JP2003067194A - Terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely supply information including a desired program to a terminal device. SOLUTION: In a client, on accepting a request for a desired program (S101), the desired program corresponding to the accepted request is obtained. A customer is one of another client who accepts the transmitted request, a server receiving the request and a saving part storing the previously supplied program (S103 to S105). When the client causes a request, a desired program is supplied from another client or a server. This means that even when the client can't down load a desired program from the server due to communication obstruction, the program can be down loaded through another client. Accordingly, the desired program can be surely supplied to the client.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a terminal device,
In particular, it relates to a terminal device capable of distributing a program to another terminal device connected to a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A client-server method is employed as a program execution mode between two or more computers connected to a network. The following is an example of a typical client-server method.
In other words, the client (terminal device)
An input signal from a keyboard or the like is transmitted to cause a server to appropriately execute a program, the execution result is received from the server, and the received content (program execution result) is output to the user of the client. In such a client-server method, the client needs to keep connecting with the server while the program is executed, and since the client does not execute any program, the client's computer resources are not effectively utilized.

As another example, JP-A-10-2710
There is a program download type client-server method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. In this client-server method, when the client requests the server to download a program when necessary, the requested program is downloaded from the server to the client, and the downloaded program is executed by the client. According to this method, the computer resources of the client can be effectively used, and the computer resources of the server can also be used if necessary.

As a similar method, there is ActiveX developed by Microsoft Corporation. With ActiveX, a program is installed on the client once it is downloaded from the server to the client, and then there is no need to download the program again.

[0005]

When the program is executed on the server as described above, the load on the network increases because the client needs to keep connecting to the server during the execution of the program. In addition, JP-A-10
WWW (world wide w
eb) When Java (R) applet or ActiveX on the browser is executed by the client, the client that executes the program for the first time must be able to connect to the server in order to receive the program. However, if the server is down, or if there is some failure on the network from the client to the server, the client cannot execute the program.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device to which information including a desired program is surely supplied.

[0007]

A terminal device according to an aspect of the present invention communicates between a plurality of terminal devices and requests information including a desired program when receiving a request for information including a desired program. It communicates with an information supply device that supplies the transmission source. Each of the plurality of terminal devices includes a request receiving unit that receives the request, an acquiring unit that acquires information including a desired program corresponding to the request received by the request receiving unit, and a desired program acquired by the acquiring unit. And a supply means for supplying information to the request source.
The acquisition means has a request transmission means for transmitting the request accepted by the request acceptance means.

The acquisition source of the information including the desired program by the acquisition unit is any one of the other terminal devices which have received the request transmitted by the request transmission unit by the request reception unit and the information supply device which has received the request. .

Therefore, in a terminal device having a plurality of terminal devices, when the request acceptance means accepts the request for the information including the desired program, the request transmission means transmits the accepted request, and then the acquisition means accepts the accepted request. The information including the desired program corresponding to is acquired. The acquisition source is either the other terminal device that has received the request transmitted by the request transmission unit by the corresponding request reception unit, or the information supply device that has received the request.

Therefore, if a terminal device requests:
Information including the desired program is supplied from any of the other terminal devices and the information supply device. This means that even if the arbitrary terminal device cannot acquire the information including the desired program from the information supply device due to communication failure or the like, it can acquire the information including the desired program via another terminal device. Is supplied to.

The above-mentioned terminal device further comprises an input unit operated from the outside for inputting information including a request, and receiving means for receiving the information including the request from the request transmitting means of another terminal device. The request received by the request receiving means is either a request input from the outside through the input unit or a request received by the receiving means.

Therefore, the request for information including the desired program accepted by the request acceptance means is input by the user operating the input unit of the terminal device from the outside,
And one received via another terminal device. Therefore, the terminal device acquires information including the desired program corresponding to the request of the user of the own terminal device or the request of the other terminal device, and the request source (the own terminal device or another terminal device). Can be supplied to.

The above-described terminal device further includes a storage unit, and the information including the desired program acquired by the acquisition unit is readablely stored in the storage unit.

As described above, in the terminal device, the information including the desired program, which is acquired by the acquisition means via another terminal device or from the information supply device, is readablely stored in the storage unit. Therefore, in the terminal, the information including the once-supplied (acquired) desired program is readablely stored in the storage unit, and thereafter, by accessing the storage unit, the information including the desired program can be simply and easily stored. You can get it quickly.

In the above-mentioned terminal device, the acquisition source of the information including the desired program is the other terminal device that has received the request transmitted by the request transmission means by the request reception means, and the information supply device that has received the request. And the storage unit.

Therefore, since the terminal device can obtain the information including the requested desired program via another terminal device, by being supplied from the information supplying device, or by reading it from the storage unit, the terminal device can obtain the information. Is surely supplied with information including a desired program.

