JP2001282726A - System for providing substance data of information displayed on browser by web application to client - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the extraction of information provided by a web application. SOLUTION: Concerning a web page to display information by the web application utilizing a common gateway interface(CGI) or the like, this web page is provided with a function for outputting information to be displayed in a form such as csv form or text form in response to the request from a client. Thus, the client can easily effectively utilize the provided information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a system for providing entity data of information displayed by a Web application on a browser of a client connected to a network to the client.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the Internet, a client can access a server on a network and browse a Web page. This browsing is realized by transmitting HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) format data stored in the server to the client. The client browser analyzes the received HTML,
The contents are displayed on the screen.

[0003] As described above, browsing information using a browser is used not only for displaying a Web page on the Internet but also in various modes. One example of using information browsing by a browser is a management system for devices connected to a network. In such a management system, a server connected to a network collects and stores management information of each device. When the administrator accesses this server from a management computer connected to the network, the management information is output in HTML format, and the management information can be browsed with a browser.

In a mode of browsing information with a browser,
In recent years, a mode in which information is generated and displayed by various applications may be adopted. As an example, CG
A mode in which a program described in I (Common Gateway Interface) is executed on the server side, and the execution result is displayed on the browser of the client. Also, Java
There is also a mode using (registered trademark), that is, a mode in which display information is generated on the client side by executing an applet downloaded from a Web page.
There is also a mode in which a browser executes a program described in a language such as JavaScript (registered trademark) in an HTML file to generate display information.

[0005]

However, these We
In the information display using the application b, there is a problem that it is difficult to save information browsed by a browser as data that can be edited on the client side.

[0006] When display data is provided from a server in HTML, the actual data of the information to be displayed can be extracted. Since the displayed character data is directly included in the HTML source, the client can easily extract the entity data of the display information from the source as character data.

On the other hand, in information display using a Web application, the actual data of the information to be displayed is:
It is not provided in a format that can be extracted on the client side. Basically, the display information is provided to the client in a form in which display information is stored in predetermined variables used in the Web application. On the client, even if the source is displayed, only the variable name is obtained, and the entity of the data stored therein cannot be extracted.

[0008] When the Web application is applied to a device management system, the above problem is particularly important. An administrator who uses a client often wants to sort the displayed management information, extract a part of the management information, and perform various editing for management convenience. In such a case, in a situation where the entity data of the management information cannot be easily obtained, it is necessary to modify the Web application itself, which lacks convenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and has as its object to provide a technique which enables a client to easily acquire entity data of information displayed by a Web application. .

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems and Actions / Effects Therefor, in a first aspect of the present invention, in an information providing system for providing information to a client connected via a network, the information is provided. First information output means for displaying the information based on a code in a predetermined format that is not included in a state that can be extracted as entity data, and second information output for generating a file in a predetermined format including the information as entity data Means, and request input means for receiving, from the client, an instruction regarding the proper use of the first and second information output means.

According to the configuration of the present invention, information can be provided in two types according to a request from a client. The first mode is a mode realized by the first information output unit, and is an information display in a format that does not directly include the actual data of the information. For example, display using a Web application corresponds to this. Information to be displayed in the information providing system may be generated, or the above-described code may be transmitted from the information providing system to the client to generate information to be displayed on the client side. The first mode also includes a mode in which the entity data is compressed so as to be unextractable, transmitted to the client, and expanded and displayed on the client side.

The second mode is a mode realized by the second information output means, and is a mode in which the substantial data of the information is output as a file of a predetermined format. The entity data means data from which the client can extract information provided in the form of character data or image data. The predetermined format can take various forms according to the entity data. In the case of character data, it can take the form of a so-called text file, a file corresponding to various applications, and the like. Alternatively, the data may be output in an HTML format and displayed on a browser. In the case of image data, bitmap, JPEG (Joint Photog
raphic Experts Group), GIF (GraphicInterchange)
Format).

As described above, according to the present invention, the two aspects can be properly used according to the instruction of the client, so that the user of the client can obtain information in a desired format. For example, if the first information output means is used, information can be browsed by various displays realized by a Web application or the like, and if the second information output means is used, editable data can be obtained. Can also. Therefore, the convenience of the provided information can be improved.

In the information providing system according to the present invention, the request input means includes a range input means for inputting, from the client, a specification regarding a range in which the substantial data of the information is to be output, and the second information output means. Is preferably a means for generating a file of a predetermined format including entity data of the information corresponding to the range.

By adopting such a configuration, the user of the client can freely obtain the entity data at a place where the editable entity data is desired from the information displayed by the first information output means.

