TWI450197B - Method for synchronizing programs - Google Patents

Description

Inter-program synchronization method

The present invention relates to an inter-program synchronization method, and more particularly to a method for interconnecting complex programs to achieve synchronization.

At present, when users use a computer, each program is separately operated, and there is no communication bridge between them to synchronize the content, information or operation between programs. For example, when a user wants to view a photo data on a computer, he or she must first find the location where the photo is stored from the computer, and then open the corresponding image browsing program to assist viewing. When the user wants to edit and retouch the photo, he must open another image editing program and repeat the previous photo search action and settings from the computer to open the image editing program for editing. This will cause inconvenience to the user.

In addition, the current computer on the market has the function of a virtual desktop, allowing users to classify work items into different desktops. For example, users can open a multimedia player on each desktop. However, the multimedia players on the two desktops are executed independently and there is no related function for simultaneous playback. If two multimedia players are operated at the same time, the computer will be caused. Play the noise of two different music or movies at the same time.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide an inter-program synchronization method to improve the problems of the prior art.

In order to solve the above problems, the main object of the present invention is to provide an inter-program synchronization method for synchronizing a plurality of programs.

In order to achieve the above object, the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention is applied to an underlying communication module and a plurality of programs. The underlying communication module and the plurality of programs run in the same computer operating system, and the underlying communication module is used as a plurality of programs. In the connection, the plurality of programs include a first program and a second program, wherein the first program and the second program each include a synchronization flag, and each synchronization flag is in an updateable state or a non-updateable state, and the method includes The following steps are: (A) the first program and the second program are connected to the underlying communication module; (B) the first program transmits an operation message to the underlying communication module; and (C) the lower layer communication module determines the second program. Whether the synchronization flag is in an updateable state, and if so, the underlying communication module transmits the operation message to the second program; and by the above steps, the second program synchronizes with the first program according to the operation message.

By this design, the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention can achieve the effect of synchronous operation of the corresponding complex program, and the convenience of use is increased to meet the different needs of the user.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more <

Please refer to FIG. 1 for a schematic diagram of a system architecture for applying the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention. The inter-program synchronization method of the present invention is applied to a computer system (not shown). The computer system includes an underlying communication module 20 and a plurality of programs, and the underlying communication module 20 serves as a link between the plurality of programs. In order to facilitate the description of the technique of the present invention, in the following embodiments, the plurality of programs includes one The first program 71 and the second program 72, but the invention is not limited thereto, and may be synchronized for more than two programs. The first program 71 and the second program 72 can be, for example, a multimedia player or a picture viewer.

The bottom layer communication module 20 includes an operation record module 22 and a notifier 24. The operation record module 22 is responsible for receiving the operation message transmitted by each program, and when the received operation message is excessive, the operation record module is operated. 22 will first store the operation messages and process them in the order they are received. The notifier 24 is responsible for notifying the corresponding operation program of the operation message received by the operation record module 22.

When the user opens the first program 71 and the second program 72, the first program 71 and the second program 72 are respectively connected to the underlying communication module 20, that is, the first program 71 and the second program 72 are respectively turned on after being turned on. The underlying communication module 20 establishes an operation channel 30 and a notification event channel 40 for data message transmission. The underlying communication module 20 will record a threaded number to confirm how many programs are currently connected to it. When the first program 71 or the second program 72 ends, the underlying communication module 20 is notified of the disconnection behavior, so that the underlying communication module 20 can modify the number of threads. When the number of threads is zero, the underlying communication module 20 terminates itself to save computer resources.

In addition, the first program 71 includes a synchronization flag 51, and the second program 72 includes a synchronization flag 52, and each of the synchronization flags 51 and 52 is in an updateable state or a non-updateable state for use as the underlying communication. The module 20 determines whether the operation message can be transmitted to the corresponding program standard. When the synchronization flags 51, 52 are in an updateable state, the underlying communication module 20 transmits an operation message to the corresponding programs for receiving.

Please refer to FIG. 2 for a flowchart of the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention. It should be noted that although the computer system shown in FIG. 1 is taken as an example to illustrate the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any other system having a similar architecture may also be applied to the program of the present invention. Inter-synchronization method. As shown in FIG. 2, the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention includes steps S1 to S8. The various steps will be described in detail below.

Step S1:

The first program 71 is connected to the underlying communication module 20 and sets the synchronization flag 51 to an updateable state.

