JP2000029829A - Distributed network computing system, information exchange and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information exchange system capable of providing application service corresponding to the processing capacity of a terminal equipment and the communication capacity of a communication infrastructure and enriching a security function. SOLUTION: An information exchange 10 is connectable to a portable PC 51 through a network 50, and when the terminal 51 satisfies a prescribed condition and outputs an access request to an operation resource, transmits decoding information to a ciphering mechanism part so that the PC 51 can decode specific information. Ciphering or compression processing is automatically applied to new additional data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a distributed network computing system for connecting a plurality of information terminal devices, and more particularly to a public network or a wired LAN (Local Area Network).
k), a plurality of communication networks such as wireless LANs are mixed, and various information terminal devices having different processing capabilities such as portable information terminals, personal computers (PCs), and portable PCs connected to these communication networks, The present invention relates to a distributed network computing system that provides application services of various application software such as an inventory management service, an information exchange device used in the system, and an information exchange method used in the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information processing by a computer is mainly performed by a centralized processing system using a plurality of terminals connected to one main computer. On the other hand, a distributed processing system is configured so that a plurality of computers are connected by a network or the like, share the resources owned by each computer, and can perform efficient processing. An environment for distributing various types of application software between models is called a distributed computing environment.

In a network environment that realizes distributed computing, a user does not need to be aware of where programs and data are located. Logically, the entire network behaves as if it were a single computer, so that the user can use necessary information and functions from his own operation environment.

[0004]

By the way, in a network environment as described above, when a system for providing an application service of application software such as a stock management service to each information terminal device is considered, a user uses the system. Each terminal device has a difference in processing capability (this is called a terminal attribute and includes a CPU capability, a display screen size, a memory capacity, etc.). Artificial information manipulation is required on the server or server side.

Further, each terminal device is connected to, for example, a public network or a wired or wireless LAN (local area network).
work), each uses a different communication network. Therefore, the communication infrastructure (in
There is also a relative difference in data transmission speed, transmission volume, quality, etc. as a (frastructure).

Generally, when the processing capability of a personal computer (PC) as a general-purpose device is set to an upper level, a portable information terminal is set to a middle level, and other terminal devices are set to a lower level. In addition, as a communication infrastructure, a wired or wireless LAN is at an upper level in terms of both transmission amount and quality.
SDN (integrated services digital network) is at the middle level, and analog wired, analog or digital radio is at the lower level.

[0007] In a network environment, there is such a difference in processing capability of each terminal device and a difference in communication capability as a communication infrastructure. Therefore, in such an environment, there is a problem that it is extremely difficult to provide application services commonly to various terminal devices.

[0008] In general, the attributes of terminal devices used in a system are determined at the time of system design, and application services are generally provided in accordance with the attributes.
Therefore, even if a terminal device having a new attribute is developed, there is a problem that the terminal device cannot be easily introduced into the system and used.

Furthermore, in order to provide a service by absorbing such a difference in processing capability between terminal devices and a difference in communication capability as a communication infrastructure, complicated processing is required. There is a problem that a large-sized server computer having a corresponding capacity is required.

[0010] Further, in a business establishment such as a company or a factory, it is necessary to install a switch for exchanging connection between extension telephones in the premises and between the extension telephone and a subscriber line (office line). Generally, private branch exchanges or private branch exchanges are PBX
(Private Branch Exchange), and in particular, a digital private branch exchange is called a digital PBX.
The digital PBX converts an audio signal into a digital signal and processes the digital signal. Therefore, OA equipment such as a personal computer, a word processor, and a computer used in the premises are connected to the digital PBX, and the data and the audio are unified. , And efficient processing. further,
By adding various network functions to the digital PBX, a wide area network can be constructed from the intra-office communication network.

When constructing a LAN for the first time,
In many cases, several computer devices are connected to one Ethernet cable (coaxial cable).
However, as networking advances and the number of connected devices increases, the physical length of the cable is reached. Tools that extend the network physically and logically beyond this limitation include routers and the like.

The router can form a network having a closed loop, and determines only an optimal route and passes only necessary packets (routing). The router determines based on the network number in the Internet protocol (network layer), and then determines based on the node number to determine the final destination.

The Internet protocol in the network layer has a different definition method depending on the protocol such as TCP / IP and OSI, so that the router basically supports one type of protocol. In other words, it is possible to select only a network of a specific protocol from a backbone network in which a plurality of protocols coexist, and this is effective where a reduction in load factor due to speed is required from Ethernet to a line.

However, on a network connection device such as an exchange or a router, a service is provided by absorbing the difference in processing capability of each terminal device and the difference in communication capability as a communication infrastructure as described above. Such a system has not been proposed so far.

In a network computing environment, it is necessary to enhance various security functions. Regarding data security, research and development of encryption technology have been conventionally performed. For example, research and development of encryption of data on a communication line is proceeding together with authentication technology. However, in consideration of a network computing environment to which a terminal such as a portable PC (client) is connected, the above-described network computing system is used when the portable PC is inadvertently misplaced or stolen. However, it was not possible to solve the problem only with a simple encryption technology on a line, and no effective means was provided, which was extremely inconvenient.

On the other hand, there is a need for a mechanism for managing large-scale and possibly distributed data. For that reason, WWW which is now widely spread on the Internet
(World wide web), HTML (hyper text marku)
A structured language (tag language) called p language) is used. For structured languages other than HTML, CALS (Continuous Acquisition and Lifecycle)
Support (SGML) and the spread of SGML (standard general)
(marked language) is expected to spread in the future.

In order to display documents created in these structured languages, a function of analyzing and displaying the structured language on the terminal side (browser search) is required. In other words, information described in the structured language cannot be provided to a terminal device having no browser function.

Further, if the information described in the structured language is transmitted as it is on the network, a large amount of information may flow on a line having a low transmission capability, which takes a long time. . This is a serious problem especially when the line quality is poor. Incidentally, such a problem is caused by, for example, OLE (object linki) in addition to HTML.
ng and embedding).

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a network environment where each terminal device exists,
Distributed network computing that enables the provision of application services according to the processing capacity of each terminal device, and even when multiple communication infrastructures are mixed, the provision of application services according to the communication capacity of the communication infrastructure It is an object to provide a system, an information exchange device used in the system, and an information exchange method used in the system.

Further, the present invention makes it possible to provide an application service according to the processing capability of each terminal device without requiring a large-sized server computer in a network environment where each terminal device exists. Network Computing System, Information Exchange Apparatus Used in the System, and Information Exchange Method Used in the Same System That Can Provide Applied Services According to the Communication Capability of the Communication Infrastructure Even When the Same Communication Infrastructure is Mixed The purpose is to provide.

Further, in the present invention, when information described in a part data format such as a structured document is provided as an applied service in a network environment in which various terminal devices exist, the present invention is applicable to the processing capability of each terminal device. Distributed network computing system that enables the provision of advanced application services and the provision of application services according to the communication capacity of the communication infrastructure even when multiple communication infrastructures are mixed, and information exchange used in the system It is an object to provide an apparatus and an information exchange method used in the system.

Further, the present invention provides a distributed network computing system having an enhanced security function in a network computing environment, an information exchange device used in the system, and an information exchange method used in the system. The purpose is to:

[0023]

The present invention achieves the above object by realizing the following system configuration and functions.

(1) The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for providing application services such as various application software, various terminal devices receiving application services from the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus and the terminal device. In a distributed network computing system comprising a communication network for connecting a network and a network, and a network configuration for interconnecting networks, and an information exchange device provided in the network connection.

[0025] The information exchange device acquires terminal attribute information managing means for managing terminal attribute information indicating the processing capability of the terminal device, and acquires terminal attribute information of a terminal device to be a communication partner from the terminal attribute information managing means. A conversion unit configured to convert service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information; and a communication unit configured to transmit the service information converted by the conversion unit via the communication network. Further, the information exchange device is configured such that, when the terminal device is connected via the network and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and has a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information, Means for controlling the device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information, and when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information. Characterized in that a means for automatically encrypting or compressing of the data.

According to such a configuration, when a plurality of types of terminal devices exist on the network, service information provided by the information processing device is exchanged according to the processing capability of each terminal device. The information exchange in this case means that the processing capability of the terminal
To change the format of some information. For example, when transmitting image information (image), if the partner terminal device does not have image processing capability, the image information is converted into symbol information and transmitted. As a result, a terminal device (PDA (PDA), which is excellent in portability, but relatively inferior in information processing capability (computation capability) and screen display / user interface providing capability as compared with other terminal devices (PC, etc.) personaldigital assi
stants)) can be used to build a distributed network computing system.
Even if the format changes, you will be able to receive the same services as other terminal devices. In particular, by performing such information exchange network connection means (such as a circuit switch or a router), information can be exchanged in a final form near a user's terminal device. That is,
If a network can be created from each subnetwork,
Information exchange suitable for the sub-network can be performed. Moreover, since the newly added data is automatically encrypted or compressed, the security function can be improved.

(2) The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that provides application services such as various application software, a terminal device that receives application services from the information processing apparatus, and the information processing apparatus and the terminal device. In a distributed network computing system including a communication network to be connected, a network connection unit for interconnecting networks and an information exchange device provided in the network connection unit are provided.

This information exchange apparatus includes a communication infrastructure information management means for managing communication infrastructure information indicating the communication capability of the communication network, and a communication network to which a terminal device as a communication partner is connected from the communication infrastructure information management means. Conversion means for obtaining communication infrastructure information and converting service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the communication infrastructure information, and converting the service information converted by the conversion means through the communication network. Communication means for transmitting the information, and the information exchange device further comprises a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information when the terminal device is connected via the network and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition. Means for controlling the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information, There is the new data is added to the compression of information, characterized in that a means for automatically encrypting or compressing of the data.