In the information providing system according to the present invention, the first information output means analyzes the code to generate display data for displaying the information, and outputs the display data. Display means for transmitting the information to the client to display the information.

In this configuration, the first information output means executes a predetermined process on the information providing system side and displays the result on the client. An example of an information output unit that adopts such an aspect is an application using CGI. In these applications, the display data is transmitted to the client in a form stored in a predetermined variable, so that it is difficult for the client to extract the actual data. The present invention is particularly useful for a system including such information output means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in an information providing system for providing information to a client connected via a network, a code prepared for displaying the information on the client is provided. Based on a code in a predetermined format that does not directly contain the entity data of
Entity data generating means for generating entity data of the information;
Output means for outputting the generated entity data as a file in a predetermined format that can be edited by the client.

According to such a configuration, even when information is provided by a code from which actual data cannot be directly extracted,
Editable entity data can be provided to the client.

In the present invention, the code may be in various forms, and may be CGI (Common Gateway Interface).
ce), Java (registered trademark), JavaScript (registered trademark), A
It can be a program code generated in various languages such as SP (Active Server Pages).

Further, the present invention can be applied to any information. As an example, the present invention comprises a management information acquiring means for acquiring management information for managing a device connected to the network. It is preferable that information is provided to the client as the information.

According to this configuration, the client can manage the devices connected to the network. The device management information is information that the administrator often wants to freely edit. Therefore, the usefulness of the present invention including the second information output unit that supplies editable entity data to the client in addition to the first information output unit that performs display in a preset format is high.

The present invention can be configured in various modes other than the above-described information providing system. For example,
It may be configured as a data providing method for providing information to a client connected via a network. The information providing function of the present invention may be realized in a system that manages devices connected to a network, and may be configured in the form of a device management system and a device management method. Further, the present invention may be configured by a program for realizing a function of providing information to a client connected via a network by a computer, a signal form compatible with the program, a recording medium recording the program, and the like. Here, the recording medium is a flexible disk or a CD.
-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, IC cards, ROM cartridges, punched cards, printed matter on which codes such as bar codes are printed, and internal storage devices (RAM and R
Various computer-readable media can be used, such as a memory (such as an OM) and an external storage device.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with respect to a printer management system connected to a network as an example, divided into the following items. A. System configuration: B. Display management information:

A. System configuration: FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a management system in an embodiment. In this system, a management server 100, a management device, and a client PC are connected via a network LAN. Printers PRT1 to PRT1 to PRT
RT5 was exemplified. The client PC is composed of a general-purpose computer. The administrator accesses the management server 100 from the client PC and prints the printer PR.
It manages the operation status of T1 to PRT5.

Information on the operation status of the printers PRT1 to PRT5, that is, management information, is acquired and stored by the management server 100 as needed. When the administrator accesses the management server 100 from the client PC, the management server 100 generates display data for displaying management information according to the request, and outputs the display data to the client PC. In the present embodiment, the management server 1 based on the management information
00 generates data described in HTML and outputs it to the client PC. In the client PC, the management information can be displayed by a browser.

In this embodiment, the management server 100 realizes display of management information in two modes. The first aspect is
This is a method using a Web application by CGI. In the first mode, the data transmitted to the client PC is HTML data in which management information to be displayed is stored in a predetermined variable. The second mode is a method of generating HTML including management information to be displayed on the management server 100 as character data, and transmitting the generated HTML to the client PC. Both modes use a CGI program to generate management information to be displayed, and the data transmitted from the management server 100 to the client PC is HT.
The point described in ML is common. The two differ in the method of delivering the management information to be displayed to the client PC as described above.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing functional blocks of the management server 100. In the present embodiment, each functional block is configured as software in the management server 100. That is, by installing software in the management server 100 from a recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM or via a network, the following functional blocks are constructed.

The management server 100 has a control unit 102 for controlling the entire functions. This control unit 10
Under the control of 2, the following modules function, whereby the management server 100 acquires management information, displays the management information on the client PC, and the like. This management server 10
0 corresponds to the information providing system in the present invention.

The management information acquisition module 112 has a function of accessing the printers PRT1 to PRT5, which are management devices, as needed, to acquire and hold management information. The management information includes static information such as the model name, management identification number, and printing mechanism type of each printer, and dynamic information that changes with time, such as the remaining amount of toner and the remaining amount of printing paper. And are included. These information are stored on the client PC
Is supplied when generating data for display in response to a request from the user.

