JP2001166941A - Device and method for processing information and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To update a part of stored software by reducing a storage capacity. SOLUTION: A code A, data A, and data B are stored so as not to be compressed, and a code B is stored so as to be compressed in a flash memory 27. The development of the stored modules on an RAM 29 is operated according to a copy and extension program. For example, the code A, data A, and data B are copied to the RAM 29, and then the code B is extended on the RAM 29. For example, at the time of updating the code A, a code A' to be updated are compressed into a size smaller than the size of the code A so that the code A' can be replaced (updated) in the area of the code A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a recording medium, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus and a method for storing software stored in a memory or the like in units of modules and compressing or uncompressing the modules. The present invention relates to a method and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a personal computer or the like is powered on, for example, a ROM (Rea
d Only Memory) or an execution code or data stored in the flash memory (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a module) performs a start-up process. At this time, the module stored in the ROM is a RAM (Random Access Memory)
It is temporarily expanded in a volatile memory such as y), and the boot process is performed according to the expanded module.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining module development performed between the flash memory 1 and the RAM 2. First, a copy program is stored in the flash memory 1, and expansion processing is performed in accordance with the program. The flash memory 1 stores a code A, data A, code B, data B, and a pointer table in addition to the copy program.

The code A is stored in the flash memory 1 in the size a1 from the address a1. Similarly, data A is of size a2 from address a2, and code B is
Data B is stored from address b1 to size b1, and data B is stored from address b2 to size b2. The pointer table is stored from the address c of the flash memory 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the contents described in the pointer table. As a form of the pointer table, from what address (from_adr) and how much size (from_siz) of the flash memory 1
e) The module in which address (dest_ad
r) shows what size (dest_size) is to be copied (developed). For example, from the address a1 (adr_a1) of the flash memory 1 to the size a1 (size_a
The module of (1) is assigned to the address a1 ′ (adr_a
1 ') is copied to an area of size a1' (size_a1 ').

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 3, the processing performed between the flash memory 1 and the RAM 2 for the expansion processing will be described. This processing is performed according to a copy program of the flash memory 1, and for example,
This is executed when the power is turned on to a personal computer having the flash memory 1 and the RAM 2 built therein.

In step S1, n is initialized as n
Is set to 0. This n indicates the row number of the pointer table to be read. In this case, the data of the n = 0th row is {adr_a1, size_a1, adr_a1 ', size_a1'}
, And the next row is the data of the n = 1st row. In this case, data {0, 0, 0, 0} is the data of the n = 4th row. Step S1
Is initialized in step S2,
The data in the n-th row is read from the pointer table. In step S3, it is determined whether the read data is {0, 0, 0, 0}.

In this case, {0, 0, 0, 0} indicates that the copying of the module from the flash memory 1 to the RAM 2 is completed. Of course, the data indicating the end may be in another format.

If it is determined in step S3 that the read data is not {0, 0, 0, 0}, the process proceeds to step S4, where a copy process is performed based on the data, and {0, 0, 0, When it is determined that the angle is 0 °, FIG.
Is completed. That is, as described above, the module of the specified size is sequentially copied from the specified address of the flash memory 1 to the specified address of the RAM 2.

In step S5, from_size <dest_
It is determined whether it is size. In this process, the size (from_size) of the module to be copied from the flash memory 1 to the RAM 2 is set in the designated copy area (dest
_size) (if it is larger, it is not possible to copy, so it is assumed that such a setting is not set in advance), and a blank (difference) is created in the designated copy area of the RAM 2. Will be lost.

Therefore, in step S5, from_siz
If it is determined that e <dest_size, in step S6, all blank areas are set to 0 to fill the predetermined area. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that from_size <dest_size is not satisfied,
In other words, when it is determined that from_size and dest_size are the same, the process proceeds to step S7, where a value obtained by adding 1 to the value of n is set as a new n, and the processes in step S2 and subsequent steps are repeated.

As described above, the modules stored in the flash memory 1 are stored in the RAM 2 according to a predetermined program.
The activation process is performed once the file is expanded.

[0013]

As described above, a module (software) stored in a non-volatile memory such as the flash memory 1 is stored in a volatile memory such as a RAM in a portion required for activation. The operation is started when is copied. Therefore, when large-scale software is required, the flash memory 1 and the RAM 2 require devices having capacities suitable for the software.

When updating a module stored in a flash memory or the like, a storage device having a capacity corresponding to the new module is required. A recording medium or a transmission medium for distributing the module also needs a capacity (band) corresponding to the new module.