In the above-mentioned terminal device, the acquisition means may selectively determine the acquisition destination based on a predetermined standard. Therefore, the acquisition source of the information including the requested desired program can be selectively determined from the other terminal device, the information supply device, and the storage unit based on a predetermined reference.

The above-mentioned predetermined standard is variably set. Therefore, the acquisition source of the information including the requested desired program can be variously changed as desired.

The above-mentioned terminal device further comprises an executing means for executing a process based on the information including the desired program acquired by the acquiring means, and the information supplied to the request source by the supplying means depends on the executing means. Contains execution results.

Therefore, with respect to the requester of the information including the desired program (the own terminal device or another terminal device),
The execution result of the processing based on the information including the desired program by the execution unit is supplied together with the information including the desired program.

Therefore, even if the other terminal device of the request source does not execute the processing based on the information including the desired program, only the information including the desired program is requested, and the information and the processing based on the information are processed. Since the execution result can be obtained, the processing load of other terminal devices can be reduced accordingly.

The above-mentioned terminal device further comprises an executing means for executing a process based on the information including the desired program acquired by the acquiring means, and the information supplied to the request source by the supplying means includes the desired program. Alternatively, the execution result by the executing means is included.

Therefore, even if the other terminal device of the request source does not execute the processing based on the information including the desired program, only the information including the desired program is requested and the processing based on the information is executed. Since the result can be obtained, the processing load of other terminal devices can be reduced accordingly.

In the above-mentioned terminal device, the supplying means performs the supplying operation according to the predetermined procedure, and the processing executed by the executing means shows the predetermined procedure.

Therefore, since the supply means performs the supply operation of the information including the desired program according to the predetermined procedure indicated by the processing executed by the execution means, the predetermined procedure of the supply operation depends on the information including the desired program which is supplied in advance. You can decide. Therefore, the predetermined procedure of the supply operation can be arbitrarily changed by requesting the information including the desired program.

The above-mentioned terminal device further comprises a supply history information registration means for registering history information indicating a supply history every time the supply means supplies information including a desired program, and the supply history information registration means registers the history information. Based on the stored history information, the degree of contribution regarding the supply of information including the program desired by the user is determined.

Therefore, the contribution degree regarding the supply of the information including the desired program can be determined for each of the plurality of terminal devices, so that the terminal device that has contributed more can be easily specified based on the determination result.

In the above-mentioned terminal device, the predetermined procedure includes a permission procedure for determining permission / prohibition of supply of information including a desired program to the request source.

Therefore, the supply means can perform the supply operation to the request source while deciding whether to permit or prohibit the supply of the information including the desired program according to the permission procedure in the predetermined procedure. Therefore, the permission procedure for determining the supply operation can be arbitrarily changed by requesting the information including the desired program.

In the above-mentioned terminal device, the permission procedure determines permission / prohibition based on the charging information indicating the charging status regarding the supply of the information including the desired program of the requesting terminal device.

Therefore, the supply means performs the supply operation to the request source while deciding whether to permit or prohibit the supply based on the charge information indicating the charge status regarding the supply of the information including the desired program of the terminal device of the request source. be able to.

An information supply method according to another aspect of the present invention communicates with each other and supplies the information including the desired program to the source of the request in response to receiving the request for the information including the desired program. Applied in each of the plurality of terminal devices communicating with the information supply device, the method has the following steps.

That is, a request acceptance step of accepting a request, an acquisition step of acquiring information including a desired program corresponding to the request accepted by the request acceptance step, and a request of information including the desired program acquired by the acquisition step. And a supply step for supplying the original, the obtaining step has a request transmitting step for transmitting the request accepted by the request accepting step.

The acquisition source of the information including the desired program in the acquisition step is either another terminal device that has accepted the request transmitted in the request transmission step in the request acceptance step, or an information supply device that has received the request. .

An information supply program according to still another aspect of the present invention is an information supply program for causing a computer to execute the above-described information supply method.

The above-mentioned information supply program is recorded on a machine-readable recording medium according to still another aspect of the present invention.

[0037]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a network system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 2
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a client computer (hereinafter, abbreviated as a client) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the network system includes a server computer (hereinafter abbreviated as server) 4, networks 8 and 8 to which various communication lines such as the Internet are applied.
1, a plurality of clients 10i (i = 1, 2, 3, ..., N) connected to the server 4 via the network 8
including. Each of the clients 10i has the same configuration and is connected to each other via the network 81.

Here, the client 10i and the server 4
Network 8 and client 10i for connecting
Although the network 81 that connects them is provided separately,
It is not limited to this. In other words, if the two are theoretically separate, they are not required to be physically separate. Therefore, the client 10i uses the same network for the server 10i.
May be connected to the other client 10i. For example, the client 10
Communication between i is performed by infrared communication such as IrDA, communication between the client 10i and the server 4 may be network communication by dial-up, and communication between the clients 10i may be LAN (local area net).
work) via client 10i and server 4
May be communicated with via WAN (wide area network).

