information presentation device and the system / operating system such as the “operating system” that runs on the hardware.
The operating environment is determined by software.

The file holding means holds files having various formats. Further, the file presenting program holding unit holds a file presenting program for presenting a file of each format stored in the file holding unit.

In the present invention, a combination of a file of a certain format and a presentation program for presenting the format file is treated as one unit of file management information. The file management information unit group holding unit holds a plurality of file management information unit information describing a combination of a file stored in the file holding unit and a file presentation program stored in the file presentation program holding unit.

The input means is a user interface for receiving an input from a user. The information unit search unit searches the file management information unit group holding unit according to a request from the user via the input unit, and extracts a file management information unit describing a combination of the specified file and the file presentation program. This is passed to the file presentation management means.

The file presentation management means searches each of the file holding means and the file presentation program holding means in accordance with the received file management information unit, and reads out the corresponding file and the file presentation program. Then, the file presentation program interpreting means is activated, and the read file and the file presentation program are transferred.

The file presenting program interpreting means interprets the received file presenting program, converts it into a program executable on the current platform of the information presenting apparatus, and executes it. Then, the file is presented to the file presenting means.

The file presentation program interpreting means interprets the bytecode and executes the virtual computer (Vir).
(Tual Machine).

The virtual computer converts an instruction group prepared on a certain platform (tentatively referred to as “first platform”) to realize an instruction group prepared on another platform (tentatively “second platform”). With the ability to That is, the second platform is virtually constructed by interposing a virtual computer on the first platform. That is, the virtual computer emulates another platform on one platform, and enables an application to operate on an originally incompatible / incompatible platform.

FIG. 23 schematically illustrates the role of the file presentation program interpreting means realized by the virtual computer. The figure shows a virtual computer VM / 99: 9 that emulates a 1995 platform on a 1999 platform PF / 99.
5 is illustrated.

On the virtual computer VM / 99: 95, all applications of the 1995 version can operate. For example, each file presentation program for presenting a file in a document format, a sound format, and an image format can be operated as it is simply by preparing a single virtual computer VM / 99: 95, and the porting work of the program Does not require any.

It should be appreciated that designing and fabricating a single virtual computer is far less labor, time and cost saving than porting all file presentation programs to another platform.

According to the present invention, the file presentation program is converted to be executable according to the current platform. In other words, the file and the program for presenting the file can be integratedly managed without depending on the platform.

In short, the information presentation device according to the present invention
A file and a program for presenting the file are managed as a set, and a mechanism for interpreting the presented program is provided at the same time. Even if the platform of the information presentation device changes, it is only necessary to recreate the file presentation program interpreting means, that is, one virtual computer for each platform. The effort required for this work is
Each time the platform changes, it's much smaller than developing a file presentation program that can handle all past file formats. In other words, even if the platform of the information presentation device changes in the future, access to all past files can be guaranteed only by improving the mechanism for interpreting the file presentation program. That is, the value of the past file assets is maintained.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible not only to guarantee access to past files, but also to provide unified access to files between various platforms that exist at the same time.

[0050] Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are:
It will become apparent from the following more detailed description based on the embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

[0051]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of an information presenting apparatus 100 suitable for realizing the present invention. The information presentation device 100 has an operating environment, that is, a “platform” determined by a combination of hardware of the information presentation device 100 itself and system software such as an operating system running on the device 100. Hereinafter, each unit will be described.

The input means 1 is a functional module for receiving an input from a user, and more specifically, a user input is performed through a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse (not shown).

The file holding means 10 is a device for storing a large number of files of various formats for a long period of time. The entity of the file holding means 10 is, for example,
An external storage device such as a hard disk device locally connected to the device 100 main body.

The file presenting program holding means 6 is an apparatus for holding one or more file presenting programs for presenting a file of each format. Holding means 6
Is, for example, an external storage device such as a hard disk device locally connected to the information presentation device 100 main body.

The file management information unit group holding means 5 is a functional module for holding file management information. The entity of the holding unit 5 is, for example, an external storage device such as a hard disk device locally connected to the main body of the device 100. The file management information unit mentioned here is
This is information including a combination of a file name having a predetermined file format and a file presenting program suitable for presenting the file.

The general information unit group holding means 2 is a functional module for holding the information unit group input by the user. The entity of the holding unit 2 is, for example, an external storage device such as a hard disk device locally connected to the main body of the device 100. Here, the general information unit is fragmentary text information input by the user via the input unit 1 (described later).
That is.