According to such a configuration, when a plurality of types of communication networks are mixed on a network, service information provided by the information processing device is exchanged in a format corresponding to the communication capability of each communication network. . The information exchange in this case is to change the format of certain information in accordance with the communication capability of the communication network to which the terminal device as the communication partner is connected. For example, if the data transmission capacity of the communication network is high, the multimedia data is transmitted as it is, and if the data transmission capacity is low, the binary data is converted to text data, format information such as centering is changed to blank characters, font information is Send data after changing the transmission data size by ignoring etc. When the data transmission capability is low, the data may be compressed and transmitted if the terminal has an appropriate arithmetic capability. Thereby, even in a system in which various communication infrastructures are mixed, it is possible to absorb a relative difference in data transmission speed / amount / quality of the communication infrastructure, and the like.
The terminal can receive the same services as other terminal devices, even if the format changes. Moreover, since the newly added data is automatically encrypted or compressed, the security function can be improved.

(3) The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that provides application services such as various application software, a terminal device that receives application services from the information processing apparatus, and the information processing apparatus and the terminal device. In a distributed network computing system including a communication network to be connected, a network connection unit for interconnecting networks and an information exchange device provided in the network connection unit are provided.

The information exchange apparatus includes terminal attribute information management means for managing terminal attribute information indicating the processing capability of the terminal device, and communication infrastructure information management means for managing communication infrastructure information indicating the communication capability of the communication network. Acquiring the terminal attribute information of the terminal device as the communication partner from the terminal attribute information management means, and acquiring the communication infrastructure information of the communication network to which the terminal device is connected from the communication infrastructure information management means, and providing it as an applied service. Conversion means for converting the service information to be converted into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information and the communication infrastructure information, and communication means for transmitting the service information converted by the conversion means via the communication network. The information exchange apparatus further comprises: a terminal connected to the terminal via the network; Means for controlling the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information when there is a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information under a predetermined condition; And a means for automatically encrypting or compressing the new data when new data is added. According to such a configuration, when a plurality of types of terminal devices and a plurality of types of communication networks are present on the network, the service information provided by the information processing device depends on the processing capability of each terminal device and each communication network. Information is exchanged in the specified format. The information exchange in this case is to change the format of certain information according to the processing capability of a terminal device as a communication partner and the communication capability of a communication network to which the terminal device is connected. As a result, even in a system in which various types of communication infrastructures are mixed, it is possible to absorb a relative difference in data transmission speed / amount / quality of the communication infrastructures. Will be able to receive services similar to those of other terminal devices. In addition, since the newly added data is automatically encrypted or compressed, the security function can be improved.

(4) The present invention provides a first information processing apparatus that provides an application service, a terminal device that receives provision of the application service from the first information processing apparatus, the first information processing apparatus, and the first information processing apparatus. In a distributed network computing system comprising a communication network connecting a terminal device, a processing capability of the terminal device is provided to a second information processing device connected to the communication network separately from the first information processing device. Terminal attribute information management means for managing the indicated terminal attribute information.

[0033] The first information processing apparatus includes: a search unit that searches for a second information processing apparatus having the terminal attribute information management unit from one or a plurality of second information processing apparatuses;
For the second information processing apparatus searched by the search means, the terminal attribute information of the terminal device as the communication partner is obtained from the terminal attribute information management means, and the service information provided as an applied service is obtained by the terminal. A converting unit for converting the service information converted by the converting unit into a specific format based on the attribute information; a communication unit for transmitting the service information converted by the converting unit via the communication network; and a connection state of the terminal device via the network. Means for controlling the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information when the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and requests access to the encrypted or compressed information; Means for automatically encrypting or compressing new data when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information. .

According to such a configuration, when there are a plurality of types of terminal devices on the network, the service information provided by the first information processing apparatus (the main server computer for performing the applied service) is transmitted to each terminal. Information is exchanged according to the processing capacity of the device. The information exchange in this case is to change the format of certain information in accordance with the processing capability of the terminal device as the communication partner. For example, when transmitting image information (image), if the partner terminal device does not have image processing capability, the image information is converted into symbol information and transmitted.

As a result, the terminal device is excellent in portability, but relatively inferior in information processing capability (computation capability) and screen display / user interface providing capability as compared with other terminal devices (PC, etc.). (PDA) can be used to construct a distributed network computing system, and the terminal can receive the same services as other terminal devices, even if the format changes.

Further, the function of managing terminal attribute information required for information exchange is distributed to the second information processing device (sub server computer), thereby reducing the processing load on the first information processing device. And a system resistant to obstacles can be realized. In addition, since the newly added data is automatically encrypted or compressed,
The security function can be improved.

(5) The present invention provides a first information processing apparatus for providing an application service, a terminal device for receiving the application service from the first information processing apparatus, the first information processing apparatus, In a distributed network computing system including a communication network connecting terminal devices, a communication capability of the communication network is provided to a second information processing device connected to the communication network separately from the first information processing device. Communication infrastructure information management means for managing the indicated communication infrastructure information.

[0038] The first information processing apparatus comprises: a search means for searching the one or a plurality of second information processing apparatuses for a second information processing apparatus having the communication infrastructure information management means; With respect to the second information processing apparatus searched by the above, the communication infrastructure information of the terminal device as the communication partner is obtained from the communication infrastructure information management means, and the service information provided as an applied service is included in the communication infrastructure information. Conversion means for converting the service information converted by the conversion means into a specific format, communication means for transmitting the service information converted by the conversion means via the communication network, and the terminal device being connected via the network and When the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and requests access to the encrypted or compressed information, the terminal device transmits the encrypted or compressed information. And a means for automatically encrypting or compressing the encrypted or compressed information when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information. .

According to such a configuration, when a plurality of types of communication networks are mixed on the network, the service information provided by the first information processing apparatus (the main server computer that performs the application service) is transmitted to each communication network. Information is exchanged in a format corresponding to the communication capability of the network. The information exchange in this case is to change the format of certain information in accordance with the communication capability of the communication network to which the terminal device as the communication partner is connected. For example, if the data transmission capacity of the communication network is high, the data is sent after being compressed or encrypted.If the data transmission capacity is low, binary data is converted to text data, or format information such as centering is changed to blank characters. Change the transmission data size by, for example, ignoring font information, and then send. Note that when the data transmission capability is low, the data may be compressed and transmitted if the terminal has an appropriate computing capability.

As a result, even in a system in which various types of communication infrastructures coexist, it is possible to absorb the relative differences in the data transmission speed / amount / quality of the communication infrastructures. Can also receive services similar to those of other terminal devices.

Further, by distributing the management function of communication infrastructure information required for information exchange to the second information processing device (sub server computer), the processing load on the first information processing device is reduced. And a system resistant to failure can be realized. In addition, since the newly added data is automatically encrypted or compressed, the security function can be improved.

(6) The present invention provides a first information processing apparatus for providing an application service, a terminal device receiving the application service from the first information processing apparatus, the first information processing apparatus, In a distributed network computing system comprising a communication network connecting a terminal device, a processing capability of the terminal device is provided to a second information processing device connected to the communication network separately from the first information processing device. Terminal attribute information management means for managing the terminal attribute information indicated by the communication network and communication infrastructure information management means for managing communication infrastructure information indicating the communication capability of the communication network.

The first information processing apparatus searches for a second information processing apparatus having the terminal attribute information management means and the communication infrastructure information management means from one or a plurality of second information processing apparatuses. Search means and the second information processing apparatus searched by the search means,
A service provided as an applied service by obtaining terminal attribute information of a terminal device as a communication partner from the terminal attribute information management unit and obtaining communication infrastructure information of a terminal device as a communication partner from the communication infrastructure information management unit. Conversion means for converting information into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information and the communication infrastructure information, communication means for transmitting the service information converted by the conversion means via the communication network, and If the terminal device is in a connected state via the terminal device and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and has a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information, the terminal device can decrypt the encrypted or compressed information. Means that the new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information. Characterized in that a means for encrypting or compacting.

According to such a configuration, when a plurality of types of terminal devices and a plurality of types of communication networks exist on a network, service information provided by an information processing apparatus (a main server computer for performing an applied service) is provided. Is exchanged in a format corresponding to the processing capacity of each terminal device and each communication network. The information exchange in this case is to change the format of certain information according to the processing capability of a terminal device as a communication partner and the communication capability of a communication network to which the terminal device is connected.

As a result, the terminal device is excellent in portability, but relatively inferior in information processing capability (computation capability) and screen display / user interface providing capability to other terminal devices (PC, etc.). (PDA or the like) can be used to construct a distributed network computing system, and the terminal can receive the same services as other terminal devices, even if the format changes. Further, even in a system in which various communication infrastructures are mixed, it is possible to absorb a relative difference in data transmission speed / amount / quality and the like of the communication infrastructure. It will be possible to receive services similar to those of terminal devices.

Further, the function of managing terminal attribute information and the function of managing communication infrastructure information required for information exchange are distributed and provided to the second information processing device (sub server computer). Can be reduced, and a system resistant to failure can be realized. In addition, since the newly added data is automatically encrypted or compressed, the security function can be improved.

[0047]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a distributed network computing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a server computer,
It consists of a general-purpose computer with high processing power. The server computer 1 is installed in an office, has an application service providing unit 20, and provides various information services (application software) such as an inventory management service to each information terminal device. The service provided by the application service providing unit 20 is, for example, an image reader 43 described later.
And the printer 42 can be used as an input / output device.

The server computer 1 has a public network 30 and a wired L
Three types of communication networks (hereinafter, referred to as communication infrastructure) having different communication capabilities such as an AN (Local Area Network) 40 and a wireless LAN 50 are connected.

The public network 30 has a portable information terminal (eg, PD)
A) 31, a mobile phone 32, a pager device (pager) 33, and a facsimile machine (FAX) 34 are connected to information terminal devices.

The public network 30 includes an analog communication network and a digital communication network. The analog communication network generally has a lower data transmission amount and reliability than a digital communication network.

The portable information terminal 31 is connected to the server computer 1 via a mobile communication network included in the public network 30.

The mobile communication has not only a low data transmission amount but also poor quality such as line disconnection due to movement characteristics and occurrence of errors during data transmission.