Referring to FIG. 2, the client 10i includes a browsing unit 1, an execution unit 2 having a table TB described later, a relay unit 3, a storage unit 5, a distribution unit 6 and distribution history information I described later.
It includes a distribution history storage unit 7 for storing NF. The browsing unit 1 displays various information. The user inputs various information such as instructions or requests via the browsing unit 1. The browsing unit 1 is typically configured as a WWW browser. The execution unit 2 receives the request input from the browsing unit 1 and executes the program corresponding to the received request. If there is no program corresponding to the request, a download request for the program is output to the relay unit 3. The execution unit 2 is configured as an application server such as a Java (R) Servlet engine, or an execution engine incorporated in a WWW browser.

Upon receiving the program download request from the execution unit 2, the relay unit 3 sends the program download request to the server 4 via the network 8.
The relay unit 3 outputs the program and data (data necessary for executing the program) downloaded from the server 4 to the execution unit 2 and requests the storage unit 5 to store the program and data. . In addition, the relay unit 3
Instead of requesting the server 4 to download the program, the program and data are read from the storage unit 5 and supplied to the execution unit 2. The relay unit 3 supplies the program and data downloaded from the server 4 or read from the storage unit 5 to the distribution unit 6.

The relay unit 3 is mounted on the network 8 as a general communication device. When the network 8 is wired, this communication device is composed of a LAN (local area network) cable connecting device and its dedicated program. In the case of wireless communication, it is composed of a wireless communication device such as an antenna and its control program.

The distribution unit 6 connects another client 10i via the network 81. The distribution unit 6 is configured as software such as a proxy server or a file system management program for other connected clients 10i.

The server 4 responds to a download request received from the relay unit 3 or actively, and
It has a function to send a program or data to. The server 4 is typically the same as the WWW server, but the mail delivery (SMTP: simple mail transp
ort protocol) server and file transfer (FTP: file)
transport protocol) may be similar to the server.

The storage unit 5 is composed of a general storage device such as a hard disk or a memory and its control program. The storage unit 5 inputs the program or data output from the relay unit 3, writes the program or data in the storage device, and stores the program or data. The update time information indicating the latest update time is written in association with the program or data stored in the storage unit 5.

The distribution unit 6 acquires a program or data from the storage unit 5 or the relay unit 2 when a program download request is issued from another client 10i or actively, and the acquired program or data is sent to the requesting other client 10i. Send. As a result, the distribution unit 6 distributes the program or data to the requesting client 10i. The distribution method by the distribution unit 6 typically follows the same processing as a WWW server or the same transmission processing as a mail delivery (SMTP) server. However, the distribution unit 6 is not limited to a WWW server or a mail delivery server as long as it has a function of transmitting and receiving data via the communication network 81.

The distribution unit 6 stores the information indicating the distribution history of the program or data as necessary, in the distribution history storage unit 7.
Write to and process to store. The distribution unit 6 includes a general communication device for connecting to another client 10i, its control program, and a server program such as a WWW server or a mail delivery server. The distribution history storage unit 7 stores history information of distribution by the distribution unit 6. The distribution history storage unit 7 has a general storage device such as a hard disk and a memory, and is managed by a file system, a database management system, or the like.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the browsing process according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the contents of the distribution history information INF and the table TB in which the correspondence between programs and program names is registered.
In the table TB of FIG. 4A, a plurality of program IPs whose execution can be designated by the user in the browsing unit 1,
The requested program name RP indicating the name of the program to be requested is registered corresponding to each program IP. According to the flowchart of FIG. 3, the client 10i
The procedure of the browsing process from requesting, acquiring, and executing the desired program will be described.

First, assume that the user executes the desired program A on the client 10i. It is also assumed that the client 10i has a WWW browser incorporated therein as the browsing unit 1, and the browsing unit 1 is displaying the screen of the homepage of a certain site. Further, on this home page screen, a hyperlink is displayed together with the message “Click here to execute program A”, and it is assumed that the user clicks this link.

Since the user clicks a hyperlink (not shown) of the browsing unit 1 as described above, an access request for executing the program A is generated (S10).
1). Since the access request of this program A is output to the execution unit 2, the execution unit 2 accepts the access request and determines the program name PR corresponding to the program A requested to be accessed by referring to the table TB in FIG. Then, a program is requested to the relay unit 3 using the determined program name PR (S102). The method of determining the program name PR in the execution unit 2 is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined by adding “/ servlet” to the word “program A”. The added word is "/ se
It is not limited to “rvlet”. Hereinafter, only a program that is required to be executed, or a combination of a program that is required to be executed and data required to execute the program is simply called a program.

