JP2002041484A - Groupware and recording medium with the groupware recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively and quickly customize even groupware that can be used in a multiplatform environment. SOLUTION: This groupware for sharing data (resource), stored in a server computer 1 connected to a computer network composed of a plurality of computer terminals 3a, 3b and 4 that are connected in a data communicable way among the plurality of the computer terminals 3a, 3b and 4, has at least a CGI mechanism (module) for performing processings regarding the transmission and reception of indication data and processing results data between the server computer 1 and the respective client computers 3a, 3b and 4, and a display image generation mechanism (module) for describing and generating a display image, based on the processing results from the CGI mechanism (module) in a markup language and defines the markup language as a hypertext markup language(HTML) or as its subset.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to groupware used in a computer network comprising a plurality of computer terminals (client computers), server computers, and the like connected to enable data communication, and a recording medium for recording the groupware. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Computer software that enables a plurality of users to share a data resource (resource) is called groupware, and the functions (resource sharing) of these groupware are representative. As in Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange which are groupware, e-mail management function, schedule management function, conference room reservation function,
For example, a bulletin board function.

[0003] The environment in which these groupware are used is conventionally used on a specific operating system (hereinafter abbreviated as OS) of a closed local area network, and its function depends on the OS of a mounted server. That was normal.

[0004] However, with the recent rapid spread of the Internet, which is an open network, and the increasing functionality and rapid spread of portable telephones, which are portable information terminals, client computers equipped with these various operating systems have been installed. And mobile phones,
There is a long-awaited demand for groupware that can share data resources (resources) in a server.
CGI (Common) that can operate without depending on
Gateway Interface) software has been developed in large numbers in response to a multi-platform environment on an open network such as the Internet.

[0005]

However, since these types of groupware greatly differ in the type and scale of resources to be shared by the companies and organizations used, it is necessary to appropriately implement customization in order to use groupware. CGI (Common Gateway Interface) which is preferable because it can be easily operated, but can operate without depending on the OS described above.
ce) Since software usually requires special development software or the like as its development environment, there is a problem that it is difficult to easily perform these customizations, and that customization cannot be performed quickly and inexpensively. .

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and as described above, a groupware which can be quickly and inexpensively customized even in groupware usable in a multi-platform environment. The purpose is to provide wear.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a groupware of the present invention and a recording medium on which the groupware is recorded are provided from a plurality of computer terminals (client computers) connected so as to enable data communication. Groupware that enables shared data (resources) stored in a server computer connected to a computer network to be shared by the plurality of computer terminals (client computers). A CGI mechanism (module) for performing processing related to transmission and reception of instruction data and processing result data with the computer;
A display screen generation mechanism (module) for describing and generating a display screen based on a processing result from the I mechanism (module) in a markup language, wherein the markup language is a hypertext markup language (HTM).
L) or a subset thereof.
According to this feature, a display screen based on the processing result of the CGI mechanism (module) is described and generated in a markup language, having the CGI mechanism (module) and the display screen generating mechanism (module). Screen display is possible using ordinary browser software or the like that can display a display screen based on the markup language, and groupware that can operate independently of the OS of the installed server or OS of the client computer etc. And the display screen generating mechanism (module)
By describing the markup language used in HTML in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or a subset thereof, creation and modification of these display screens and the like can be easily performed without requiring a special development environment. As a result, the customization of the groupware can be performed quickly and inexpensively.

The groupware of the present invention and a recording medium on which the groupware is recorded have a user authentication mechanism (module) for controlling whether or not the CGI mechanism (module) can be accessed when the client computer accesses the CGI mechanism (module). Is preferred. According to this configuration, by having the user authentication mechanism (module), it is possible to avoid access to the shared data resource (resource) by a person other than the authorized access user, and the shared data resource (resource) can be avoided. Confidentiality can be ensured.

In the groupware of the present invention and a recording medium on which the groupware is recorded, the display screen data displayed on the client computer is provided with logical tag data and a predetermined tag in advance. The mechanism (module) acquires the position coordinates specified and input on the display screen, redisplays a screen having a data input frame at a position corresponding to the position coordinates, and displays data from the displayed data input frame. Preferably, input is enabled. By doing so, the data input frame is displayed on the displayed screen, and the input can be performed on the same display page, so that the operability of data input on the client computer can be improved.

The CGI in the present invention is Commo.
n Gateway Interface,
This is software that allows the server computer to execute calculations and programs and display the results on screen display browsing software.

Normally, the CGI itself is not a complete piece of software but an interface for realizing a specific function, and sends and receives parameters for executing a program and displays the result on a screen.

