JP4842171B2 - Emulator system and program for mobile terminal emulation - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an emulator system and a program for performing emulation of a portable terminal.

Currently, a wide variety of mobile phones and other mobile terminals are used, and these mobile terminals operate according to different specifications for each model.
These differences in specifications cover a wide range of web browsing, e-mail, screen display, key operation, and the like. The specifications are not only different depending on the mobile carrier, but also different depending on the model generation and manufacturer.
For example, a setting value of a user agent variable (HTTP_USER_AGENT) included in an HTTP header can be given as an example of specifications that differ for each model. An example of the setting value of this variable is shown in FIG. Although the format shown in FIG. 6 is grouped for each generation, the format may actually vary depending on the model even in the same generation.

In addition, many systems that can be used via these portable terminals have been developed and operated. A system developer who constructs these systems needs to perform tests using an actual machine or an environment close to this in developing the system. An actual machine may be used for this test, but an emulator may be used as a substitute due to cost and environment constraints.
An example of such an emulator of a portable terminal is shown in Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, a mobile emulator realized by an emulator control server imitates the specifications of a portable device.
Further, as mobile phone emulators, mobile phone emulators that support i-mode are provided by mobile carrier operators.

JP 2003-167863 A

However, the conventional portable terminal emulator has a problem that it cannot provide emulation including specifications specific to each model of the portable terminal.
For example, in the mobile emulator disclosed in Patent Document 1, only three types of “notebook PC”, “tablet PC”, and “PDA” can be designated as emulator target devices, which are specialized for a certain PDA and different from other PDAs. Such a specification cannot be supported.
There are also emulators released by the mobile carrier over the Internet, but this is intended to emulate only a certain standard, for example, a rough specification common to all terminals, and it emulates the operation of each model. There is nothing that has the function to do.

  For this reason, when building a system that is expected to be used from a mobile device, if it is necessary to perform rigorous operation verification assuming specifications specific to each model, all target models will be tested using actual devices. Is essential. In the case of a system targeting general consumers (so-called BtoC), it is necessary to verify the operation targeting all models of all mobile carrier operators, and it is a system targeting so-called specific companies (so-called BtoB). This is because it is necessary to carry out the same verification for several candidates and determine the compatible models.

  In addition, even after system development is completed and put into operation, verification with an actual machine needs to be additionally performed. In the case of a system targeting general consumers, all newly released models need to be verified. Even in the case of a system targeting a specific company, it is necessary to select the next compatible model when the conventional compatible model is suspended. For this reason, verification is required each time, and the running cost increases. In addition, since verification using a new model of the actual machine is only possible after the release, there is a high possibility that end user complaints will occur due to delays in verification work.

  In this way, since emulators that include specifications specific to each model of mobile device are not provided, testing of actual devices across multiple models is required, increasing the cost of purchasing actual devices, the cost of using actual devices, etc. To do.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide an emulator system and a program that realize an emulation function including specifications specific to each model of a portable terminal. To do.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an emulator system according to the present invention is an emulator system that emulates a mobile terminal, and the emulator system includes a plurality of model information storage units, each of which has a different model of the mobile terminal. An emulation unit that stores information representing specific specifications for each of them and performs emulation with reference to one of a plurality of model information storage means and model information storage means, and outputs a key operation window. The model information storage means includes screen display specification data indicating specifications related to the screen display of the model, and key operation specification data indicating specifications related to the key operation of the model. at least 1 Tsuo含seen, key operation window, emulate the key operation of the mobile terminal of the Is for over door, displayed in the key operation window, it is in accordance with the key operation specification data.

Model information storage unit, represents the specification of the Web browser model, the Web communication specification data represents a specification for transmission of the machine type of the e-mail may include at least one of mail transmission specification data.
The model information storage means may include data representing specifications of the model regarding communication with the outside.
The program according to the present invention causes a computer to function as the above-described emulator system.

  The emulator system and program according to the present invention refer to the model information file and provide an emulation function according to the specifications defined in the model information file. Can provide detailed emulation functions.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 shows an emulator system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and shows a configuration of a PC 100 that functions as a mobile terminal.
The PC 100 is a computer having a well-known configuration, and includes a CPU that is a calculation unit that performs a calculation, and a storage unit that includes a magnetic disk and a semiconductor memory for storing information. The PC 100 further includes a keyboard and mouse that are input devices, a display and printer that are output devices, and a network interface that serves both as an input device and an output device for a communication network.

  The PC 100 functions as an emulator 20 that is a part of an emulator system that emulates a mobile terminal by executing an emulation program (not shown) stored in the storage means. Here, “emulation” means imitation of certain hardware, for example, the PC 100, using the emulation program to the operation of hardware of a different design, for example, a certain portable terminal. A portable terminal is a portable terminal having an information processing function and a communication function, and includes, for example, a mobile phone, a PHS, and a PDA (personal digital assistant).