In this embodiment, the portable information terminal 31
Is an information device that emphasizes portability, has a low screen size / control function, and can use only text information. It is also assumed that the processing capability of the CPU is lower than that of a personal computer (PC), and the CPU does not hold an external storage device.

Information terminal devices such as a personal computer 41, a printer 42, and an image reader 43 are connected to the wired LAN 40. The wired LAN 40 is
In general, compared to wireless communication such as a mobile phone service, the amount of transmitted data is large and the line quality is stable. At present, distributed network application services for general offices are often designed for the wired LAN 40.

The printer 42 and the image reader 43 are installed as output devices / input devices in an office building. For example, in the inventory management service, the image reader 43
Reads the inventory slip and stores the data in the wired LAN 40
Is sent to the server computer 1 via the PC, and the result of the tally is output by the printer 42.

Information terminals such as a portable PC 51 are connected to the wireless LAN 50. Although the communication capabilities of the wireless LAN 50 and the wired LAN 40 are comparable, the processing capability of the portable PC 51 connected to the wireless LAN 50 is inferior to the processing capability of the PC 41 connected to the wired LAN 40.

Further, although not shown, a server computer different from the server computer 1 is also connected to the network environment.

As described above, in the network environment, there is a difference in the processing capability of each terminal device and a difference in the communication capability of the communication infrastructure.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the information exchange apparatus 10 is provided in the server computer 1 to absorb / adjust the attributes (difference in information processing capability, difference in communication capability) of various terminal devices and communication infrastructure existing on the network. I am trying to do it.

The information exchange apparatus 10 includes an information exchange processing unit 11, a terminal information management unit 12, a user interface information management unit 13 for application services, and a user information management unit 1.
4. It comprises a communication infrastructure information management unit 15.

Further, a floppy disk device (FDD) 181, a hard disk device (HDD) 185, and an optical disk storage device (CD) are connected to the server computer 1 via a bus.
-ROM device 183) is connected.

FIGS. 7 and 8, FIGS. 10 to 14, FIGS. 17 to 20, and FIGS. , And the programs shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 34 and 35 and FIG. 37 can be stored.

The configuration of each part of the information exchange apparatus 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the information exchange processing unit 11.

The information exchange processing unit 11 is responsible for a series of processes for exchanging information as applied services into other information in accordance with the attributes of each information terminal device and communication infrastructure.

The information exchange processing section 11 includes an information exchange apparatus internal communication interface section 111, a terminal type determination section 112, an information exchange execution section 113, a server user data information management section 114, a compression / encryption processing section 115, Exchange apparatus external communication interface section 116, data change management section 1101, data update management section 1102, retransmission management section 1
103, a priority management unit 1104, a terminal monitoring unit 1105, and the like.

Information exchange device internal communication interface 1
Reference numeral 11 denotes an interface for communicating with other components in the information exchange device 10.

The terminal type determination unit 112 determines what type of terminal equipment of the user (for example, a large-screen desktop PC,
(Such as a portable small-screen subnotebook PC, a portable information terminal, etc.).

The information exchange execution unit 113 executes actual information exchange processing (decomposition, search, extraction, and reprocessing of information).

Server user data information management unit 114
Manages user data information registered in the server computer 1.

When communication is performed from the inside of the information exchange apparatus 10 to the outside, the compression / encryption processing unit 115 compresses or encrypts the communication data as necessary.
The data and the like stored in the server computer 1 are subjected to compression and encryption processing.

Information exchange device external communication interface unit 1
Reference numeral 16 denotes an interface for performing communication from the information exchange apparatus 10 to the outside.

When the data managed and stored in the server computer 1 is changed, the data change management unit 1101 notifies the terminal device related to the data that the data has been changed, and responds to the changed data. Take charge of taking action.

The data update management section 1102 is connected to the information exchange apparatus internal communication interface section 111 and the compression / encryption processing section 115, and manages and stores document data / user data in the server computer 1 using a structured language. For example, control processing of data update information such as replacement of image data with symbol information and transfer processing of the data to the outside is performed.

The retransmission management unit 1103, together with a retransmission processing / line disconnection correspondence unit 153 described later, controls retransmission of data when data transfer / transmission to the terminal fails. That is, the retransmission management unit 1103 controls the retransmission interval after a few minutes when the transmission destination terminal is using the line (during communication), and executes the information exchange when the retransmission processing is performed due to a packet drop due to packet communication. Under the control of the section 113 and the compression / encryption processing section 115, the data size is reduced by information exchange (re-processing, etc.) / Data compression to shorten the data transfer time.

The priority management unit 1104 determines the priority / urgency of the communication data and manages and controls the communication data transmission method based on the result of the determination. Further, the information exchange processing unit 11 has a terminal monitoring unit 110 that has a function to cope with the situation in which the terminal side is monitored so that the service can be continuously provided even if a problem occurs on the terminal side.
5 are provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the terminal information management unit 12.

The terminal information management unit 12 manages attribute information indicating processing capability such as CPU capability, display capability, and memory capacity for each terminal device connected to the server computer 1. The terminal information management unit 12 includes an information exchange device internal communication interface unit 121, a terminal attribute negotiation unit 122, and a terminal attribute information management execution unit 123.

Information exchange device internal communication interface unit 1
Reference numeral 21 denotes an interface for communicating with other components in the information exchange device 10. Terminal attribute negotiation unit 122
Is an interface when the terminal information management unit 12 performs various exchanges / negotiations on terminal attributes with terminal devices. The terminal attribute information management execution unit 123 is a section that manages / operates a terminal attribute table in which terminal attribute information for each terminal device is registered.

FIG. 4 shows a user interface information management unit 1.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the third embodiment.

When the user uses the application service,
The operation method such as operating an icon, operating a button, or inputting a command on a terminal device differs for each terminal device. User interface information management unit 1
Reference numeral 3 manages user interface information indicating an operation method unique to each terminal device when performing such an application service. This user interface information management unit 13
It comprises an information exchange device internal communication interface unit 131 and an application service interface table management unit 132.

Information exchange device internal communication interface 1
Reference numeral 31 denotes an interface for communicating with other components in the information exchange device 10. The application service interface table management unit 132 manages information on a user interface for each application service.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the user information management unit 14.

Taking a screen display as an example, when a user uses an application service, the user has various preferences, such as arbitrarily moving a display object such as a graph on a terminal device to an easily viewable position. The user information management unit 14 manages user information indicating an operation method unique to each user, including a screen display preference when using such an applied service.
In this case, the user information is registered in the server in advance. The user information management unit 14 includes an information exchange device internal communication interface unit 141, a user information table management unit 142, a user authentication unit 143, and the like.

Information exchange device internal communication interface 1
Reference numeral 41 denotes an interface for communicating with other components in the information exchange device 10. The user information table management unit 142 manages user names and related information such as users and terminal names / addresses / communications infrastructure types. The user authentication unit 143 operates when the information exchange device 10 requires user authentication.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the communication infrastructure information management unit 15.

The communication infrastructure information management unit 15 manages attribute information indicating the communication capability of each communication network, such as data transmission speed, transmission amount, and quality. The communication infrastructure information management unit 15 includes an information exchange device internal communication interface unit 15.
1, a communication infrastructure feature management unit 152 and a retransmission processing / line disconnection correspondence management unit 153.

Information exchange device internal communication interface unit 1
Reference numeral 51 denotes an interface for communicating with other components in the information exchange device 10. The communication infrastructure feature management unit 152 manages feature information such as transmission quality and transmission speed as a communication infrastructure. The retransmission processing / line disconnection correspondence management unit 153 implements retransmission processing and a processing function at the time of line disconnection according to the communication infrastructure used by the user.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

First, the processing operation of a general application service when the information exchange apparatus 10 is not used will be described with reference to an inventory management service as an example.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of a general application service.

The server computer 1 receives an input from the image reader 43 via the wired LAN 40, and transfers information such as a stock slip to the application service providing unit 20 (step A11).

In the server computer 1, the application service providing unit 20 extracts the required stock amount from the slip information read by the image reader 43, and
41 to the user using PC 41
(Step A12).

With this display, the user can access the server computer 1
The information processing such as updating the stock amount to the latest information is performed using the PC 41 connected to the PC (step A13). Upon receiving the correction information from the user, the application service providing unit 20
A new inventory slip reflecting the result is output to the printer 42 (step A14). Thus, the user can obtain a new inventory slip from the output result of the printer 42.

In such a general application service, it is assumed that the user can use the PC 41, the printer 42, and the image reader 43 at hand. In the example of FIG.
The C41, the printer 42, and the image reader 43 are connected to the server computer 1 via a wired LAN 40 in the office.

Next, a case where an application service is provided to a user who uses the portable information terminal 31 or the portable PC 51 outside the office will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of an applied service when the information exchange apparatus 10 is used.
The information exchange device 10 is installed in the server computer 1 at an external interface of the application service providing unit 20.

When there is a request from a certain terminal device, the information exchange apparatus 10 receives the information of the terminal device from the application service providing unit 20 (step B11). At this time, if the terminal device of the transmission destination is the PC 41 in the office, the information exchange device 10 is not required (to “not use” in step B12), and the server computer 1 performs the normal processing described in FIG. (Step B13).

On the other hand, when the transmission destination is the portable information terminal 31 outside the office or the portable PC 51, the routine enters the routine for executing the information exchange processing by the information exchange apparatus 10 (to "use" in step B12).

The information exchange device 10 acquires the terminal attribute information of the terminal device from the terminal information management unit 12 (step B).
14), information exchange (information exchange processing, terminal attribute absorption processing) of information passed from the application service providing unit 20 based on the terminal attribute information (steps B15 and B16). The information exchange in this case refers to absorbing / adjusting terminal attributes by changing the format of certain information in accordance with the processing capability of the terminal device.

For example, when sending image information (image),
If the terminal device of the other party has no image processing capability, the image information is converted into symbol information and transmitted. As a result, the terminal can receive the same service as other terminal devices even if the format changes. When the information exchange according to the terminal attributes is performed in this way, the information exchange device 1
0 sends the converted information as service information to the terminal device (step B17).

