JP2001109698A - Method and device for controlling device driver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain improvement in install work efficiency and application processing efficiency by permitting the control of plural devices with one device driver, to reduce load to an operating system(OS) and to permit parallel processing and switching of use to other hardware during the use of hardware. SOLUTION: Request contents and transmitting/receiving data are transferred between a user application 1 and the OS 2. Between the OS 2 and a multidriver 21, plural devices (ISA card 31, PCMCIA card 32, PCI card 33 and new device card 34) connected to the multidriver 21 are singly or parallel controlled by one device driver (device control part 21a of the multidriver 21).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a plurality of devices such as a personal computer, and more particularly to a device driver control method for controlling a plurality of devices with one device driver (multi-driver), and an apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an information processing apparatus having a plurality of devices such as a personal computer generally has a one-to-one configuration in which one device driver controls one device. Therefore, a large number of device drivers corresponding to the number of devices to be connected are arranged. When the number of device drivers increases, the operating system (OS) needs to have a driver interface for each device driver for each device. In other words, the load (processing load) of the operating system becomes large.

[0003] In recent years, different operating systems depending on WDM (Win32 Driver Model), for example, Windows 9
8. The same device driver can be used in Windows 2000, and the total number of device drivers tends to be reduced. However, each operating system has a one-to-one configuration of devices and drivers. The load on remains large.

[0004] The prior art will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional device driver control device, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing at the time of device detection (driver loading) in the conventional example. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing when a device is used in a conventional example.

Referring to FIG. 10, the device driver control device of this example has a user application 1 and an operating system (OS) 2. Further, the ISA (I
Driver Interface (I / F) 12, PCMCIA (Personal Comp.)
uter Memory Card International Association) driver interface (I / F) 13, PCI (Periphe)
ral Component Interconnect) and a new device driver interface (I / F) 15.

Further, the device driver control device of this example includes an ISA driver I / F 12 to a new device driver I / F 15 in the operating system 2.
ISA driver 2 connected correspondingly to
2, PCMCIA driver 23, PCI driver 2
4 and a new device driver 25. Also,
ISA cards 31, P connected correspondingly from the ISA driver 22 to the new device driver 25, respectively.
It has a CMCIA card 32, a PCI card 33, and a new device card.

Next, the operation of this conventional example will be described. (1) At the time of device detection (at the time of driver loading) In FIGS. 10 and 11, the ISA driver 22 at the time of device detection shown in FIG.
The resource information of the detected ISA card 31 is inquired to the operating system 2 to obtain the resource information (such as an I / O port and a storage range (not shown) in the memory) corresponding to the ISA card 31 in the operating system 2 ( Step S1). Next, the resource information acquired in step S1 is stored in the work area in the ISA driver 22, and the process ends (step S2).

(2) At the time of device use (control) In FIG. 10 and FIG. 12, the ISA driver 22 at the time of device use shown in FIG. When an input / output request to the device is received through the ISA, input / output data (request content and transmission / reception data) from the user application 1 is obtained from pointer information from the ISA driver I / F 12 (step S).
5).

Next, referring to the resource information stored in step S2 at the time of device detection, transmission / reception data from the user application 1 is transmitted to the device (IS) using an access function dedicated to the ISA card 31 according to the request.
Input / output with the A card 31) (step S6).
Further, in order to return this input / output result to the user application 1, the result is stored in a predetermined area (buffer) of the ISA driver I / F 12, and the process ends (step S7).

The ISA driver 22 (FIG. 11A)
And FIG. 12A) and another driver 2 for PCMCIA.
3 (FIGS. 11 (b) and 12 (b)), a PCI driver 24 (FIGS. 11 (c) and 12 (c)) and a new device driver 25 ((FIGS. 11 (d) and 12 (d)). ))
Also, the processes at the time of device detection and device use (control) are the same, and the description of the operation is omitted. As described above, in the device driver control device of the related art, a plurality of devices have device drivers corresponding to the respective devices.
It is configured to perform one-to-one processing (control).

Such a conventional device driver control apparatus has the following problems (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5). (1) When a plurality of devices of the same type and a plurality of devices of the different type are used in an information processing apparatus (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a system) including the same device driver control device, a device driver is set for each device ( Installation), which is tedious. For example, when one device is used, the installation operation is performed once, but when the number of devices becomes ten, the installation operation needs to be repeated ten times. For this reason, the installation work time is increased and the work efficiency is deteriorated.

