JPH09146963A - Information searching method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To comprehensively search a large amount of mutually related information according to circumstances by searching information in parallel and limiting the frequency of a searching process for data information related to searched data information. SOLUTION: An information processor of information processor identification information MAc confirms whether or not a value larger than '1' is allocated to a reference count C in a step 7 as to an information processor of current interest in link information MAn. When '1' is allocated to the reference count C, a searching process SP of the information processor of the information processor identification information MAc starts the searching process SP of the information processor that the link information MAn indicates as a child process in a step 8. Further, when the reference count C is '0', a result storing process RS is started on the information processor of information processor identification information MA0 in a step 9 and result information showing that the information processor can not be searched for is stored.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information search method for searching data stored in a plurality of information processing devices, and more particularly to a hyper information containing link information indicating the location of data related to the inside. An information search method for performing parallel search of a wide range of related information stored in a plurality of information processing devices and preventing the search range from expanding infinitely in the information search of text-structured data information. It relates to technology that is effective when applied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A large amount of information is stored in a storage device of a computer system, information stored in the storage device is searched as needed, and a database is constructed to refer to or update the searched information. ing.

When the database constructed as described above becomes large in size, it takes a lot of time to search for necessary information, and therefore, some kind of limitation may be imposed when searching information.

As a conventional technique for restricting information retrieval in database retrieval, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-27.
No. 9972: Conditional retrieval control system ", it is stated that time limitation is applied when performing information retrieval.

In the above-described conditional search control system, when performing an information search in a single database, it may not be possible to obtain a search result for a long time depending on the search conditions. In that case, the database system executes the information search. Since it is not clear whether it is in the middle or the database system is in an infinite loop, the allowable response time is entered in order to avoid that situation, and the execution time of the information retrieval or the information to be executed in the future It is described that the expected time for executing the search is compared with the allowable response time.

Regarding the comparison between the estimated time for executing the information search and the allowable response time, before performing the information search,
The estimated time of execution of the information search is estimated from the number of input / outputs and the CPU time required for the information search, and when the information search is executed, the estimated time of execution of the information search for each break of the information search process. It is realized by re-estimating and comparing with the allowable response time.

In the conditional search control system, when the execution time of the information search reaches the permissible response time, the information search process is temporarily suspended, and an inquiry is made as to whether or not to continue the information search process. There is.

The conditional search control system is intended for a single database, and the intermediate results when the information search process is interrupted are meaningless.

[0009]

The present inventor has found the following problems as a result of examining the above-mentioned prior art.

That is, the condition search control system of the prior art described above is intended for a single database, and therefore, it is not considered to limit the search for information that comprehensively spreads on a communication path. There was a problem.

Further, in the above-described condition search control system of the prior art, the intermediate result obtained when the information search process is interrupted within the allowable response time is meaningless, and it is considered to use the intermediate result. Therefore, there is a problem that a meaningful intermediate result obtained when the information search process is interrupted cannot be used in the search for information that exists in a distributed manner in a plurality of information processing devices.

[0012] The time constraint of the single database in the conditional search control system of the above-mentioned prior art makes the time of the search process itself a problem, while it is time-consuming to search for information that comprehensively spreads on the communication path. If you want to have a constraint,
Not only the time required for the search process itself, but also the time required for transmitting the search process result using a plurality of communication paths having different communication speeds and communication capacities is a major factor of the time constraint of the entire search process. In the conditional search control system of
There was a problem that the limitation on the time required to transmit the search processing result was not taken into consideration.

Further, in the prior art conditional search control system, when a plurality of related information exists in the information to be searched, it is possible to obtain an overall picture of the spread of the related information, and the plurality of related information. There is also no consideration given to determining the depth of the search for how much information is to be searched, and the plurality of related information are related to each other, and the way of the relationship becomes a mesh. However, there is a problem that it is impossible to prevent the same information from being searched twice.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of flexibly and efficiently performing an exhaustive search for a large amount of mutually related information.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of limiting the search range by the processing capability of performing the search process and the search result transmission process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of limiting the search range depending on time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of selecting a search process suitable for the content of data information to be searched.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of preventing duplicate searches for the same data information.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0020]

Of the inventions disclosed by the present application, a representative one will be briefly described below.
It is as follows.

(1) Connecting a plurality of information processing devices from a plurality of information processing devices that store a plurality of data information having link information indicating a location of data information and data information related to the data information In the information search method for searching for specific data information via the communication path, the reference count, which is a value that limits the search at the location indicated by the link information of the data information, indicates the number of searches at the location indicated by the link information. When a search process for searching for specific data information is started in one information processing device of the plurality of information processing devices and data information matching the specific data information is searched for in the search process A reference cow that transmits the searched data information to the information processing apparatus that first starts the search process, subtracts a specific value from the value of the reference count, and then subtracts the value. Distributed to the information processing device at the location indicated by the link information of the searched data information, and the search process is activated by the information processing device at the location, and the value of the reference count reaches a specific limit value. Sometimes the search process is terminated.

In the above information searching method, a plurality of information processing devices storing a plurality of hypertext structure data which are data information having data information and link information indicating a location of the data information related to the data information. To search for specific data information via a communication path connecting the plurality of information processing devices.

In the information searching method, when searching for data information that matches the specific data information,
A plurality of data information that matches the specific data information may be searched.

[0024] Each of the searched plurality of data information has link information, and the location information indicated by the link information of each of the searched plurality of data information matches the specific data information. If the search is performed, the load of the search process for searching the data information that matches the specific data information increases rapidly, and the time required for the search process, the data amount indicating the search result, and the search result are It is conceivable that the time required to transmit the search processing to the information processing apparatus that first starts up becomes enormous.

Therefore, in the information search method, when the data information that matches the specific data information is searched before the search for the specific data information is started, the information related to the searched data information is related. A value called a reference count as a value that limits the search at the location indicated by the link information when the data information exists and the searched data information has link information indicating the existing location of the related data information. To set.

First, in the information searching method, a specific initial value indicating how many times the reference count in the location indicated by the link information is searched, for example,
After setting an arbitrary integer equal to or greater than “1”, a search process for searching for specific data information in one information processing device of the plurality of information processing devices is started.

When data information that matches the specific data information is searched for in the search processing, the searched data information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus that first started the search processing.