Further, the PC 100 stores a plurality of model information files 40 and 50 as data in the storage means. The model information files 40 and 50 are model information storage means for storing information representing the specifications of different specific portable terminal models. When the user of the PC 100 designates either the model information file 40 or 50 for the emulator unit 20, the emulator unit 20 refers to the designated model information file 40 or 50, and follows this. Provides emulation functions with specific specifications.
In FIG. 1, two model information files 40 and 50 are shown as model information files, but the PC 100 can store any number of model information files of one or more.

The emulation unit 20 includes a Web communication emulation unit 21, a screen display emulation unit 22, a mail transmission emulation unit 23, and a key operation emulation unit 24. That is, the PC 100 executes a Web communication emulation program, a screen display emulation program, a mail transmission emulation program, and a key operation emulation program included in the emulation program, respectively. Functions as a unit 22, a mail transmission emulation unit 23, and a key operation emulation unit 24.
The emulation unit 20 includes all the emulation units 21 to 24 described above, but these may be installable independently of each other. That is, for example, the emulation unit 20 may include only the Web communication emulation unit 21 and the screen display emulation unit 22, or may include only the mail transmission emulation unit 23.

The model information files 40 and 50 include Web communication specification data 41 and 51, screen display specification data 42 and 52, mail transmission specification data 43 and 53, and key operation specification data 44 and 54, respectively.
Web communication specification data 41 and 51 represent specifications of a specific model, that is, a model related to the model information files 40 and 50, respectively, as a Web (web) browser. This specification relates to, for example, the HTTP protocol.
The screen display specification data 42 and 52 represent specifications related to screen display of a specific model.
The mail transmission specification data 43 and 53 represent specifications regarding transmission of electronic mail of a specific model. This specification relates to, for example, the SMTP protocol and the POP protocol.
The key operation specification data 44 and 54 represent specifications related to key arrangement and key operation results (specifications that determine what results can be obtained by key operation) for a specific model. For all models supported by the emulator unit 20, the operation of each key (button) of the model is defined in advance for each key operation (button operation) pattern. Similarly, the operation of special keys for all models is predefined.
Here, the Web communication specification data 41 and 51 and the mail transmission specification data 43 and 53 are data representing specifications regarding communication with the outside of a specific model. Further, in the case of a model having a function of performing communication with the outside as a means other than the Web browser and e-mail, the model information files 40 and 50 may further include data representing specifications regarding the communication.

  FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the model information file 40. In this example, the model information file 40 is in the form of a text file, and the file name has an extension of “.ini”, for example. The file format is not limited to the text file, and any other format such as an XML format can be used.

According to the Web communication specification data 41 shown as [Web communication function] in the example of FIG. 2, this mobile terminal performs communication according to the specification defined as HTML 7.0, and the user agent variable included in the HTTP header Sets the value "Xcorporation / 2.0 A100x (a100; ABC123)". Here, for example, Xcorporation is the name of the mobile carrier, and ABC123 is the model name. The certificate used for SSL communication is from Auth Corporation.
According to the screen display specification data 42 shown as “screen display function”, this portable terminal can display full-width characters of 11 horizontal characters × 16 vertical characters, and the number of full-width characters that can be displayed at one time is 176 characters. Further, the image data can be displayed with a resolution of horizontal 230 pixels × vertical 320 pixels, and 26144 colors can be used.
The mail transmission specification data 43 shown as [Mail transmission function] indicates a part of the contents of the header part of the electronic mail transmitted by the portable terminal. It should be noted that the format of the mail transmission specification data 43 may be a format that can be used as it is as an e-mail header line.
According to the key operation specification data 44 shown as [Key operation function], the arrangement pattern (KeyType) of the portable terminal uses a key arrangement pattern of A type. The arrangement pattern (KeyType) defines a key arrangement and a key number (key1, key2, etc.) of the arranged keys. In addition, the first key (key1) of this portable terminal indicates a process defined by the name “Menu key”, and the second key (key2) indicates a process defined by the name “character key”. To do. Although not shown in FIG. 2, in [Key operation function], it is defined as needed which function is assigned to the key number defined in the A type.

The web communication emulation unit 21, the screen display emulation unit 22, the mail transmission emulation unit 23, and the key operation emulation unit 24 respectively include web communication specification data 41, screen display specification data 42, mail transmission specification data 43, The mobile terminal is emulated in accordance with the specifications shown in the key operation specification data 44.
The items included in the specification data 41 to 44 of the model information file 40 are not limited to those shown in FIG. New items may be added according to the specifications to be realized by the emulator unit 20.