Next, the relay unit 3 determines from which of the server 4, the other client 10i and the storage unit 5 the requested program is obtained (S103). The acquisition source is determined to be the server 4 in the following cases. That is, this is the case when the client 10i is in a state where it can connect to the server 4 or when the requested program is not stored in the storage unit 5. Typically, when the requested program is not stored in the storage unit 5 and the client 10i can connect to the server 4, the acquisition source is determined to be the server 4. Further, the storage unit 5 is determined to be acquired when the storage unit 5 is not in a state in which connection with the server 4 is possible and the requested program is stored in the storage unit 5. Note that regardless of whether or not the requested program is stored in the storage unit 5, if the server 4 is in a connectable state, the server 4 may be preferentially determined as the acquisition destination. Alternatively, the server 4 may be preferentially determined as the acquisition destination by setting the data acquisition destination in advance or by an instruction from the user. On the contrary, the acquisition source is the server 4
You may specify not to do so.

When the acquisition unit is determined to be the storage unit 5, the relay unit 3 reads out the requested program from the storage unit 5 (S106). When the acquisition destination is the server 4, the server 4 is connected and the program requested by the server 4 is downloaded (S104). After the download is completed, the relay unit 3 cuts off the connection with the server 4. Here, any downloading method may be used. For example, if the server 4 is implemented as a WWW server, the relay unit 3 uses HTTP (hypertext transport pr).
OTOCOL) or the like to connect to the server 4 and specify the program name RP according to HTTP to download the corresponding program from the server 4. If the server 4 is implemented as a mail delivery (SMTP) server, when an electronic mail describing information such as the requested program name PR is sent to the server 4, the server 4 responds to the required program PR. The program can be received as an email. The method of receiving the program corresponding to the program name RP is not limited to these methods.

The relay unit 3 outputs the program acquired by downloading or reading from the storage unit 5 to the execution unit 2. At this time, the relay unit 3 may output a storage request for the program acquired by downloading to the storage unit 5. When the storage unit 5 inputs a storage request from the relay unit 3, the storage unit 5 receives the program requested to be stored from the relay unit 3, writes the program in a general storage device such as a hard disk or a memory so as to be readable, and stores the program. When the access request of the same program is generated after the downloaded program is stored in the storage unit 5, the storage device of the storage unit 5 is preferentially accessed to acquire the program at high speed. it can. However, it is not always necessary to store the program acquired from the server 4 in the storage unit 5. For example, the program may or may not be stored in the storage unit 5 according to an instruction from the user or the server 4.

The execution unit 2 receives the acquired program from the relay unit 3 and executes it (S107). Here, for example, a program is executed in the same way as the execution of a servlet in a Servlet engine using Java (R) technology, the execution of an applet using Java (R) technology, or the execution of an ActiveX component. Detailed description is omitted. Note that the program execution technique is not limited to this.

Since the execution unit 2 outputs the execution result of the program to the browsing unit 1, the desired program A is displayed in the browsing unit 1.
The execution result of is output (S108). Here, since the display is performed by a general WWW browser, detailed description will be omitted.

In S103 of FIG. 3, it is possible to determine the acquisition source of the program to another client 10i and distribute the program among the clients 10i. Figure 5
6 is a flowchart of a program distribution process between clients according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In S103 of FIG. 3 described above, when the relay unit 3 determines that the program acquisition destination is another client 10i, the distribution unit 6 designates the program name PR and issues an access request for acquiring the desired program. It controls to transmit to the client 10i. Since the user sets the identifier of the other client 10i in the browsing unit 1 in order to designate the acquisition destination of the program to the other client 10i, the other client designated by the identifier via the relay unit 3 and the distribution unit 6 is set. An access request including the program name PR is transmitted to 10i.

The processing in the other client 10i at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Figure 5
At, the distribution unit 6 of the other client 10i receives the access request transmitted at S103 of FIG. 3 (S201). At this time, the distribution unit 6 determines, for example, WWW.
If it functions as a server, the access request complying with HTTP is accepted, and therefore the program name PR designated by the accepted access request is output to the relay unit 3. Alternatively, if it functions as a mail delivery (SMTP) server, it receives an access request mail according to SMTP, interprets the received content, and outputs the designated program name PR to the relay unit 3.

The relay unit 3 sends the program name P from the distribution unit 6.
Since the access request including R is input, the program is acquired according to the same procedure as S103 to S106 in FIG. 2 based on the input program name PR (S202 to S20).
6). At this time, when the access request accepted in S201 includes the identifier of the further client 10i, the further client 10i designated by the identifier is added.
i is determined as the acquisition source of the program.

The distribution unit 6 accepts the acquired program from the relay unit 3 and sends the access request source client 10i.
To (S207). Therefore, the desired program is distributed from the client 10i, which is the access request source, not from the server 4 but from another client 10i.

As described above, the distribution unit 6 updates the distribution history information INF in the distribution history storage unit 7 every time the program is distributed to the access request source client 10i. As shown in FIG. 4B, the distribution history information INF includes distribution program name data DP indicating the name of each program distributed to another client 10i by the client 10i, and a distribution destination client 10i. The distribution destination client data DC and the number-of-times data CON indicating the number of times of distribution are included. Every time the distribution unit 6 distributes a program, the distribution unit 6 newly registers the distribution program name data DP, the distribution destination client data DC, and the frequency data CON of the distribution history information INF, or the corresponding distribution destination client data. The DC and the count data CON are updated.