In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the first program 71 and the second program 72 are both multimedia players that can support the music playing function. Here, the first program 71 and the second program 72 can be the same program (for example, both are Windows). The following is an example in which the first program 71 and the second program 72 are the same program as an example, for the different programs (for example, Windows Media Player and iTunes).

Please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a schematic diagram of the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention displayed on a first computer desktop. As shown in FIG. 3, the first program 71 can be executed to generate a multimedia play interface 63 for playing a video file or a music file. In this embodiment, the first program 71 is opened on the first computer desktop 61. The computer desktop that is generally used. For example, the multimedia play interface 63 includes a volume adjustment lever 64, a play time axis 66, and a multimedia information display area 68. The volume adjustment lever 64 displays the current volume level and allows the user to adjust the volume, and the play time axis 66 displays a song playback. Progress, multimedia information display area 68 can display the information of the song being played, due to this fashion The song is not played, so the multimedia information display area 68 is blank. When the user executes the first program 71, the first program 71 is connected to the underlying communication module 20, and the synchronization flag 51 is set to an updateable state.

Step S2:

The second program 72 is connected to the underlying communication module 20 and sets the synchronization flag 52 to an updateable state.

Please refer to FIG. 4 , which is a schematic diagram of the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention displayed on a second computer desktop. As shown in FIG. 4, the second program 72 can also play a song in a multimedia play interface 63 after execution. Similarly, since the song has not been played at this time, the multimedia information display area 68 is blank. In this embodiment, the user switches to the second computer desktop 62 and then executes the second program 72, where the second computer desktop 62 is a virtual desktop. When the user executes the second program 72, the second program 72 is connected to the underlying communication module 20 and sets the synchronization flag 52 to an updateable state. It should be noted that the order of step S1 and step S2 is not intended to limit the present invention.

Step S3:

The first program 71 transmits an operation message to the underlying communication module 20.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of a multimedia playing interface of a first embodiment of the present invention playing a song on a first computer desktop. As shown in FIG. 5, the user plays the song "Kiss Me" by using the multimedia play interface 63 of the first program 71 (the song name is displayed in the multimedia information display area 68). At this time, the first program 71 transmits the song through the operation channel 30. The operation message is transmitted to the underlying communication module 20, and the operation message is to display the information of the song played by the user and The play command for the song.

Step S4:

The underlying communication module 20 receives the operation message.

The operation record module 22 of the bottom layer communication module 20 receives the operation message transmitted by the first program 71.

Step S5:

The first program 71 changes the synchronization flag 51 to a non-updateable state.

After transmitting the operation message to the underlying communication module 20, the first program 71 changes the synchronization flag 51 to a non-updateable state. It should be noted that the order of step S4 and step S5 is not intended to limit the present invention.

Step S6:

The underlying communication module 20 checks the synchronization flags 51 and 52.

The underlying communication module 20 determines that each of the synchronization flags 51 and 52 is in an updateable state or a non-updateable state. Through the foregoing steps, the synchronization flag 51 of the first program 71 transmitting the operation message to the lower layer communication module 20 has been changed to the non-updateable state, and the synchronization flag 52 of the second program 72 is in the updateable state.

Step S7:

The underlying communication module 20 transmits an operation message to the second program 72.

The underlying communication module 20 synchronizes the programs in which the synchronization flag is in an updatable state, since only the synchronization flag 52 of the second program 72 is available. The update status is such that the notifier 24 of the underlying communication module 20 transmits the operational message to the second program 72 via the notification event channel 40. The first program 71 has changed the synchronization flag 51 to a non-updable state, so as to prevent the underlying communication module 20 from transmitting the operation message back to the first program 71 and repeating the program synchronization operation.

Step S8:

The second program 72 receives the operation message to perform a corresponding operation in accordance with the operation message.

Please refer to FIG. 6 , which is a schematic diagram of a multimedia playing interface of a first embodiment of the present invention playing a song on a second computer desktop. As shown in FIG. 6, after receiving the operation message, the second program 72 performs a corresponding operation on the multimedia play interface 63 according to the operation message, so the second program 72 also plays the song "Kiss Me" played by the first program 71. And display the information of its songs for synchronization purposes.