(2) The load on the user application increases because it is necessary to use a driver interface depending on the device to be used. Also, the process must be changed each time a new device is added. For example, if only one device is used, there is no need to use the driver interface because there is only one type of driver interface.However, when there are ten devices, there are ten types of driver interfaces, so the driver interface corresponding to the device to be used is branched. It is necessary to use them properly. Further, when a new device is added, a change in branch processing is required to use a driver interface corresponding to this device. In other words, the processing efficiency of the application using the device deteriorates.

(3) Since the number of device drivers increases with the number of connected devices, the start-up time when the power of the system is turned on becomes long. For example, when the number of devices is one, the number of drivers loaded by the operating system is one, but when the number of devices becomes ten, the number of drivers loaded becomes ten. As a result, the load on the operating system increases.

(4) As the number of devices increases, the number of device drivers also increases, and the storage capacity of a hardware disk or the like in which a usable operating system in the system is stored decreases. For example, in the case of one device, one driver copies one driver into the system by one installation. However, when the number of devices becomes ten, ten drivers copy ten drivers into the system by ten installations. And the available storage capacity in the system is reduced. In other words, the load on the operating system increases.

(5) Since the number of driver interfaces increases with the number of connected devices, the memory storage capacity in the system decreases. For example, when the number of devices is one, the operating system only needs to include one type of driver interface, but when the number of devices becomes ten, the operating system includes ten types of driver interfaces. In other words, the load on the operating system increases.

An improved technique for solving such a problem is known. For example, when data conversion processing is the same as a conventional device for a peripheral device (a device such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, an inkjet or laser printer, a modem, a digital camera, a scanner, and a display), a new device is added. An example has been proposed in which the device driver is simplified to simplify the system development without developing a new common device driver (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-91566, "Device Driver"). Control method and control method ”).

[0017]

As described above, the above-mentioned conventional device driver control device has poor installation work efficiency and processing efficiency of a user application that uses the device, and further imposes a heavy load on the operating system. There is a disadvantage that.

In the publication example, although the device driver is simplified, the above-described problems of poor installation work efficiency and application processing efficiency, and a large load on the operating system, and a degree of freedom in system processing are required. Is not taken into account,
Further, there is a disadvantage that the use cannot be switched to another hardware while using the hardware.

The present invention is to solve such a problem in the conventional technology. In an information processing apparatus having a plurality of devices such as a personal computer, a plurality of different devices can be controlled by one device driver. In addition, the efficiency of user installation work and the efficiency of processing applications using devices can be improved, the load on the operating system can be reduced, and concurrent processing and switching to other hardware during hardware use can be performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device driver control method and a device capable of performing device driver control with improved flexibility.

[0020]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device driver control method for controlling a plurality of devices by a single device driver. A step of determining a device, a step of acquiring resource information for the determined specific device, a step of updating the obtained resource information corresponding to the specific device, and a device type and resource information pointer corresponding to the specific device And detecting and updating the pointer of the access function.

According to the present invention, in a device driver control method for controlling a plurality of devices by one device driver, a step of acquiring a device type to be used, a pointer of resource information and a pointer of an access function for the acquired specific device, Storing and updating the data, acquiring input / output data to / from the specific device, and inputting transmission / reception data to / from the specific device by the access function indicated by the access function pointer by referring to the resource information indicated by the pointer. The control of the specific device is performed including the step of outputting and the step of storing the input / output result of the transmission / reception data to / from the specific device.

When obtaining the specified device, if the requested device cannot be obtained, obtaining an initial value of the requested device, determining whether switching to this device is possible, and Storing the pointer information corresponding to a specific device when it is determined that the switching is possible.

In the case where the acquired input / output data is a device switching request, a step of checking whether the requested device is usable, and storing pointer information of the requested device when it is determined that the switching is possible. And a step of storing the result when it is determined that the switching is impossible.

The above-mentioned storage is stored in a corresponding area in the table.

A device driver control device according to the present invention provides a user application for transferring at least request contents and transmission / reception data for controlling a plurality of devices with one device driver, and requests and transmission / reception between user applications. An operating system having a multi-driver interface for executing data transfer, and a multi-driver for controlling a plurality of connected devices with a single device driver by transferring request contents and transmission / reception data to / from the operating system. ing.

