JP2002288013A - Computer system and file compression control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a computer system capable of properly controlling the relative priority of file compression processing in the system. SOLUTION: In a file system of this computer system, a load detecting part 11 detects the load of the system first. Then a priority control part 12 checks whether the detected system load is over a predetermined threshold value or not, that is, whether the system load is higher than the reference or not. When the system load is over the threshold value, the priority control part 12 lowers the priority of the file compression processing by a file compressing part 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer system such as a portable personal computer and a file compression control method of the system, and more particularly, to appropriately controlling the relative priority of file compression processing in the system. And a file compression control method of the computer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various types of personal computers called desktop type or notebook type have been developed. In addition, this type of personal computer normally has a file compression function of compressing and holding files in order to store more data in a storage device such as a hard disk device.

This file compression is executed as part of file management performed by a file system in an operating system that integrally controls a computer. For example, as described below, various methods have been devised. I have.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-128276 describes a method of deleting or compressing a file having a low necessity when a free file capacity becomes insufficient. JP 9
JP-A-198194 describes a method of selecting a storage device according to the transfer rate of each storage device and the required compression content.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 10-307435 and 10-320913 describe a method of detecting the type of a file and changing the compression method according to the type. JP-A-11-24974 discloses that
It describes a method of detecting the frequency of access and compressing files with low access frequency.

[0006] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-239235 describes a method of selecting the type of a storage device for storing a compression result according to the content of a compression process.

[0007]

By the way, conventionally, this file system is not limited to when a file is explicitly instructed by a user, or when a predetermined file is closed, for example, periodically or when a file specified in advance is closed. It is common to execute file compression at the timing of (1).

However, when file compression is started in this way, it is not possible to shift to the next general data processing because of the load on the CPU used for the processing and the low transfer rate of the storage device. In some cases, the responsiveness of the computer is significantly deteriorated.

Recently, PDA (Personal Digit)
Al Assistant), a portable battery-powered computer, has become widespread. In this type of computer, to increase the duration even slightly,
It is preferable to consider the remaining amount of the battery in the entire system. However, conventionally, the control of the file compression process does not consider the remaining battery power.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a computer system and a file system of the computer system capable of appropriately controlling the relative priority of file compression processing in the system. It is an object to provide a compression control method.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention firstly provides a computer system having a file compression function in a computer system having a file compression function. And a file compression control means for controlling the relative priority of file compression processing by the file compression function in the system based on the load value detected by the computer system.

In the first computer system, for example, when the load on the system increases, the priority of the file compression process is reduced, so that other general processes can be performed quickly, and the responsiveness of the computer is improved. To prevent aggravation.

Second, in a battery-operable computer system having a file compression function, a battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the battery, and a battery remaining amount detected by the battery remaining amount detecting means. And a file compression control means for controlling a relative priority of file compression processing by the file compression function in the system.

In the second computer system, for example, when the remaining battery power falls below a predetermined value, the priority of the file compression process is lowered to make the compression process difficult to perform, thereby reducing power consumption. And extend the duration.

Third, in a computer system having a file compression function, history holding means for holding a usage history of a file, and the file compression function in the system based on the usage history held by the history holding means. And a file compression control means for controlling a relative priority of the file compression processing by the computer system.

Generally, locality is recognized in a computer system program and the like, and a file used most recently is often reused. Therefore, in the third computer system, for example, when a file as a compression target candidate is used within a predetermined period, the priority of this file compression processing is lowered and compression processing is performed. It is possible to increase the responsiveness to the file by making it difficult to keep it in the original form as much as possible.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a computer system according to the first embodiment.

This computer system is a so-called personal computer for personal use, and includes a CPU 1, a memory 2, an I / O controller 3, and a hard disk 4, as shown in FIG.

The CPU 1 controls the operation of the entire computer system and operates according to the description of the program stored in the memory 2. The memory 2 serves as a main memory of the computer system, and stores a program describing the operation of the CPU 1 and a file used for the program. The I / O controller 3 and the hard disk 4 serve as auxiliary storage of the computer system. The hard disk 4 stores programs and files loaded into the memory 2 or saved from the memory 2. The I / O controller 3 controls access to the hard disk 4.

In this computer system having such a configuration, an operating system that integrally controls the system is operated by the CPU 1, and the hard disk 4 is connected via a file system in the operating system.
Access the file where the entity is located. Note that the entity of the file does not necessarily need to be placed on the hard disk 4, but it is assumed here that the entity of the file is located on the hard disk 4.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing functional blocks relating to file compression control of the file system.