Next, a specific value, for example, "1" is subtracted from the value of the reference count, and the reference count obtained by subtracting the value is applied to the information processing apparatus at the location indicated by the link information of the searched data information. The information processing apparatus distributes and the search process is started.

The information processing device at the location indicated by the link information, which has received the distributed reference count, searches for the specific data information in the same manner as described above, and executes the search for the specific data information. When the data information matching with is searched, the searched data information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus which first started the search processing.

Next, the specific value is subtracted from the value of the distributed reference count, and the reference count obtained by subtracting the value in the same manner as described above is the location information indicated by the link information of the searched data information. It is distributed to the processing devices and the search process is activated by the information processing device.

When the value of the reference count reaches a specific limit value, for example, "0" when the value of the distributed reference count is subtracted, the location indicated by the link information of the searched data information is indicated. The search process in the information processing device is terminated without activating the search process in the information processing device at the position.

In the information search method, the search processing is started on each of the plurality of information processing devices at the location indicated by the link information for each of the plurality of data information related to the plurality of searched data information. The plurality of search processes activated on the plurality of information processing devices are asynchronously activated as a child process of a process that activates the plurality of search processes without waiting for completion of the search process of each child process. In addition, the plurality of search processes which are the plurality of activated child processes asynchronously report the respective search results to the information processing apparatus that first activates the search process regardless of the state of the parent process.

In the search process of the information search method,
A reference count is used to limit its search range, and whether the value of the reference count reaches a specific limit value when the reference count is subtracted determines whether to search further relevant information. There is.

As described above, in the information search method, for each of the plurality of data information related to the plurality of searched data information, the search processing is asynchronously activated on the information processing device in which the data information exists. By this, it is possible to execute a search process for a plurality of related data information in parallel.

Further, in the information search method, since a plurality of search processes for searching related data information report the search results asynchronously, a user who searches for the specific data information can search for the specific data information. It is not necessary to wait until the search processing of the data information is completed.

Further, in the information search method, the search range is limited by the reference count. Therefore, by changing the initial value of the reference count, the search range of the search process can be limited according to cost or time. .

As described above, according to the information search method,
Since the information search is executed in parallel and the number of times of the search processing of the data information related to the searched data information is limited,
Exhaustive search for huge amounts of information that are related to each other
It can be done flexibly and efficiently.

(2) In the information search method described in (1) above, the reference count is weighted according to the characteristics of the plurality of information processing apparatuses or the characteristics of the communication paths connected to the plurality of information processing apparatuses. The value indicated by the information is set, and when the data information that matches the specific data information is searched for in the search processing, the searched data information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus that first started the search processing, From the value of the reference count, a reference count obtained by subtracting the value indicated by the information weighted according to the characteristics of the information processing apparatus that has executed the search processing or the characteristics of the communication path to the information processing apparatus, and then subtracting the value. The information processing apparatus distributes the searched data information to the information processing apparatus at the location, which is indicated by the link information, and activates the search process at the information processing apparatus at the location.

When a specific data information is searched for by a plurality of information processing devices via a plurality of communication paths, a large amount of processing capacity may be required to execute the search process, and A large amount of processing capacity may be required for the search result transmission process of transmitting the search result of the search process to the information processing apparatus that has started the search for the specific data information.

Therefore, in the information searching method, the characteristics such as the processing capability of each information processing device of the plurality of information processing devices, the communication speed and the communication of each communication path connected to the plurality of information processing devices, and the like. Information that is weighted according to characteristics such as capacity is created.

Next, in the case of searching for the specific data information, each of the plurality of information processing devices considered necessary for searching for the specific data information is set as a specific initial value for the reference count. After setting the value corresponding to the information such as the processing capacity of the information processing apparatus and the weighted information according to the characteristics such as the communication speed and the communication capacity of each communication path connected to the plurality of information processing apparatuses, A search process for searching for specific data information is started by one information processing device of the plurality of information processing devices.

When the data information that matches the specific data information is searched for in the search processing, the searched data information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus which first started the search processing.

Next, from the value of the reference count, depending on the characteristics such as the processing capacity of the information processing apparatus that has executed the search processing and the characteristics such as the communication speed and the communication capacity of the communication path connected to the information processing apparatus. The value corresponding to the weighted information is subtracted, and the reference count obtained by subtracting the value is distributed to the information processing device at the location indicated by the link information of the searched data information, and the search process is started by the information processing device. When the value of the reference count reaches a specific limit value, for example, "0", the search processing is ended.

As described above, according to the information search method,
Since the search range is limited by the information weighted according to the characteristics of the information processing device and the communication path connected to the search, it is possible to limit the search range by the processing capacity for performing the search process and the search result transmission process. is there.

(3) In the information search method described in (1) or (2) above, when the execution time for executing the search processing is measured and the measured execution time reaches a specific limit value. The search process is completed.

When a specific data information is searched for by a plurality of information processing devices through a plurality of communication paths, the search process is executed and the search result is searched for the specific data information. It may take a long time to execute the process of transmitting the search result to be transmitted to the information processing device.

Therefore, in the information search method, a designated end time for ending the search process is set, and the execution time when the search process and the process of transmitting the search result are being executed is measured.

During the execution of the search process or the transmission process of the search process, the measured execution time reaches a specific value,
When the time becomes the end specified time, an interrupt occurs in the search process or the transmission process of the search process,
The search process ends.

As described above, according to the information search method,
Since the execution time of the search process is measured and the search process is terminated when the measured execution time reaches a specific limit value, it is possible to limit the search range by time.

(4) In the information search method described in (1) to (3) above, data information that matches the specific data information is searched in the search processing, and link information of the searched data information. When activating the search process at the location indicated by, each time the data information matching the specific data information is searched, the search process is activated at the location indicated by the link information of the data information, or After the search for all the data information that matches the data information of 1) is performed, the search processing is started at all the location positions indicated by the link information of all the searched data information.

In the search process of the information search method, when the data information that matches the specific data information is searched and the search process is activated at the location indicated by the link information of the searched data information, Use one of the following two search process invocations:

One is to start the search process at the location indicated by the link information of the data information each time the data information that matches the specific data information is searched, and the other is to start the search process. After searching for all the data information that matches the data information, the search process is started at all the location positions indicated by the link information of all the searched data information.