The Web data generation module 114 has a function of generating display data in the first mode described above. This module is mainly composed of a program code in which display contents are described in CGI. The management information can be displayed on the client PC in various page configurations. The items and layout of the management information displayed on each page are different. The Web data generation module 114 stores a CGI code corresponding to each page configuration. When the administrator selects a desired page from the client PC, the information is stored in a URL (Uniform).
The CGI code is transmitted to the management server 100 in the form of a Resource Locator, and is specified in the Web data generation module 114.

The CGI execution module 118 executes the CGI code stored in the Web data generation module 114. The CGI execution module 118
According to the CGI code stored in the eb data generation module 114, data to be displayed on the client PC is generated with reference to the management information stored in the management information acquisition module 112. This data is stored in a predetermined variable. The display data thus stored in the variable is W
According to the CGI code stored in the eb data generation module 114, the data is output to the client PC as a part of the HTML data and is used for displaying information.

The file output module 116 has a function of generating output data in the second mode described above. In this embodiment, an HTML file containing information to be displayed as character data is generated once, and the generated HT file is generated.
The ML file is transmitted to the client PC again. The function of the file output module 116 does not necessarily need to generate a new HTML file as long as data including management information as character data can be generated. The file output module 116 also displays
The main part is the program code described in GI. The stored CGI code is executed by the CGI execution module 118 described above.

The network interface 130 has a function of realizing communication via the network when the management server 100 exchanges various information with the printer and the client PC via the network. The exchange of information via the network is TCP /
This is performed according to a predetermined communication protocol such as IP. The network interface 130 is connected to the management server 10
0 to process the information to be transmitted to the outside into packet data according to this communication protocol,
Output to N. Further, it has a function of analyzing packet data received via the network LAN according to a communication protocol, and extracting the entity thereof.

B. Display of management information: The function of providing information in the management system of this embodiment will be described based on a specific example of displaying management information. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of management information in the present embodiment. This is a screen displayed by the browser on the display of the client PC. As shown in FIG. 1, in the system of the present embodiment, printers PRT1 to PRT5 are connected as management devices. FIG. 3 shows a display example in the case of managing the remaining amounts of toner and printing paper for these printers. For convenience of illustration, the target printers are PRT1 to PRT3.
Is shown. The management information can also be displayed for the printers PRT4 and PRT5. This screen is displayed when the following processing is executed by the client and the management server 100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart when the management information is displayed in the first mode. The processing executed by the client PC is shown on the left side, and the processing executed by the management server 100 is shown on the right side.

The administrator inputs a predetermined URL as a browser address on the client PC, and enters the management Web page.
Access the page (step S10). As described above, the management server 100 has a C for displaying the management information shown in FIG. 3 in the area corresponding to the URL.
The GI code is stored. In the management server 100, a program for executing the CGI is activated based on the CGI code (step S100). This program inputs the CGI code stored in the specified URL and executes the specified processing content there (step S102). In order to display the management information shown in FIG.
The information of X, the model, the remaining amount of toner, and the remaining amount of paper is acquired, and the information is stored in a predetermined variable to generate Web data (step S104). Here, the array “$ MD” is used as a variable for storing management information.

The Web data thus generated is output to the client PC in the HTML format together with the array "$ MD" storing the management information. The client PC receives the HTML file (step S12) and displays it on the browser (step S14). As a result, FIG.
The display of the management information shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for displaying the management information based on a file from which the management information can be obtained as character data. This corresponds to a process of performing display in the second mode. The displayed screen is the same as when the processing of FIG. 4 is executed. The processing executed by the client PC is shown on the left side, and the processing executed by the management server 100 is shown on the right side.

The administrator inputs a predetermined URL as a browser address on the client PC, and enters a management Web page.
Access the page (step S20). The URL specified here is different from the URL specified in FIG.
Explaining earlier with reference to the functional blocks shown in FIG. 2, here, the URL belonging to the file output module 116 is specified. In the management server 100, this U
A program for executing CGI is activated based on the CGI code stored in the area corresponding to RL (step S110). This program inputs the CGI code stored in the specified URL, and executes the specified processing content (step S112). FIG.
In order to display the management information shown in FIG.
Acquires information on the INDEX, model, remaining amount of toner, and remaining amount of paper of each printer, and creates an HTML file including these information as character data (step S14).
4).

The HTML file thus generated is
Output to the client PC. The client PC receives the HTML file (step S22) and displays it on the browser (step S24). As a result, the display of the management information shown in FIG. 3 is realized.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the source code when displaying. FIG. 6A shows the contents of the CGI code when displaying in the first mode. FIG.
(B) shows the contents of the HTML file generated when the display is performed in the second mode. Only the parts mainly related to the display of the management information are shown. First
In the aspect, display to the client is performed as part of the processing based on the CGI code. On the other hand, in the second mode, the CGI is used only for generating an HTML file, and is not used for display. What is directly used for the display is different in that the generated HTML file is used.