  The model information file 50, the Web communication specification data 51, the screen display specification data 52, the mail transmission specification data 53, and the key operation specification data 54 included therein are also the model information file 40 and the Web included therein, respectively. The communication specification data 41, the screen display specification data 42, the mail transmission specification data 43, and the key operation specification data 44 have the same configuration. However, since the model information file 40 and the model information file 50 are data relating to different specific terminals, the setting contents of each item differ depending on the specifications of each terminal.

  FIG. 3 is an example of a screen that the emulator unit 20 outputs to the display of the PC 100. The emulation unit 20 outputs a screen display window 70 and a key operation window 80. In the following description, it is assumed that the emulation unit 20 performs emulation by referring to the model information file 40. However, the same applies when the model information file 50 is referred to.

The screen display window 70 is displayed for the screen display emulation unit 22 to emulate the screen display of the mobile terminal. The emulated screen display corresponds to the screen display specification data 42. For example, when the model information file 40 of FIG. 2 is used, the screen display has a size of horizontal 230 × 320 pixels and horizontal 11 characters × vertical 16 characters.
Further, the display content having a constant specification regardless of the model of the mobile terminal is displayed in a constant format regardless of the content of the screen display specification data 42. In FIG. 3, an antenna mark indicating the reception status of radio waves and a battery mark indicating the remaining battery level are displayed.
These marks may also be defined in the screen display specification data 42. In that case, the emulation unit 20 performs these displays according to the definition contents.

The key operation window 80 is displayed so that the key operation emulation unit 24 emulates the key operation of the portable terminal. Each key displayed in the screen operates according to an operation such as a mouse click by the user.
The display relating to the emulated key operation and the operation of each key are in accordance with the key operation specification data 44. For example, when the model information file 40 of FIG. 2 is used, a key layout corresponding to the pattern of A type is displayed in the key operation window 80, the first key 81 instructs the process of “Menu key”, and The second key 82 instructs a process of “character key”.

FIG. 4 shows a flow in which the emulation program that realizes the function of the emulator 20 as described above is stored in the storage unit of the PC 100, that is, installed.
The emulation service provider 200 is a provider that creates an emulation program and a model information file 40. The mobile carrier 210 is a business that determines the specifications of each model of mobile terminal. The emulation service provider 200 receives specifications of each model of the portable terminal, that is, model-specific information from the portable carrier provider 210, and creates a plurality of model information files having the same configuration as the model information file 40 based on the specifications. .
Here, the model information file 40 does not have to be of a released model. That is, even if the model is a model before release, if a part or all of the specification is determined, the model information file 40 may be created accordingly.

  The system developer 110 is a developer or operator of a system that is used using a portable terminal, and is a user of the PC 100. The system developer 110 concludes an emulation program contract with the emulation service provider 200 and subscribes to the service, and receives the emulation program and model information file from the emulation service provider 200. When receiving these, the system developer 110 transfers, that is, downloads via a communication network such as the Internet. Further, the system developer 110 installs the received emulation program and model information file in the PC 100, so that the PC 100 functions as the emulator unit 20.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the interface screen 120 used when the system developer 110 downloads the model information file. This interface screen 120 is based on, for example, an HTML file generated by a server managed by the emulation service provider 200, transferred to the PC 100 via the communication network, and displayed on the display of the PC 100. The system developer 110 performs an operation on the interface screen 120 via the PC 100.

The interface screen 120 includes a contract content display unit 130, a model information selection unit 140, and a download button 150.
The contract content display unit 130 is means for displaying the type of specification data included in the model information file to be downloaded.
The system developer 110 includes the emulation service provider 200 and each of the emulation units included in the emulation unit 20 (Web communication emulation unit 21, screen display emulation unit 22, mail transmission emulation unit 23, and key operation emulation). A contract regarding which of the rate sections 24) is used is concluded, and the display of the contract content display section 130 is made based on this. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, the Web communication emulation unit 21 and the mail transmission emulation unit 23 are used, and the screen display emulation unit 22 and the key operation emulation unit 24 are not used.

  The specification data included in the model information file is determined by the contents of this contract. That is, the model information file to be downloaded according to the example of FIG. 5 includes Web communication specification data 41 and mail transmission specification data 43, but does not include screen display specification data 42 and key operation specification data 44. Further, when the emulation unit 20 refers to the model information file and performs emulation, the Web communication emulation unit 21 and the mail transmission emulation unit 23 provide an emulation function in accordance with the model-specific specifications as described above. However, the screen display emulation unit 22 and the key operation emulation unit 24 do not provide an emulation function. However, the screen display emulation unit 22 and the key operation emulation unit 24 may provide only a general-purpose emulation function defined in advance.