When the search process is started at the location indicated by the link information of the data information each time the data information that matches the specific data information of the former is searched, the data information related to the searched certain data information Since it is searched next, it is possible to continuously search a related series of data information, and the latter is searched after all data information matching the specific data information is searched. When the search process is started at all the location positions indicated by the link information of all data information, the total number of the location positions indicated by the link information is known in advance, so it is possible to evenly distribute the reference count and the search time. Is.

As described above, according to the information search method,
The search processing to the location indicated by the link information is started each time data information is searched or after all data information has been searched, so the search processing suitable for the content of the data information to be searched is selected. It is possible to

(5) In the information search method described in (1) to (4) above, when a search for data information matching the specific data information is performed in the search processing, History information indicating that a search has been performed is created, the history information is referred to when the search process is started again, and if the started search process is already executed, the search is executed. The process is ended.

In the information search method, the related data information is searched according to the link information of the searched data information. However, when the search of the related data information is repeated according to the link information, the already searched data information is re-created. Arrives and duplicates the same data information, or
The search process may form an infinite loop.

Therefore, in the information search method, the already-searched link information is retained as history information in order to prevent the data information already searched in the search processing for searching the specific data information from being searched again. When the search process is activated, it is confirmed whether the data information to be searched for has not already been searched by another search process generated from the same search request source.

According to the history information of the information search method,
It is possible to prevent the same data information from being redundantly searched, even if the relationship between the plurality of searched data information is a mesh.

As described above, according to the information search method,
Since the search process holds the history information and the search process calls the situation confirmation process to confirm the search situation, it is possible to prevent duplicate search of the same data information.

[0060]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings together with embodiments.

(Embodiment 1) In the information search method of the present invention, data search is performed with a search range limited by a reference count, which is a value that limits the search at the location indicated by the link information of the data information. The information search method of the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of search processing in which the number of searches at the location of the link information in the information search method of this embodiment is limited. In FIG. 1, S
P is a search process, X is a data piece to be searched, C is a reference count, MA0 is information processing apparatus identification information of the information processing apparatus that first started the search, Rn is a search result of the data piece X, MA
n is the link information of the search result Rn, MAc is the information processing device identification information of the information processing device that is currently activating the search process SP, and RS is the result storage process.

An apparatus for carrying out the information searching method of the present embodiment includes a plurality of information processing apparatuses indicated by the information processing apparatus identification information MA0, the link information MAn, the information processing apparatus identification information MAc, etc., and the plurality of information processing apparatuses. And a communication path connecting the plurality of information processing devices, and the plurality of information processing devices include a storage device that stores a plurality of data information.

In the information searching method of the present embodiment, the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0 starts searching for the data piece X, and the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0 determines the information processing device identification. A processing procedure when the search processing SP is started by the information processing device of the information MAc will be described.

First, when the information processing apparatus having the information processing apparatus identification information MA0 for implementing the information searching method of the present embodiment starts the search processing SP in the information processing apparatus having the information processing apparatus identification information MAc, the information processing apparatus The information processing device of the identification information MAc, in the process of step 1, searches for the data piece X, the reference count C, and the search process SP first.
Information processing device identification information MA0 of the information processing device that started
Is received in the form of arguments.

The reference count C of the information searching method of the present embodiment is the maximum number of times the related information is searched for in the information processing device which is the location of the related data information indicated by the link information of the searched data information. Is an integer-type count for limiting the value, and in the information search method of the present embodiment, an integer value of “1” or more is set.

The information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc decrements this reference count C by "1" in the process of step 2, and then in the process of step 3,
A plurality of data information stored in the storage device of the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc is searched to check whether or not there is data information matching the data piece X in the plurality of data information, and searching Result Rn and link information MAn
Get.

Here, the search result Rn obtained by the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc is the data piece X in a plurality of data information stored in the storage device of the information processing device identification information MAc. The link information MAn is information processing apparatus identification information of an information processing apparatus having data information related to the searched data information indicated by the search result Rn.

The information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc uses the obtained search result Rn as the information processing device identification information M.
In order to return it to the information processing device A0,
The result storage process RS is started on the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0, and the information processing device identification information MA
c, the search result Rn, and the link information MAn are passed.

Next, in order to continue searching for related data information, in the process of step 5, the value of the reference count C held by the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc is set to each information processing device of the link information MAn. Assign to and distribute.

In the information searching method of the present embodiment, the value distributed from the reference count C of the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc to each information processing device of the link information MAn is an integer. If the total number of the information processing devices of the link information MAn is larger than the current value, the value of the reference count C is assigned to some of the information processing devices of the link information MAn. It may not be. In this case, “0” is assigned to the information processing device of the link information MAn to which the value of the reference count C is not assigned.

The information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc of the information searching method of the present embodiment finally repeats the following process in step 6 for each information processing device of the link information MAn.

The information processing apparatus of the information processing apparatus identification information MAc, regarding the information processing apparatus currently focused on in the link information MAn, first, in the process of step 7, the reference count C has a value of "1" or more. Check if it is allocated.

When the value of "1" or more is assigned to the reference count C of the information processing device of the link information MAn in the process of step 7, the process proceeds to step 8 to search the information processing device. Start the processing SP to start the data piece X,
Allocated reference count C and information processing device identification information M
Pass A0.

In the processing of step 8 described above, the information processing apparatus identification information MAc information processing apparatus search processing SP
Is a search process S of the information processing device indicated by the link information MAn.
Start P as a child process.

The search result of the search processing SP is the search processing SP.
Since the result storage process RS directly sends from the information processing device executing the above to the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0, the child process which is the search process SP of the information processing device indicated by the activated link information MAn , I / O processing is not performed with the parent process that started the child process, and therefore the parent process does not need to wait for the end of the child process.

Therefore, in the process of step 8, the information processing device identification information MAc is searched for the information processing device SP.
Is a search process S of the information processing device indicated by the link information MAn.
The plurality of child processes that are P are started without waiting for the end of each child process of the plurality of child processes.

If the reference count C assigned to the information processing device of the link information MAn is "0" in the process of step 7, the process proceeds to step 9 and the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0 is processed. Result storage process R on top
S is activated to store result information indicating that the information processing device could not be searched.