Therefore, by referring to the distribution history information INF in the distribution history storage unit 7, each client 10
i knows how many clients 10i the program has been distributed to.
It can be judged that the client contributed to the spread of the program as the number of distributions indicated by N increases. The program can be efficiently spread by giving a reward according to the degree of contribution to the client 10i determined to have contributed to the spread of the program. In addition, if the program is distributed for a fee, the program can be sold efficiently.

The contents of the distribution history information INF of each client 10i is regularly transmitted to the server 4 and presented to the administrator of the server 4 (a program seller, a program sales agent, etc.), and its contents. The administrator may check the above-mentioned contribution degree of each client 10i. Further, each client 10i may perform the following in place of periodically transmitting the contents of the distribution history information INF to the server 4. That is, each client 10i periodically calculates the above-described contribution degree of itself based on the content of the distribution history information INF in the distribution history storage unit 7, and transmits the calculated contribution degree to the server 4. May be.

Here, the distribution history information INF is supposed to be registered in the client 10i of the distribution source of the program, but it may be registered in the client 10i of the distribution destination.

It is also possible to set a limit on the number of times of distribution of the program, and set it so that distribution of the program over a certain number of times is not permitted. In this way, the number of distributions of the program can be limited, and abuse of the license related to the program can be prevented. The number of programs distributed is limited to each client 10i
It may be performed independently, or may be performed by instructing each client 10i from the server 4.

In the former case, in the distribution history information INF, the number of times of distribution indicating the number of times of distribution is additionally registered corresponding to each program so that each client distributes the program. The corresponding distribution count data CON is compared with the limit count data, and based on the comparison result, it is determined whether or not distribution of the program is permitted.

In the latter case, the above-described limit number data corresponding to each program is registered in advance in a memory (not shown) of the server 4. The server 4 uses each client 10i
When the distribution history information INF is periodically received from the computer, the count data CON of each program in the received distribution history information INF is compared with the corresponding petition count data registered in advance, and the distribution of the program is performed based on the comparison result. Is permitted, and an instruction according to the determination is transmitted to each client 10i. When each client 10i receives an instruction not to permit distribution of a certain program,
Even if there is an access request for the program, it operates so as not to distribute the program.

Here, a method for determining the program acquisition destination in S103 of FIG. 3 will be described. First, in one determination method, when the storage unit 5 does not store the program requested to be accessed, the relay unit 3 preliminarily determines which one of the server 4 and the other client 10i can communicate at the highest speed in advance. This is a method of specifying by specifying the response time and then determining the specified one as the acquisition source. For the response time measurement, for example, a method of periodically issuing and issuing a ping command used to check the status of the destination terminal or communication line in the TCP / IP network,
Alternatively, a method of measuring the response time each time the server 4 or another client 10i is accessed is applied. Since the load for executing the ping command is very small, the command may be executed each time the acquisition destination of the program is determined.

In another determination method, the acquisition source of the program requested to be accessed is the server 4 or another client 1.
0i and the storage unit 5 are set so that the program having the latest update time is stored. Specifically, when determining the acquisition destination of the program for which access is requested, communication is performed with the server 4 and the other client 10i for receiving update time information indicating the update time of the program. In this communication method, if HTTP, for example, the update time information can be received by transmitting a HEAD command to the other party. HEA
Since the load of executing the D command is extremely small, the command may be executed each time the program acquisition destination is determined.

Still another determining method is the most economical connection destination in the accounting management, which will be described later, of the server 4 and the other clients 10i when the program requested to be accessed is not stored in the storage unit 5. The thing is decided as the acquisition source.

Still another determination method is to determine the most reliable one of the server 4 and the other client 10i as the acquisition destination when the program requested to be accessed is not stored in the storage unit 5. Is. For example, the reliability is low when the communication path through which the program is acquired may be intercepted or modified by a third party. Comparing the HTTP protocol and the HTTPS protocol, it can be said that the HTTPS protocol has an encryption function and is highly reliable. Since the type of protocol applied to the communication path is determined in advance, it is possible to determine based on the protocol applied to the communication path (acquisition destination) with the highest reliability when determining the program acquisition destination.

Still another determination method is to obtain the program having the highest quality of the corresponding line among the server 4 and the other clients 10i when the program requested to be accessed is not stored in the storage unit 5. It is decided first. As mentioned above, the line quality is HTT.
It is determined by the type of protocol applied to the line, such as PS and HTTP. Since the type of protocol applied to the line is already determined when the line is connected, it can be determined based on the protocol to which the acquisition source having the highest line quality is applied when the program acquisition destination is determined.