The multi-driver includes a device control unit for controlling a plurality of devices individually or in parallel, and a device use status table for managing which user application the device uses in the device control unit. Information table for managing initial values of devices to be used, pointers to resource information tables of devices to be used, and pointers of access functions corresponding to devices to be used, resource information tables storing resource information of each of a plurality of devices And an access function group table for managing an access function group corresponding to each of the plurality of devices.

The multi-driver includes a device discriminator for discriminating a specific device among a plurality of devices from a device detection notification from the operating system for device detection, and an I / O in the operating system for the specific device discriminated by the device discriminator. A resource information acquisition unit for inquiring the operating system for resource information including a storage range in the / O port and the memory; and updating the resource information acquired by the resource information acquisition unit by storing the resource information in a specific device area of the resource information table. The resource information storage means, the device specified by the device discrimination means, the pointer of the area stored by the resource information storage means, and the pointer of the access function group corresponding to the specified device in the access function group table are stored. And a device information table updating means for updating stored in the chair information table.

In order for the multi-driver to control using a device, a requesting device acquiring unit for acquiring a device type to be used from a device use status table, and resource information corresponding to a specific device acquired by the requesting device acquiring unit Resource information table updating means for storing and updating pointers in the table and function pointers in the access function group table in the device information table, and input / output data from the user application by referring to pointer information from the multi-driver interface The input / output data acquisition means to be acquired and the access function indicated by the function pointer stored in the access function pointer table in the device information table with reference to the resource information indicated by the pointer in the resource information table in the device information table. A device access means for inputting / outputting data transmitted / received from / to the application to / from a device, and an input / output result storage for storing a result of input / output with the device by the device access means in a predetermined area of a driver interface for returning to a user application Means.

When specifying the device, if the device requested in the device usage table cannot be obtained, an initial device obtaining means for obtaining an initial value of the specific device from the device information table and a switch to the specific device are provided. Switching determining means for determining whether switching is possible, and a device usage table for storing pointer information from the multi-driver interface in an area corresponding to a specific device in the device usage status table when switching is determined to be possible by the switching determining means Update means.

A switching request determining means for determining whether the request content obtained from the acquired input / output data is a device switching request, and a state in which the request device can be used when the switching request determining means determines that the request is a device switching request. Requesting device checking means for checking whether or not switching is possible, and, when the requesting device checking means determines that switching is possible, storing and updating pointer information from the multi-driver interface in an area corresponding to the requesting device in the device usage status table Device information table updating means for storing, a device information table updating means for storing and updating a pointer in a resource information table and a function pointer in an access function group table corresponding to a requested device in a device information table, and a requested device checking means Determined that switching is not possible And a output result storage means for storing the input and output result to a predetermined area results of the multi-driver interface to return to the user application when.

Such a device driver control method and apparatus of the present invention perform related processing for a device in a driver (that is, processing relating to resource information including I / O ports and storage ranges in a memory and access function groups). The processing is tabulated and separated from the non-related processing, and the processing related to the device is performed by the pointer switching processing instead of the branch processing as described in the conventional example. In addition, in order to easily cope with a new device, resource information and an access function group relating to the device are tabulated and processed.

Further, in the device driver control method and apparatus of the present invention, in order to use a plurality of different devices with the same driver interface, switching of the device to be used is input from a user application through a driver interface of an operating system. Performed with output data.

As a result, the following (1), (2) and (3)
(4) The detailed processing of (5), (6), (7), and (8) and the advantages thereof can be obtained.

(1) a plurality of devices of the same type but different
When a plurality of devices of different types are used in an information processing apparatus (system) having the same device driver control device, the device driver is installed only once for the first device. From the next device, since the corresponding device driver has already been installed, the device driver is automatically detected by plug and play simply by connecting, and the device can be used. As a result, the installation work time is greatly reduced, and the work efficiency is improved.

(2) The user application does not need to use the driver interface depending on the device to be used, and can use the new device without changing even if a new device is added. Therefore, the processing efficiency of the application using the device is improved.

(3) Even if the number of connected devices increases,
Since the number of device drivers is one, the time required for system startup does not change. As a result, the load on the operating system is reduced.

(4) Even if the number of connected devices increases, only one driver is copied in the system, so that the available disk storage capacity in the system does not change. As a result, the load on the operating system is reduced.

(5) Even if the number of connected devices increases,
Since the number of driver interfaces is one, the memory storage capacity in the system does not change. As a result, the load on the operating system is reduced.