As shown in FIG. 2, the file system has a load detector 11, a priority controller 12, a file management table 13, and a file compressor 14.

The load detector 11 detects the load of the computer system, and the method will be described later. Note that the load detection unit 11 acquires the load of the system by using other functions (other than the file system) included in the operating system, and does not perform measurement or the like by itself.

The priority control unit 12 controls the relative priority of the file compression processing performed by the file compression unit 14 in the system based on the load value detected by the load detection unit 11. A feature of the computer system according to the first embodiment is that the priority control unit 12 controls the priority of the file compression process by the file compression unit 14 based on the detection result of the load detection unit 11. The compression control will be described later.

The file management table 13 is an information table which is placed on the hard disk 4 and secures a work area in the memory 2. As shown in FIG. 3, for each file, a file name a1 and a compression / non-compression flag are set. a2, reference time a3, and storage location a4 are stored and managed.

When the file system is requested to refer to a file, the file system searches whether an entry holding the file name a1 of the file exists in the file management table 13. When this file name a1 is found, the file system refers to the compression / non-compression flag a2,
Checks if this file is compressed. If not compressed, the file system is stored at storage location a4
Is returned to the requester as the location of the file. On the other hand, if the file is compressed, the file system decompresses the file stored in the location indicated by the content of the storage location a4, and returns the storage location of the decompressed file to the request source. At this time, the file system updates the compression / non-compression flag a2 to non-compression, and saves the storage location of the returned file in the storage location a4. When this reference request occurs, the file system sets the reference time a
3 is updated to the current time of the system.

On the other hand, if any file is to be compressed according to a user's explicit instruction or a predetermined timing, the file system stores the entry holding the file name a1 of the file in the file management table. 13 and the storage location a of the entry
Compress the file stored in the location indicated by the content of 4. Then, the file system stores the storage location of the compressed file in the storage location a4 and updates the compression / non-compression flag a2 to compressed.

As described above, the file management table 1
Reference numeral 3 is used for controlling file compression / decompression in the file system.

Then, the file compression section 14 executes the compression of the file using the given compression algorithm.

Next, an example of a method of detecting the load of the system by the load detecting unit 11 will be described with reference to FIG.

Now, it is assumed that the computer system is in a situation where two tasks, task 1 and task 2, are executed in a time-sharing manner as shown in FIG. Then, the load detector 11 detects the system load at this time as follows.

First, the load detecting section 11 takes a certain unit time, and adds up the time during which the apparatus is idle during that time, that is, the state where neither task 1 nor task 2 is executed (total idle time b1). ). Next, the total idle time is divided by the unit time b2 to calculate the ratio of the non-execution state. That is, the load detection unit 11 calculates the ratio of the operating system in the non-execution state as an index of the system load.

When the ratio of the non-execution state of the operating system detected by the load detection unit 11 in this manner is decreasing, the priority control unit 12 determines that the system load is increasing. When the value falls below a predetermined value, the relative priority of file compression processing in the system is reduced.

The priority control unit 12 executes this file compression control by, for example, the following method.

(1) Using the task or process scheduling function of the operating system, the priority of the task or process of file compression processing by the file compression unit 14 is controlled.

(2) Using the task or process scheduling function, the start time of the task or process of file compression processing by the file compression unit 14 is manipulated. If it has already started, it operates the restart time after stopping by dispatch or the like. More specifically, when lowering the priority, the start time and the restart time are delayed.

(3) When there are a plurality of compression algorithms having different compression ratios, these compression algorithms are selectively used. More specifically, when lowering the priority (when reducing the use time of the CPU), a compression algorithm having a low compression ratio but a small amount of calculation is selected.

In this case, the type of the compression algorithm can be identified by, for example, the compression / non-compression flag a2 of the file management table 13. In consideration of the fact that the state of the system load changes even during the execution of the file compression process, if necessary, the currently executing file compression process is stopped, and the compression algorithm is changed so that the process can be executed again. .

Next, an operation procedure of the file compression control executed by the file system of the computer system will be described with reference to FIGS.