The markup language in the present invention is a page description language for setting the character settings and layout of a document, and includes SGML, HTML, XML, a subset CompactHTML for displaying a mobile phone screen, and the like. The browsing software interprets a text in which a character string defining a format attribute called a “tag” is embedded and displays it on a screen.

By adopting this markup language for screen display, if there is only screen display browsing software, the user does not need to prepare special client software, and Netscape, which is generally used for general purposes, is not required. For example, a screen display browsing software such as Netscape Communicator of Microsoft Corporation or Internet Explorer of Microsoft Corporation can be used.

Note that a module means a group of software that can be handled independently, and refers to a basic unit of assembly or a component unit.
The Perl script is preferably used for the description of I.
The Perl language is a computer programming language developed by Larry Wall et al. And is widely used for CGI programming and markup language file output. Modules written in Perl language are UNIX (registered trademark), Windows NT
(Registered Trademark), VMS, OS / 2, etc., can be used with almost no change in source code on most server OSs.
A module irrespective of S can be created.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a groupware system of the present embodiment having a server computer on which the groupware of the present invention is mounted. FIG. 2 shows the groupware used in the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a software module for performing user authentication, and FIG. 3 is a sequence chart showing a data input procedure in a client computer. FIG. 4 shows a configuration of groupware in the present embodiment. FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the configuration of the groupware system of this embodiment includes client computers 3a, 3b,... Connected to a local area network (LAN) and an Internet network 5 as an open network. It comprises a mobile phone 4 as a connected computer terminal, and a server computer 1 connected to the Internet network 5 via a communication device 2 and connected to the LAN. .. And the mobile phone 4 as appropriate.

The server computer 1 is equipped with the groupware of this embodiment, and the client computers 3a, 3b,... And the mobile phone 4 are compatible with respective OSs and platforms.
HTML or C transmitted from the server computer 1
-Browser software capable of displaying screen data described in an HTML markup language is installed.

Next, the configuration of the groupware mounted on the server computer 1 used in the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the groupware is composed of a normal CGI module and a CGI module in the CGI module. A display screen generating module for describing and generating a processing result or a content screen, for example, a schedule management table screen in a markup language, and a user authentication module for authenticating an access user; In the various display screen data described and generated in a markup language, predetermined logical coordinate data is embedded together with a tag.

As these CGI modules, conventional CGI programs which do not conventionally have a user authentication function or the like can be suitably used. In this embodiment, a user authentication module is added to the normal CGI program. A user authentication module can be constructed as a library so that a CGI module with user authentication can be easily constructed simply by adding one line of code for calling this library to the top of the CGI program. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 4, various screens corresponding to respective contents are set on the display screen described and generated by these display screen generation modules. By selecting the content, the screen shifts to a screen corresponding to the selected content.

The contents of each content on each of these display screens will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a top page displayed when any user successfully logs in to the software. In the content management screen of FIG. 6, the screen configuration changes for each group due to the difference in the content allocated to the group. . For example, if there is information registered in advance in the schedule of FIG. 8 or the job ticket of FIG. 14, the schedule of the day, a list of tasks that have not been completed or have expired, and the like are displayed. In addition, there are a time card function and an attendance registration function, and the registration of the attendance time and the attendance status can be performed. In addition, the user can easily search the Internet using any search engine without moving between search pages, and can freely register a link to any homepage for each user. I have.

First, FIG. 6 shows a content management screen for an administrator. Various CGI programs and the like other than the existing content can be added, edited, and deleted as content, and the content to be used in a group unit is set. Can do things. Thus, by appropriately allocating the integrated contents for each group, unnecessary contents such as confusion in use can be omitted, and only the necessary contents can be appropriately provided to the user.

Next, FIG. 7 shows the action schedule of the user on the day,
It is a tool for sharing the group's weekly schedule and group's monthly schedule information, and these are set for each group. The action schedule screen is automatically linked to the time card function of the top page shown in FIG. 5 to automatically display the attendance status of each user belonging to the group. Each user can freely register and delete information at an authorized place, and can freely select the color and style of display characters when registering information. Through this tool, the user's action schedule on the day and the weekly and monthly schedule information of the group can be shared. It can also be used from a mobile phone that can be connected to the Internet.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a schedule screen on which each user can register and delete his / her own schedule information. The information to be registered depends on its importance and situation,
The time and color can be selected. The schedule can be displayed on a weekly or monthly basis, and the registered schedule information of the day is automatically displayed on the top page in FIG. Further, by setting the schedule to be shared with any user on the user setting screen attached to the top page shown in FIG. 5, the schedule information can be freely browsed among the users, and the information can be registered and deleted. I can do it. The same can be used from a mobile phone that can connect to the Internet network.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a tool for freely grouping physical objects and managing and browsing the trends of the objects in a time series for each date. By grouping and registering users, facilities, equipment, and the like, they are used as time schedules and reservation tables. Registered information is displayed in a band-like color depending on the user who has registered, and information registered by other users cannot be edited or deleted. Note that the contents (functions) shown in FIG. 9 can be similarly used from a mobile phone that can be connected to the Internet network.