(6) Even when a plurality of different devices are used in different systems, the method of installing the device driver is the same. For example, the same installation floppy disk (FD) is used, and the same setup information file in the installation FD is specified. As a result, the installation work time is reduced, and the work efficiency is improved.

(7) The type of the requested device is obtained by checking the device being used based on the pointer information based on the input / output request to the device. The use of the request device is checked and changed to a pointer of resource information corresponding to the request device. As a result, parallel processing in which a plurality of user applications use different devices becomes possible. In other words, the degree of freedom in system processing is improved.

(8) A check is performed to determine whether the device requested to switch is connected to the system. As a result, it is possible to switch the use of the device to another device while the device is in use, and in this case also, the degree of freedom in system processing is improved.

[0042]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a device driver control method and device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following text and figures, the same components as those in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a device driver control method and device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing at the time of device detection in the operation of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process when a device is used in the operation of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a table for managing the use status of each device in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a device information table in the operation of the embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table for managing resource information of each device in the operation of the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a table for managing an access function group of each device in the operation of the embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of use of the table in the operation of the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of use of the table in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a user application 1,
It has an operating system 2 and a multi-driver 21. Further, an ISA card 31, a PCMCIA card 32, a PCI card 33, and a new device card 34 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a device) connected to the multi-driver 21 are provided. Operating system 2
Has a multi-driver interface (I / F) 11, and the multi-driver 21 has a device controller 2.
1a is provided.

The operating system 2 has an I / O port and a memory corresponding to devices (from the ISA card 31 to the new device card 34). Multi-driver I / F 11 of operating system 2
Is provided with a memory for transferring request contents between the user application 1 and the multi-driver 21 and data for transmission and reception. The device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 includes a CPU for executing control corresponding to the processing of the embodiment of the present invention, and a ROM storing a program.
In addition, it is generally configured to include a working RAM and a memory storing a table described below. This configuration is well known to those skilled in the art, and is not shown.

The memory in the device control section 21a is as follows:
Each device (from ISA card 31 to new device card 3
4) for managing which user application 1 is used by the user application 1, and a pointer to a device information initial value of the device type and a resource information table Tb of the device to be used shown in FIG. And a device information table Tc for managing a pointer of an access function corresponding to a device to be used. Further, a resource information table Tb for storing resource information of each device shown in FIG. 6 and an access function group table Td for managing an access function group corresponding to each device shown in FIG. 7 are provided. .

Next, a functional configuration (process) executed in the control process of the device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 will be described. First, a functional configuration at the time of device detection will be described. The functional configuration at the time of device detection includes device determination processing, resource information acquisition processing, resource information storage processing, and device information table update processing. The device determination process is performed when a device detection notification is sent from the operating system 2.
This is to determine which device has been detected.
The resource information acquisition processing is for acquiring the resource information of the device obtained in the device determination processing.

Further, in the resource information storing process, the resource information obtained by the resource information obtaining process is stored in an area corresponding to the device obtained by the device determining process in the resource information table Tb. The device information table updating process includes the device type obtained in the device determination process, the pointer of the area stored in the resource information storage process, and the access function group corresponding to the device obtained in the device determination process in the access function group table Td. The pointer is stored in the device information table Tc.

Next, the functional configuration (processing) at the time of using (controlling) the device will be described. The functional configuration (processing) at the time of device use (control) includes requested device acquisition processing, requested device determination processing, and device information table Tc update processing. The requested device acquisition process is performed when a user application 1 receives an input / output request to a device through the multi-driver I / F 11 of the operating system 2.
The device type to be used is acquired with reference to a. The requested device determination processing is for determining whether the device type obtained in the requested device acquisition processing is normal.
When the device information table Tc updating process is determined to be normal in the request device determining process, the resource information table T corresponding to the device obtained in the request device obtaining process is determined.
The pointer in b and the function pointer in the access function group table Td are stored in the device information table Tc.

The functional configuration (processing) when the device is used includes an initial device acquisition process, a switching determination process, and a device use status table updating process. The initial device acquisition process is for acquiring an initial value of a device type from the device information table Tc when it is determined that the device is not normal in the request device determination process. The switching determination process determines whether switching to the device obtained in the initial device acquisition process is possible. In the device usage status table updating process, when it is determined that the switching is possible in the switching determination process, the pointer information from the multi-driver I / F 11 corresponds to the device obtained by the initial device acquisition process in the device usage status table Ta. It is stored in the area.