The file system executes a file compression process by selecting a compression target candidate to be compressed from all the files at a predetermined time period in addition to a time period explicitly specified by the user. Therefore, first, a procedure for selecting a compression target candidate that is periodically executed will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the file system acquires the file information stored at the head of the file management table 13 (step A1). Then, the file system checks whether the compression / non-compression flag a2 indicates non-compression (step A2). If the file system indicates non-compression (YES in step A2), the file is provisionally compressed as a compression target candidate. (Step A3).

Next, the file system checks whether the next file information exists (step A4), and if it exists (YES in step A4), acquires the file information (step A5). Then, the file system checks whether or not the compression / non-compression flag a2 indicates non-compression (step A6). If it indicates non-compression (YES in step A6), the compression target candidate is already selected. Is checked (step A
7).

If the compression target candidate has not been selected (NO in step A7), the file system tentatively selects this file as a compression target candidate (step A8). On the other hand, if compression target candidates have been selected (YES in step A7), the file system
It is checked whether the reference time a3 of this file is earlier than the reference time a3 of the file to be compressed (step A9). If the reference time a3 of this file is earlier (YES in step A9), the file system newly selects this file as a compression target candidate (step A10).

The file system performs steps A4 to A4.
The processing up to step A10 is performed by the file management table 13
When the processing for the last file information is completed (NO in step A4), this processing is ended.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, a description will be given of the priority control procedure for the compression processing of the file thus selected as a compression target candidate or explicitly specified by the user.

The file system firstly includes the load detector 1
1, the system load is detected (step B1).
Next, the priority control unit 12 checks whether the detected system load exceeds a predetermined threshold, that is, whether the system load is higher than a reference (step B2). If the system load exceeds the threshold (YES in step B2), the priority control unit 12 lowers the priority of the file compression process by the file compression unit 14 (step B3).

As described above, the computer system according to the first embodiment can be used, for example, when the load on the system increases.
By lowering the priority of the file compression processing, other general processing can be performed quickly, thereby preventing the responsiveness of the computer from deteriorating.

Here, an example has been described in which the load detector 11 calculates the ratio of the operating system being in the non-execution state as an index of the system load. However, the index of the system load is calculated as follows, for example. It is also possible to calculate.

First, the ratio of the execution time per unit time of the task or process of the file compression processing, that is, the CPU usage rate is calculated. When the CPU usage rate is used as an index of the system load, the priority control unit 12
When the PU usage rate is decreasing, it is determined that the system load is increasing, and when this value falls below a predetermined value, the relative priority of file compression processing in the system is reduced. .

Second, the voltage value of the operating power of the CPU is detected. In a so-called voltage-changeable CPU, power saving control is performed such that the operating frequency is switched between high and low in accordance with the load of the system by raising and lowering the voltage without sacrificing overall responsiveness. In this case, the priority control unit 12
Determines that the system load is increasing when the voltage value is increasing, and determines the relative priority of the file compression processing in the system when the value exceeds a predetermined value. Lower.

In addition, any method can be applied as long as the load condition of the system can be appropriately detected.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The configuration of the computer system according to the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Further, the functional blocks relating to the file compression control of the file system according to the second embodiment are obtained by removing the load detection unit 11 from the functional blocks of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted here. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the priority control unit 12 controls the priority of the file compression processing based on the system load status, Is to control the priority of the file compression processing based on the reference time.

Generally, locality is recognized in a computer system program and the like, and the most recently used file is often reused. Therefore, for example, when a file to be compressed is used within a predetermined period, the priority of this file compression processing is lowered to make it difficult to perform compression processing, and the file is retained in the original form as much as possible. To be done.

Here, the procedure of the priority control for the file compression processing in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the file system, first, the priority control unit 12 obtains the reference time a3 of the compression target candidate file from the file management table 13 (step C).
1). Next, the priority control unit 12 checks whether or not the obtained reference time a3 is within a predetermined period (step C2). Then, if the priority is within the predetermined period (YES in step C2), that is, if the file has been used relatively recently, the priority control unit 12 determines the priority of the file compression process by the file compression unit 14. It is lowered (step C3).

As described above, the computer system according to the second embodiment makes it possible to increase the responsiveness to a file by lowering the priority of the compression processing of the most recently used file.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing functional blocks related to file compression control of the file system according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the file system according to the third embodiment has a battery remaining amount detection unit 15 provided in place of the load detection unit 11 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Note that the configuration of the computer system according to the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

The battery remaining amount detecting section 15 detects the remaining amount of the battery which is a power supply for supplying power for operating the computer system. Note that the battery remaining amount detection unit 15 acquires the remaining amount of the battery using other functions (other than the file system) provided in the operating system, and does not perform measurement or the like by itself.