The information unit search means 3 searches for a specific information unit from the information unit groups stored in the file management information unit group holding means 5 or the general information unit group holding means 2 in response to a user input. This is a functional module for performing
The information unit group presenting means 4 is a functional module for displaying the searched information unit group, and is, for example, a CRT (Ca
This is displayed on a screen (not shown) such as a side ray tube. Details of the information retrieval and presentation processing procedure and the like will be described later.

The file presenting means 7 is a functional module for executing the file presenting program and presenting the contents of the file, for example, a CRT (Cathode R).
ayTube) is displayed on a screen (not shown) such as a display.

The file presenting program interpreting means 8 interprets the file presenting program, and
This is a function module that interprets the file format and presents the contents of the file while generating a file presenting program suitable for the platform that is provided. The file presentation program interpreting means 8 interprets the bytecode and executes the virtual computer (Virtual M).
implement). The virtual computer has a function of emulating another platform, and makes the difference between the platforms invisible to the application (described above).

The file presentation program input means 11
This is a functional module for inputting each file presentation program used in the information presentation device 100 to the information presentation device 100. Specifically, the file presentation program is input to the information presentation device 100 in the form of various recording media such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) and a compact disk (CD). Or,
The information may be input to the information presenting apparatus 100 in a form of being transferred from an external resource connected to the network.

The file presentation program execution format generation means 12 is a functional module for converting the file presentation program input from the file presentation program input means 11 into a more efficient model, that is, an executable format. An executable program is usually described in a so-called “byte code” format (described later).

The file presentation management means 9 is a functional module for managing both a file and a file presentation program for presenting a file requested by the user via the input means 1.

When the file management information unit 9 receives the file management information unit from the information unit search unit 3, the file presentation management unit 9 and the file presentation program holding unit 6
To obtain the corresponding file and the file presentation program, and transfer these to each of the file presentation program interpretation means 8. The file presentation program input from the outside is converted into an execution format, that is, a bytecode by the file presentation program execution format generation unit 12, and then received and stored in the file presentation program holding unit 6. However, the details of these processing procedures will be described later.

The entity of the information presentation device 100 is, for example, a general-purpose computer system called a “workstation” or a “personal computer”. This type of general-purpose computer system is generally
CPU (Central) which is the main controller
A processing unit is configured by connecting various peripheral devices such as a memory, an external storage device such as a hard disk device, and a user input / output device such as a keyboard / mouse or display via a bus. However, since these physical and electrical structures are well known to those skilled in the art, they will not be illustrated.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the information presenting apparatus 100 may be provided with a network interface and interconnected with another information presenting apparatus (that is, a computer system) via a network.
In such a case, the above-described holding means 2, 5, 6,
And 10 need not be local disks existing in the single information presenting apparatus 100, but may be file resources of other computer systems on the network, that is, network disks.

Each component block of the information presenting apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 executes a predetermined software program on a general-purpose computer system, so that the hardware resources of the computer and the software cooperate with each other. Please understand that it is constructed by.

Next, a processing procedure for registering a file presentation program in the information presentation apparatus 100 will be described.

The file presentation program registered here generates a document as shown in FIG. 4 from a file having a fixed file format structure as shown in FIG. 3 (that is, presents the file to the user). Is described in a programming language. However, it should be understood that the format structure of the file shown in FIG. 3 expresses the position of the text and the position of the bitmap.

FIG. 2 illustrates this program registration processing procedure in the form of a flowchart. Hereinafter, each step of the flowchart according to FIG. 2 will be described.

First, the user inputs a file presentation program to be used via the file presentation program input means 11 (step S2-1).

FIG. 5 shows an example of the file presentation program input in step S2-1. This file presentation program is a type of application, and executes a file presentation processing procedure using a group of instructions prepared by a predetermined platform. More specifically, the presentation process scans a file to be presented from the beginning and interprets the size and position when a description of the text is encountered, and displays the text at a predetermined position. When a bitmap is encountered, the size, position and bitmap itself are interpreted and the bitmap is displayed at a predetermined position. However, it is assumed that the file presentation program shown in FIG. 5 does not operate on the platform of the information presentation device 100 according to the present embodiment.

Next, the file presentation program execution format generation means 12 compiles this program into a format, that is, a bytecode, which can be executed by the file presentation program interpretation means 8 (step S2-2).