When it is desired to update a part (module) of software already stored, for example, the data A stored in the flash memory 1 in FIG.
Is updated to data A ″, the size of data A ″ must be equal to or smaller than the size of data A. Usually, the data to be updated often becomes larger than the original data size, and thus it is difficult to update only a part of the software.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and software is stored in a memory in units of modules, and compressed or uncompressed and stored in units of modules. The purpose is to enable updating of units.

[0017]

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising: first storage means for storing a program in a compressed state or an uncompressed state in a module unit; Expansion means for expanding the module compressed and stored in the means, second storage means for storing the module expanded by the expansion means, and non-compressed data stored in the first storage means Copy means for reading the module and copying it to the second storage means; execution means for reading and executing the uncompressed module stored in the first storage means or the second storage means; It is characterized by including.

An update unit for updating a program stored in the first storage unit for each module may be further included.

The updating means may be provided from a recording medium or
It is possible to further include a capturing means for capturing via a network.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing method, a first storage control step of controlling the program to be stored in a compressed state or an uncompressed state in a module unit; A second storage control step for controlling the module compressed and stored in the processing of the control step to be stored while being expanded, and a module stored in a state where the module is not compressed in the processing of the first storage control step And a copying step of reading and copying the uncompressed module stored in the processing of the first storage control step or the second storage control step. And

A first storage control step of controlling the program of the recording medium according to a fifth aspect to store the program in a compressed state or an uncompressed state in module units; A second storage control step of controlling to store the module compressed and stored in the processing of the storage control step while expanding the module;
A copy step of reading and copying a module stored in a state not compressed in the processing of the first storage control step, and a compression step stored in the processing of the first storage control step or the second storage control step And reading out and executing a module in a state where it has not been performed.

The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
In the information processing method according to the item (1) and the recording medium according to the item (5), the program is stored in a compressed state or an uncompressed state in module units, and the compressed and stored module is expanded. , Stored and uncompressed modules are read out.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 shows an IRD to which the present invention is applied.
1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an embodiment of an information processing system including an (Integrated Reciever Decoder). The tuner 21 of the IRD 11 extracts only the data of the program desired by the user from the signal received by the antenna 12 and outputs it to the descrambler 22. The descrambler 22
Unscramble the input program data, and
(DEMULTIPLEXING) 23 separates control data, video data, and the like from the input multiplexed program data.

The decoder 24 decodes data encoded by, for example, MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) output from the DEMUX 23 and outputs the data to the television receiver 13. Television receiver 13
Reproduces images and sounds based on the input data.

The modem 25 of the IRD 11 is capable of exchanging data with the center station via the public line 14, and performs processing such as charging based on the data. ROM 26 and flash memory 27
Programs and data required when the PU (Central Processing Unit) 28 executes various processes are stored. The RAM 29 appropriately stores programs and data required when the CPU 28 executes processing.

The interface 30 of the IRD 11 reads out programs and data (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as modules) stored in the memory card 15. The modules read from the memory card 15 are stored in the flash memory 27 or the RAM 29 as needed.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of a transmitting-side device (transmitting device) that creates program data to be supplied to the IRD 11. The multiplexing unit 31 stores program data encoded by a plurality of MPEG encoders 32 and an EPG (Electric Program).
Guide) EPG data supplied from the data supply unit 33, SI
(Service Information) The SI data supplied from the data supplier 34 and the program source code supplied from the program source code supplier 35 are multiplexed and output to the error corrector 36.

The program source code is data transmitted when updating a program or the like stored in the flash memory 27 of the IRD 11 or the like. The multiplexed data input to the error corrector 36 is subjected to error correction, RF-modulated by an RF (Radio Frequency) modulator 37, and output to the antenna 12.

Next, of the processing performed when the IRD 11 is started, the processing performed between the flash memory 27 and the RAM 29 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the modules stored in the flash memory 27 and the RAM 29. The flash memory 27 shown in FIG. 6 stores a code A, data A, code B, and data B, similarly to the flash memory 1 shown in FIG. However, these codes (data) stored in the flash memory 27 shown in FIG. 6 are each stored after being compressed.

Therefore, the flash memory 1 shown in FIG.
The capacity of the flash memory 27 is reduced by the amount by which the same module is compressed and stored. Since the modules stored in the flash memory 27 are compressed, expansion processing to the RAM 29 is performed according to the expansion program. The pointer table stored in the flash memory 27 is the same as the pointer table shown in FIG.

The decompression process performed between the flash memory 27 and the RAM 29 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Of the steps S11 to S17, the processing other than the step S14 is the same as the processing of the steps S1 to S7 (excluding the step S4) shown in FIG. That is, when the module stored in the flash memory 27 is stored in the RAM 29, it is performed based on the decompression program stored in the flash memory 27. When the data is temporarily stored in the storage device, a decompression process is performed.