In the third embodiment, the priority control unit 12 controls the file compression processing performed by the file compression unit 14 based on the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detection unit 15 in the system. Perform relative priority control.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of priority control for file compression processing in the third embodiment.

In the file system, first, the remaining battery level is detected by the remaining battery level detector 15 (step D1). Next, the priority control unit 12 determines whether the detected remaining battery level is below a predetermined threshold value,
That is, it is determined whether or not the battery is low (step D2). If the remaining battery charge is lower than the threshold value (YES in step D2), the priority control unit 12 lowers the priority of the file compression process by the file compression unit 14 (step D3).

In other words, the computer system according to the third embodiment lowers the priority of file compression processing when the remaining battery power falls below a predetermined value, thereby making it difficult to perform compression processing. It is possible to reduce power consumption and extend the duration.

[0067]

As described in detail above, according to the computer system of the present invention, for example, when the load on the system increases, the priority of the file compression processing is reduced, so that other general processing can be performed. It enables quick operation and prevents the responsiveness of the computer from deteriorating.

Further, for example, when the remaining battery power falls below a predetermined value, the priority of the file compression process is lowered to make it difficult to perform the compression process, thereby reducing power consumption and extending the duration. Let it.

Further, in consideration of the locality of the program and the like,
For example, if a file to be compressed is used within a predetermined period, the priority of this file compression processing is lowered to make compression processing difficult, and the file is retained in the original form as much as possible. By doing so, the response to the file is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a computer system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing functional blocks relating to file compression control of the file system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a view exemplifying information stored and managed by a file management table provided in the file system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view for explaining an example of a system load detection method by the load detection unit of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining a compression target candidate selection procedure which is periodically executed by the file system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining the procedure of priority control for file compression processing executed by the file system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining a procedure of priority control for file compression processing executed by the file system according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary view showing functional blocks relating to file compression control of the file system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining the procedure of priority control for file compression processing executed by the file system according to the third embodiment;

[Description of Signs] 1 CPU 2 Memory 3 I / O Controller 4 Hard Disk 11 Load Detector 12 Priority Controller 13 File Management Table 14 File Compressor 15 Battery Remaining Detector

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A computer system having a file compression function, comprising: load detection means for detecting a load on the system; and a file compression process by the file compression function in the system based on a load value detected by the load detection means. A computer system comprising: file compression control means for controlling relative priorities. 2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein said load detecting means measures a ratio of time for which the file compression process uses the CPU of the computer system per unit time. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said load detecting means measures a ratio of a time period during which the operating system for integrally controlling the computer system is in a non-execution state to a predetermined period. Computer system as described. 4. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein said load detecting means detects a voltage value of an operating power of a CPU of said computer system. 5. A computer system capable of driving a battery having a file compression function, comprising: a battery remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the battery; And a file compression control means for controlling relative priority of file compression processing by the file compression function in the above. 6. A computer system having a file compression function, comprising: a history holding unit for holding a usage history of a file; and a usage history held by the history holding unit.
A computer system comprising: a file compression control unit that controls a relative priority of file compression processing by the file compression function in the system. 7. The file compression control means according to claim 1, wherein said file compression control means controls a priority of said file compression processing managed by an operating system which integrally controls said computer system. 7. The computer system according to 4, 5, or 6. 8. The computer according to claim 1, wherein the file compression control means operates a start time of the file compression processing or a restart time after the file compression processing is stopped. system. 9. The file compression control unit according to claim 1, wherein the compression algorithm applied to the file compression processing is selectively used from among a plurality of compression algorithms. Computer system. 10. The file compression control means includes means for stopping the file compression processing being executed by a first compression algorithm and re-executing the file compression processing by a second compression algorithm. Computer system as described. 11. A file compression control method for a computer system having a file compression function, comprising: detecting a load on the system; and performing relative file compression processing by the file compression function in the system based on the detected load value. Controlling the priority of the file. 12. A file compression control method for a battery-operable computer system having a file compression function, comprising: a step of detecting a remaining amount of the battery; Controlling the relative priority of the file compression processing. 13. A file compression control method for a computer system having a file compression function, comprising: a step of retaining a use history of a file; And controlling the priority of the file.