Here, reading of the terminal attribute from the terminal attribute information management unit 12 will be described. The terminal attributes include, for example, screen size, screen control information, types of data that can be displayed on the screen, and the like.

The terminal attribute is read by a method (A) of obtaining from a terminal attribute table in the terminal information management unit 12;
A method (B) of obtaining terminal attribute information from a terminal device is considered.

In this embodiment, the method of (A)
Used when the terminal device is the portable information terminal 31. Also,
The method (B) is used when the terminal device is the portable PC 51. (A) / (B) is selected by the user information management unit 14.
In, the correspondence between the user name, the terminal address, and the communication infrastructure is obtained from the user information table management unit 142, and the terminal attribute management execution unit 123 determines. If the terminal has sufficient CPU capability and the quality of the communication line is high, the latter method (B) of negotiating terminal attributes with the terminal is adopted.

In the method (B), a protocol for determining a terminal attribute is determined between the terminal and the server (the information exchange device 10). FIG. 9 shows the concept of the protocol sequence. As shown in this protocol sequence, the terminal side control code system (line feed code, tab, etc.)
The terminal and the server (the information exchange device 10) confirm the bitmap, the screen size, the available font type (including the corresponding language), and the like.

Next, a method of information exchange will be described.

The information exchange is performed when the terminal has no display capability, when the information transmission capability of the communication infrastructure is poor, and when the server needs to perform quantitative / qualitative conversion of the information.

The information exchange includes, specifically, “conversion from binary data to text data”, “conversion from image information to symbol information”, “conversion from icon data to symbol information”, “conversion from audio information”. Conversion to text information "and" Conversion from color image to monochrome image ".

The "conversion from binary data to text data" will be described below. For example, application software for document creation used in PCs and the like,
That is, in word processing software (application software for word processors), created document data is often stored as binary data. This is because it is necessary to save not only text data but also various attached information such as a document format and font.

However, generally, this binary data is
The data size is larger than simple text data.
Further, in order to display the binary data, the terminal side needs not only a text display capability but also various image display capabilities. Furthermore, since the screen size on the terminal side is often designed to be small with emphasis on portability, it is often necessary to display the document data after processing it on the server side.

In order to deal with such a problem, information exchange is effective. That is, the binary data is converted to text data and sent to the terminal device. As a result, the terminal can perform processing according to its own processing capability.

FIG. 10 shows the information exchange processing operation at this time.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of information exchange according to a terminal attribute. If word processing software is taken as an example of an applied service, the information exchange apparatus 10 first searches the location of document data in the server user data information management unit 114, and the document data is stored in any format. Is checked (step C11).

As a result, if the document data is binary data (YES in step C12), the information exchange device 10
In the information exchange execution unit 113, the binary document data is subjected to component development (document decomposition) for each element such as text, format, font, and the like (step C13).

Then, necessary information is searched and extracted from each component element (steps C14 and C1).
5) Reprocess the information into an information format adapted to the terminal screen (step C16).

The reprocessed information, that is, the service information of the word processing software whose information has been exchanged according to the terminal, is provided to the terminal device by the information exchange device external communication interface unit 116.

The same applies to other information exchanges. For example, if the terminal has no image processing capability, the image part is converted into symbol text information or the icon is converted into symbol text information. Further, if the terminal does not have the voice processing capability, the voice information is converted into text information and transmitted, so that a service corresponding to each processing capability can be provided.

As described above, when there are a plurality of types of terminal devices on the network, the service information provided as an applied service is exchanged and transmitted in a format that matches the processing capability of each terminal device. Use a terminal device (PDA, etc.) that has excellent portability but is relatively inferior to other terminal devices (PC, etc.) in information processing capability (computation capability) and screen display / user interface providing capability. A distributed network computing system can be constructed, and the terminal can receive the same services as other terminal devices, even if the format changes.

Note that such information exchange may be performed in accordance with the operation method of each terminal device, independently of the processing capability of the terminal device itself.

That is, when the user uses the application service, the operation method such as operating an icon, operating a button, or inputting a command on the terminal device differs for each terminal device. If such an operation method for each terminal device is registered in advance in the user interface information management unit 13 as user interface information, and information is exchanged based on the user interface information for each terminal device, The service can be provided by an operation method corresponding to each terminal device.

Information exchange may be performed according to the preference of the user who handles the terminal device.

That is, when the user uses the application service, the user prefers the display position depending on the user, such as moving the graph relation to the center on the terminal device or viewing the text at the same position. come. Such screen display preferences (screen display preference information) are registered in advance in the user information management unit 14 as user information, and information exchange is performed for each user based on the user information. If
The service can always be provided at the display position according to the user's preference.

Next, a case where information is exchanged according to the communication infrastructure will be described.

The information exchange apparatus 10 includes a communication infrastructure feature management section 152 in the communication infrastructure information management section 15 and a user information table management section 142 in the user information management section 14.
As a result, information on the communication infrastructure used by terminal users is grasped. In addition, data retransmission control is performed based on the information.

FIG. 11 shows the information exchange processing operation at this time.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of information exchange according to the communication infrastructure. For example, when the user uses the portable PC 51, it can be determined that the CPU capability as the terminal device is high (NO in step D11). At this time, if the data transmission capacity as the communication infrastructure is high (NO in step D16), the information exchange processing unit 11 of the information exchange apparatus 10 uses the compression / encryption processing unit 115 as necessary to compress the data. The data is transmitted after performing encryption (step D17). If the data transmission capacity as the communication infrastructure is low (YES in step D16), information such as converting binary data to text data, changing format information such as centering to blank characters, and ignoring font information is used. An exchange process is performed (step D18), and the data is transmitted after the transmission data size is reduced.

On the other hand, the portable information terminal 31 having a low CPU capability
Is used (YES in step D11),
Regardless of the communication infrastructure, the information exchange processing is performed in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 10 (steps D12 to D1).
5).

As described above, first, the processing capability of the terminal device is checked, and if the processing capability is high, the communication capability of the communication infrastructure is next checked, and information exchange is performed according to the communication capability. On the other hand, when the processing capability of the terminal device is low, the information exchange is performed according to the processing capability of the terminal device because the terminal device cannot cope with the communication capability of the communication infrastructure, no matter how high the communication capability.

As a result, even in a system in which various types of communication infrastructures coexist, it is possible to absorb / adjust the relative differences in data transmission speed / amount / quality of the communication infrastructures, and the format is changed on the terminal side. Can also receive services similar to those of other terminal devices.

Next, a case where data encryption is performed will be described.

When an application service is used outside the office, it is important to encrypt and send the data in order to secure the security of the application service. In this case, since the terminal needs to have the ability to decrypt the encrypted data, the encrypted data cannot be sent to all terminal devices. In addition, when data is encrypted, the amount of data usually increases, so that the data transmission capacity of the communication infrastructure must be high.

The processing operation at this time is shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when data is encrypted. When providing the application service of the application software by the application service providing unit 20, the information exchange apparatus 10 first obtains the attribute information of the terminal device to be the communication partner from the terminal information management unit 12 (step E11), and stores the attribute information in the attribute information. The processing capability of the terminal device is determined based on the terminal device (step E12).

As a result, it is found that the processing ability is high and the ability to decrypt the encrypted data is found (step E1).
(YES in 2), the information exchange apparatus 10 next obtains the communication infrastructure information to which the terminal device is connected from the communication infrastructure information management unit 15 (step E13), and determines the communication capability based on the communication infrastructure information. (Step E1
4).

If the communication capability is high (YES in step E14), the information exchange apparatus 10 encrypts the information of the application service in the information exchange processing unit 11 (step E15). The encrypted service information is transmitted to the terminal device (step E16). As a result, the terminal uses the service after decrypting the encrypted data.

On the other hand, when the processing capability of the terminal device is low and the terminal device does not have the capability to decrypt the encrypted data (step E12).
NO), the information exchange apparatus 10 transmits the information of the application service without encrypting the information (step E17) (step E16). At this time, a message to the effect that encryption has not been performed may be notified to the user. Alternatively, when there is no ability to decrypt the encrypted data (NO in step E12), before transmitting the data as it is, the terminal device side user is asked to determine whether or not the data can be transmitted. Transmission processing may be performed according to the answer result.

[0139] Even if the terminal device has a processing capability, but the communication capability of the communication network to which the terminal device is connected is low (NO in step E14), the information exchanging device 10 transmits the information of the application service. Is transmitted without encryption (step E17) (step E16).

Alternatively, if the communication capacity of the communication network is low (NO in step E14), the terminal device side user is asked to determine whether or not the transmission is allowed before the transmission as described above. Transmission processing may be performed according to the result.

In the encryption process, even if the terminal device has a level of capability capable of coping with the encryption process,
The necessity of encryption may be selectable by the user.

Further, there are various levels of data encryption, from simple scrambling to high-level encryption, and the load on terminal equipment and communication infrastructure also varies. Therefore, the encryption level can be appropriately changed according to the processing capability of the terminal device or the communication capability of the communication infrastructure.

As described above, by providing the data encryption function, security can be ensured even when an application service is received outside the office. In this case, from the attributes of the terminal and the attributes of the communication infrastructure, determine what kind of encryption is possible, and determine the amount of encrypted data that can be transmitted using the communication infrastructure being used. Appropriate encryption can be performed.

Next, a case where data compression is performed will be described.

Data compression is an effective means for transmitting information having a large data amount such as image data. In this case as well, similar to the data encryption described above, the terminal needs to have the ability to decompress and process the compressed data. As for the communication infrastructure, since the compressed data can be sent as long as it takes time, the communication capability of the communication infrastructure does not matter here.

FIG. 13 shows the processing operation at this time.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when data compression is performed. When the application service is provided by the application service providing unit 20, the information exchange device 1
0 first obtains attribute information of a terminal device as a communication partner from the terminal information management unit 12 (step F11), and determines the processing capability of the terminal device based on the attribute information (step F12).