In the first mode, the management information to be displayed is:
It is stored in the variable “$ MD” and transmitted. As shown in FIG. 6A, in the data display processing part, the array “$ MD”
Is stored in a variable “@line” line by line by a command “foreach”, and is displayed by a command “print”. In the first mode, based on the CGI code, the "@line <BR>"
Sent as part of the L file. Client PC
Therefore, the displayed management information cannot be directly extracted as character data by the transmitted HTML or the CGI code.

In the second mode, the management information to be displayed is:
It is recorded in the HTML file in the form of character data. As shown in the drawing, the management information itself in FIG. 3 is included as character data in a portion surrounded by a tag named “BODY”. Therefore, the administrator can use the character data of the management information in addition to browsing the management information with the browser.
For example, character data can be edited by an application other than a browser.

According to the management system of this embodiment described above, the provision of information in two modes can be properly used. In the display in the first mode (see FIG. 4) performed using the CGI code, since the display is performed as part of the processing of the Web application, the client and the management server 100 may be changed depending on the configuration of the CGI code. And an interaction can be realized between them, and a display that can be operated interactively from the client can be performed. For example, for the displayed management information (see FIG. 3),
By selecting a predetermined printer by clicking or the like, it is possible to display more detailed management information on the printer or change registered information such as “INDEX”. However, these operations can be executed within a range prepared in advance as a management system.

On the other hand, in the display in the second mode (see FIG. 5), the above-described interactive operation cannot be realized, but there is an advantage that the management information can be extracted as character data. The administrator can arbitrarily edit the management information in addition to the operation prepared in advance as the management system. For example, by processing the extracted character data with a so-called spreadsheet application, it is possible to sort various items such as the printer model name and the remaining toner amount as keys.

In the management system of the present embodiment,
The client can arbitrarily use information provision in various modes. Therefore, each advantage can be utilized and the convenience of the management system can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the above-described two types of usage are realized by properly using the URL. Various methods can be applied to properly use the two modes. For example, a button for instructing display in the second mode may be provided on the display screen in the first mode performed using CGI. Also, a function of instructing the browser to output in the second mode in the form of a so-called plug-in may be incorporated.

C. First Modification (Output in File Format): In the above-described embodiment, the case where display using an HTML file is performed is illustrated as the second mode. In the second mode, various methods for providing the management information in a mode that the client PC can extract can be applied.

For example, in the second mode, the management information may be output in a format other than HTML. Such an embodiment will be described as a first modification. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the file output process in the first modification. This is a process that is an alternative to the process in the second mode in the embodiment.
The processing executed by the client PC is shown on the left side, and the processing executed by the management server 100 is shown on the right side.

In the processing of the first modification, the management information is output as a so-called csv file. The csv format is
This is a format of a file in which management information is recorded as text data, and is a file in which a large number of management information is recorded by being separated by a predetermined symbol such as a comma (,) or space.

The client instructs file output on the management page (step S30). As in the embodiment, a mode of accessing a Web page dedicated to file output may be adopted (see step S20 in FIG. 5). Here, the management page displayed in the first mode (see FIG. 3)
Inside, a button for file output is provided to instruct the file output.

In the management server 100, the client P
In accordance with the instruction from C, as in the embodiment, the CGI is activated (step S130), and the CGI stored in a predetermined location is started.
The GI code is executed (Step S132). The point of acquiring the management information is the same as that of the embodiment, but in the first modified example, the acquired management information is output to a file in the csv format (step S134). The generated c
The sv format file is transmitted from the management server 100 to the client PC (step S136). The client PC receives the csv file (step S3
2) Use the management information in various applications.

The csv file does not necessarily need to be transmitted from the management server 100 to the client PC. The csv file may be stored in a predetermined location accessible by the client PC via the network.

In the first modified example, the case where the csv file is generated has been illustrated, but the file may be generated in a format other than this. A general-purpose file format such as a text file may be used, or a file format specific to an application used on the client PC may be used.

According to the first modification, the management information can be utilized without extracting the management information from the HTML file, so that the convenience of the management system can be further improved.

