JP2000181695A - Device and method for managing software part updating and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cope with the change of input data with small work quantity even if in put data is changed in accordance with the specification change of a software part. SOLUTION: A main body part 102 reads a file 107 consisting of input data of a software part A and its version information 112, and when the file 107 is transferred to a software part 103, the part 102 makes an input data converting part 104 perform the work to convert the input data of the software part A into the input data of a software part A". An input data converting part 104 refers to version information 113 and input data conversion information 105 included in the part A", and converts data into input data 111 of the part A", and the part A" reads the input data 111.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a software component version upgrade management apparatus and method which is characterized in version upgrade management when the format of input data of a software component and the format of input data in a file given to the software component are different. And a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Software components input data,
The data is calculated, and some calculation result is output from the calculation, and is realized by executing an (application) software program installed in a computer such as a personal computer. Then, the format of the input data must be compatible with the component. Therefore, if the software component is changed and the specification of the input data is also changed, the old input data format cannot be used with the new software component.

[0003] Such changes in the specifications of software components accompanying changes in the format of input data are not small.

[0004] When an attempt is made to handle input data in the past format with a software component having such a specification change, FIG.
Generally, input data in the past format is converted so as to conform to the specifications of the current software component, as in 1, and then passed to the software component as input data.

The method of matching the input data of the old version of the software with the input data of the current version of the software is used in general applications such as current word processing software and spreadsheet software. It is a fact.

Here, consider the software structure as shown in FIG. The entire apparatus is composed of a main unit and software components, and the file contains input data of the software components. The software component itself does not have a function of reading from a file, but has a structure in which data is always received via the main body.

[0007] Such a software structure is often used in an apparatus for editing a graphical user interface, an apparatus requiring software components such as Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-224904, and CAD.

[0008]

In such a model, the specification of the software component attached to the main body is changed, and the format of the input data of the past software component and the format of the input data of the current software component are changed. If they are different, several countermeasures are possible.

In the first method, as shown in FIG. 3, a conversion program is prepared separately from the main unit and software components, and input data of past software components in a file is converted into input data of current software components. Is the way.

This method places a burden on program and device developers to develop a conversion program corresponding to new input data at the same time as upgrading software components. In addition, a burden is imposed on the user of the program and the apparatus to activate the conversion program each time the software component is upgraded.

Therefore, this method places a burden on both the developer and the user.

In the second method, as shown in FIG. 4, a program for converting input data of old software into input data of new software components in a file is built in the main body. The use of this method has an advantage that the user of the program and the apparatus can use the software component without worrying about the version. However, it is necessary for the program and device developer to upgrade the software component and to modify the main body at the same time.

In the third method, as shown in FIG. 5, when performing a version upgrade from a conventional software component to a software component requiring input data of a new format, the existing software component is left and a new software component is left. The method of adding is considered. In this method, similarly to the second method, the user does not care about the format of the input data in the file. Also, for program and equipment developers, in addition to the newly added software components, it is only necessary to add a routine for determining which software component to pass the input data to the main unit, so it does not require a large amount of work .

[0014] However, in this method, even if there is not much difference between the past software component and the new software component, since they are added one after another, there is a demerit that the program and the device tend to be large.

As described above, according to the conventional technique, there is a problem that the workload of a developer and a user tends to increase due to a change in the specification of a software component, or the size of the apparatus must be increased. Therefore, the existence of a new program, device, and method has been desired.

As described above, in the conventional method, when the format of the input data is different due to the version upgrade of the software component, a large amount of work is required to make the input data compatible with the past input data.

Since the software component version upgrade may be performed not once but a plurality of times, even if the main unit reads a file containing input data of any version of the software component, the current software component is compatible. I had to be able to do it.

An object of the present invention is to provide a software component version upgrade management apparatus and method, and a recording medium that solve the above problems.

[0019]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the software model shown in FIG.
A structure like 2 is proposed.

That is, according to the present invention, a software component having version information and input data conversion information, and, when input data in a file is input to the software component, the version information in the file and the software component When the version information is different from the version information, an input data conversion unit for converting the format of the input data based on the input data conversion information is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the structure of the input data conversion information is an array.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the input data conversion section differs in the type of the element of the input data conversion information between the software component and the software component related to the input data. If
The type conversion is performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, when the input data conversion unit converts the format of the input data into the input data format of the software component, An interface for notifying whether or not to perform conversion is further provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when input data in a file is input to a software component having version information and input data conversion information, the version information in the file and the version information in the software component are changed. If different, the format of the input data is converted based on the input data conversion information.