As a result, it is found that the processing ability is high and the ability to decode the compressed data is found (step F1).
(YES in 2), the information exchange apparatus 10 compresses the information of the application service in the information exchange processing unit 11 (step F13), and then transmits the compressed service information to the terminal device (step F13). F14). This allows
The terminal uses the service after decompressing the compressed data.

On the other hand, if the processing capability of the terminal device is low and there is no capability to expand the compressed data (step F12).
NO), the information exchange apparatus 10 transmits the information of the application service without compression (step F15), as it is (step F14). At this time, a message to the effect that compression has not been performed may be notified to the user.

As described above, by providing a function of data compression, data transmission can be performed efficiently.
In this case, it is possible to determine what kind of data compression is possible from the terminal attributes and perform appropriate compression.

In the example of FIG. 13, it is determined whether data compression is possible only by the processing capability of the terminal device. However, the data compression is performed including the communication capability of the communication network to which the terminal device is connected. It may be determined whether or not is possible.

Further, the compression level can be appropriately changed according to the processing capacity of the terminal device and the communication capacity of the communication infrastructure.

Next, a case where an application service is used using an input / output device will be described.

The input / output devices referred to here are devices other than the computer, and in the example of FIG. 1, are the mobile phone 32, the pager (pager) 33, the FAX 34, the printer 42, the image reader 43 and the like.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when using an application service using an input / output device.

When receiving a signal from the user indicating that the application service is to be used (step G11), the information exchange apparatus 10 performs user authentication of the user through the user information management unit 14 (step G12). The type of device used by the user is determined (step G13).

If the user uses the input / output device (YES in step G13), the information exchange apparatus 10 performs an information exchange process according to the input / output device (step G14), and the information exchange is performed. The subsequent service information is transmitted (step G15).

More specifically, if the input / output device is the mobile phone 32, the information exchange device 10 uses the voice processing function,
For example, text data is converted to voice data, and a service is provided as a voice message.

In the case of the pager 33, message data of a predetermined number of characters is changed and transmitted.
In the case of 34, the service is provided within a specific limited range corresponding to each input / output device, such as transmitting text data after converting it into image data.

On the other hand, if the user is not an input / output device but a terminal device having CPU processing capability (NO in step G13), the information exchange apparatus 10 executes a normal application service (step G13). Step G16). That is, services are provided by exchanging information according to the processing capacity of each terminal device.

As described above, by exchanging information according to the input / output device, even when the user uses a facsimile or the like, it is possible to provide an applied service according to the information.

It is also possible to exchange service information from the server by matching the attribute of the input / output device with the attribute of the communication infrastructure.

In the present embodiment, PCs, portable PCs, portable information terminals, pagers, FAs
Although the description has been made on the assumption that X, a mobile phone, a printer, and the like, other server computers connected to a network may be used. Further, in the information exchange method, the program information describing the processing method may be stored in a storage medium operated by the server computer 1.

That is, the method described in the above-described embodiment is a program that can be executed by a computer, for example, an optical disk (C) such as a floppy disk of FDD 181 or a hard disk of HDD 185.
(D-ROM device 183, DVD, etc.), a semiconductor memory or the like, and can be applied to various devices, or transmitted to a communication medium and applied to various devices. Computer that implements this device (server computer 1)
Reads a program recorded on a recording medium, and controls the operation of the program to execute the above-described processing.

A case where service information provided as an applied service is described in a structured language such as HTML (hyper text markup language) or SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) will be described below. Note that HTML is a structured language (tag language) used in the WWW (world wide web), which is currently widely used on the Internet. SGML is C
ALS (continuous acquisition and lifecycle suppo
rt) is a structured language that is expected to spread in the future along with the spread of rt).

In general, as one of the management of document data including multimedia data, a technique using a structured document is considered. In this case, each component (text data, image data, moving image data, program, etc.) constituting the document data is managed by a tag, and a browsing device (browser) displays the document data on a screen based on the tag. Will be displayed. Therefore, when providing the service information described in the structured document format, if the server analyzes the tag, it is possible to know what kind of component of the document data provided as the service information is. it can.

Therefore, before the data is actually transferred, the structured document is analyzed based on the tag information, and the attribute information such as the data size and additional information of each component (information that cannot be displayed only by the tag information) is grasped. At the same time, an information exchange device for grasping the format corresponding to the attributes of the terminal device and the communication infrastructure is mounted on the server side. In this case, a tag for information exchange is inserted into the structured document generated from the information exchange device.

As described above, by performing data management in the structured document format, data management is facilitated.
Analysis of document parts becomes easy even in information exchange work. Also,
If an information exchange device is constructed based on a widely used structured language rule such as HTML, the widespread WW
Changes and effects on the W system can be minimized.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the entire system including application services when a structured document is assumed.

In the figure, reference numeral 61 denotes a structured document management unit which manages service information provided as application services such as various application software in a structured document format. This structured document management unit 61 is provided in the application service providing unit 20 of FIG. Here, the case where the application service providing unit 20 manages the service information described in advance in the structured document format has been described. However, as described later, even if the service information is in the unstructured document format, Good (see FIG. 20).

[0171] Reference numeral 62 denotes an information exchanging section, which exchanges information in accordance with the attributes of the terminal and the attributes of the communication infrastructure. This information exchange unit 62 corresponds to the information exchange device 10 in FIG. 63
Denotes a network unit, which indicates various communication networks connecting the server and the terminal. The network unit 63 corresponds to the public network 30, the wired LAN 40, and the wireless LAN 50 in FIG.

[0172] Reference numerals 64a to 64c denote terminal devices that receive services from the server.
puter), NC (network computer), PDA (person
al digital assistants). Each of these terminal devices 64a to 64c has a different communication infrastructure,
Also, the processing capacity is different. In FIG. 1, the portable information terminal 31
And a PC 41 and a portable PC 51.

In such a configuration, application services such as various types of application software are managed by the structured document management unit 61 in a structured document format (for example, an HTML document). Here, an example of the structured document is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 16, a tag 66 indicates that text data will be received thereafter. Tag 6
Reference numeral 7 denotes document format information, which defines centering (center alignment). A tag 68 indicates font information. Here, a font having a large size is defined. The tag 69 indicates image information.

The information exchange unit 62 analyzes this structured document, and checks the type of each component constituting the document and its data size based on the tag information inserted in the document. When transmitting each component data, the processing capability of the terminal device and the communication capability of the communication infrastructure are checked, and information is exchanged according to the capability.

For example, when it is determined that the data transmission capability of the communication infrastructure is low, the transmission data is reduced by exchanging information (or data compression) for a document part having a large data amount. If it is determined from the terminal attributes that the terminal device to communicate with does not have a document display capability (in the case of a terminal without a browser), information is exchanged into a format that can be displayed on the terminal side. Perform data transmission.

Further, at the time of information exchange, data is changed so that the display style of the document is matched according to the user's preference (information exchange processing based on user information).

Next, a specific processing operation will be described.

Here, the operation when the service information in the structured document format is managed by the application service providing unit 20 will be described. However, the service information in the unstructured document format is managed by the application service providing unit 20. This case will be described later with reference to FIG.

First, processing according to the terminal attribute will be described.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing operation according to a terminal attribute when a structured document is used.

In FIG. 1, service information described in a structured document format is managed in an application service providing unit 20 in the server computer 1. When a certain terminal device issues a document request instruction (service request instruction) to the server computer 1, service information described in a structured document format is passed from the application service providing unit 20 to the information exchange apparatus 10.
Thereby, the information exchange apparatus 10 executes the following information exchange processing.

That is, the information exchange apparatus 10 first analyzes the structured document constituting the service information (step H11). In this case, in the structured document, each component is defined by a syntax prescribed including the tag information. Based on the tag information, the information exchange device 10 determines the type of each component constituting the document and its data. The size is checked (step H12). This is to check, for example, where and how much image information is present, and where and how much the program is.

A series of processes such as disassembly, retrieval, and extraction of parts by document analysis and information exchange described later are performed by the information exchange execution unit 113 (FIG. 2) in the information exchange processing unit 11.

After analyzing the structured document, the information exchange apparatus 10 acquires the attribute information of the terminal device as the communication partner from the terminal information management unit 12, and checks the processing capability (step H1).
3). As a result, if it is determined that the processing capacity of the terminal is low and the terminal does not have the ability to display the structured document, the information exchange apparatus 10 displays each component data of the structured document in a format that can be displayed by the terminal. (Step H14).

That is, in the case of a terminal device having a low screen control function (a terminal having no browser function), for example, when the information provided as service information is image information, particularly moving image information, this is converted to symbol information (the image information). To something that is simply shown in some form). In the case of format information of a document, it is converted into a blank character or a new line and sent. In the case of a character type, it is ignored because the terminal cannot handle it.
Furthermore, since a program such as "Java" or "ActiveX" operating on the client (terminal) side cannot be handled by the terminal, it is ignored and a message indicating that the program cannot be handled is notified.

As described above, when information exchange according to the processing capability of the terminal device is performed, the information exchange device 10 transmits the service information after the information exchange via the communication network to which the terminal device is connected. (Step H15). As a result, for example, even when a terminal device having no ability to display a structured document is used, the service information can be provided in a format suitable for the terminal.

Next, processing according to the attribute of the communication infrastructure will be described.

In the information exchange based on the attributes of the communication infrastructure, only the data size of each component is important.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a processing operation according to the attribute of the communication infrastructure when a structured document is used. In FIG. 1, service information described in a structured document format is managed in an application service providing unit 20 in the server computer 1. From a terminal device to server computer 1
When there is a document request instruction (service request instruction) for
The service information described in the structured document format is passed from the application service providing unit 20 to the information exchange device 10. Thereby, the information exchange apparatus 10 executes the following information exchange processing.

That is, the information exchange device 10 first analyzes the structured document constituting the service information (step I11). In this case, in the structured document, each component is defined by a syntax prescribed including the tag information. Based on the tag information, the information exchange device 10 determines the type of each component constituting the document and its data. The size is checked (step I12). This is to check, for example, where and how much image information is present, and where and how much the program is.