By the above steps, the second program 72 is synchronized with the first program 71 according to the operation message. That is, after the second program 72 receives the operation message, the second program 72 also plays the song "Kiss Me". When the first program 71 and the second program 72 play the song, the first program 71 will immediately transmit the operation information related to the song playing to the underlying communication module 20, so the underlying communication module 20 can control the time progress of playing the song, and instantly The second program 72 is notified to perform a corresponding operation, so that the first program 71 and the second program 72 can maintain the same progress of the song playing state. That is to say, for example, the user plays the song "Kiss Me" on the first computer desktop 61 using the first program 71 (eg As shown in FIG. 5, when the user switches to the second computer desktop 62 (virtual desktop) and executes the second program 72, the second program 72 receives the operation message and plays the song "Kiss Me" synchronously, and from the first program. 71 The currently playing progress starts to play (the multimedia play interface 63 of the second program 72 is as shown in FIG. 6).

Please refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 together. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention after adjusting the volume on the first computer desktop, and FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention after adjusting the volume on the second computer desktop. Similarly, when the user uses the volume adjustment lever 64 of the multimedia play interface 63 of the first program 71 of the first computer desktop 61 to turn down the volume (see FIG. 7), the first program 71 is also used by the underlying communication module 20 The operation message including the volume adjustment message and the changed volume value is transmitted to the second program 72. When the user switches to the second computer desktop 62, the second program 72 adjusts the volume to the same level according to the received operation message. The adjusted volume of the first program 71 is the same, and the multimedia play interface 63 of the second program 72 is as shown in FIG. Since the steps are the same as the above steps, they will not be described again.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the first program 71 and the second program 72 are both a picture browsing program, which can be opened on the same computer desktop. However, the first program 71 is a simple version of the picture browsing program, and only has the function of playing pictures. The second program 72 is an advanced picture browsing program, which can replace the browsed folder and adjust the time interval for playing the picture. The program is executed on the full screen.

Please refer to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 , which are schematic diagrams of playing a picture in a picture browsing interface according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 9, when the user is using other When the application interface 84 is used (for example, using a text editing program to report), if the first program 71 is executed at the same time, the first program 71 can generate a picture browsing interface 81 and provide a slide show function for the user to Browse the pictures you want to see in your free time. In this embodiment, the picture browsing interface 81 plays the picture at a certain interval. For example, after a period of time, the picture browsing interface 81 is played from "photo 1" of FIG. 9 to the picture of "photo 5" of FIG.

Please refer to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 for a schematic diagram of an advanced picture browsing interface according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 , if the user wants to change the currently playing folder, in this embodiment, the user can perform the second program 71 by tapping the image browsing interface 81. The program 72, after execution of the second program 72, displays an advanced picture browsing interface 82, as shown in FIG. The first program 71 transmits the operation information such as the currently viewed picture and folder to the second program 72 through the underlying communication module 20, so that the second program 72 switches to the currently playing folder to provide user information. In this embodiment, the currently played picture is "photo 5", which belongs to the folder "folder 1", and the advanced picture browsing interface 82 of the second program 72 displays the folder "folder" where "photo 5" is located. 1" and display all the pictures in "folder 1". Since the steps are the same as those in the first embodiment, they will not be described again.

The inter-program synchronization method of the present invention not only enables the second program 72 to synchronize the first program 71, but also enables the first program 71 to synchronize the second program 72, that is, the steps in the first embodiment can be reversed. That is, the second program 72 synchronizes the first program with the second program 72 through the underlying communication module 20. Since the principles of the steps are the same, the steps will not be detailed below.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of switching back to the picture browsing interface to play a picture according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 , in the second embodiment, after the second program 72 switches to the currently playing folder to provide user information, the user then proceeds to the advanced picture browsing interface of the second program 72. 82, if the folder "folder 2" is selected (see Figure 12) and press OK, the second program 72 passes the operation message to the first program 71 through the underlying communication module 20, and then the second Program 72 is closed. After the first program 71 receives the operation message via the underlying communication module 20, the picture browsing interface 81 plays the picture in the folder "folder 2", as shown in FIG.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the first program 71 is the same as the first program 71 in the second embodiment, and is a simplified version of the picture browsing program, as shown in FIG. The difference from the second embodiment is that the second program 72 is a picture editing program for browsing and editing pictures, for performing image processing on the pictures to modify the picture size or related parameters, and the program is executed on the full screen.