Further, the invention of claim 6 is characterized in that, in claim 5, the structure of the input data conversion information is arrayed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the fifth or sixth aspect, at the time of the input data conversion, the type of the element of the input data conversion information is different between the software component and the software component related to the input data. In this case, the type conversion is performed.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, when converting the format of the input data into the format of the input data of the software component, whether or not to perform external data conversion Is notified.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of the fifth to eighth aspects.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the format of the input data required by the past software component differs from the format of the input data required by the current software component due to the version upgrade of the software component, and Even if a file in which the input data is stored is read into the current software component, the input data of the past software component can be automatically converted into the format of the input data of the current software component.

According to the second aspect, the structure of the input data conversion information of the software component is arranged in an array, so that even if a file containing the input data of any version of the software component is read, the input data format of the current software component is changed. Version upgrade management that can be converted can be performed. That is, for example, by repeating the software component version upgrade twice or more,
When there are three or more input data formats of software components, the input data format of the current software components can be converted even if the main body reads a file containing input data of any version of the software components.

That is, the present invention provides an input data conversion unit and a software component including information for converting input data, as described above, even if the format of the input data of the software component changes according to the specification change. Therefore, a file in which input data of a past software component is described can be read into a current software component only by modifying the software component.

Also, by arranging the structure of the information for version conversion in an array as shown in FIG. 7, even if the main unit reads a file containing input data of any version of the software component, Version upgrade management can be performed so that it can be converted to the input data format.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an overall view of an apparatus (for example, a personal computer is assumed here) including version upgrade management of the present invention. The apparatus can include an input device 106 (for example, input means such as a keyboard, a floppy disk drive as an external storage means, a magneto-optical disk drive, etc.) via an input / output control unit 109,
Data is exchanged with an output device 108 (which may include, for example, a display means, a printer, etc.). 1
The apparatus 01 includes a main body (program) 102 and a software component A 103. Device 101
Is an RO that stores a CPU and a control program for the CPU.
M, a RAM having a work area for a CPU, a temporary storage area for data, an area for loading an application program, and a hard disk (H) storing an OS (operation system), an application program, and the like.
D) and a secondary storage device such as a floppy disk, and executes the functions of the main unit 101 and the software component 103 including the control procedure shown in FIG.

The input device 106 stores a file 107 including input data of the software component 103 (A or A 'or A ") and version information 112 of the input data.
07 is read by the main unit 102 and the software component 10
Pass to 3. At that time, the main unit 102 converts the input data of the software component A 110 into the software component A ″ 103.
The input data conversion unit 10 converts the
Perform the work in step 4. When performing the work, the input data conversion unit 104 refers to the version information 113 and the input data conversion information 105 included in the software component A ″, converts the input data 111 into the input data 111 of the software component A ″, and converts the input data 111. The software component A ″ performs reading.

Next, what kind of data is required when the software component is upgraded, such as software component A, software component A ′, and software component A ″, is shown in FIG.
1 uses data 602 having a structure of "a" first and "b" second as input data. The software part A ′ 603 requires input data 604 having a structure including “a” first, “b” second, and “c” third as new information. Further, the software component A ″ 605 requires input data 606 having a structure of “A” first and “C” second.

Next, the structure of the input data conversion information 105 included in the software component A "shown in Fig. 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The input data conversion information 709 has an array structure having elements 701 and 705, respectively. Element 70 of
Reference numeral 1705 has three elements: a version before conversion, a version after conversion, and conversion information.

Next, the input data conversion information 7 described in FIG.
FIG. 8 shows the structures of 04 and 708. Software part A
Of the input data is "i, ro". Then, the structure of the input data of the software part A ′ is “A, B,
C ”. That is, the first information of the input data of the software component A 'is the same as the first information of the software component A, and the second information of the input data of the software component A' is the second information of the software component A. The third information of the input data of the software component A ′ does not correspond to the software component A. From the above, the conversion information from the software component A to A ′ can be represented as “1, 2, not present”. These pieces of conversion information 801 correspond to 704 in FIG.
Similarly, the input data conversion information 708 from the software A ′ to the software component A ″ is “1,
3 ".