A series of processes such as disassembly, retrieval, extraction, and information exchange described later by the document analysis are performed by the information exchange execution unit 113 (FIG. 2) in the information exchange processing unit 11.

After analyzing the structured document, the information exchange apparatus 10 acquires from the communication infrastructure information management unit 15 the attribute information of the communication infrastructure to which the terminal device as the communication partner is connected,
The communication capability is checked (step I13).

As a result, when it is determined that the data transmission capability of the communication infrastructure is low, the information exchange device 10 converts each component data of the structured document into a format that matches the data transmission capability of the communication infrastructure. (Step I1
4).

That is, for example, PHS (personal handyphon)
e system) In the case of a communication infrastructure with a low data transmission capacity such as a data communication network, for example, when the information provided as service information is image information, particularly moving image information, the amount of information is reduced by dropping frames. Send in reduced form.

When information exchange according to the data transmission capability of the communication infrastructure is performed in this way, the information exchange device 1
No. 0 transmits the service information after the information exchange via the communication network to which the terminal device is connected (step I15).

Thus, for example, even when a communication infrastructure having a low data transmission capability is used, the service information can be provided in a format suitable for the communication infrastructure.

Next, processing according to the terminal attribute and the attribute of the communication infrastructure will be described.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a processing operation according to a terminal attribute and a communication infrastructure attribute when a structured document is used.

In FIG. 1, service information described in a structured document format is managed in an application service providing unit 20 in the server computer 1. When a certain terminal device issues a document request instruction (service request instruction) to the server computer 1, service information described in a structured document format is passed from the application service providing unit 20 to the information exchange apparatus 10.
Thereby, the information exchange apparatus 10 executes the following information exchange processing.

That is, the information exchange apparatus 10 first analyzes the structured document constituting the service information (step J11). In this case, in the structured document, each component is defined by a syntax prescribed including the tag information. Based on the tag information, the information exchange device 10 determines the type of each component constituting the document and its data. The size is checked (step J12). This is to check, for example, where and how much image information is present, and where and how much the program is.

A series of processes such as disassembly, search, extraction, and information exchange to be described later are performed by the information exchange execution unit 113 (FIG. 2) in the information exchange processing unit 11.

After analyzing the structured document, the information exchange apparatus 10 acquires the attribute information of the terminal device as the communication partner from the terminal information management unit 12 and checks the processing capability (step J1).
3). As a result, when it is determined that the processing capability of the terminal is low and the terminal does not have the capability of displaying the structured document (YES in step J14), the information exchange device 10 transmits each component data of the structured document to the terminal. Is converted into a format that can be displayed (step J15), and the service information after the information exchange is transmitted via the communication network to which the terminal device is connected (step J16).

On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing capability of the terminal is high and the terminal has the capability of displaying the structured document (NO in step J14), the information exchange device 10 sends the communication partner information management unit 15 Of the communication infrastructure to which the terminal device to be connected is connected (step J1).
7).

Then, the information exchange apparatus 10 performs information exchange according to the communication capability of the communication infrastructure based on the attribute information (step J18), and transmits the service information after the information exchange to the communication network to which the terminal device is connected. (Step J16).

As described above, even when providing service information described in a structured document format, by exchanging information according to the attributes of the terminal and the attributes of the communication infrastructure, the processing capability of the terminal device and the communication infrastructure It is possible to provide a service that matches the communication ability.

[0207] In addition to such terminal attributes and communication infrastructure attributes, for example, by using the user interface information management unit 13 in FIG. 1, based on user interface information indicating an operation method unique to each terminal device. By exchanging information or using the user information management unit 14, it is also possible to exchange information based on user information indicating an operation method unique to each user.

Further, in a structured document format, for example, data is encrypted, data is compressed, and when an input / output device such as a facsimile is used, information exchange according to the input / output device is performed. In providing the described service information,
All the techniques described above can be applied.

Further, in the above example, the case where service information described in advance in a structured document format is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a format different from the structured document format ( The present method can be applied even to service information described in binary data). FIG. 20 shows the processing operation at this time.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the processing operation when service information other than the structured document format is targeted. Here, the case of exchanging information according to the terminal attribute will be described, but the same applies to the case of exchanging information based on the attribute of the communication infrastructure, and further, user interface information, user information, and the like.

The difference from the processing of FIG. 17 is that the structured document conversion processing shown in steps K11 and K12 is added. This is a process for converting, for example, information in a binary format into a structured document format such as HTML. This structured document conversion process is also performed by the information exchange execution unit 113 (FIG. 2) in the information exchange processing unit 11.
In this case, in FIG. 1, service information described in an unstructured document format is managed in an application service providing unit 20 in the server computer 1, and the service information is converted into a structured document format by the information exchange apparatus 10. Will be converted.

When a document request instruction (service request instruction) is issued from a certain terminal device to the server computer 1, service information described in a format different from the structured document format is transmitted from the application service providing unit 20 to the information exchange device 10. Passed to.
Thereby, the information exchange apparatus 10 executes the following information exchange processing.

That is, the information exchange apparatus 10 first cuts out the components constituting the service information (step K1).
1). In this case, for example, in document information of binary data, for example, the text, font, format,
Other attributes (date, author name, etc.) are managed. Therefore, each part can be cut out by examining the token. When each component is cut out, the information exchange apparatus 10 creates a structured document expressing these components in a structured language such as HTML (step K12).

After the structured document is created in this way, the processing described with reference to FIG. 17 is performed on the structured document.

That is, the information exchange apparatus 10 analyzes the structured document (step K13), and checks the type of each component constituting the document and its data size (step K13).
14). The information exchange device 10 is a terminal information management unit 1
The attribute information of the terminal device that is the communication partner is acquired from the communication device 2 (step K15), and information of each component is exchanged based on the attribute information (step K16). Information exchange device 10
Transmits the service information after the information exchange via the communication network to which the terminal device is connected (step K17).

As described above, even when the service information is described in the unstructured document format, the same effect as described above can be obtained by adding the process of converting the service information into the structured document format.

FIG. 21 shows an example of an output result corresponding to the structured document shown in FIG. 16 by the information exchange processing.

In the above-described embodiment, a structured document such as HAML is taken as an example.
This can be applied to all documents formed by each component data, such as king and embedding.

Further, the method described in the above-described embodiment can be executed by a computer as a program such as a magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM,
It is also possible to write the data on a recording medium such as a DVD or a semiconductor memory and apply it to various devices, or to transmit it via a communication medium and apply it to various devices. The computer (server computer 1) that implements the above-described device reads the program recorded on the recording medium, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation of the program.

By the way, in a network computing environment, it is necessary to enhance various security functions. Regarding data security, research and development of encryption technology have been conventionally performed. For example, the encryption of data on a communication line is being researched and developed along with authentication technology. However, when considering a network computing environment to which a terminal such as a portable PC (client) is connected, the above-described network computing when the portable PC is inadvertently misplaced or stolen, etc. It is necessary to take measures specific to the operating environment. Highly confidential business data used in a system based on such an environment may exist on the server side or may exist on the terminal side. When a user loses a terminal, it is necessary to prevent leakage or unauthorized use of business data and the like existing on the terminal side.

Therefore, as a usage form of the terminal in the present embodiment, only when the terminal is connected to a network, resources related to the work of the terminal can be used. In this case, when the terminal being carried is connected to the network, business resources (data, programs, etc.) can be accessed regardless of the server / terminal, and when the terminal is disconnected from the network, the internal terminal can be accessed. A security mechanism that makes it impossible to access business resources stored in That is, the security function according to the present embodiment is capable of accessing highly confidential resources such as business resources regardless of whether the terminal is connected to the network regardless of whether the terminal is connected to the network or not. Is a function that makes stored business resources and the like encrypted so that they cannot be accessed (decrypted).

FIG. 22 is a conceptual diagram showing the resource configuration on the terminal side, and FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the flow of the security function.

Here, as a terminal, for example, a portable PC 5
Assuming 1 as shown in FIG. 22, this form PC 51 has a highly confidential business resource 511 and a corresponding encryption mechanism unit 512 as shown in FIG. The business resource 511 is usually encrypted.

[0224] When the user accesses the business resource 511 (step Y11 in FIG. 23,
An authentication request is made to the information exchange device 10 (YES in Y12) (step Y13).

[0225] The information exchange device 10 is a user information management unit 1
4 or the user interface information management unit 13 or the terminal information management unit 12, if it is determined that the user has the authority to access the business resource 511 (YES in step Y14), the information exchange device 10 sends a key for decrypting the encryption to the portable PC 51. Using the transmitted key, the portable PC 51 decrypts the encrypted business resources (step Y15), enables access by the user (step Y16), and decrypts the business resources (step Y17).

The details of the above-mentioned judgment are as follows.
2 and the information exchange device 10 communicate with each other. In short, when an access request to the business resource 511 is issued from the user (step Y11 in FIG. 23), the encryption mechanism unit 512 sends the information exchange device 10 via the network.
(Step Y14).

[0227] The information exchange apparatus 10 has a user information management unit 14, which can perform user authentication. If such a mechanism is used, when there are a plurality of business resources in the terminal, it is possible to make available resources that are permitted to a specific user and resources that are not permitted.

The information exchange processing section 11 in the information exchange apparatus 10 has an encryption processing section 115. Therefore, the key for performing the authentication can be changed as needed (for example, every time the network is disconnected).
This flow is shown in FIG.

As the terminal, for example, there is an authentication request from the portable PC 51 (step Z11), and the information exchange device 10
Responds that authentication is permitted (step Z12), the cryptographic decryption process as described above is performed.

When the encryption / decryption processing is completed and a predetermined task is executed, and the communication of the portable PC 51 with the information exchange apparatus 10 approaches the end, the portable PC 51 serving as a terminal authenticates the information exchange apparatus 10. A key change request is issued (step Z13).