Further, the functional configuration (processing) at the time of using the device includes input / output data acquisition processing, switching request determination processing, requested device check processing, switching determination processing, and device use status table updating processing. The input / output data acquisition processing is for acquiring input / output data (request contents and transmission / reception data) from the user application 1 based on pointer information from the multi-driver I / F 11. The switching request determination processing determines whether the request content obtained in the input / output data acquisition processing is a device switching request. The requested device check processing is to check whether the requested device is connected to the system and is in a usable state when it is determined that the request is a device switching request in the switching request determination processing. The switching determination processing determines whether switching to the requesting device is possible. The device usage status table updating process is to store pointer information from the multi-driver I / F 11 in an area corresponding to the requested device in the device usage status table Ta when it is determined that switching is possible in the switching determination process. .

Further, the functional configuration (processing) when the device is used includes a device information table updating process and a device access process. The device information table updating process is performed by using a pointer in the resource information table Tb corresponding to the requested device and the access function group table Td.
Is stored in the device information table Tc. In the device access process, the resource information table Tc in the device information table Tc when the device switching request is not determined in the switching request determination process.
With reference to the resource information indicated by the pointer b, the access function indicated by the function pointer set in the pointer table of the access function in the device information table Tc indicates the access function indicated by the user application 1 obtained in the input / output data acquisition processing. It sends and receives data to and from the device.

The function configuration (processing) at the time of using the device has an input / output result saving process. This input / output result saving process is performed when it is determined that switching cannot be performed in the switching determination process. To return the result or the result of inputting / outputting to / from the device in the device access processing to the user application 1, save the input / output result in a predetermined area (buffer) of the multi-driver I / F 11, and terminate the processing. It is.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, processing at the time of device detection will be described. 2, in the device detection process, when the device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 in FIG. 1 receives a device detection notification from the operating system 2, any device (IS
It is determined whether the detection is any of the A card 31 and the new device card 34 (step S11). The device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 determines in step S11
The operating system 2 is inquired of the resource information of the device detected in the processing of (1) to obtain information such as an I / O port in the operating system 2 and a specific storage area (not shown) in the memory (step S12).

The obtained resource information is stored in the area corresponding to the detected device in the resource information table Tb shown in FIG. 6 by the device control section 21a of the multi-driver 21 (step S13). Next, the detected device (from the ISA card 31 to the new device card 34)
), The pointer of the resource information table Tb shown in FIG. 6, and the function pointer in the access function group table Td shown in FIG. 7 are stored in the device information table Tc shown in FIG. S1
4). The routine from step S11 to step S14 is repeatedly executed for the number of connected devices (any one of the ISA card 31 to the new device card 34) as shown in step S11.

Next, the processing at the time of using (controlling) the device will be described. Referring to FIG. 3, in the process when the device is used, the device control unit 21 of the multi driver 21
a, when an input / output request to a device is received from the user application 1 through the multi-driver I / F 11 of the operating system 2, the pointer information from the multi-driver I / F 11 is displayed in the device usage table Ta shown in FIG. It is checked whether any one of the ISA card 31 and the new device card 34 is used, and the type of the requested device is obtained (step S21).
.

If the requested device type has been acquired in step S21, the process proceeds to step S26. If the requested device type cannot be obtained, the process proceeds to step S23 (step S22). Next, the device information table T shown in FIG.
The “device type” of c is acquired as the request device (step S23). Further, it is checked whether the requested device is being used by another user application 1 in the device usage status table Ta shown in FIG. 4 (step S24). If not used, the process proceeds to step S25. If in use, the process proceeds to step S34. Step S
In step 25, the pointer information from the multi-driver I / F 11 is stored in an area corresponding to the requested device in the device usage status table Ta shown in FIG.

Next, after the processing in steps S22 and S25, the "pointer of the resource information table Tb" of the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 is replaced with the resource corresponding to the requested device in the resource information table Tb shown in FIG. The pointer is changed to the information pointer (step S26). Further, the "access function pointer table" of the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 is changed to a pointer of the access function corresponding to the requested device in the access function group table Td shown in FIG. 7 (step S26).

Next, input / output data (request contents and transmission / reception data) from the user application 1 is obtained from the pointer information from the multi-driver I / F 11 (step S27). In the subsequent step S28, it is determined whether or not the request content is a "device switching request".
If not, the process proceeds to step S33. In step S29, it is checked whether or not the switching request device (any one of the ISA card 31 to the new device card 34) is connected to an information processing device (system) having the same device driver control device.