The information processing device of the information processing device identification information MAc ends the search process SP at the time when the repeating process of step 6 is completed.

According to the information search method of the present embodiment, there is an effect that the spread of the search for the related information can be limited by the value of the reference count C passed when the search processing SP is first activated.

In the information search method of the present embodiment, when the data piece X is not found as a result of executing the search process SP, the process of step 4 is not executed and the search result Rn
Step 9 regarding the method of not returning the information processing apparatus identification information MA0 to the information processing apparatus or the information processing apparatus not searched because the reference count C cannot be assigned.
The method of not performing the process of (1) and not reporting the information processing device identification information MA0 to the information processing device can also be easily realized as another embodiment of the present invention.

Further, in the information search method of the present embodiment, the link information MA for all the data information satisfying the conditions.
The case where the search processing SP is activated on the information processing apparatus having the related data information after obtaining n has been described, but the search is performed on the information processing apparatus having the related data information every time the data information satisfying the condition is obtained. In the case of activating the processing SP, only the method of distributing the value of the reference count C is different.

That is, when the search processing SP is started on the information processing apparatus having the related data information every time the data information satisfying the condition is obtained in the information searching method of the present embodiment, the data information satisfying the condition is obtained. Each time, a specific value of “1” or more is distributed to the reference count C of the information processing device indicated by the link information MAn of the searched data information,
The search process SP is activated by the information processing device indicated by the link information MAn.

As described above, according to the information search method of the present embodiment, since the information search is executed in parallel and the number of times of the search processing of the data information related to the searched data information is limited, the information search methods are related to each other. It is possible to flexibly and efficiently perform an exhaustive search for a huge amount of information.

Further, according to the information search method of the present embodiment, the search processing to the location indicated by the link information is started every time the data information is searched or after all the data information are searched. Therefore, it is possible to select a search process suitable for the content of the data information to be searched.

(Embodiment 2) In the information searching method of the present invention, the search range is limited by the cost information weighted according to the characteristics of the information processing device and the communication path and the search time, and overlapped by the history information. The information search method of the second embodiment that searches for data information that prevents the above-described search will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for implementing the information search method of this embodiment. In FIG. 2, 100
Is an information processing device that activates search processing and stores results, 1
Reference numeral 10 is a search and start processing of the information processing apparatus 100, 120 is a status confirmation processing of the information processing apparatus 100, 130 is a result storage processing of the information processing apparatus 100, and 140 is the information processing apparatus 100.
Result retrieval processing, 200 is a storage device of the information processing apparatus 100, 210 is a search status, 220 is a search result, 300
Is an information processing device that executes a search process, 310 is a search process of the information processing device 300, 400 is a storage device of the information processing device 300, 410 is data information, 420 is link information,
430 is a cost table, and 500 is a communication path.

As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus for implementing the information search method of the present embodiment is provided with an information processing apparatus 100 for starting the search processing and storing the results, a search start processing 110 for the information processing apparatus 100, and information processing. Status confirmation processing 120 of the processing device 100
A result storing process 130 of the information processing device 100, a result extracting process 140 of the information processing device 100, a storage device 200 of the information processing device 100, a search situation 210, a search result 220, and information for executing the search process. Processor 30
0, the search process 310 of the information processing device 300, the storage device 400 of the information processing device 300, and the data information 410.
, Link information 420, cost table 430, and communication path 5
00.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the apparatus for implementing the information search method of the present embodiment, the solid arrow indicates the reference relationship from processing to information, and the status confirmation processing 120 reads and writes the search status 210. Then, the result storage process 130 writes the search result 220, and the search process 310 reads the data information 410, the link information 420, and the cost table 430.

Further, broken line arrows indicate the start-up relationship between processes, the search start process 110 starts the search process 310, and the search process 310 starts the status confirmation process 120 and the result storage process 130.

The search start processing 110 and the result extraction processing 140 are started by the user of the information processing apparatus 100 who starts the search processing of the information search method of this embodiment and stores the result.

In FIG. 2, the user is the information processing device 10
The search start process 110 started on 0 starts the search process 310 on the information processing device 300 that stores the information to be searched first using the communication path 500, and the search process 310 indicates the data on the storage device 400. Information 410 is searched, and result storage processing 1 is performed on the information processing apparatus 100 using the communication path 500.
30 is started and the search result 220 is returned.

The search processing 310 started on the information processing device 300 obtains a plurality of other information processing device identification information storing the data information related to the data information 410 from the link information 420, and the cost table 430 of the cost table 430 is obtained. Information and communication path 5
00 is used to determine whether or not to continue the search based on the information returned from the status confirmation processing 120 started on the information processing apparatus 100. When the search is further continued, the communication path 5
Search processing 31 on each information processing device using 00.
Start 0.

Search processing 310 of each information processing apparatus
Also behaves just like the first search process 310, and returns the search result 220 to the information processing apparatus 100 using the communication path 500.

The user of the information processing apparatus 100 retrieves the search results 220 gathered in this way from the result extraction processing 140.
Start and take out.

Next, in the information search method of this embodiment, the structure of each information stored in the storage device 200 of the information processing device 100 and the storage device 400 of the information processing device 300 will be described in detail.

The data information 410 in the storage device 400 of the information processing device 300 is normal information such as characters,
The search process 310 started on the information processing device 300 is
The data piece X is searched from this data information 410.

The structure of the data information 410 in the storage device 400 of the information processing device 300 and the process itself for searching for the data piece X from the data information 410 are well known and will not be described in further detail.

The link information 420 in the storage device 400 of the information processing device 300 stores the information processing device identification information such as the address of the information processing device that stores the data information related to the data information 410.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of the link information 420 of the information search method of this embodiment. In FIG. 3, 421 is the first information processing device identification information, and 422 is the second information processing device identification information.

As shown in FIG. 3, the link information 420 of the information search method of this embodiment has first information processing device identification information 421 and second information processing device identification information 422.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the link information 420 of the information search method of this embodiment shows the first two elements of the array and stores the first data element that stores the related data information.
The information processing device identification information 421, the second information processing device identification information 422, and the like similarly store all information processing device identification information that stores related data information.

Link information 4 indicating the information processing apparatus identification information that stores the data information related to the data information 410
20 may be empty, and 0 or more information processing device identification information is stored. Data information 410 of each information processing device
The link information 420 constitutes a hypertext structure as a whole.