Next, FIG. 10 is linked with the time card function of the top page, automatically records the daily work time and the leaving time of the user, and based on information such as a predetermined working time and a shift set in advance by the manager. Automatically compiles the number of working days and total working hours, and automatically issues a work status report for each user every month. Normal users cannot view the work status reports of other users or edit information, but users set as group managers can freely use the work status reports of their assigned group users at any time. It can be viewed and edited.

Next, FIG. 11 is linked to the presence registration function and the time card function of the top page shown in FIG. 5, and the presence status and the attendance status currently selected by each user are displayed for each group. . Attendance status is displayed in four patterns: self-seat, leave, break, and secret.
It is displayed in four patterns: coming to work, leaving, leaving, and secret. These pieces of information are shared by all users, so that the current situation of other users can be grasped even from a remote place or the like.
The registration of the presence status can be performed from a mobile phone that can be connected to the Internet network.

Next, FIG. 12 shows a list of information such as customers and business partners, and the information can be registered, edited, and deleted. For the registered information, the display and non-display of the information items to be displayed and the order of the displayed items can be freely set, and the information can be sorted for each item. In addition, search is possible for all registered information, e-mail address, homepage URL
When is registered as information, the user can easily send an e-mail or browse the homepage from the list screen. The contents (functions) shown in FIG. 12 can be used in the same manner from a mobile phone connectable to the Internet network.

Next, FIG. 13 shows a list of information such as the full names and affiliations of all users, internal / external line numbers, and mail addresses created on the software. When the user's mail address is registered as information, mail transmission can be easily performed from the list screen.

Next, FIG. 14 shows a bulletin board for publishing various information, which is set for each group and shared by all users. All users can freely browse and register information. Normally, registered information can be deleted only by a registered user, but a user set as a group manager can delete any information registered on a bulletin board of a group in charge.

Next, FIG. 15 shows a tool for managing the completion status of various tasks and the achievement status of the project, which occur for each project. The user can freely create a project, and can register, edit, and delete a task list related to the project at any time along with the completion dates. The completion status of each registered task list can be grasped by an icon, and the project achievement rate is displayed as a bar graph according to the number of completed tasks in the project.

Further, the user authentication in the user authentication module constituting the groupware of this embodiment is performed by using a user ID and password which are user identification information (ID). Navigating above is not preferred for security because it increases the possibility of plagiarism. Therefore, the check of the user ID and the password is performed only once at the time of user login, and thereafter, an authentication ticket (data) is issued, and the user is authenticated with the authentication ticket.
The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows a flow for that.

In this embodiment, a mode check parameter is set as a parameter of the user authentication module in order to specify user authentication and CGI used by the user. When the user authentication module is called, a mode check based on the parameters is performed (S10).
1) For a user having no parameters, a screen requesting a user ID and password input is displayed in a hypertext markup language (hereinafter abbreviated as HTML) (S).
102). The user having the parameters of the user ID and the password is referred to the user I
D and the password are checked (S104), and a login rejection screen is displayed in HTML for the user who is not permitted to access (S105). If the user is permitted access, parameters for proceeding to the next step are set and an authentication ticket is issued (S11).
0).

The authentication ticket is issued by generating a random number for a ticket corresponding to the user ID.
Creates an authentication table consisting of a pair of an ID and a random number code.
This authentication ticket (random number code) is passed to the client using the cookie function. Thereafter, user authentication is performed by using this authentication table, but after a predetermined time has elapsed, this authentication table is deleted.

If the mode parameter is other than login, the presence or absence of an authentication ticket is checked (S106). When the user who has issued the authentication ticket accesses, the authentication table is referred to (S108), and if there is no corresponding ticket in the authentication table, a login failure screen is displayed in HTML (S109).

When it is confirmed that the authentication ticket belongs to a user who permits access, a menu page screen corresponding to the next step is displayed in HTML or a corresponding CGI is displayed in accordance with the contents of the mode parameter.
Execute the function module.

Thereafter, every time the CGI module specified by the user is executed, the authentication ticket is transmitted to the server by the cookie function of the browsing software, and the user ID and the authentication ticket are checked in the authentication table, but the user permitted to access is checked. Is not aware of this check.