The device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 determines whether or not the switching request device is currently being used by another user application 1 based on the processing result of step S29 and the device use status table Ta shown in FIG. A determination is made (step S30). If not used, the process proceeds to step S31. If not, the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S31, the multi driver 21
Of the multi-driver I / F 11
Is stored in the area corresponding to the requested device in the device usage status table Ta shown in FIG. 4, and the area corresponding to the device used so far is updated.
Next, the "pointer of the resource information table Tb" in the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 is changed to a pointer of resource information corresponding to the requested device in the resource information table Tb shown in FIG. Further, the "access function pointer table" of the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 is changed to a pointer of the access function corresponding to the requested device in the access function group table Td shown in FIG. 7 (step S32). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S34.

After the process in step S28, the device control section 21a of the multi-driver 21 sets the I / O port (pointer) indicated by the "pointer of the resource information table Tb" stored in the device information table Tc shown in FIG. With reference to an access function pointer table, a function corresponding to the requested content is called from the “access function pointer table” to obtain a target device (from the ISA card 31 to the new device card 3).
4) (Step S3)
3). Next, in order to return the input / output result to the user application 1, the input / output result is stored in a predetermined area (buffer) of the multi-driver I / F 11, and the process ends (step S3).
4).

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, data processing in the device use status table Ta shown in FIG. 4 and the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 will be described in detail.
Here, two different user applications 1
(A and B) three different devices (ISA card 31, PCMCIA card 32, PCI card 33)
Will be described.

First, three devices (ISA card 31)
When the system is started with any one of the PCI cards 33 connected, the multi-driver 21 is loaded and the operating system 2 sends the ISA card 31
Is sent to the multi-driver 21. The device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 which has received the device detection notification performs the processing in step S shown in FIG.
From 11 to step S14, the content of the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 is updated to the content shown in FIG.

Next, the operating system 2 sends P
The device detection notification of the CMCIA card 32 is sent to the multi-driver 21. The device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 which has received the device detection notification,
By the steps S11 to S14 shown in FIG. 2, the contents of the device information table Tc shown in FIG.
Update to the contents shown in (b). Finally, a notification of device detection of the PCI card 33 is sent from the operating system 2 to the multi-driver 21. The device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21, which has received the device detection notification, executes steps S11 to S11 shown in FIG.
14 updates the content of the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 to the content shown in FIG.

By these processes, the data of the device usage table Ta shown in FIG. 4 and the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 at the time of device detection are updated to the contents shown in FIG. 8C. Thereafter, the multi-driver I / F 1 of the operating system 2 is transmitted from the application 1A.
When input / output data (device switching request, device type “1”) is sent to the multi-driver 21 with pointer information “10000H” through the multi-driver 2, the multi-driver 2
1 in step S2 shown in FIG.
1 through step S34, the device usage table Ta shown in FIG. 4 and the device information table T shown in FIG.
The content of c is updated to the content shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the input / output data (device switching request, device type “2”) is sent from the application 1 B through the multi-driver I / F 11 of the operating system 2 with pointer information “20000H” to the multi-driver 21, The device control unit 21a of the driver 21 updates the contents of the device usage table Ta shown in FIG. 4 and the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 to the contents shown in FIG. 8E from steps S21 to S34 shown in FIG. I do.

Here, when the input / output data (transmission request, transmission data) is sent from the application 1A to the multi-driver 21 with the pointer information “10000H” through the multi-driver I / F 11 of the operating system 2, the multi-driver 21 Device control unit 21a
Is the pointer information "100" in step S21 shown in FIG.
The ISA card 31 corresponding to "00H" is acquired as a requesting device, the content of the device information table Tc shown in FIG. 5 is updated to the content shown in FIG. 9A in step S26, and the content shown in FIG. The transmission function pointer "2000" set in the device information table Tc
The function indicated by "H" is executed to output the transmission data to the ISA card 31.

On the other hand, when input / output data (transmission request, transmission data) is transmitted from the application 1B to the multi-driver 21 with the pointer information “20000H” through the multi-driver I / F 11 of the operating system 2, the multi-driver 21 Device control unit 21a
Is the pointer information "200" in step S21 shown in FIG.
The PCMCIA card 32 corresponding to “00H” is acquired as a requesting device, and further, in FIG.
Is updated to the content shown in FIG. 8E. In step S33, the function indicated by the transmission function pointer "3000H" set in the device information table Tc shown in FIG.
The transmission data is output to the CMCIA card 32.