In response, information exchange apparatus 10 issues a new authentication key to portable PC 51 (step Z1).
4). When the portable PC 51 receives the new authentication key,
A response to the information exchange device 10 is received (step Z
15). If adopted as an authentication key (YES in step Z16), the authentication key change process ends.

In changing the authentication key, the time stamp function may be applied.

By the way, according to the various processing methods of the present embodiment described above, program information describing the processing method is
The server computer 1 may store the program in a storage medium such as a hard disk device (HDD) 185, a floppy disk device (FDD) 181, or a CD-ROM device 183, and execute the above-described processing based on the stored program information. Of course it is good.

By adopting such a mechanism, even when the authentication key is stolen, the authentication key is updated with the lapse of time (for example, connection and disconnection of the network), so that the business having confidentiality is performed. The security of resources can be improved.

By the way, as for the security function as described above, a series of files (encrypted file group) encrypted in the server computer 1 and the PC 51.
Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which, when new data that has not been encrypted is given a file name and entered into an encrypted file group, the new data is also automatically encrypted. In this case, encryption can be easily realized.

By the way, a plurality of server computers or information exchange devices in consideration of the security function as described above may exist in the network system. In the server computer or the information exchange device distributed in this way, the server that performs the authentication may be realized from the one closest to the portable terminal device. That is, as a method of realizing this function, for example, when a control message for searching for an authentication server is issued from a terminal device, a server that responds first is used.

In the case where the authentication information of the user is stored in such a decentralized environment, when the user information is changed, there is a possibility that inconsistency of information occurs in each server existing in the network system. . Such a situation can be solved as follows.

Here, the encryption mechanism section 512 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0239] The encryption mechanism unit 512 includes an encryption unit 512.
a, an authentication client 512b, and a connection confirmation unit 512c. The encryption unit 512a includes the encryption mechanism unit 51
In addition to performing the control in 2, a timer for managing the actual encryption processing, management of the encryption target (resource) information, and the time at which the encryption / decryption is executed is mounted.

The authentication client 512b realizes a terminal-side function of an actual authentication process by cooperating with the authentication server and the user information management unit 14, for example.

[0241] The connection confirmation unit 512c confirms whether or not the client and the server are connected via a network based on the processing result of the authentication function and the like. Based on the result, the encryption unit 512a determines whether or not to perform the encryption / decryption processing on the specific resource, and executes the encryption / decryption processing.

Next, the flow of the decoding process will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when the connection confirmation unit 512c receives an access request for a target (resource) from the built-in driver of the operating system (step Z101),
The connection confirmation unit 512c determines whether the authentication client has a key to be used for decryption (step Z10).
2). The reception of the access request for the target (resource) can be realized without changing the application by realizing a mechanism that mediates the request from the basic software on the way.

If the user does not have the key (YES in step Z102), the control moves to authentication client 512a (step Z103).

Here, when the authentication client 512a determines that the access is valid, if the connection to the server is not made (NO in step Z104), the user is prompted to log in to the server (step Z104). Step Z1
05).

If the user has logged in to the server but does not have the key, the authentication server and the authentication client communicate with each other to authenticate the user (step Z10).
6).

When the authentication is completed normally, the key is encrypted and passed to the client (step Z107).

In the terminal, the key is decrypted (step Z10).
8) The decryption of the target is performed using this key (steps Z109 and Z110), and the fact that the target has been decrypted is stored (step Z111).

It should be noted that the encryption of resources is automatically performed at the time of writing data, and by registering information on which resources have been encrypted, the security level can be raised without the user being aware of it. . Further, when the network is disconnected, the key is managed by the client for a predetermined time (held by the authentication client). This is to prevent the access to the target (resource) from becoming impossible due to accidental disconnection of the line.

If the connection confirmation unit 512c determines in step Z102 that the authentication client has a key to be used for decryption, the process proceeds to step Z102.
The process moves from 109 to step Z111.

In step Z105 for prompting the user to log in to the server, if there is an input to log in (YES in step Z112), the process proceeds to step Z106 for performing user authentication. Migrated,
The processing of steps Z107 to Z111 is executed.

FIG. 27 shows a configuration diagram in which each server computer having the function of an information exchange device is connected in a network system.

Here, a first server computer 200 (corresponding to the server computer 1 in FIG. 1) for holding original information in variable information such as user information of the portable terminal device PC 51, A second server computer 300 (as described above, which corresponds to server computer 1 in FIG. 1) and a third server computer 400 (as described above, which corresponds to server computer 1 in FIG. 1) having duplicate information of the original information of computer 200.
Exists. When the variable information depending on the terminal device or the user such as the user information of the first server computer 200 is changed, the information of the first server computer 200 is always changed.

Here, for example, when various requests are issued from the PC 51 of the terminal device, the third server computer 400, which is the server computer closest to the portable terminal device PC 51, transmits the P
Negotiation (communication) with C51 is started.

At this time, if a mismatch occurs between the PC 51 and the third server computer 400, the third server computer 400 executes an inquiry to the first server computer 200 by specifying an option. I do.

At this time, the first server computer 20
If the second server computer 300 exists between the first server computer 300 and the third server computer 400, the second server computer 30
There is also an optional function that automatically changes the variable information at zero.

This is because the third server computer 400, which is a negotiation partner (communication partner) with the terminal device PC51,
When the communication with the first server computer 30 becomes impossible or when the third server computer 400 communicates with the second server computer 300 rather than the third server computer 400 due to a problem of processing performance or the like,
This is because the system operates more efficiently when the latest variable information exists in 0. Then, the third server computer 400 may communicate with the PC 51 again based on the latest information.

At this time, if the variable information arrives at the third server computer 400, the variable information in the second server computer 300 may be optionally deleted. This is executed when it is determined that it is not desirable to disperse security-related information such as user authentication information in the network.

[0259]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an application service according to the processing capability of each terminal device in a network environment where each terminal device exists, and furthermore, to provide a plurality of communication infrastructures. Are mixed,
To provide a distributed network computing system capable of providing an application service according to the communication capability of the communication infrastructure, an information exchange device having a security function used in the system, and an information exchange method used in the system. Can be.

Further, according to the present invention, by decentralizing each function as an information exchange apparatus, it is possible to realize a sophisticated information exchange processing function by combining a plurality of servers having relatively low processing capabilities. it can. As a result, in a network environment where various terminal devices are present, it is possible to provide application services according to the processing capacity of each terminal device without requiring a large server computer, and when a plurality of communication infrastructures are mixed However, it is possible to provide application services according to the communication capability of the communication infrastructure.

In addition, according to the present invention, a situation in which the server is down due to the local concentration of functions as in the prior art, or the entire system cannot be used if the communication network is unusable. It is possible to provide application services that are resistant to obstacles.

According to the present invention, when a plurality of types of terminal devices exist on a network, service information provided as an applied service is exchanged and transmitted in a format corresponding to the processing capability of each terminal device. Therefore, although it is excellent in portability, information processing ability (calculation ability) and screen display /
It is possible to construct a distributed network computing system using a terminal device (such as a PDA) whose user interface providing capability is relatively inferior to other terminal devices (such as a PC). Even if it changes, you will be able to receive the same services as other terminal devices.

Furthermore, when a plurality of types of communication networks coexist, service information provided as an applied service is exchanged in a format corresponding to the communication capability of each communication network, and is transmitted. It is possible to absorb relative differences such as / amount / quality, and the terminal can receive the same service as other terminal devices, even if the format is changed.

In particular, by providing such an information exchange function in a circuit switch or a router, information can be exchanged in a final form near a user's terminal device. That is, when a network is formed from each subnetwork, information can be exchanged in a format suitable for the subnetwork.

Further, it can be used as a cache. For example, only a simplified data transmission to a terminal device serving as a communication partner, that is, a notification that data has been registered in the cache is notified, so that a loss of data amount is reduced. Can be minimized, and the characteristics of each sub-network can be compensated.

[0266] By distributing the information exchange function,
Individual burden can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, since the newly added data is automatically encrypted or compressed, the security function is enhanced and the practical security is remarkably improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a distributed network computing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram showing an internal configuration of an information exchange processing unit in the information exchange apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a terminal information management unit in the information exchange device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram showing an internal configuration of a user interface information management unit in the information exchange device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary block diagram showing the internal configuration of a user information management unit in the information exchange device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary block diagram showing an internal configuration of a communication infrastructure information management unit in the information exchange device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of a general application service in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of an applied service when the information exchange apparatus is used in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary view showing a protocol sequence for determining a terminal attribute in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of information exchange according to the terminal attribute in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary flowchart showing the processing operation of information exchange according to the communication infrastructure in the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when encrypting data in the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when data compression is performed in the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when using an applied service using an input / output device in the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the entire system including application services when a structured document is assumed in the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a structured document according to the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing operation according to a terminal attribute when a structured document is used in the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a processing operation according to the attribute of the communication infrastructure when a structured document is used in the embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a processing operation according to a terminal attribute and a communication infrastructure attribute when a structured document is used in the embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when service information other than the structured document format is targeted in the embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a view showing an output example corresponding to FIG. 16 in the embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a view showing an outline of a resource configuration on the terminal device side in the embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the flow of a security function in the embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a flow on the information exchange device side of the authentication key change in the embodiment.