According to the first embodiment, the client 10i to which the predetermined program has not been downloaded connects to another client 10i to which the predetermined program has been downloaded when an access request for the predetermined program is made. Then, the predetermined program can be downloaded from another client 10i.

When the client 10i transmits a predetermined program to another client 10i which is a request source for distribution, the execution unit 2 executes the predetermined program and the execution result is also transmitted together with the predetermined program. You may do it. Alternatively, only the execution result, in other words, the execution result may be substituted for the predetermined program and transmitted. As a result, the other clients 10i
Since the execution result of the predetermined program can be acquired without executing the predetermined program by itself, the processing load of the other client 10i can be reduced. Therefore, the load can be effectively distributed among the plurality of clients 10i.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a client 90i (i = 1, 2, 3, ..., N) according to the second embodiment. In the configuration of the network system applied to this embodiment, the client 10i shown in FIG. 1 is replaced with the client 90i shown in FIG. 6, but other parts are the same as those in FIG. It is assumed that an identifier for uniquely identifying each client 90i is assigned in advance.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the program distribution process according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a condition DA for determining whether or not to distribute a program according to the second embodiment. The condition DA in FIG. 8 is indicated using a plurality of target identifier data IDs and permission / prohibition data AL indicating whether to permit or reject the distribution of the programs corresponding to the respective target identifier data IDs. The target identifier data ID indicates an identifier assigned to the client 90i whose distribution of the program is permitted or denied by the corresponding permission / prohibition data AL. Note that FIG.
The condition DA of is described in the program that controls the execution unit 22.

The client 90i shown in FIG. 6 and the client 10i shown in FIG.
i is provided with an execution unit 22 and a distribution unit 62 instead of the execution unit 2 and the distribution unit 6 of the client 10i.
The other parts of the client 90i are the same as those shown in FIG.

The execution unit 22 has a function of accepting an access request from the distribution unit 62 in addition to the function of the execution unit 2. The execution unit 22 can specify various distribution procedures by the program based on the content of the condition DA, and can refuse the distribution or impose a restriction if the conditions not required by the program are met. The distribution unit 6 of FIG. 1 requests the relay unit 3 for a program, whereas the distribution unit 62 requests the execution unit 22 for a program.

The procedure of the program distribution process between the clients in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The second embodiment is different from the above-described first embodiment in the processing when there is a program access request from another client 90i.

First, the distribution unit 62 determines that the other clients 9
When the program access request is received from 0i, the program name RP received together with the access request is executed by the execution unit 2
2 is output (S301).

The execution section 22 inputs the program name PR and the access request and analyzes the input access request (S302). In the analysis, for example, the identifier of the client 90i as the access request source is acquired from the access request, and it is determined whether or not the program can be distributed based on the acquired identifier and the condition DA of FIG. If it is determined to be permitted, the subsequent distribution processing is continued, but if it is determined to be denied, an error message is output to the distribution unit 62.

Specifically, referring to the condition DA in FIG. 8, the identifier of the access requesting client 90i is'
10. If it starts with ', the corresponding availability data AL indicates permission, so that the program distribution is permitted. In other cases, the corresponding availability data AL indicates rejection, so the program distribution is rejected. As described above, since the program for analysis in S302 using the condition DA of FIG. 8 can be downloaded from the server 4 or the like, the condition DA of FIG. 8 can be dynamically changed for distributing the program. For example, the program distribution procedure includes information about charging conditions, the identifier of the access requesting client 90i is collated with a predetermined charging condition, and only when the identifier matches the charging condition (for example, regarding distribution of the program, The program distribution can be permitted only when the charge payment status for the charge is, for example, a predetermined amount has been paid. You can allow distribution of the program and charge the access requester for each distribution. Furthermore, a distribution processing program for performing complicated distribution processing may be incorporated, or the distribution program may be dynamically organized.

Further, the distribution history information IN of the distribution history storage unit 7
When the count data CO corresponding to the program indicates a certain number or more with reference to F, the distribution of the program may be refused, or the access request source may be further charged.

In the above-mentioned distribution procedure, the distribution condition is changed, but the distribution procedure may be changed. For example, a program prepares a list showing clients 90i that have been distributed. After that, when an access request for the program is made, the program is divided into a plurality of parts, and each divided partial program is downloaded from the plurality of clients 90i shown in the list to the client 90i as the access request source. It may be done.

As a result of the analysis of the access request, the execution unit 22 outputs the program name PR corresponding to the access request to the relay unit 3 to permit the distribution of the program, and instructs the relay unit 3 to continue the distribution process. Although the program name PR is given to the relay unit 3 after the analysis here, the program name PR may be output to the relay unit 3 before the analysis is performed. In this case, as a result of the access analysis, only when the distribution of the program is permitted, the relay unit 3 is instructed to continue the distribution process.

When the relay unit 3 inputs an instruction to continue the distribution process, the relay unit 3 performs the program acquisition process accordingly (S303 to S307). This acquisition processing is the same as the processing by steps S202 to S206 in FIG.
The description is omitted.