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the file presentation program shown in FIG. 5 is compiled and compiled into a format which can be easily executed by the virtual computer, that is, the file presentation program interpreting means 8. Program code compiled into an executable form is commonly referred to as "bytecode".

The compiled file presentation program is given a file name (in this embodiment, “ver
y_old_wordprocessor. jvst
k ”) and registered in the file presenting program holding means 6 (step S2-3), provided that the file presenting program“ very_old_wordproceed ”.
ssor. “jvstk” is an extremely old version, and its operation is not guaranteed on the current platform of the information presentation apparatus 100.

The above is the registration processing of the file presentation program. In this embodiment, as described above, it is assumed that the file presentation program is compiled into an abstract command sequence called “bytecode”. The process of compiling the bytecode itself is well known in the art and will not be described here. However, if it is assumed that the file presentation program interpreting means 8 executes a language that can be interpreted by a human, such as an interpreter language, the compiling process in step S2-2 is unnecessary.

Next, a process for registering a file and a file presentation program will be described.

As described above, in the present invention, a combination of a file having a certain format and a file presentation program for presenting the file to the user is handled as one "file management information unit". In particular, in this embodiment, the file created or obtained by the user and the execution format of the presentation program are simultaneously registered and managed in the file management information unit group holding means 5. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a registration processing procedure for each file management information unit. Hereinafter, each step of this flowchart will be described.

First, the user inputs general information on character data for managing a certain file, that is, fragmentary text data (step S7-1). In this embodiment, the user assigns a name and a keyword to the text data and registers it as one “general information unit”.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a display screen for the user to input a general information unit. As shown in the figure, on the screen, a content area 106 for inputting fragmentary text data, a keyword area 107 for inputting a keyword, and a name area 105 for inputting a name to be given to the text data. , An interactive input type window for inputting general information units is prepared.

When the user wants to search by keyword, he / she inputs the keyword in the search key input area 104,
By pressing the [search] button 103 (that is, clicking with a mouse), the information presenting apparatus 100 is prompted to perform a search operation. Further, the information presenting apparatus 100 uses the contents input to each of the areas 105, 106, 107 and the like as a general information unit.
If the user wants to register, the user may press the [register] button 102. The related file display area 108 is an area for displaying a file related to this information unit, which will be described later in detail.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, a character string such as "words of old language ..." is written in the name area 105, "words of the language ..." in the content area 106, and "words of the language, old ..." in the keyword area 107. , The user is typing.

Here, by pressing the [register] button 102, the information unit is registered in the general information unit group holding means 2 (step S7-2). The screen after registration is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, an ID is given to the general information unit input by the user, and then stored in the general information unit group holding unit 2. FIG. 10 illustrates a model of the stored general information unit entry. The entry includes a name section 202 for writing the name of the general information unit, a content section 203 for writing the input text data, and a keyword section 204 for writing the keyword, and an ID section 201 for writing the assigned ID. Have.

Next, a file related to the general information unit is registered (step S7-3). The operation of registering the related file can be realized by, for example, a drag and drop operation using a mouse.

FIG. 11 illustrates how files are associated by a drag-and-drop operation.
The file associated here has the file format shown in FIG. 3, and the file name is changed to “o” below.
nko_chishin. vowp. ”As described above,“ onko_chishin. vowp "
Displays a screen as shown in FIG. 4 by a predetermined file presentation program.

The user designates the icon 107 of the “onko_chishi.vowp” file by using the mouse as the input means 1, and sets the icon in the general information unit window (see FIG. 8) registered in the previous step S 7-2. Drag the file to the related file display area 108 and drop it there.

In response to the user's drag-and-drop operation, the information presentation device 100 displays “onko_
chishin. vow "file is copied to the file holding means 10 (step S7-4).
The registration processing of the related file may be “moving” of the file instead of “copying” the file. Or,
If this “onko_chishin.vowp” file is held in a local file system in the same computer (for example, when it is stored in the same file holding means 10), nothing needs to be done. Alternatively, a simple reference may be provided such as providing a so-called “shortcut” icon.

Next, a file presentation program for presenting this file is designated (step S7-5).

FIG. 12 exemplifies a user operation on a screen for designating a file presentation program. In this example, a presentation program selection screen 1 is displayed on a window screen (see FIG. 9) for registering a general information unit.
10 is superimposed and displayed. On the screen, each file presentation program stored in the file presentation program holding unit 6 is displayed in a list in the presentation program display unit 111. Here, the file presentation program “very” that has already been registered in step S2-3 (described above) previously.
_Old_wordprocessor. jvstk "
Shall be selected. The selection operation is confirmed by pressing the [OK] button on the selection screen 110.