D. Second modification (output based on range specification): In the embodiment and the first modification, the entire management information is set to H
The case of outputting in a file format such as TML or csv has been exemplified. On the other hand, management information in a range designated by the administrator via the client PC may be output to a file. Such an embodiment will be described as a second modification.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a file output process in the second modification. This is a process that is an alternative to the process in the second mode in the embodiment. The processing executed by the client PC is on the left, and the management server 100 is on the right.
Has been described. In the processing of the second modification, the management information in the specified range is output to a file. The file format is a csv format file as in the first modification.

In this process, the client instructs file output on the management page in the same manner as in the first modified example (step S40). In response to this instruction, the management server 100 starts the CGI (step S14).
0), the CGI code stored in the predetermined location is executed (step S142). According to this code, the management server 100 inputs information of a range to be output as a file from the client PC.

On the client PC, when the administrator designates a desired file output range on the management page by dragging and clicking the mouse (step S42), the information is read into the management server 100, and A csv file is generated within the specified range (step S144).

The csv file thus generated is transmitted from the management server 100 to the client PC (step S146). On the client PC, cs
The v-file is received (step S44), and the management information is used in various applications. Various aspects can be applied to the file output destination and the file format as in the first modification.

According to the second modification, the management information can be extracted within the range specified by the administrator, so that the convenience of the management system can be further improved.

E. Other Modifications: In the embodiment and the modification, the case where the present invention is applied to a printer management system is illustrated. The present invention is applicable not only to a management system but also to various systems that provide information via a network. The present invention may be applied to a server that provides information on the Internet. In other words, the accessing client is provided with a Web application by using a Web application.
HTM that applies the present invention to a server that displays a page and can extract information to be displayed in response to a client request
Various types of files such as L, csv files, and text files may be generated.

In the embodiment and the modified example, the case where the management information generated in the table format is provided is exemplified. The present invention is applicable to a system that provides various information other than the above format. Information including sentences may be output as text data. Further, the image data may be handled.

In the embodiment and the modified example, the case where the information to be displayed on the management server 100 is generated by the CGI has been exemplified. The generation of the display information may be performed by the client PC. For example, Java or JavaScri
Using a pt or the like, a program can be executed on the client side and applied to a Web page for generating display information. In this case, the present invention can be realized by incorporating a function of storing the generated display information in a predetermined file format into a program executed on the client side.

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that various configurations can be adopted without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the functions in the embodiments may be realized by software or by hardware.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a management system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing functional blocks of a management server 100;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of management information in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for displaying management information in a first mode.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart when the management information is displayed based on a file from which the management information can be obtained as character data.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of a source code when displaying.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a file output process in a first modified example.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a file output process in a second modified example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 management server 102 control unit 112 management information acquisition module 114 Web data generation module 116 file output module 118 CGI execution module 130 network interface

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An information providing system for providing information to a client connected via a network, the information providing system displaying the information based on a code in a predetermined format that does not include the information in a state where the information can be extracted as entity data. A first information output unit, a second information output unit for generating a file of a predetermined format including the information as entity data, and a request input for accepting an instruction regarding proper use of the first and second information output units from the client. Information providing system comprising means. 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the request input unit includes a range input unit configured to input, from the client, a designation regarding a range in which the entity data of the information is to be output. An information providing system according to a second aspect, wherein the information output means is a means for generating a file of a predetermined format including entity data of the information corresponding to the range. 3. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the first information output unit analyzes the code and generates display data for displaying the information. A display means for transmitting the display data to the client to display the information. 4. An information providing system for providing information to a client connected via a network, wherein the code is provided for displaying the information to the client, and includes a substantial data of the information directly. An information providing apparatus comprising: entity data generating means for generating entity data of the information based on a code having no predetermined format; and output means for outputting the generated entity data as a file in a predetermined format editable by the client. system. 5. The information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising management information acquisition means for acquiring management information for managing a device connected to the network, and An information providing system for providing the information to the client. 6. A data providing method for providing information to a client connected via a network, comprising: (a) providing the information based on a code in a predetermined format that does not include the entity data of the information in an extractable state. Displaying, and
(B) generating a file of a predetermined format including the substance of the information in response to a request from the client. 7. An information providing method for providing information to a client connected via a network, comprising: (a) a code prepared for displaying information to the client, wherein the entity data of the information is Data that includes a step of generating entity data of the information based on a code in a predetermined format that is not directly included; and (b) outputting the generated entity data as a file in a predetermined format that can be edited by the client. Delivery method. 8. A recording medium in which a computer-readable program for realizing a function of providing information to a client connected via a network by a computer is provided, which is prepared for displaying information to the client. Based on a code in a predetermined format that does not directly include the entity data of the information,
A recording medium recording a program for realizing a function of generating a file in a predetermined format that can be edited by the client.