JP2001265668A - Client-server system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need of troublesome work regarding the installation of an application program in a client device. SOLUTION: A job terminal server 1 provided between a host 3 and a terminal 2 performs the application program by the control of the host 3 and also makes the terminal 2 utilize the performed application program. At the time, the data of a form not depending on the application program are transmitted and received to/from the terminal 2 by a user interface control part 10, the data of the form not depending on the application program and the data of the form depending on it are converted by a data conversion part 20, the data of the form depending on the application program are transmitted and received to/from the host 3 by a host communication part 30 and the terminal 2 is not required to transmit and receive the data of the form depending on the application program.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a client server system which eliminates the need for complicated work related to installing an application program on a client device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, client server systems have been operated in various industrial fields and businesses. In the client-server system, a connection mode is adopted in which a server (hereinafter, referred to as a host computer or a host) and a plurality of client devices (hereinafter, referred to as a terminal) are connected. Is performed.

[0005] FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a client server system for a communication service company to provide various services to a free dial (registered trademark) contract company.

[0004] The host 3 is installed in a communication service company,
The host application program is installed. On the other hand, the terminal 2 is installed in each company, and a terminal application program for changing the setting contents of the freephone is installed. The host 3 and each terminal 2 are mutually connected via a DDX-P network or the like.

In this client-server system, the terminal application program creates a system-specific request message that can be processed by the host application program from the data input to the terminal 2 and sends it to the host 3. The host application program processes the received request message, creates a response message unique to the system based on the processing result, and returns it to the terminal 2. In the terminal 2, the terminal application program performs processing such as data extraction as necessary and displays the processing result on the screen.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional client-server system, the terminal application program installed in the terminal is exchanged with the host application program installed in the host. The business process was executed by transmitting a specific request message and response message depending on the program.

In the conventional client-server system, if the above-mentioned free dial service is taken as an example, the system may need to be updated due to a change in service content or a request for an upgrade of a function from a customer.

[0008] In this case, it is necessary for the service technician of the communication service company to go to the company where the terminal is installed one by one and install a new terminal application program. It is also possible to mail the application program to a system administrator of a company and entrust the installation, but if there are many terminals, mailing the application program alone will require a considerable amount of work.

Further, the terminal application program often depends on the terminal model, the operating system, or the line specifications with the host, and it is necessary to prepare a terminal application program for each of these types.

That is, in the client-server system, complicated work occurs by installing an application program on a client device (terminal), and such work is an obstacle to constructing a flexible system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a client-server system that does not require complicated work related to an application program in a client device. .

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a client-server system according to the present invention comprises:
A second server provided between the server and the client device executes the application program under the control of the first server, and causes the client device to use the executed application program. .

According to the present invention, the application program is not installed in the client device itself, and the second server provided between the first server and the client device controls the first server. In this way, the application program is executed, and the executed application program is used by the client device, so that the installation of the application program in the client device and the complicated work related thereto are not required.

Further, in the client server system according to the present invention, the second server includes: a client communication unit for transmitting / receiving data in a format independent of the application program to / from the client device; Data conversion means for converting data in a format not dependent on the application program and data in a format dependent on the application program; and server communication means for transmitting and receiving data in a format dependent on the application program to and from the first server. It is characterized by having.

In the present invention, the second server comprises:
When the client device uses the application program, data in a format independent of the application program is transmitted to and received from the client device by the client communication means, and the data and the application in a format independent of the application program are transmitted by the data conversion means. The client device depends on the application program by converting data in a format dependent on the program and transmitting / receiving data in a format dependent on the application program to / from the first server by the server communication means. This eliminates the need to send and receive formatted data.

Further, in the client server system according to the present invention, the second server is connected to a plurality of client devices, and transmits identification information for identifying the client device to which data has been input to the first server. On the other hand, it is characterized in that it is configured to identify a client device to output data based on the identification information notified from the first server.

According to the present invention, the client device using the application program can be identified by the identification information transmitted and received between the first server and the second server. A plurality of client devices can be connected to the server, or the number of connected client devices can be freely increased or decreased.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a client server system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the business terminal server 1 in the client server system according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection form of the client server system. In the present embodiment, an application program for updating the service content of the free dial service will be described as an example.

The business terminal server 1 is a computer system provided between a terminal in a contract company of a free dial service and a host computer (hereinafter abbreviated as a host) in a communication service company. Business terminal server 1
Has a plurality of sets of the user interface control unit 10 and the data conversion unit 20, and further includes a host communication unit 30.

In FIG. 2, one or more terminals 2 are connected to each of a plurality of business terminal servers 1. Further, a host 3 is connected to each business terminal server 1. The host 3 and each business terminal server 1 are provided in the same LAN, and a request message / response message in a format depending on an application program is communicated using the TCP-IP protocol. On the other hand, a DDX-TP network exists between each business terminal server 1 and the terminal 2, and input data / output data in a format independent of an application program is communicated using the JUST-PC protocol.