Here, when the input / output data (device switching request, device type “3”) is sent from the application 1 A through the multi-driver I / F 11 of the operating system 2 with pointer information “10000H” to the multi-driver 21. , Multi driver 21
The device controller 21a of step S21 shown in FIG.
The device usage table Ta shown in FIG. 4 and the device information table Tc shown in FIG.
Is updated to the content shown in FIG. Note that FIG.
(C) shows the resource information table Tb shown in FIG. 6 and the access function group table Td shown in FIG. 7 corresponding to the processing here.

Next, a case where a new device is added will be described with reference to FIGS. New device 34
Is added, the device control unit 21a of the multi-driver 21 sends the device usage status table Ta shown in FIG.
A new device area (dotted line) for storing pointer information sent from the user application 1 through the multi-driver I / F 11 of the operating system 2 to the resource information table Tb shown in FIG.
A new device area (dotted line) for storing resource information of the new device. Further, an access function group (dotted line portion) for inputting / outputting data to / from a new device is added to the access function group table Td shown in FIG. 7 to expand the table for performing device-related processing. As a result,
It is possible to easily support new devices.

In this case, the device usage table Ta shown in FIG. 4, the resource information table Tb shown in FIG. 6, and the access function group table Td shown in FIG. Regions can be easily added simply by changing the number of sequences, such as sequence [4].

[0074]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the device driver control method and apparatus of the present invention, the processing (resource information including the I / O port and the storage range in the memory) related to the device in the driver is performed. And processing relating to the access function group) are tabulated and separated from unrelated processing, and processing related to processing for the device is performed not by branch processing but by pointer switching processing. In addition, in order to easily cope with a new device, resource information and an access function group relating to the device are tabulated and processed. Further, in order to use a plurality of different devices with the same driver interface, switching of the device to be used is performed by input / output data transmitted from the user application through the driver interface of the operating system.

As a result, the device driver is installed only once at the time of the first device, so that the installation work time is greatly reduced and the work efficiency is improved.

Further, the user application does not need to use the driver interface depending on the device to be used. As a result, the processing efficiency of the application using the device is improved.

Further, even if the number of connected devices increases, the number of device drivers is one, so that the time required for starting the system does not change. As a result,
The load on the operating system is reduced.

Further, even if the number of connected devices increases, only one driver is copied in the system, and the usable disk storage capacity in the system does not change. As a result, the load on the operating system is reduced.

Further, even if the number of connected devices increases, the number of driver interfaces is one, so that
The memory storage capacity in the system does not change. As a result,
The load on the operating system is reduced.

Further, even when a plurality of different devices are used in different systems, the method of installing the device driver is the same. As a result, the installation work time is reduced, and the work efficiency is improved.

Further, the device used is checked by the pointer information based on the input / output request to the device, and the requested device type is obtained. As a result, parallel processing in which a plurality of user applications use different devices becomes possible, and the degree of freedom in system processing is improved.

Further, it is checked whether or not the switching request device is connected to the system. As a result, it is possible to switch the use of the device to another device while the device is in use, and in this case also, the degree of freedom in system processing is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a device driver control method and device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process at the time of device detection in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing when a device is used in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a table for managing the use status of each device in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a device information table in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table for managing resource information of each device in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a table for managing an access function group of each device in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of using a table in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of use of the table in the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process at the time of device detection in a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a process when a device is used in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 User Application 2 Operating System 11 Multi Driver Interface (I / F) 21 Multi Driver 21a Device Control Unit 31 ISA Card 32 PCMCIA Card 33 PCI Card 34 New Device Card Ta Device Usage Table Tb Resource Information Table Tc Device Information Table Td Access Function group table

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazumi Ozono 1-403, Kosugicho, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kawasaki 53 F-term (reference) in NEC Icy Microcomputer Systems Co., Ltd. 5B014 EA01 EB03 FA04 FA12 HA04 HA07 HC05 HC08