Since the execution unit 22 outputs the program acquired in S307 to the distribution unit 62, the distribution unit 62 inputs the given program and transmits it to the other client 10i as the access request source (S308). As a result, the client 90i distributes the program not from the server 4 but from another client 90i.

In S302 described above, whether or not the program can be distributed is determined based on the condition DA in FIG. 8, but the timing of determining whether or not the program can be distributed is not limited to this. For example, the processing of S302 omitting the access request analysis processing, the execution unit 22 analyzes the acquired program, determines whether distribution is possible, and when it is determined that distribution is permitted, The program may be output to the distribution unit 62. Here, the analysis of the acquired program may include, for example, checking whether or not a digital signature is added to the program, and determining whether or not to distribute the program based on the result.

Further, the access request analysis and the acquisition program analysis described above may be performed, and the availability of distribution may be determined based on the analysis results.

Further, since the arbitrary program downloaded from the server 4 to the client 90i can be executed by the execution unit 22, the server 4 can relay the program to the relay unit 3.
The same response as the response to
Can be transmitted to another client 90i via the distribution unit 62. That is, the other client 90i
For this reason, the server 4 and the client 90i according to the present embodiment can be made to look the same. That is, one client 90i of the network system
If a predetermined program is loaded in the storage unit 50 of, all clients 90i of the network system
The predetermined program can be distributed and acquired only by communication with another client 90i without downloading the predetermined program from the server 4. This predetermined program is
It may correspond to the browsing and distribution processing procedure described with reference to the above-described flowchart.

As the client 10i (90i) described above, a PDA (personal digital assistants), a portable telephone having an information processing function, a server device operated on a network such as the Internet, or the like is applied. The application to the server device is effective when operated so as to distribute the load among a plurality of server devices. Also,
When a new server device is added to the network, the service application program and data can be distributed to the new server device from the existing server device in the above procedure, so that various settings relating to the server device on the network can be simplified. .

In this case, the condition DA in FIG.
2 is described in the program to be executed, the execution unit 22 has the data of the condition DA of FIG. 8 separately from the program, and executes the program while referring to the contents of the table. Good. When changing the condition DA, if the condition DA is described in the program, the program itself needs to be updated and re-downloaded, which is complicated, but if the condition DA is provided separately from the program. It is easy to update only the condition DA.

According to each of the embodiments, even when the server 4 is down or some failure occurs in the network 8 up to the server 4, the distribution of the program is not performed through the server 4 but the client 10i ( 90i). Therefore, which client 1
Even 0i (90i) can acquire and execute the program from another client 10i (90i) in which the program is already installed.

Further, the program itself for communication between the clients 10i (90i) can be distributed by communication between the clients. Therefore, it becomes easy to change the distribution procedure between the clients.

Further, when the program is distributed, it is possible to manage the charge between the clients 10i (90i).

Further, at the time of program distribution, it is possible to store information concerning distribution history among the clients 10i (90i). This makes it possible to determine the superiority or inferiority of the distribution history among the clients.

The client 10i (90i) whose program has been downloaded is the other client 10i (90i).
i (90i) can behave as the same as the server 4.

(Third Embodiment) In the present embodiment, the hardware configuration of the client 10i (90i) described above,
A program storage medium is shown.

FIG. 9 is a hardware configuration diagram of the client 10i (90i) applied to each embodiment. Referring to FIG. 9, a client 10i (90i) includes a CPU (abbreviation of central processing unit) 422, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (abbreviation of random access memory) for centrally controlling the client itself. A memory 424 including a fixed disk, a fixed disk 426, and an FD (flexible disk) 432 are detachably mounted,
FD drive device 43 for accessing the attached FD 432.
0, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memor
y) 442 is detachably attached and the attached CD-
CD-ROM drive 44 for accessing ROM 442
0, monitor 41 consisting of CRT (cathode ray tube), liquid crystal, etc.
0, keyboard 450, mouse 460, network 8
And 81 and a communication interface 480 for communicatively connecting the client and 81. These respective units are communicatively connected via a bus.

The client 10i (90i) may be provided with a magnetic tape device in which a cassette-type magnetic tape is detachably mounted to access the magnetic tape.

The browsing unit 1 has a mouse 460 and a keyboard 4
50 and monitor 410 correspond. Execution unit 2 (22)
Corresponds to the CPU 422. A memory 424 or a fixed disk 426 corresponds to the distribution history storage unit 7 and the storage unit 5, respectively. Relay section 3 and distribution section 6 (6
2) The communication interface 480 corresponds to each.

The processing function of the client 10i (90i) described in each of the above embodiments is realized by a program. This program is executed by the client 10i (90
It is stored in the recording medium readable in i).