The search processing 310 started by the information processing apparatus 300 is executed by the link information 4 of the searched data information 410.
The results of individual searches by the plurality of information processing devices are collected in the information processing device 100 that first activated the search.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the search result 220 of the information search method of this embodiment. In FIG.
1 is the information processing device identification information of the first record, 222 is the search result of the first record, 223 is the link information of the first record, 224 is the information processing device identification information of the second record, and 225 is the second information. The search result 226 of the record is the link information of the second record.

As shown in FIG. 4, the search result 220 of the information search method of this embodiment is the information processing device identification information 221 of the first record and the search result 222 of the first record.
, Link information 223 of the first record, information processing device identification information 224 of the second record, search result 225 of the second record, and link information 22 of the second record.
6.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in the search result 220 of the information search method of the present embodiment, for example, the search obtained by the search processing 310 is an array of records forming one record for each information processing apparatus. It is realized by storing the result 222 and the search result 225.

FIG. 4 shows the first two records of the array. In FIG. 4, the information processing device identification information 221 to the link information 223 are the first record, and the information processing device identification information 224 to the link information 226 are the first record. The second record is shown, and thereafter, a plurality of records similarly exist and all the search results are stored.

Search result 2 of each record of search result 220
22 and the search result stored in the search result 225 may be an identifier indicating that the data information to be searched cannot be found or an identifier indicating that an error has occurred in the search process 310.

The search processing 310 reports the search result 220 as described in FIG. 4 to the information processing apparatus 100 as a result of searching the data information 410, and then the data information 41.
The search process 310 is activated on the information processing device that stores the data information related to 0 to proceed with the search.

When the search process 310 is started on the information processing device that stores the data information related to the data information 410 to proceed the search, the search process 310 indicates that the information processing device that is going to perform the search has already searched. Check whether or not.

The search status 210 stored in the storage device 200 of the information processing device 100 is used to check whether or not the information processing device that is going to perform the search has already been searched.

The search status 210 stored in the storage device 200 of the information processing device 100 stores information processing device identification information such as the address of the searched information processing device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the search situation 210 of the information search method of this embodiment. In FIG.
Reference numeral 1 is the searched first information processing apparatus identification information, and 212 is the searched second information processing apparatus identification information.

As shown in FIG. 5, the search status 210 of the information search method of the present embodiment includes the searched first information processing apparatus identification information 211 and the searched second information processing apparatus identification information 212. have.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the search situation 210 of the information search method of this embodiment, for example, by storing the addresses of the searched information processing devices as an array of the information processing device identification information, Will be realized.

FIG. 5 shows the first two elements of the array, and the first and second information processing apparatus identification information 211 and the second information processing apparatus identification information 212 which have already been searched are similarly searched for in all the searched elements. Information processing device identification information is stored. The search status 210 may be empty, and zero or more information processing device identification information is stored.

Further, the search processing 310 started by the information processing device 300 holds the reference count C and relates to the data information 410 in order to limit the spread of the reference for searching the data information related to the data information 410. The reference count C is distributed when the search process SP is activated on each information processing device storing the data information to be stored.

In the information search method of the first embodiment, the number of searches to the information processing device indicated by the link information is limited by subtracting "1" from the reference count C for each reference. In the search method, a cost table 430 is prepared for weighting the search process for each information processing device.

The cost table 430 in the storage device 400 of the information processing device 300 shows the information processing device of the information processing device storing itself and at least all the information processing devices stored in the link information 420. Information regarding the cost for searching the data information 410 is stored for each information processing device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the cost table 430 of the information search method of this embodiment. In FIG. 6, 43
Reference numeral 1 is information processing apparatus identification information of the first record, 432 is cost information of the first record, 433 is information processing apparatus identification information of the second record, and 434 is cost information of the second record.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cost table 430 of the information search method of this embodiment has the information processing apparatus identification information 431 of the first record and the cost information 432 of the first record.
And the information processing device identification information 433 of the second record,
It has the cost information 434 of the second record.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the cost table 430 of the information search method of this embodiment, for example, an array of records in which a set of information processing device identification information and cost information for the information processing device is one record. Is realized as.

FIG. 6 shows the first two records of the array. The information processing apparatus identification information 431 and the cost information 43.
2 is the first record, and the information processing device identification information 433 and the cost information 434 are the second records. Similarly, the cost information record corresponding to the information processing device that stores all the related data information 410 is also recorded. It is stored.

The cost table 430 stores only its own cost information when there is no data information related to the data information 410.

The cost information stored in the cost table 430 is not limited to the fee for using the information processing device or the communication path, but also the amount of time and resources required for searching the data information 410 of the corresponding information processing device. It is a value that can be determined accordingly. Further, the same processing is performed when the cost information is replaced with the billing information for the information search.

Next, in the information search method of this embodiment, the processing contents of each processing executed on the information processing apparatus 100 and the information processing apparatus 300 will be described in detail with reference to flowcharts.

In the information search method of this embodiment, when starting the search, the user starts the search start processing 110 on the information processing apparatus 100.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the search start processing of the information search method of this embodiment. FIG.
In MA, MA1 is the information processing apparatus identification information of the information processing apparatus to be searched first, H is history information, and DT is the designated end time.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the search start processing of the information search method of the present embodiment, first, in the processing of step 111, after the information processing apparatus identification information MA1 to be searched first is obtained from the user, In the process of step 112, the data piece X to be searched and the reference count C are set to the information processing device identification information M.
It is obtained from the user as in A1.

After that, in step 113, the search status 210 and the search result 220 are initialized to empty, and then in step 114, the information processing device which is the information processing device indicated by the information processing device identification information MA1. A search process 310 is activated on 300.

In the search process 310, in addition to the data piece X and the reference count C, the history information H initialized to an empty state, the designated end time DT, and the information processing device identification information MA0 of the information processing device 100 are used as arguments and the like. Pass by.

In the information search method of this embodiment, the search start processing 110 first starts the search processing 310 on the information processing apparatus 300 of the information processing apparatus identification information MA1 to be searched, and then the started search processing. The process ends without waiting for the end of 310.