For example, when the code A stored in the flash memory 27 from the address a1 to the size a1 is subjected to decompression processing and stored in the RAM 29, the code A from the address a1 'to the size a1' It is memorized.
The size a1 'is set equal to or larger than the size when the compressed code A is expanded.

By making the decompression program stored in the flash memory 27 a highly compressible program, the capacity of the module (software) stored in the flash memory 27 can be reduced as shown in FIG. Is possible.

In some cases, it is not necessary to load all the modules stored in the flash memory 27 into the RAM 29. In the example shown in FIG. 9, among the modules stored in the flash memory 27, the code A and the data B
Are compressed, and data A and code B are stored in an uncompressed state. As described above, in a case where the compressed module and the uncompressed module are mixed, and the uncompressed module is not copied to the RAM 29, the pointer table becomes as shown in FIG.

In the pointer table shown in FIG.
For example, in line n = 1, adr_a2 corresponds to from_adr.
And corresponding to from_size is size_a2 = 0. This is equivalent to RA from address a2 by size 0.
Because it expands (expands) to M29, it is actually RAM
Nothing will be stretched to 29. Where dest_s
When size_a2 corresponding to ize is a numerical value other than 0, 0 is stored as data in the RAM 29 by the size corresponding to the numerical value.

As described above, by compressing the module stored in the flash memory 27, the capacity of the flash memory 27 can be reduced.

In addition to the above, it is also possible to use a combination of copying and decompression. FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing the modules stored in the flash memory 27 and the RAM 29. In the example shown in FIG. 11, among the modules stored in the flash memory 27, the code A, the data A, and the data B are not compressed, and the code B is in a compressed state. As described above, when the compressed module and the uncompressed module are stored in the flash memory 27 in a mixed manner,
When a module is expanded in the RAM 29, copying or decompression must be performed.

Accordingly, a copy / decompression program is stored in the flash memory 27, and copying or decompression is performed on the RAM 29 according to the program.
FIG. 12 is a pointer table stored in the flash memory 27 shown in FIG. In the pointer table shown in FIG. 12, {0, 0,
0,0} (the first {0,0,0,0} is)
Meaning to shift from copy processing to decompression processing, n
= {0,0,0,0} on the fifth row is ({0,0,0
(0, 0, 0) means the end of the process.

The copy / decompression processing performed between the flash memory 27 and the RAM 29 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processes in steps S21 to S27 are basically the same processes as steps S1 to S7 in FIG. 3, and the processes in steps S28 to S33 are basically the same processes as steps S12 to S17 in FIG. Detailed description is omitted.

When initialization is performed in step S21, steps n22 to S2 are performed until n = 0 to the second line.
7, the code A, data A, and data B of the flash memory 27 are stored in the RAM 29.
Is copied to Then, in step S27, n
Is updated to 3, and when the process of step S23 is performed on the n = 3rd row, it is determined that {0, 0, 0, 0}, and the process proceeds to step S28. In step S28,
Since n is updated, n = 4, and the processes of steps S29 to S33 are performed on the fourth row. That is,
The code B stored in the flash memory 27 is RA
It is expanded and stored in M29.

In step S28, if n is updated so that n = 5, it is determined in step S30 that {0, 0, 0, 0}, that is, it is determined that the processing is completed. Therefore, the copy / decompression processing is terminated.

As described above, by using both copy and decompression (uncompressed module and compressed module), the capacity (use area) of the flash memory 27 can be reduced.

The uncompressed module may be read directly from the flash memory 27 without being expanded in the RAM 29. By doing so, the capacity (usable area) of the RAM 29 can be reduced. Uncompressed modules include those that do not need to be read frequently and those that need only be read once.

The software is divided into modules,
By compressing or uncompressing each module,
It is also possible to update only some modules of the software. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, it is assumed that software is stored in the flash memory 27, and only data A is updated to data A '. In this case, the size A of the data A is the data A '
Is smaller than the size A ′, it is not possible to change the size as it is. In other words, it is not possible to directly replace the data A ′ in the data A area.

Therefore, the data A 'is updated by compressing the data A' to create data A "having a size A" smaller than the size A, and replacing the data A "with an area of the data A. Thus, when the data A is updated to the data A ″, the flash memory 27
It is also necessary to update the copy / decompression program and the pointer table stored in. The copy / decompression program needs to be rewritten as a program that expands data A ″, and the pointer table needs to rewrite the size of data A and data A ″.

As described above, when updating a module of a part (or, of course, all) of the software stored in the flash memory 27, the module to be updated is acquired from the memory card 15 (FIG. 4). Alternatively, the information may be transmitted from another device via the public line 14 by the modem 25 and may be obtained by receiving the transmitted signal.