FIG. 25 is an exemplary view for explaining the inside of an encryption mechanism unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a flow of a compounding process according to the embodiment;

FIG. 27 is a system configuration diagram of a server computer having a decentralized information exchange function connected via a network in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server computer 10 ... Information exchange apparatus 11 ... Information exchange process part 12 ... Terminal information management part 13 ... User interface information management part 14 ... User information management part 15 ... Communication infrastructure information management part 20 ... Application service provision part 30 ... Public network 31 Portable information terminal 32 Mobile phone 33 Pager FAX 40 Wired LAN 41 PC 42 Printer 43 Image reader 50 Wireless LAN 51 Portable PC 113 Information exchange execution unit 1101 Data Change management unit 1102 Data update management unit 1103 Retransmission management unit 1104 Priority management unit 1105 Terminal monitoring unit 511 Business resource 512 Encryption mechanism unit 513 Business resource

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus for providing an application service for software, various terminal devices receiving the application service from the information processing apparatus, and communication for connecting the information processing apparatus to the terminal device. In a distributed network computing system comprising a network, a terminal part information management means for managing terminal attribute information indicating the processing capability of the terminal equipment in a predetermined part in the system, and communication from the terminal attribute information management means Conversion means for acquiring terminal attribute information of a terminal device of the other party and converting service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information, and converting the service information converted by the conversion means Communication means for transmitting via the communication network, and the terminal device is connected via the network. Means for controlling the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information when the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and has a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information. And a means for automatically encrypting or compressing new data when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information. system. 2. An information processing apparatus for providing an application service for software, a terminal device receiving the application service from the information processing device, and a communication network connecting the information processing device and the terminal device. In a distributed network computing system comprising: a communication infrastructure information management means for managing communication infrastructure information indicating a communication capability of the communication network at a predetermined part in the system; and a communication partner from the communication infrastructure information management means. Conversion means for acquiring communication infrastructure information of a communication network to which the terminal device is connected, and converting service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the communication infrastructure information; Communication means for transmitting the service information through the communication network. When the terminal device is in a connected state via a network and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and requests access to the encrypted or compressed information, the terminal device may An information exchange device having means for controlling decryption and means for automatically encrypting or compressing the data when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information is provided. A distributed network computing system, characterized in that: 3. An information processing apparatus for providing an application service for software, a terminal device receiving the application service from the information processing device, and a communication network connecting the information processing device and the terminal device. In a distributed network computing system comprising: a terminal attribute information management means for managing terminal attribute information indicating a processing capability of the terminal device at a predetermined part in the system; and a communication infrastructure indicating a communication capability of the communication network A communication infrastructure information managing means for managing information; and a communication network to which the terminal equipment is connected from the communication infrastructure information managing means, while acquiring the terminal attribute information of a terminal device as a communication partner from the terminal attribute information managing means. Of the communication infrastructure information, and the service information provided as an applied service A conversion unit configured to convert the service information into a specific format based on the communication infrastructure information; and a communication unit configured to transmit the service information converted by the conversion unit via the communication network, and the terminal device via the network. Is in a connected state, and when the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and has a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information, controls the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information. And a means for automatically encrypting or compressing the data when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information. System. 4. An information exchange function is provided in a network connection device for interconnecting networks, and when transmitting service information provided as an applied service from an information processing device to a terminal device, the network connection device side transmits the service information. Determine the processing capability of the terminal device, convert the service information into a specific format according to the processing capability, and the terminal device is connected via the network, and the terminal device meets a predetermined condition. When there is a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information, the terminal device is controlled to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information, and new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information. Then, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. 5. An information exchange function is provided in a network connection device for interconnecting networks, and when transmitting service information provided as an applied service from an information processing device to a terminal device, the network connection device side transmits the service information. Determine the communication capability of the communication network to which the terminal device is connected, convert the service information into a specific format according to the communication capability, and connect the terminal device via the network, and When the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and has a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information, the terminal device controls the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information, The information exchange method characterized in that when new data is added to the data, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. . 6. An information exchange function is provided in a network connection device for interconnecting networks, and when transmitting service information provided as an applied service from an information processing device to a terminal device, the network connection device side transmits the service information. The processing capability of the terminal device and the communication capability of the communication network to which the terminal device is connected are determined, the service information is converted into a specific format according to the processing capability and the communication capability, and the terminal is connected via the network. When the device is in a connected state and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and has an access request to the encrypted or compressed information, control is performed so that the terminal device can decrypt the encrypted or compressed information. When new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. Information exchange wherein the door. 7. An information exchange method provided in a first information processing apparatus for providing an application service to a terminal device connected via a communication network, wherein the information exchange method is provided separately from the first information processing apparatus. A terminal attribute information management unit is provided in the second information processing device connected to the terminal device, terminal attribute information indicating the processing capability of the terminal device is registered in the terminal attribute information management unit, and the terminal attribute information management unit is A service provided as an applied service by searching for a second information processing apparatus having the terminal information, acquiring terminal attribute information of a terminal device as a communication partner from the terminal attribute information management unit for the second information processing apparatus. The information is converted into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information, the converted service information is transmitted through the communication network, and the terminal device is connected through the network. Controlling the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information when the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and has an access request to the encrypted or compressed information, An information exchange method characterized in that when new data is added to encrypted or compressed information, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. 8. An information exchange method provided in a first information processing apparatus for providing an application service to a terminal device connected via a communication network, wherein the information exchange method is provided separately from the first information processing apparatus. A communication infrastructure information management unit is provided in a second information processing apparatus connected to the communication infrastructure information, and communication infrastructure information indicating the communication capability of the communication network is registered in the communication infrastructure information management unit. Searching for a second information processing device having the same, and for the second information processing device, acquiring communication infrastructure information of a communication network to which a terminal device as a communication partner is connected from the communication infrastructure information management unit; It is assumed that service information provided as an applied service is converted into a specific format based on the communication infrastructure information, and the converted service information is transmitted via the communication network. Controlling the terminal device to be in a connected state via the network, and to allow the terminal device to satisfy predetermined conditions so that the encrypted or compressed information can be decrypted; An information exchange method characterized in that when new data is added, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. 9. An information exchange method provided in a first information processing apparatus for providing an application service to a terminal device connected via a communication network, wherein the information exchange method is provided separately from the first information processing apparatus. A terminal attribute information management section and a communication infrastructure information management section provided in a second information processing apparatus connected to the communication network; registering terminal attribute information indicating the processing capability of the terminal device in the terminal attribute information management section; Is registered in the communication infrastructure information management unit, and a second information processing apparatus having the terminal attribute information management unit and the communication infrastructure information management unit is searched for. For the processing device, while acquiring the terminal attribute information of the terminal device as the communication partner from the terminal attribute information management unit, the terminal device is connected from the communication infrastructure information management unit Communication infrastructure information of a communication network to be obtained, converting service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information and the communication infrastructure information, and converting the converted service information to the communication network. And the terminal device is connected via the network, and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition so that the terminal device can decrypt the encrypted or compressed information. Alternatively, when new data is added to the compressed information, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. 10. Terminal attribute information management means for managing terminal attribute information indicating the processing capability of various terminal devices receiving application services from an information processing apparatus for providing application services for software, Conversion means for acquiring terminal attribute information of a terminal device as a communication partner from the information management means, and converting service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information; Communication means for transmitting the service information via the communication network; and a request for access to the encrypted or compressed information when the terminal device is connected via the network and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition. Means for controlling the terminal device to be able to decrypt the encrypted or compressed information when there is a When the new data is added to the compression of information, the information exchange apparatus characterized by comprising and means for automatically encrypting or compressing of the data. 11. Communication infrastructure information management means for managing communication infrastructure information indicating communication capability of a communication network, and communication infrastructure information of a communication network to which a terminal device as a communication partner is connected from the communication infrastructure information management means. Conversion means for acquiring and converting service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the communication infrastructure information; and communication means for transmitting the service information converted by the conversion means via the communication network. And the terminal device is connected via a network,
Means for controlling the terminal device to be able to decipher the encrypted or compressed information when the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and makes an access request to the encrypted or compressed information; Alternatively, when new data is added to the compressed information, the information exchange device includes means for automatically encrypting or compressing the data. 12. A terminal attribute information managing means for managing terminal attribute information indicating a processing capability of a terminal device; a communication infrastructure information managing means for managing communication infrastructure information indicating a communication capability of the communication network; A service provided as an applied service by obtaining terminal attribute information of a terminal device to be a communication partner from the management means and obtaining communication infrastructure information of a communication network to which the terminal device is connected from the communication infrastructure information management means. Conversion means for converting information into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information and the communication infrastructure information; communication means for transmitting the service information converted by the conversion means via the communication network; and The terminal device is connected,
Means for controlling the terminal device to be able to decipher the encrypted or compressed information when the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and makes an access request to the encrypted or compressed information; Alternatively, when new data is added to the compressed information, the information exchange device includes means for automatically encrypting or compressing the data. 13. An information exchange method applied to an information processing apparatus for providing an application service to a terminal device connected via a communication network, wherein the communication infrastructure information indicating the communication capability of the communication network is stored in the communication infrastructure information. The service information described in the component data format, such as the structured document format, is registered in the management unit, and the communication infrastructure of the communication network to which the terminal device as the communication partner is connected from the communication infrastructure information management unit. After acquiring information, converting service information provided as an applied service into a specific format based on the communication infrastructure information, and transmitting the converted service information via the communication network, the terminal device Is in a connected state, and when the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and requests access to encrypted or compressed information, the terminal device Control to enable decryption of encrypted or compressed information, and when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. Information exchange method. 14. An information exchange method applied to an information processing apparatus for providing an application service to a terminal device connected via a communication network, comprising: a terminal attribute information management unit and a communication infrastructure information management unit. Registering the terminal attribute information indicating the processing capability of the terminal device in the terminal attribute information management unit, and registering the communication infrastructure information indicating the communication capability of the communication network in the communication infrastructure information management unit; Analyze the service information described in the component data format such as, and obtain the terminal attribute information of the communication target terminal device from the terminal attribute information management unit, and connect the terminal device from the communication infrastructure information management unit. Acquiring the communication infrastructure information of the communication network that is, converting the analyzed service information into a specific format based on the terminal attribute information and the communication infrastructure information,
When transmitting the converted service information through the communication network, the terminal device is in a connected state, and the terminal device satisfies a predetermined condition and receives an access request to the encrypted or compressed information. In this case, the terminal device is controlled so that it can decrypt the encrypted or compressed information, and when new data is added to the encrypted or compressed information, the data is automatically encrypted or compressed. An information exchange method characterized by: 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the service information described in the non-component data format is converted into the component data format, and the service information described in the component data format is analyzed to exchange information. Or the information exchange method according to 14.