The terminal 2 is a computer having a CPU, a memory, and the like. The terminal 2 does not operate an application program, but only inputs a character code and displays a processing result. That is, at the time of the service content update processing, the character code input from the keyboard is sent from the terminal 2 to the business terminal server 1 as input data. Conversely, the business terminal server 1
Screen data (output data) sent from
A processing result is displayed on a display device such as a display. Note that the terminal 2 corresponds to a client device.

The business terminal server 1 creates a request message by appropriately processing the character code (input data) input from the terminal 2 and transmits the request message to the host 3 for processing data that needs to be managed and stored. . On the other hand, a processing result is received from a response message transmitted from the host 3, the processing result is processed, and screen data (output data) necessary for display is output to the terminal 2. Note that the business terminal server 1 corresponds to a second server.

The host 3 executes the host application program to perform a business process based on the above-mentioned request message from the business terminal server 1, and returns a processing result to the business terminal server 1 by the above-mentioned response message. . Note that the host 3 corresponds to a first server.

The configuration of the business terminal server 1 will be described again with reference to FIG. The user interface control unit 10
Character code input determination unit 11, application unit 12,
It comprises a display memory 13, a terminal ID storage unit 14, and a display control unit 15.

The character code input determination unit 11 controls the application unit 12 or the display control unit 15 according to the type of the character code input from the terminal 2. The application unit 12 stores the cursor position on the display screen of the terminal 2 as cursor position information by executing an application program (not shown) stored in the business terminal server 1. The processing is performed according to the cursor position at the time of the occurrence. In addition, according to the processing result from the host 3, the display control unit 15 is controlled to output screen data to the terminal 2.

The display memory 13 stores the screen data used for displaying the screen of the terminal 2 in accordance with the content of the processing.
The memory for one screen or a plurality of screens is stored. The terminal ID storage unit 14 is a storage area in which a terminal ID for identifying each terminal 2 is stored. The display control unit 15 reads out the screen data stored in the display memory 13 under the control of the character code input determination unit 11 or the application unit 12, and transmits the screen data to the terminal 2. Note that the user interface control unit 10 corresponds to a client communication unit.

The data conversion unit 20 receives data from the application unit 12 and converts the format, that is, the data format. Then, the terminal ID is read from the terminal ID storage unit 14, added to the converted data, and transmitted to the host communication unit 30. Conversely, when data is transferred from the host communication unit 30 to the application unit 12, a format conversion reverse to the above-described format conversion is performed. Note that the host communication unit 30, the data conversion unit 20, and the application unit 12 The data is transmitted via a file or a memory. The data conversion unit 20 corresponds to a data conversion unit.

The host communication unit 30 is connected to each data conversion unit 20
And sends the data to the host 3 as a request message. On the other hand, the data conversion unit 20 of the transfer destination is determined based on the terminal identification ID added to the header of the response message from the host 3. That is, the response message from the host 3 is distributed to each data conversion unit 20. Note that the host communication unit 30 corresponds to server communication means.

That is, in this embodiment, by providing the above configuration in the business terminal server 1, the application program is executed under the control of the host 3, and the application program is used by each terminal 2.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation at the time of a processing request from the terminal 2 to the host 3 will be described. In step S1, the character code input determination unit 11 determines whether or not a character code has been input, and repeats this determination when there is no input. If it is determined in step S1 that a character code has been input (YES), then, in step S3, it is determined whether the input character code is a return code (line feed code). That is, in this system, the operation of pressing the return key on the terminal 2 is
This indicates an input confirmation and a processing request, and the business terminal server 1 determines the presence or absence of a processing request from the terminal 2 by the processing in step S3.

If it is determined in step S3 that the received code is not a return code (NO), it is not a processing request but a simple character input, so that in step S5,
The character code input determination unit 11 writes the character code in a corresponding location of the display memory 13. Next, in step S7, the character code input determination unit 11 notifies the application unit 12 that a character code other than the return code has been input, and updates the cursor position information in the application unit 12. Then, the process returns to step S1, and the input determination of the character code is performed again.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that a return code has been input (YES), the process proceeds to step S3.
In step 9, the display control unit 15 reads the screen data from the display memory 13 and transfers the screen data to the terminal 2. Next, in step S11, the character code input determination unit 11 notifies the application unit 12 that a return code has been input.
Reads out necessary data from the display memory 13 according to the cursor position at that time and transfers it to the data conversion unit 20.

In the following step S13, the data conversion unit 2
0 processes the transferred data. For example, the application unit 12 adds a logical telephone number in the toll-free service, that is, a number starting with 0120,
A plurality of physical telephone numbers, that is, candidates for actual destination telephone numbers are read from the display memory 13 and transmitted to the data conversion unit 20. The data conversion unit 20 converts the data into a format that depends on the application program, ie, logical telephone number + number of physical telephone numbers + actual logical telephone number.