Please refer to FIG. 14 , which is a schematic diagram of a picture editing interface according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 , in this embodiment, when the user uses the picture browsing interface 81 of the first program 71 to play the picture to the photo “photo 11”, the user feels that the color is dim, and the user can A long click on the image browsing interface 81 can execute the image editing interface 83 of the second program 72 through the first program 71, and receive the operation message transmitted by the first program 71 via the underlying communication module 20, which will be being viewed. The picture is displayed in the picture editing interface 83 so that the user can directly edit the picture. Since the steps are the same as those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, they will not be described again.

The inter-program synchronization method of the present invention is the same as the second embodiment The first program 71 in the third embodiment can also be synchronized with the second program 72. In the third embodiment, the user then modifies the picture in the picture editing interface 83 of the second program 72, and after pressing the modification, the second program 72 transmits the operation message to the first through the underlying communication module 20. The program 71, and the second program 72 is closed, and the first program 71 updates the picture to be displayed to the modified picture after receiving the operation message.

To sum up, the present invention, regardless of its purpose, means and efficacy, shows its distinctive features of the prior art. You are requested to review the examination and express the patent as soon as possible. It should be noted that the various embodiments described above are merely illustrative for ease of explanation, and the scope of the invention is intended to be limited by the scope of the claims.

20‧‧‧Bottom communication module

22‧‧‧Operation Recording Module

24‧‧‧Notifier

30‧‧‧Operation channel

40‧‧‧Notice event channel

51,52‧‧‧Synchronization Flag

61‧‧‧First computer desktop

62‧‧‧Second computer desktop

63‧‧‧Multimedia play interface

64‧‧‧Volume adjustment lever

66‧‧‧Play timeline

68‧‧‧Multimedia information display area

71‧‧‧First program

72‧‧‧Second program

81‧‧‧Photo browsing interface

82‧‧‧Advanced picture browsing interface

83‧‧‧Photo editing interface

84‧‧‧Other application interfaces

1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture in which the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention is applied.

2 is a flow chart of the inter-program synchronization method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention displayed on a first computer desktop.

4 is a schematic diagram showing the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention displayed on a second computer desktop.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a multimedia playing interface of a first embodiment of the present invention playing a song on a first computer desktop.

6 is a schematic diagram of a multimedia playing interface of a first embodiment of the present invention playing a song on a second computer desktop.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention after adjusting the volume on the first computer desktop.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the multimedia playing interface of the first embodiment of the present invention after adjusting the volume on the second computer desktop.

9 and FIG. 10 are schematic diagrams showing a picture browsing interface of a picture browsing interface according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

11 and 12 are schematic diagrams showing an advanced picture browsing interface of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of switching back to the picture browsing interface to play a picture according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 14 is a schematic illustration of a picture editing interface of a third embodiment of the present invention.

20. . . Underlying communication module

51,52. . . Synchronization flag

71. . . First program

72. . . Second program

Claims (8)

An inter-program synchronization method is applied to an underlying communication module and a plurality of programs. The underlying communication module and the plurality of programs run in an operating system of the same computer, and the underlying communication module serves as a connection between the plurality of programs. The plurality of programs include a first program and a second program, wherein the first program and the second program each include a synchronization flag, and each of the synchronization flags is in an updateable state or a non-updateable state. The method includes the following steps: (A) the first program and the second program are connected to the underlying communication module; (B) the first program transmits an operation message to the underlying communication module; and (C) the The underlying communication module determines whether the synchronization flag of the second program is in the updateable state, and if so, the underlying communication module transmits the operation message to the second program; by the above steps, the second program is The operation message is synchronized with the first program. The inter-program synchronization method of claim 1, wherein the step (A) further comprises the step of: (A1) the first program and the second program respectively setting the synchronization flag to the updateable state. For example, in the inter-program synchronization method described in claim 2, after the completion of the step (B), the synchronization flag of the first program is changed to the non-updateable state. The inter-program synchronization method of claim 1, wherein the first program and the second program are the same program. The inter-program synchronization method of claim 4, wherein the first program and the second program are both a multimedia player or a picture viewer. The inter-program synchronization method of claim 4, wherein the first program is opened on a first computer desktop, and the second program is opened on a second computer desktop. The inter-program synchronization method of claim 1, wherein the first program and the second program are different programs. The inter-program synchronization method of claim 7, wherein the first program is a picture browsing program, and the second program is a picture editing program.