As will be described later, the search process of each information processing apparatus is started for the data information related to the searched data information, and each started search process is executed every time it is started. The information processing device identification information is the history information H.
Add to.

Therefore, the history information H of the information search method of this embodiment stores the array of information processing device identification information traced by the information processing device that is the direct caller of the search process. .

The history information H of the information search method of this embodiment is, for example, an array of information processing apparatus identification information shown in FIG.
The history information H can be realized by a structure similar to the example of the structure of the link information 420 shown in FIG. 3, and is used because the search of the duplicate data information is prevented and the search of the related data information does not form a closed loop. To be done.

In the information search method of this embodiment, the history information H is obtained by the effect of the situation confirmation processing described later.
The same effect can be obtained without using.

Further, in order to limit the spread of the search to the related data information not only by the combination of the reference count C and the cost table 430, but also by the passage of time after activation,
In the information search method of this embodiment, the designated end time DT is introduced.

As will be described later, in the search processing 310 of the information search method of this embodiment, the search is stopped when the time designated by the end designated time DT comes.

Next, in the information search method of this embodiment, the search process 310 started by the search start process 110 will be described in detail.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the search processing of the information search method of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the search process of the information search method of this embodiment, the data piece X to be searched, the reference count C, the history information H, the designated end time DT, and the search are first executed in step 311. The information processing device identification information MA0 activated in step 1 is received as an argument.

Next, in the processing of step 312, it is checked whether or not the current time has already passed the time specified by the end specified time DT, and the current time is the end specified time DT.
If the current time has not passed the designated end time DT, the process branches to step 322. If the present time has not passed the designated end time DT, an interrupt is set to occur at the designated end time DT.

Thereafter, in the processing of step 313, the information processing apparatus identification information MAc of its own is added to the history information H, the cost information for itself is taken out from the cost table 430, and deducted from the reference count C.

The above is the preprocessing of the search processing 310.

Next, in the main processing of the search processing 310, the data piece X is searched from the data information 410 in the processing of step 314, the search result Rn is obtained, and the link information M is obtained.
An is obtained from the link information 420.

This search result is used as the information processing device identification information MA.
In order to return the information processing device to the information processing device of No. 0, in the processing of step 315,
The result storage processing 130, which will be described in detail later, is activated to start the information processing apparatus identification information MAc, the search result Rn, and the link information MA.
Pass n and check for errors.

When the information processing apparatus of the information processing apparatus identification information MAc has already been searched by another search processing 310, an error is returned. In that case, the search processing 310 is terminated and the related information is not searched.

If no error has occurred in the processing of step 315, the procedure proceeds to post-processing for searching for related information.

The above is the main processing of the search processing 310.

Next, in the post process of the search process 310, the history information H is checked in the process of step 316,
In the link information MAn, the information processing apparatus identification information that has been searched by the information processing apparatus that has already started the search process 310 is deleted to create link information MAn ′.

Next, the link information M is selected by the information processing apparatus which is not the information processing apparatus which started the search processing 310.
In order to check whether each information processing device of An ′ has already been searched, in the processing of step 317, the status confirmation processing 120 to be described later is activated on the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0. The link information MAn 'is passed and the status confirmation result MARn is obtained.

The status confirmation result MARn of the information search method of this embodiment is a collection of information processing device identification information that has not yet been searched, and can be realized with the same structure as the link information.

In this way, the status confirmation result MARn, which is the information processing apparatus identification information for which the search should be expanded, is obtained. Therefore, in the processing of step 318, the status confirmation result MARn is obtained.
The reference count C is distributed to each information processing device indicated by.

In the process of distributing the reference count C, for example, the cost information corresponding to each information processing device is first obtained from the cost table 430, and the cost information necessary for the search in the information processing device indicated by the status confirmation result MARn is obtained. Accordingly, if the reference count C is distributed and the reference count C is distributed to all the information processing devices indicated by the situation confirmation result MARn, and there is still a surplus, all the information processing devices indicated by the situation confirmation result MARn are indicated by the remainder. It can be achieved by a method such as evenly distributing to each other.

When the distribution of the reference count C is completed, in the processing of step 319, the search processing 310 is activated on each information processing device of the status confirmation result MARn to expand the search.

In the processing of step 319, the reference count C for each information processing device of the status confirmation result MARn is
When the cost is allocated more than the corresponding cost information in the cost table 430, the search processing 31 is performed on the information processing device.
0 is started, data piece X, assigned reference count C,
The history information H, the designated end time DT, and the information processing apparatus identification information MA0 updated in the processing of step 313 are passed.

In step 319, the status confirmation result M
When the reference count C for each information processing device of ARn is not allocated more than the corresponding cost information of the cost table 430, the result storage processing 130 is started on the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0. The search result Rn storing the count-out error identifier indicating that the search could not be performed due to the lack of the information processing device identification information and the reference count and the empty link information MAn are passed.

This is repeated for all information processing devices of the status confirmation result MARn.

The above is the post-processing of the search processing 310.

In the post-process of the search process 310, even when the search process 310 is started on another information processing device, the search process 310 ends without waiting for the end of the search process 310 on another information processing device.

The process of step 321 and step 3 of FIG.
The process of 22 indicates the flow of the interrupt process, and when the end designated time DT is reached during the execution of the search process 310 and an interrupt occurs, the process of the search process 310 is stopped in the process of step 321. .

Next, in the processing of step 322, the result storage processing 1 is performed on the information processing apparatus of the information processing apparatus identification information MA0.
30 is started, the search result Rn storing the information processing device identification information MAc and the time-out error identifier, and the empty link information MAn are passed, and the interrupt processing is ended.

It should be noted that in any of the routes shown in FIG. 8, the setting of interrupt generation is canceled when the search processing 310 is terminated.

Next, the situation confirmation processing 1 in which the search processing 310 is started on the information processing apparatus of the information processing apparatus identification information MA0
20 will be described in detail.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the status confirmation processing 120 of the information search method of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the status confirmation processing 120 of the information search method of this embodiment, the link information MAn ′ processed based on the history information H in the processing of step 121.
Is received as an argument, and the status confirmation result MARn is initialized to empty.

Next, in the processing of step 122, the check of the search situation 210 is repeated for each information processing device of the link information MAn '.