In this embodiment, as this recording medium,
The memory necessary for the processing to be performed by the device shown in FIG. 9, for example, the ROM itself of the memory 424 itself may be a program medium, or a magnetic tape device (not shown) as an external storage device. ) And CD
A magnetic tape (not shown) that is a storage medium provided with a program reading device such as a ROM drive device 440.
Alternatively, the program medium may be readable by inserting the CD-ROM 442. In either case, the stored program may be configured to be accessed and executed by the CPU 422, or in any case, the program is once read and the read program is stored in the apparatus of FIG. A method of loading the program in a predetermined program storage area, for example, the program storage area of the RAM of the memory 424, and reading and executing it by the CPU 422 may be used. It is assumed that this loading program is stored in advance in the device.

Here, the above-mentioned program medium is a recording medium which is separable from the main body of the client 10i (90i) and may be a medium which carries the program fixedly. For example, tape systems such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, FD432 and fixed disk 426
Magnetic disks such as CD-ROM 442 / MO (Magn
etic Optical Disc) / MD (Mini Disc) / DVD
(Digital VersatileDisc) optical disc system, IC card (including memory card) / optical card system, mask ROM, EPROM (Er
asable and Programmable ROM), EEPROM (El
It includes a semiconductor memory such as an electronically programmable read only memory (EPROM) and a flash ROM.

Since the client 10i (90i) is constructed so that it can be connected to the networks 8 and 81 including the Internet, the program can be downloaded from these networks to a predetermined storage area such as the memory 424. Good. The content stored in the recording medium is not limited to the program and may be data.

The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a network system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a client computer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of browsing processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing a table in which a correspondence relationship between programs and program names is registered, and contents of distribution history information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a program distribution process according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a client according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a program distribution process according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of conditions for determining whether or not to distribute a program according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a hardware configuration diagram of a client applied to each embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 browsing unit, 2, 22 execution unit, 3 relay unit, 4 server, 5 storage unit, 6, 62 distribution unit, 7 distribution history storage unit, 8, 81 network, 10i, 90i client.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of terminal devices that communicate with each other and that communicate with an information supply device that supplies information including the desired program to a source of the request when a request for information including the desired program is received, A request accepting means for accepting the request, an acquiring means for acquiring information including the desired program corresponding to the request accepted by the request accepting means, and an information including the desired program acquired by the obtaining means Of the information including the desired program by the acquisition means, the acquisition means having a request transmission means for transmitting the request accepted by the request acceptance means. The acquisition destination is the other terminal device that has received the request transmitted by the request transmission means by the request reception means, and the request. Either of the information supply apparatus signal, the terminal device. 2. The apparatus further comprises an input unit operated from the outside to input the information including the request, and a receiving unit that receives the information including the request from the request transmitting unit of the other terminal device. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the request accepted by the request accepting unit is one of the request input from the outside through the input unit and the request received by the receiving unit. apparatus. 3. The terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit, wherein the information including the desired program acquired by the acquisition unit is readablely stored in the storage unit. 4. The acquisition destination of the information including the desired program by the acquisition unit is the other terminal device that has accepted the request transmitted by the request transmission unit by the request acceptance unit, and has received the request. The terminal device according to claim 3, which is one of the information supply device and the storage unit. 5. The information supplied to the request source by the supply means further comprises an execution means for executing processing based on the information including the desired program acquired by the acquisition means,
The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an execution result by the execution unit is included. 6. The information supplied to the request source by the supply means further comprises an execution means for executing a process based on the information including the desired program acquired by the acquisition means,
The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an execution result by the execution unit is included in place of the desired program. 7. The terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the supply unit performs a supply operation according to a predetermined procedure, and the processing executed by the execution unit indicates the predetermined procedure. 8. The supply history information registration means for registering history information indicating a supply history each time the information including the desired program is supplied by the supply means, wherein the terminal device includes the supply history information. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the contribution degree regarding the supply of information including the desired program of its own is determined based on the history information registered by the registration means. 9. The terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined procedure includes a permission procedure for determining permission / prohibition of supply of information including the desired program to the request source. 10. The terminal according to claim 9, wherein the permission procedure determines the permission / prohibition based on billing information indicating a billing status regarding supply of information including the desired program of the requesting terminal device. apparatus. 11. A plurality of terminal devices, which communicate with each other and, in response to receiving a request for information including a desired program, communicate with an information supply device that supplies information including the desired program to a sender of the request. An information supply method applied in each of, a request acceptance step of accepting the request, an acquisition step of acquiring information including the desired program corresponding to the request accepted by the request acceptance step, and A supply step of supplying information including the desired program acquired by the acquisition step to a request source, the acquisition step having a request transmission step of transmitting the request accepted by the request acceptance step, The acquisition source of the information including the desired program in the acquisition step is determined by the request transmission step. Shin has been another of the terminal device having received by said request receiving step of the request, and either of the information supply device which has received the request, the information supply method. 12. An information supply program for causing a computer to execute the information supply method according to claim 11. 13. A machine-readable recording medium in which the information supply program according to claim 12 is recorded.