Based on the above operation, step S7-2
Is generated that associates the general information unit registered in with the “onko_chishin.vowp” file having a predetermined format (step S7-).
6).

In this embodiment, the file is managed as a "file management information unit" by combining the name of a file in a predetermined format and a file presentation program for presenting the file. Each created file management information unit is stored in the file management information unit group holding means 5 (described above).

FIG. 13 exemplifies a file management information unit entry. The information unit is the I of the related information unit.
Name part 202 for writing D (00002 in this case)
And a content section 203 for writing the name of each file constituting the management information. In the example shown in FIG.
File name "onko_chishin.v" in the first line of
owp ”is the name of a file presentation program“ very_old_ ”for presenting this file on the next line.
word_processor_access. jvs
tk ”is written in. In addition, the information unit includes the keyword section 204, and information of“ File Data ”indicating that the file management information is held is written.

FIG. 14 illustrates a window screen when the above-described related file registration processing is completed. The related file icon 112 dropped in step S7-3 is displayed in the related file display area 108 (step S7-7).

Next, a process of searching for an information unit and a process of presenting a related file will be described. FIG. 15 shows, in the form of a flowchart, a series of processing procedures for searching for an information unit requested by a user and presenting a related file. Hereinafter, each step of this flowchart will be described.

First, the user inputs a desired search key into the search key input area 104 via the input means 1 (step S15-1). FIG. 16 illustrates a state in which a search key is input, but in this example, “four-character idiom”
Is entered. When the user presses the [Search] button 103, the information presentation device 10
0 starts the search.

Upon receiving the search key, the information unit search means 3 searches the general information unit group holding means 2 for an information unit entry having the keyword "four-character idiom" (step S15-2). Then, the information unit group presenting means 4 presents this search result to the user (step S1).
5-3).

FIG. 17 illustrates a window screen for displaying the search result. In the search result display area 101 on the same screen, “Welcome to the new, Taihei Tenka,.
A list of names of information unit entries having "four-character idioms" as keywords is displayed.

Further, if the user wants to know the contents of each information unit, the contents of the information unit can be displayed by specifying a desired entry from the search result display area 101 (step S15-3). ).

FIG. 18 shows an example of selecting and operating the information unit "Warm new information". In the search result display area 101, the item “Welcome new” is highlighted, the name area 105 is displayed with the name “Welcome new”, and the content area 106 and the keyword area 107 are respectively displayed with the corresponding new information. The fragmentary text data written in the information unit entry (see FIG. 10) is displayed.

Next, file information related to this information unit is searched (step S15-4). The ID of the information unit shown in FIG. 18 is 00002 as described above and shown in FIG. Therefore, the information unit search unit 3 searches the file management information unit group holding unit 5 and searches for an information unit having this ID in the name portion. In this embodiment, as described above, since the information unit shown in FIG. 13 is registered, this information entry can be obtained.

Since file information related to the information unit presented to the user has been found, the related icon display area 108 shown in FIG.
2 is displayed (step S15-5).

Next, when the user wants to see the contents of the related file, the related file icon 112 is selected, that is, clicked with the mouse (step S15-6).

The information unit search means 3 which has received the user's instruction sets the content part 20 of the file management information shown in FIG.
3 is sent to the file presentation management means 9 (step S
15-7). As described above, the first line of the content section 203 contains the name of a file having a predetermined format "onk".
o_chishin. vowp ”is the name of a file presenting program for presenting this file in the second line“ very_old_word_processo ”
r_access. jvstk "is described respectively.

The file presentation management means 9 sends the corresponding file presentation program “very_old_word_process” from the file presentation program holding means 6.
or_access. jvstk "(step S15-8). This file presentation program is a type of application, and describes a predetermined file presentation processing procedure in a bytecode format using a group of instructions prepared by the platform. However, as described above, this file presentation program “very_old_
word_processor_access. jvs
tk "is an extremely old version, and its operation is not guaranteed on the current platform of the information presentation apparatus 100.

Then, the file presentation management means 9 sends the corresponding file “onko_
chishin. vowp ”(step S1).
5-9).

Next, the file presentation program interpreting means 8
(Step S15-10: However, when it has not been started yet).