First, in the processing of step 123, it is checked whether or not the information processing apparatus of interest is already registered in the search situation 210, and if it is registered, the processing proceeds to the next information processing apparatus.

If the information processing device of interest is not registered in the search situation 210 in the processing of step 123, the information processing device of interest is additionally registered in the search situation 210 in the processing of step 124. In step 125, the result is added to the status confirmation result MARn.

When all the information processing devices of the link information MAn 'have been checked, the status check result MARn is returned to the caller in the processing of step 126, and the processing is ended.

By this processing, the search processing 310 can obtain the list status confirmation result MARn of the information processing apparatus to be searched next in the link information.

Next, the result storage process 1 in which the search process 310 is started on the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0
30 will be described in detail.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the result storage processing 130 of the information search method of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the result storing process 130 of the information searching method of the present embodiment, in the process of step 131, the information processing device identification information MAc of the calling source and the search result R are obtained.
n and the link information MAn are received.

Next, in the processing of step 132, it is checked whether or not the search result of the information processing apparatus identification information MAc from the information processing apparatus has already been registered by another search processing 310.

If the search result of the information processing device identification information MAc from the information processing device is already registered by another search process 310, it is not necessary to register the search result Rn, and the search process 310 of the calling source is a link. There is no need to expand the search further.

Therefore, if the search result of the information processing device identification information MAc from the information processing device has already been registered by another search process 310, the process proceeds to step 133, an error is returned, and the process ends.

If the search result of the information processing device identification information MAc from the information processing device is not registered yet, the process proceeds to step 134 to process the information processing device identification information M.
Ac, the search result Rn, and the link information MAn are registered, OK is returned in the process of step 135, and the process ends.

In this way, the search processing 3 that expands to various information processing devices while following the link destinations 3
The search results from 10 can be collected on the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0.

Finally, for the user to retrieve the search result,
The result extraction process 140 executed on the information processing device of the information processing device identification information MA0 will be described in detail.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the result retrieval processing 140 of the information search method of this embodiment. In FIG. 11, CE is an end confirmation process.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the result retrieval processing 140 of the information search method of this embodiment, the result retrieval processing 140 is the processing of step 141, and the first retrieval passed from the user to the retrieval start processing 110 is performed. The information processing device identification information MA1 is obtained.

Next, in the processing of step 142, the information processing apparatus identification information MA1 is passed to the end confirmation processing CE which will be described later and activated, and in the processing of step 143, the search result 22
Check 0 to see if the search is complete.

As a result of checking the search result 220 in the process of step 143, if the search is not completed yet, the end confirmation process CE returns an error. If an error is returned, the process proceeds to step 144 to use it. Notifies the person that the search is not finished yet and ends.

On the other hand, if the search has been completed, the process proceeds to step 145, the search result is reported to the user, and the process ends.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure of the end confirmation processing CE of the information search method of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the end confirmation processing CE of the information search method of this embodiment, the end confirmation processing CE receives the information processing apparatus identification information MA in the processing of step 151, and in the processing of step 152. , Search whether the information processing device identification information MA is registered in the search result.

When it is determined in the processing of step 153 that the information processing apparatus identification information MA is not registered in the search result, the processing proceeds to step 154, an error is returned, and the processing ends.

Information processing device identification information MA is included in the search results.
If is registered, the process proceeds to step 155, the end confirmation process CE is started for each information processing device identification information of the link information included in the found search result, and the end confirmation process CE outputs an error. If it returns, it immediately returns an error and terminates.

The end confirmation processing CE is started for all the information processing apparatus identification information included in the link information, and if no error is returned, the process proceeds to step 156 to return OK and end.

As described above, according to the information search method of the present embodiment, even if the link relationship of the data information related to the plurality of searched data information is in the form of a mesh, the search processing 310 performs the status confirmation. Since the destination for expanding the search is squeezed in the process 120, the link relation of the search result is always a tree structure.

At the end of the tree structure showing the link relation of the search result, a timeout error, a countout error,
Alternatively, in the case where there is no new link destination to follow, the link information at the end of the tree is empty.

Therefore, the end confirmation processing CE is always ended, and the end confirmation processing CE can check that the search is completed.

As described above, according to the information search method of this embodiment, the cost table 43 is allocated when the reference count C is distributed.
Weighting using 0 becomes possible, and in addition to the reference count C, it becomes possible to limit the search range by time.

Further, there is an effect that the user can know the search range as well as the search result.

In the structure of the search result of FIG. 4, regarding the link information shown in the link information 223 and the link information 226, only the information processing device identification information which actually started the search process 310 is stored, or the result record is recorded. A method that does not include link information or a method that registers the record only when found regarding the search result shown in the search result 222 or the search result 225 can be easily realized as another embodiment of the present invention.

A method of checking the search status using the search result of FIG. 4 without the search status 210 of FIG. 5 can be easily realized as another embodiment of the present invention.

In the structure of the cost table 430 of FIG. 6, the information processing device identification information 431 and the information processing device identification information 43.
The information processing apparatus identification information shown in FIG. As described above, the cost information corresponding to the information processing device of the (n-1) th record of the link information is stored, and the cost information is stored by associating the link information structure with the record number shown in FIG. The method of having the link information and the cost table 430 as one data structure can be easily realized as another embodiment of the present invention.

In the search process 310 of FIG. 8, a method of storing the result shown in the process of step 315 only when the data piece X is found, and a result of storing the error identifier at the time-out or count-out are processed. The method of not returning the device identification information MA0 to the information processing device, without using the cost table 430, returns its own search cost in response to the inquiry to each information processing device, and inquires the information processing device of the link destination every search. The method of obtaining the cost can also be easily realized as another embodiment of the present invention.

A method of simultaneously performing the status confirmation of FIG. 9 in the result storing processing in FIG. 10 and combining the result storage and the status confirmation calling in the search processing 310 of FIG. 8 is also easy as another embodiment of the present invention. Is feasible.

In the result retrieval process of FIG. 11, if the end designated time DT is also received from the user and the time designated by the end designated time DT has already passed, the search is not performed before the end confirmation process CE is started. How to determine that the search is completed, or even if the search is not completed, report the search results registered up to now to the user, or inform the user of the information processing device identification information that has not returned the result. The reporting method can also be easily implemented as another embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, in the information search method of the present embodiment, a plurality of search processes are activated by a plurality of information processing devices indicated by link information of a plurality of searched data information, thereby performing the search in parallel. be able to.