Further, the information may be obtained from data included in a signal received by the antenna 12. In the case where a module to be updated can be obtained from the received signal, the transmitting side includes the program / source code supplier 35 of the transmitting device shown in FIG.
Then, a module to be updated is generated, multiplexed with other data by the multiplexer 31, and transmitted to the IRD 11.

When the module to be updated is compressed and distributed by the memory card 15, the capacity of the memory card 15 can be reduced, so that the module can be received via the public line 14 or the antenna 12. In the case of distributing using a signal, the band used for the distribution can be kept small. This makes it possible to efficiently distribute the module to be updated.

When a series of processing including such processing is executed by software, a computer in which a program constituting the software is built in dedicated hardware, or various programs are installed. It is installed from a recording medium to, for example, a general-purpose personal computer capable of executing various functions.

As shown in FIG. 15, the recording medium is a magnetic disk 101 (including a floppy disk) on which the program is recorded, which is distributed to provide the user with the program, other than the memory card 15, and an optical disk. 102 (CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), D
Not only is it comprised of package media such as a VD (including a Digital Versatile Disk), a magneto-optical disk 103 (including an MD (Mini-Disk)), or a semiconductor memory 104, but also in a state in which it is pre-installed in a computer It is composed of a ROM 26, a hard disk, etc., in which a program is stored and provided to the user.

In this specification, the steps of describing a program provided by a medium are not necessarily performed in chronological order but may be performed in chronological order according to the described order. Alternatively, it also includes individually executed processing.

In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the IRD. However, the present invention can be applied to other devices. Also, in the above description, flash memory and RAM
However, the present invention can be applied to other storage devices.

In this specification, the system is
It represents the entire device composed of a plurality of devices.

[0054]

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the information processing method according to the fourth aspect, and the recording medium according to the fifth aspect, the program is compressed in module units. Since the module is stored in the state or uncompressed state, the module stored in the compressed state is decompressed, stored, and the module stored in the uncompressed state is read, so that the capacity for storing the program is reduced. The size can be reduced, and the update can be performed in module units.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process performed between conventional storage devices.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a pointer table stored in a flash memory 1 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed between a flash memory 1 and a RAM 2 illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of an embodiment of an IRD to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmission device.

FIG. 6 shows a flash memory 27 and a RAM 29 shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing processing performed during the interval of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a flash memory 27 and a RAM 29 shown in FIG.
5 is a flowchart for explaining processing performed between the steps.

FIG. 8 shows a flash memory 27 and a RAM 29 shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining other processing performed between the steps.

FIG. 9 shows a flash memory 27 and a RAM 29 shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining still another process performed between the steps.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a pointer table stored in a flash memory 27 of FIG. 9;

11 shows the flash memory 27 and the RAM 2 shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining still another process performed between steps No. 9 and No. 9;

12 is a diagram illustrating a pointer table stored in a flash memory 27 in FIG.

FIG. 13 shows a flash memory 27 and a RAM shown in FIG. 11;
29 is a flowchart for describing processing performed between steps 29.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating updating of a module.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a medium.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 IRD, 12 antennas, 13 television receiver, 14 public line, 15 memory card,
21 tuners, 22 descramblers, 23 DEMU
X, 24 decoder, 25 modem, 26 ROM,
27 flash memory, 28 CPU, 29 RA
M, 30 interface

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first storage means for storing a program in a compressed state or an uncompressed state for each module, and an expansion for expanding a module compressed and stored in the first storage means. Means, a second storage means for storing the module expanded by the expansion means, and a module stored in an uncompressed state in the first storage means, and the second storage means And an execution unit that reads and executes the uncompressed module stored in the first storage unit or the second storage unit. Information processing device. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an updating unit that updates the program stored in the first storage unit in units of the module. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fetching unit that fetches the updating unit from a recording medium or via a network. 4. A first storage control step of controlling a program to be stored in a compressed state or an uncompressed state in a module unit, and the program is compressed in the processing of the first storage control step. A second storage control step of controlling the stored module to be stored while being expanded, and a copying step of reading and copying the module stored in a state where the module is not compressed in the processing of the first storage control step And an execution step of reading and executing the uncompressed module stored in the processing of the first storage control step or the second storage control step. Method. 5. A first storage control step of controlling a program to be stored in a compressed state or an uncompressed state in a module unit, and the program is compressed in the processing of the first storage control step. A second storage control step of controlling the stored module to be stored while being expanded, and a copying step of reading and copying the module stored in a state where the module is not compressed in the processing of the first storage control step And an execution step of reading and executing the uncompressed module stored in the processing of the first storage control step or the second storage control step. A recording medium on which a readable program is recorded.