Next, the data input procedure in the client computers 3a, 3b,... And the mobile phone 4 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence chart shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the procedure from acquiring the input data from the database, displaying it on the screen, inputting additional data based on the method of the present invention, and creating a new data set (the numbers in parentheses indicate the sequence numbers). Order)). In this embodiment, a hypertext markup language (hereinafter abbreviated as HTML) is used as an example of a markup language, but the language used is not limited to HTML. DB indicates a database system having an input / output function. The server inputs data that has already been input from the DB (S1), and then creates HTML in which the data and logical coordinate data are embedded (S2) and outputs screen display data to the client.
The logical coordinates are also embedded when there is no DB data. To embed the logical coordinates, it is convenient to use tags <TR><TD></TD></TR> for creating a table in which rows and columns can be easily specified. When a predetermined position on the screen displayed on the client side is designated by clicking with a mouse for inputting coordinates on the screen (S3), a CGI linked to the clicked position is activated and embedded. Coordinate data is acquired as link information (S
4).

To acquire logical coordinates by clicking the mouse, a tag for setting a link <A HREF
= “CGI to acquire coordinate data? Coordinate data”><//
A> is used. Note that CGI is Common Ga
An abbreviation for “way interface”, which is usually Pe
rl script.

Next, an HTML is created by adding a tag for displaying an input frame at a predetermined position together with the data acquired from the DB based on the acquired logical coordinates (S5), and the screen display data is output again. Normally <FO to set the input frame
RM></FORM> and <INPUT> tags are used.

The input data is transmitted to the server by inputting new data or update data in the input frame displayed on the screen of the client (S6) and clicking the transmission button set on the screen with the mouse. The send button can be set by designating <INPUT TYPE = “submit”. The server acquires input data transmitted from the client (S7), and additionally updates the DB data (S8). H with update data embedded
A series of data input procedures is completed by creating the TML, outputting it to the client side, and displaying it on the screen. By repeating this operation while moving the pointer of the DB, the data input update can be continued.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but includes any changes or additions without departing from the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

[0043]

The present invention has the following effects.

(A) According to the invention of claim 1, the CG
It has an I mechanism (module) and a display screen generation mechanism (module), and a display screen based on the processing result of the CGI mechanism (module) is described and generated in a markup language. The screen display can be performed using ordinary browser software or the like capable of displaying, and the groupware can be operated without depending on the OS of the installed server or the OS of the client computer. The markup language used in the display screen generation mechanism (module) is hypertext markup language (HTML).
Or, by describing it in a subset, it is possible to easily create or change these display screens etc. without requiring a special development environment, and as a result, customize groupware cheaply and quickly Can be.

(B) According to the second aspect of the present invention, by having the user authentication mechanism (module), data resources (resources) shared by users other than authorized access users
Can be avoided, and confidentiality of the shared data resources can be secured.

(C) According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the data input frame is displayed on the displayed screen and the input can be performed on the same display page, the operability of data input on the client computer Can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a groupware system of the present embodiment having a server computer on which the groupware of the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a software module for performing user authentication constituting groupware used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sequence chart showing a data input procedure in the client computer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of groupware according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a top page screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a content management screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a whiteboard screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schedule screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a reservation table screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a work status report screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a presence status screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an address book screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a registered user list screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a bulletin board screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a job ticket screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 server computer 2 communication device 3a client computer (access user) 3b client computer (access user) 4 mobile phone (access user) 5 Internet network

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A shared data (resource) stored in a server computer connected to a computer network comprising a plurality of computer terminals (client computers) connected so as to be capable of data communication with the plurality of computer terminals (client computers). ) Which is a groupware that can be shared by the CGI mechanism (module) that performs processing related to transmission and reception of instruction data and processing result data between the server computer and each client computer; Screen generation mechanism (module) that generates and describes a display screen in markup language based on the processing results of
And a recording medium recording the groupware, wherein the markup language is hypertext markup language (HTML) or a subset thereof. 2. When accessing the CGI mechanism (module) from the client computer,
2. The groupware according to claim 1, further comprising a user authentication mechanism (module) for performing the access permission / prohibition control, and a recording medium recording the groupware. 3. The display screen data displayed on the client computer is provided with logical coordinate data and a predetermined tag in advance, and the display screen generation mechanism (module) is designated and input on the display screen. 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the acquired position coordinates are acquired, a screen having a data input frame at a position corresponding to the position coordinates is redisplayed, and data can be input from the displayed data input frame. 4. And a recording medium on which the groupware is recorded.