The model information selection unit 140 is a means for causing the system developer 110 to select a model. The model information selection unit 140 further includes a carrier designation unit 141 and a model designation unit 142. The carrier designation unit 141 is a means for displaying a list of portable carrier operators of the portable terminal in a pull-down manner and selecting one of them. That is, the system developer 110 uses the carrier designation unit 141 to designate the mobile carrier company 210 of FIG.
The model designation unit 142 is a means for displaying a list of portable terminal models related to the mobile carrier specified by the carrier designation unit 141 in a pull-down manner and selecting one of them. That is, the system developer 110 designates a desired model using the model designation unit 142.

The download button 150 is a means for starting to download the model information file in accordance with the contents specified by the contract content display unit 130 and the model information selection unit 140. When the download button 150 is operated by the system developer 110, the server of the emulation service provider 200 starts data transfer, and the PC 100 starts downloading.
In connection with this download operation, charging may be performed according to the contract content and the download content.

As described above, the PC 100 that is the emulator system according to the first embodiment of the present invention refers to the model information file (for example, the model information file 40) by the emulator unit 20, and the specifications defined in the model information file. Thus, an emulation function that imitates the operation of the mobile terminal is provided. As a result, the emulation unit 20 is different from the conventional emulation only for the specifications common to all mobile terminals of mobile carrier operators, and includes a specification that is specific to each model of mobile terminal. A fine emulation function can be provided.
Therefore, the system developer 110 can handle the PC 100 as a pseudo mobile terminal having the same specifications as the actual machine, and can perform operation verification of a system developed for the mobile terminal with higher accuracy. In addition, since the operation verification by emulation can be performed accurately, verification by the actual machine is not required even at the final stage of development, and the cost required for the purchase of the actual machine or the contract for using the actual machine can be reduced. Furthermore, even if the model is newly announced after the system is completed, the operation can be verified without an actual machine, so that the running cost of the system can be reduced.

  Also, the model information file is created for each model, and the emulation function of different models can be provided by appropriately selecting what the emulator unit 20 uses. That is, the emulation program itself may be a single one, and the emulation unit 20 can be used in common regardless of the model of the portable terminal. In addition, since specifications different for each model are provided by relatively simple configuration data such as the model information file 40 in FIG. 2, it is possible to efficiently implement emulation of a plurality of models while maintaining a simple configuration. be able to.

  In addition, since the model information file can define specifications even for pre-release models, operation verification can be performed before the actual machine is released, and there is a delay between the release of the actual machine and the completion of the system. Can be eliminated.

  In addition, specification data included in the model information file can be selected. That is, the system developer 110 can download and use only necessary ones of the Web communication specification data 41, the screen display specification data 42, the mail transmission specification data 43, and the key operation specification data 44. For this reason, the emulation unit 20 can be specialized only for functions that need to be verified in system development, and the entire configuration can be simplified by omitting unnecessary configurations. In addition, for the contract between the emulation service provider 200 and the system developer 110, only necessary data can be provided at a lower cost.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the emulator system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the model information file of FIG. It is an example of the screen which the emulator system of FIG. 1 outputs. It is a figure which shows the flow in which the emulation program which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention is installed. It is a figure which shows the example of the interface screen used when downloading the model information file of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the setting value of a user agent variable which changes for every model.

Explanation of symbols

  20 Emulation section, 40, 50 Model information file, 41, 51 Communication specification data, 42, 52 Screen display specification data, 43, 53 Mail transmission specification data, 44, 54 Key operation specification data, 100 PC (emulator system).

Claims (4)

An emulator system that emulates a mobile terminal,
Storing information representative of the specifications unique to the different models each of said portable terminal, a plurality of model information storage unit,
An emulation unit that emulates the specifications of the portable terminal with reference to any of the model information storage means, and that outputs a key operation window; and
A display for displaying the key operation window ;
The model information storage means includes
Screen display specification data representing specifications related to the screen display of the model;
Representing the specifications for the key operation of the model, seen at least 1 Tsuo含of a key operation specification data,
The key operation window is for emulating the key operation of the mobile terminal,
The display in the key operation window is in accordance with the key operation specification data . Emulator system. The model information storage means includes
Web communication specification data representing specifications as a Web browser of the model;
The emulator system according to claim 1, wherein the emulator system includes at least one of mail transmission specification data representing specifications related to transmission of electronic mail of the model.   The emulator system according to claim 1, wherein the model information storage unit includes data representing specifications related to communication with the outside of the model.   A program for causing a computer to function as the emulator system according to claim 1.

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