A procedure for converting the input data 110 of the software component A of FIG. 1 into the input data 111 of the software component A ″ using these pieces of information will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The file 107 is read, and the version information 112 in the file 107 is compared with the version information 113 in the software component 103 in 902. If they match, the input data 110 of the software component in the file can be passed to the software component 103 as it is. If they do not match, the structure of the input data has changed and conversion is necessary.
A dialog such as 1301 in FIG. 13 is displayed on the display means of the apparatus 101 to notify the user whether or not to convert the input data (to upgrade the version). The user selects either OK (do) or CANCEL (do not do) on the displayed dialog. If the version is not updated, the apparatus ends without performing any operation. When the version is upgraded, the flow goes to 903. First, in 903, the input data conversion information 105 of the software component 103 is acquired. In step 904, conversion information corresponding to the version is generated from the obtained input data conversion information 105. These situations will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the structure of the input conversion information 105 includes conversion information 704 of input data in each version upgrade such as A to A 'and A' to A ".
708 are prepared. For this reason, when a version upgrade that skips from A to A ″ is performed, it is necessary to create conversion information from A to A ″ from the conversion information 704 and 708 of the input data.

As shown in FIG. 8, the structure of the conversion information 704 is 801 and the structure of 708 is 802. From these 801 and 802, conversion information 1001 can be generated.

It is understood from 802 that the first element of the input data of the software component A ″ is the first element of the software component A ′.
801 indicates that the first element of the input data of the software component A is the first element of the input data of the software component A.

Thus, it can be understood that the first element of the input data of the software component A ″ corresponds to the first element of the input data of the software component A.

Similarly, the second element of A ″ is the third element of A ′. The third element of A ′ does not exist in A. Therefore, the second element of A ″ becomes A It turns out that does not exist.

As described above, the input data conversion information 1001 from the software component A to the software component A ″ has a structure of “1, not existing”.

The input data 111 of the software component A ″ in FIG. 1 is created based on the conversion information created as described above (9).
05), the data is passed to the software component 103 by 906. At this time, if the type of the input data of the software component 103 is different from the type of the converted input data, type conversion is performed at this stage.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, information for converting input data of a software component and version information are stored in the software component, and an input data conversion unit is provided separately from the software component. So
Even if the input data is changed due to a change in the specification of the software component, only the software component needs to be changed, and it is possible to cope with a small amount of work.

According to the present invention, the software component is upgraded a plurality of times, and even if the format of the input data is changed a plurality of times, the input data conversion information in the software component is arranged on the array. Can be handled.

Further, according to the present invention, since the data structure of the software component can be subjected to type conversion,
A more flexible version upgrade can be performed.

Further, according to the present invention, data conversion not intended by the user is prevented by providing an interface for inquiring of the user whether or not to convert the input data of the software component. Becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an apparatus using a software component version upgrade management method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a model diagram of an apparatus including a software component and a main body.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a countermeasure when input data of a software component and data of a file are different.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another countermeasure when input data of a software component and data of a file are different.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing still another countermeasure when input data of a software component and data of a file are different.

FIG. 6 is a correspondence diagram between software components and input data.

FIG. 7 is a detailed diagram of input data change information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a structure of conversion information.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of version upgrade management.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method of generating conversion information from an array of conversion information.

FIG. 11 is a relationship diagram between software components and input data.

FIG. 12 is a structural diagram of an apparatus proposed in the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a user interface for notifying a user when a version is upgraded.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 101 device 102 main body 103 software component 104 input data conversion unit 105 input data conversion information 106 input device 107 file 108 output device 109 input / output control unit 110 input data of software component A 111 input data of software component A ″ 112, 113 version information

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A software component having version information and input data conversion information, wherein, when input data in a file is input to the software component, the version information in the file differs from the version information in the software component. A version upgrade management device, comprising: an input data conversion unit configured to convert the format of the input data based on the input data conversion information. 2. The upgrade management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structure of the input data conversion information is an array. 3. The input data conversion unit according to claim 1, wherein the input data conversion unit converts the type of the element of the input data conversion information between the software component and the software component related to the input data. A version upgrade management device characterized by performing: 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the input data conversion unit converts the format of the input data into the format of the input data of the software component, whether to perform external data conversion. Version upgrade management device, further comprising an interface for notifying the user of the version upgrade. 5. When input data in a file is input to a software component having version information and input data conversion information, if the version information in the file and the version information in the software component are different,
A version upgrade management method, wherein the format of the input data is converted based on the input data conversion information. 6. The upgrade management method according to claim 5, wherein the structure of the input data conversion information is arranged. 7. The input data conversion according to claim 5, wherein, in the input data conversion, if the type of the element of the input data conversion information is different between the software component and the software component related to the input data, the type conversion is performed. Version upgrade management method characterized by performing. 8. The method according to claim 5, wherein when the format of the input data is converted into the format of the input data of the software component, whether or not to perform data conversion is notified to the outside. And version upgrade management method. 9. A recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 5 is recorded.