Further, each search process asynchronously calls the result storage process in the information processing apparatus which first starts the search process without storing the search start process that started the search process and the input / output process, and stores the result. So that the user can do other work until the end of the search.

As described above, according to the information search method of the present embodiment, the search range is limited by the information weighted according to the characteristics of the information processing apparatus to be searched and the connected communication path. Also, it is possible to limit the search range by the processing capability of transmitting the search result.

Further, according to the information search method of this embodiment, the execution time of the search process is measured, and the search process is terminated when the measured execution time reaches a specific limit value. It is possible to limit the search range.

Further, according to the information search method of the present embodiment, the search process retains history information, and the search process calls the situation confirmation process to confirm the search state. Therefore, the same data information is duplicately searched. It is possible to prevent that.

Although the present invention has been specifically described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Of course.

[0209]

The effects obtained by the representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

(1) Since the information search is executed in parallel and the number of times of the search processing of the data information related to the searched data information is limited, an exhaustive search for a huge amount of mutually related information can be flexibly performed. And can be done efficiently.

(2) Since the search range is limited by the information weighted according to the characteristics of the information processing device and the connected communication path, the search range is limited by the processing capability of the search process and the search result transmission process. It is possible to limit it.

(3) Since the execution time of the search process is measured and the search process is terminated when the measured execution time reaches a specific limit value, it is possible to limit the search range by time. .

(4) Since the search processing to the location indicated by the link information is started every time the data information is searched or after searching all the data information, the contents of the searched data information are changed. It is possible to select a suitable search process.

(5) The search process holds history information,
Since the search process calls the situation confirmation process to confirm the search situation, it is possible to prevent duplicate searches of the same data information.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a search process in which the number of searches at the location of link information in the information search method according to the first embodiment is limited.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a device for implementing an information search method according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is link information 420 of the information search method according to the second embodiment.
It is a figure which shows schematic structure of.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a search result 220 of the information search method of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a search situation 210 of the information search method of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a cost table 430 of the information search method of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of search start processing of the information search method according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of search processing of the information search method according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a status confirmation process 12 of the information search method according to the second embodiment.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of No. 0.

FIG. 10 is a result storage process 1 of the information search method according to the second embodiment.
30 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of No. 30.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a result extraction processing 140 of the information search method according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an end confirmation process C of the information search method according to the second embodiment.
It is a flow chart which shows a processing procedure of E.

[Explanation of symbols]

SP ... Search processing, X ... Data piece to be searched, C ... Reference count, MA0 ... Information processing apparatus identification information of information processing apparatus that first started search, Rn ... Search result of data piece X, M
An ... Link information of search result Rn, MAc ... Information processing apparatus identification information of information processing apparatus currently activating search processing SP, RS ... Result storing processing, 100 ... Information processing for starting search processing and storing result Device, 110 ... Search and start process of information processing device 100, 120 ... Status confirmation process of information processing device 100, 130 ... Result storage process of information processing device 100, 140 ... Result extraction process of information processing device 100, 200 ... Information processing Storage device of device 100, 210 ...
Search status, 220 ... Search result, 300 ... Information processing device that executes search process, 310 ... Search process of information processing device 300, 400 ... Storage device of information processing device 300, 410
... data information, 420 ... link information, 430 ... cost table, 500 ... communication path, 421 ... first information processing device identification information, 422 ... second information processing device identification information, 221 ...
Information processing device identification information of the first record, 222 ... First
Record search result, 223 ... First record link information, 224 ... Second record information processing device identification information, 225 ... Second record search result, 226 ... Second record
Information of the record, 211 ... First information processing device identification information that has been searched, 212 ... Second information processing device identification information that has been searched, 431 ... Information processing device identification information of the first record, 432 ... 1 record cost information, 4
33 ... Information processing device identification information of second record, 434
... Cost information of the second record, MA1 ... Information processing apparatus identification information of the information processing apparatus to be searched first, H ... History information, DT ... End designated time, CE ... End confirmation processing.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of information processing devices, each of which stores a plurality of data information having link information indicating a location of data information and data information related to the data information, is connected to the plurality of information processing devices. In the information search method that searches for specific data information via a communication path, the reference count, which is a value that limits the search at the location indicated by the link information of the data information, is set to the number of searches at the location indicated by the link information. Then, when one information processing device of the plurality of information processing devices starts a search process for searching for specific data information, when the search process searches for data information that matches the specific data information, The reference count obtained by transmitting the searched data information to the information processing apparatus that has started the search process, subtracting a specific value from the value of the reference count, and then subtracting the value When the search processing is started by the information processing device at the location where the link information of the searched data information indicates and the information processing device at the location is activated, and the value of the reference count reaches a specific limit value. An information search method characterized by terminating the search process. 2. A value indicated by information weighted according to characteristics of the plurality of information processing apparatuses and characteristics of communication paths connected to the plurality of information processing apparatuses is set in the reference count,
When the data information that matches the specific data information is searched for in the search processing, the searched data information is transmitted to the information processing apparatus that first started the search processing, and the search count is calculated from the value of the reference count. The link information of the searched data information is the reference count obtained by subtracting the value indicated by the information weighted according to the characteristic of the information processing apparatus that has executed the process or the characteristic of the communication path to the information processing apparatus. The information search method according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is distributed to the information processing apparatus at the present location and the search processing is started by the information processing apparatus at the present location. 3. An execution time for executing the search process is measured, and the search process is terminated when the measured execution time reaches a specific limit value.
Alternatively, the information search method according to claim 2. 4. The specific data information is searched when data information that matches the specific data information is searched for in the search processing and the search processing is activated at the location indicated by the link information of the searched data information. Every time searching for the data information matching the above, the search process is started at the location indicated by the link information of the data information, or the searching is performed after searching for all the data information matching the specific data information. The information search method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the search process is started at all the location positions indicated by the link information of all the data information that has been obtained. 5. When the search for the data information that matches the specific data information is performed in the search processing, history information indicating that the search for the specific data information is performed is created, and the search processing is started again. 5. The history information is referred to when the search is performed, and if the activated search process is a search process that has already been executed, the search process is ended. The information search method described in item 1.