The file presentation program interpreting means 8 interprets a file presentation program in a bytecode format,
This is a functional module that interprets a file format and presents the contents of a file while generating a file presentation program suitable for the platform of the information presentation device 100 (described above).

The file presentation program interpreting means 8 interprets the bytecode and executes the virtual computer (Vi).
It can be implemented as a true machine.
A virtual computer has the ability to emulate another platform, making the differences between platforms invisible to applications. That is, by activating the virtual computer, the file presentation program “very_old_word_processor” is displayed on the current platform of the information presentation apparatus 100.
_Access. A platform on which “jvstk” can operate is emulated.

FIG. 19 exemplifies a screen after the file presentation program interpreting means 8, that is, the virtual computer is started. As shown in the figure, a file presentation screen 113 is displayed on the side of the window screen in operation.

Next, the file presentation management means 9 executes the file presentation program “very_old_word_processor” acquired in step S15-8.
_Access. jvstk ", Step S15-9
File "onko_chishi" obtained in
n. vowp "to the file presentation program interpreting means 8 (step S15-11).

The file presentation program interpreting means 8 is a “virtual computer” that converts the code of the file presentation program into a code usable on the current platform and executes it. In step S15-12, the file presenting program interpreting means 8 transmits the file presenting program "very_old_word_processor".
_Access. jvstk ”is sequentially interpreted to generate a program executable on the current platform while receiving the received file“ onko_chishi.
n. vowp "is interpreted and the contents of the file are presented to the file presenting means 7 (step S15-13).

After a series of processes described above, the saved file “onko” is displayed on the file presentation screen 113.
_Chishin. vowp "is presented.

In FIG. 20, the file “o” is displayed on the file presentation screen 113, ie, the screen provided by the virtual computer.
nko_chishin. vowp ". The contents of the file 114 presented by the file presentation program interpreting means 8 are the contents of the file shown in FIG.
00, a file presentation program whose operation is not guaranteed "very_old_word_processo"
r_access. jvstk "file" onko_chishin. vowp ".

The file presenting program interpreting means 8 having the virtual computer function is a file presenting program "v
erry_old_word_processor_ac
ess. jvstk ”is sequentially interpreted to generate a file presentation program executable on the current platform. Then, the file“ onko_chishin. vowp "
Is presented. In short, according to this embodiment,
That is, the same file presentation as that of the original file presentation program can be realized on a platform that cannot operate the original file presentation program.

[Supplement] The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments. However, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. That is, the present invention has been disclosed by way of example, and should not be construed as limiting. In order to determine the gist of the present invention, the claims described at the beginning should be considered.

[0116]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an excellent information presenting apparatus and method capable of presenting information composed of files expressed in various file formats to a user.

Further, according to the present invention, an excellent information presentation that can present a file to a user by a file presentation program that operates on a predetermined platform constituted by hardware and an operating system of an information presentation device. An apparatus and method can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, various files
Files expressed in the format can be accessed semi-permanently even if the platform changes,
An excellent information presentation device and method that can be presented to a user can be provided.

The information presentation apparatus and method according to the present invention manage a file and a program for presenting the file as a set, and simultaneously provide a mechanism for interpreting the presentation program. According to the present invention, even if the platform changes, it is only necessary to recreate the file presentation program interpreting means for each platform. The effort required for this task is far less than developing a file presentation program that can handle all past file formats for each platform change. In other words, even if the platform of the information presentation device changes in the future, access to all past files can be guaranteed only by improving the mechanism for interpreting the file presentation program. That is,
That is, the value of the past file assets is maintained.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible not only to guarantee access to past files, but also to provide uniform access to files between various platforms that exist at the same time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an information presentation device 1 suitable for realizing the present invention.
It is the figure which showed the structure of 00 typically.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for registering a file presentation program.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a file format handled in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of file contents expressed by the file format shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a source code of a file presentation program handled in the embodiment.

6 is a diagram exemplifying a result obtained by compiling the file presentation program in the source code format shown in FIG. 5 and converting it into a bytecode format.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for registering an information unit and a file related to the information unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a user has input a character of an information unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when a user registers an information unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an information unit stored in a general information unit group holding unit 2.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing an operation on a screen performed by a user to register a file related to an information unit.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting a file presentation program.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an information unit stored in the file management information unit group holding means 5;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state of a screen when registration of a related file is completed.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for searching for an information unit and presenting a related file.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a search key is input for searching for an information unit.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displaying a keyword search result.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which details of an information unit are confirmed and related files are displayed.