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A device driver control method for controlling a plurality of devices with one device driver, comprising the steps of: identifying a specific device among the plurality of devices from a device detection notification; Obtaining, updating the obtained resource information corresponding to the specific device, storing and updating a device type, resource information pointer, and access function pointer corresponding to the specific device; A device driver control method comprising: performing device detection. 2. A device driver control method for controlling a plurality of devices with one device driver, comprising: acquiring a device type to be used; and storing a pointer of resource information and a pointer of an access function for the acquired specific device. Updating the input / output data; obtaining input / output data to / from the specific device; inputting / outputting data transmitted / received to / from the specific device by an access function indicated by an access function pointer with reference to resource information indicated by the pointer Performing a control on the specific device, the method including: performing a control of the specific device, and a step of storing an input / output result of transmission / reception data to / from the specific device. A step of obtaining an initial value of the requested device when the requested device cannot be obtained when obtaining the specific device; and a step of determining whether switching to the device is possible. 3. The device driver control method according to claim 2, further comprising: storing pointer information corresponding to the specific device when it is determined that the switching is possible. 4. When the obtained input / output data is a device switching request, checking whether the requested device is usable, and pointer information of the device requested when it is determined that the switching is possible. 3. The device driver control method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of: storing and updating the data; and storing a result when the switching is determined to be impossible. 5. The device driver control method according to claim 2, wherein the storage is storage in a corresponding area in a table. 6. A user application for transferring at least request contents and transmission / reception data for controlling a plurality of devices by one device driver, and a multi-user for executing request contents and transmission / reception data transfer between the user applications. An operating system having a driver interface; and a multi-driver for controlling a plurality of connected devices by a single device driver by transferring request contents and transmission / reception data between the operating system. Device driver control unit. 7. A device control unit for controlling a plurality of devices individually or in parallel in the multi-driver, and a device use status table for managing which user application uses the device in the device control unit. A device information table for managing an initial value of a device to be used, a pointer to a resource information table of the device to be used, and a pointer of an access function corresponding to the device to be used; a resource storing resource information of each of a plurality of devices The device driver control device according to claim 6, further comprising: an information table; and an access function group table for managing an access function group corresponding to each of the plurality of devices. 8. A device discriminating means for discriminating a specific device among a plurality of devices from a device detection notification from an operating system for device detection, and an operating system for the specific device discriminated by the device discriminating device. A resource information acquisition unit for inquiring an operating system of resource information including an I / O port in the system and a storage range in the memory; and acquiring the resource information acquired by the resource information acquisition unit in an area of the specific device in a resource information table. Resource information storage means to be stored and updated, corresponding to the device specified by the device determination means, the pointer of the area stored by the resource information storage means, and the specified device in the access function group table Device driver control device according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a device information table updating means for updating to save the pointer access function group in the device information table, the. 9. A request device acquisition unit for acquiring a device type to be used from a device use status table for controlling the multi-driver using a device, and a specific device acquired by the request device acquisition unit. Resource information table updating means for storing and updating the corresponding pointer in the resource information table and the function pointer in the access function group table in the device information table; and referring to the pointer information from the multi-driver interface to read from the user application. Input / output data acquisition means for acquiring input / output data, and a function pointer stored in a pointer table of an access function in the device information table with reference to resource information indicated by a pointer of the resource information table in the device information table Shows A device access means for inputting / outputting data transmitted / received from the user application to / from the device by an access function; and a result of input / output from / to the device by the device access means is stored in a predetermined area of the multi-driver interface for returning to the user application. 7. The device driver control device according to claim 6, further comprising: an input / output result storage unit. 10. When specifying the device, an initial device obtaining means for obtaining an initial value of the specific device from a device information table when the device requested in the device usage table cannot be obtained; Switching determination means for determining whether switching to a device is possible; and when the switching determination means determines that switching is possible, pointer information from a multi-driver interface is transferred to an area corresponding to the specific device in a device usage table. The device driver control device according to claim 9, further comprising: a device use status table updating unit that stores the device use status table. 11. A switching request determining means for determining whether the request content obtained from the obtained input / output data is a device switching request, and a request device is used when the switching request determining means determines that the request is a device switching request. Requesting device checking means for checking whether the state is possible, and pointer information from the multi-driver interface when the requesting device checking means determines that switching is possible, to an area corresponding to the requesting device in the device usage table. Device usage table updating means for storing and updating; device information table updating means for storing and updating a pointer in the resource information table and a function pointer in the access function group table corresponding to the requested device in the device information table; Cut by the request device check means 10. An input / output result storage means for storing an input / output result in a predetermined area of the multi-driver interface in order to return a result when it is determined that the input / output is not possible to the user application. Device driver control unit.