Next, in step S15, the data conversion section 20 adds the terminal ID read out from the terminal ID storage section 14 to the data after format conversion and transfers the data to the host communication section 30. In step S17, the host communication unit 30 aggregates the data from each data conversion unit 20, generates a request message, and transmits the request message to the host 3. In this request message, data input from each data conversion unit 20 is mixed, but a terminal identification ID is added as a header of the data. It can be determined whether a processing request is included.

When the transmission process of step S17 is completed, the process returns to step S1, and the input of the character code is determined again.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation when the processing result is notified from the host 3 to the terminal 2 will be described. In step S21, the host communication unit 30 determines whether a response message has been received. This determination is repeated while no response message is received. If it is determined in step S21 that the response message has been received (YES), then,
In step S23, the host communication unit 30 performs control information included in the response message, for example, screen switching instruction information,
Data such as the telephone number information described above or information obtained by combining the control information and the data is transferred to the data conversion unit 20 corresponding to the terminal identification ID added to the information. At this time, the contents of each terminal identification ID storage unit 14 are referred to by the host communication unit 30.

Next, in step S25, the data conversion unit 2
0 performs data processing such as reverse format conversion for step S11 as necessary, and transfers the data to the application unit 12. Next, in step S27, the application unit 12 writes the transferred information to a corresponding location on the display memory 13, and sends a command to the display control unit 15. Then, in step S29, the display control unit 15
Reads the necessary screen data from the display memory 13 and transfers it to the terminal 2 in response to the command.

In the above embodiment, the DDX-TP
Communication was performed by transmitting character codes and screen data between the terminal 2 and the business terminal server 1 via a network.
The present invention can be applied to a telephone network.

That is, if a processing function capable of judging a PB (Push Button) signal in place of the character code input judging section 11, an audio memory in place of the display memory 13, and an audio output function in place of the display control section 15 are provided, Processing can be performed according to the type of the input PB (Push Button) signal, and a voice message can be output according to the processing result.

As described above, according to the client server system of the present embodiment, the second server (business terminal) provided between the first server (host 3) and the client device (terminal 2) Since the server 1) executes the application program under the control of the first server and causes the client device to use the executed application program, installation of the application program on the client device and complicated work related to the application program are performed. Becomes unnecessary.

Further, the second server transmits / receives data (character data, screen data, etc.) in a format independent of the application program to / from the client device, and the client communication means (user interface control unit 1)
0), data conversion means (data conversion unit 20) for converting data in a format independent of the application program and data in a format dependent on the application program, and data in a format dependent on the application program between the first server and the first server. And a server communication means (host communication unit 30) for transmitting / receiving the request message / response message, etc., so that the client device does not need to transmit / receive data in a format dependent on the application program. Therefore, when an application program is changed due to a function addition or a specification change, these means configured in the second server may be appropriately changed, and as a result, complicated operations such as program distribution or installation to the client device may be performed. Work is not required, and it is possible to respond quickly to requests from customers.

Further, the communication function in the client communication means may be selected according to the communication function provided in the client device or the line specification between the client device and the second server. It is possible to easily construct a client server system to which the devices are connected.

Further, the second server provides identification information (terminal identification I) for identifying the client device to which data has been input.
D) to the first server, while identifying the client device to which data is to be output based on the identification information (terminal identification ID) notified from the first server. The increase and decrease can be performed freely, so that a flexible system construction and system obsolescence can be prevented.

[0045]

As described above, according to the client server system of the present invention, the second server executes the application program under the control of the first server and causes the client device to use the executed application program. By providing the server, it is possible to eliminate the need for complicated work related to the installation of the application program on the client device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection form of the business terminal server of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation when a process is requested from a terminal 2 to a host 3.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when a processing result is notified from a host 3 to a terminal 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional client server system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 business terminal server (second server) 2 terminal (client device) 3 host (first server) 10 user interface control unit 11 character code input determination unit 12 application unit 13 display memory 14 terminal identification ID storage unit 15 display control Unit 20 data conversion unit 30 host communication unit

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Junichi Hasegawa 1-9-1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo NTT Communicationware Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B076 BB04 BB06 5B085 AA03 BG07 CA04 5B089 GA11 GA21 GB09 HA06 HB02 HB18 KA04 KB09 KC32

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A second server provided between a first server and a client device executes an application program under the control of the first server and transmits the executed application program to the client device. A client-server system characterized by being used. 2. The server according to claim 2, wherein said second server transmits / receives data in a format independent of said application program to / from said client device; and said data and application program in a format independent of said application program. A data conversion unit for converting data of a format dependent on the application program, and a communication unit for a server for transmitting and receiving data of a format dependent on the application program to and from the first server. 2. The client server system according to 1. 3. The second server is connected to a plurality of client devices and notifies the first server of identification information for identifying a client device to which data has been input, while the first server is connected to the plurality of client devices. A client device to output data based on the identification information notified from the client device.
Alternatively, the client server system according to claim 2.