FIG. 19 is a view showing an example of a virtual computer screen on which the file presentation program interpreting means 8 is activated.

FIG. 20 shows a file presentation program “very_ol”
d_word_processor_access. j
vstok ”and the file“ onko_chishi
n. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual computer screen presenting the contents of “vowp”.

FIG. 21 schematically illustrates the relationship between a change in platform and file access (conventional example).

FIG. 22 schematically illustrates the relationship between a change in platform and file access (conventional example).

FIG. 23. 19 on the 1999 version of the platform
FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating the role of a file presentation program interpreting unit realized by a virtual computer, taking a virtual computer VM / 99: 95 that emulates a 95-year platform as an example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input means, 2 ... General information unit group holding means, 3 ... Information unit search means, 4 ... Information unit group presentation means, 5 ... File management information unit group holding means, 6 ... File presentation program holding means, 7 ... File Presentation means, 8 ... File presentation program interpretation means, 9 ... File presentation management means, 10 ...
File holding means, 11: File presentation program input means, 12: File presentation program execution format creation means, 100: Information presentation device, 101: Search result display area, 102: Registration button, 103: Search button, 104
... search key input area, 105 ... name area, 106 ...
Content area, 107: keyword area, 108: related file display area, 109: related file, 110
... Presentation program selection screen, 111 ... Presentation program display section, 112 ... Related file icon, 113 ... File presentation screen, 114 Presented file, 201 ... I
D part, 202: name part, 203: content part, 204: keyword part.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An information presenting apparatus for presenting a user with files represented in various file formats on a predetermined plot form, comprising: (a) input means for receiving a user input; File holding means for holding a file having a specific format, (c) a file presenting program holding means for holding a program for presenting a file, and (d) a file name and a file presenting program for presenting the file. (E) responding to a user's input from the input means, and converting the corresponding file management information unit from the file management information unit group holding means. Information unit search means to be searched; and (f) file management information extracted by the information unit search means. In accordance with the unit, the file presentation management means for extracting the corresponding file and the file presentation program from each of the file holding means and the file presentation program holding means, and (g) interpreting the file presentation program extracted by the file presentation management means, File presenting program interpreting means for generating a program specific to the platform; and (h) file presenting means for executing a program generated by the file presenting program interpreting means and presenting a file to a user. An information presentation device characterized by the following. 2. A general information unit group holding unit for holding fragmentary text information, and an information unit group presenting unit for presenting a fragmentary text information stored in the general information unit group holding unit to a user. The information presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the information unit search unit also searches the general information unit group holding unit. 3. A file presentation program input means for inputting a program for presenting a specific file which can be interpreted by said file presentation program interpretation means. The information presentation device according to any one of the above. 4. A file presenting program input means for inputting a program for presenting a specific file, and a program input from the file presenting program input means can be interpreted by the file presenting program interpreting means. The information presentation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a file presentation program execution format generation unit configured to convert the file presentation program into a simple format. 5. An information presenting method for presenting files represented in various file formats to a user on an information processing system having a predetermined plot form, wherein the information processing system receives a user input. An input device for receiving information, a storage device for storing information, and an output device for presenting information to a user, wherein the information presenting method includes: (a) storing files having various formats in the storage device; ,
(B) storing a file presentation program for presenting a file on the output device in the storage device; and (c) a file management information unit comprising a combination of a file name and a file presentation program for presenting the file name. Storing in the storage device; (d) receiving a user input via the input device;
(E) retrieving and retrieving the corresponding file management information unit from the storage device in response to a user input; and (f) retrieving the corresponding file management information unit in accordance with the file management information unit retrieved in step (e). Retrieving a file presentation program from the storage device; (g) interpreting the file presentation program retrieved in step (f) to generate a program specific to the platform;
(H) executing the program generated in step (g) and presenting a file to the user via the output device. 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: storing a general information unit including fragmentary text information in the storage device; and extracting the general information unit from the storage device and presenting the fragmentary text information to a user. The information presentation method according to claim 5, wherein in the step (f), a general information unit is also searched. 7. The method according to claim 7, wherein said step (g) is interpretable.
7. The information presentation method according to claim 5, further comprising a step of inputting a program for presenting a specific file. 8. The method further comprises the steps of: inputting a program for presenting a specific file; and converting the input program into a format that can be interpreted in step (g). The information presentation method according to claim 5, wherein