JP2003122581A - Information processor, application program starting method, and system program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To run an application program installed in an external recording medium in an operating environment suitable therefor. SOLUTION: Application programs and set information on the operating environments of the application programs are stored in a flash memory 13 as a main memory and a CF card 19 as the external recording medium. When the application programs are started, it is determined whether the starter of the application program is the flash memory 13 or the CF card 19. When the starter is determined to be the flash memory 13, the application program is run based on the set information stored in the flash memory 13 and, when determined to be the CF card 19, the application program is run based on the set information stored in the CF card 19. Thus, when the application program of the CF card 19 is operated by the other terminal, the application program can be run by using the set information stored, together with the application program, in the CF card 19.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, a portable P
An information processing apparatus including a C or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and the like, and particularly an application program (hereinafter simply referred to as application or application) installed in the external recording medium having a structure capable of mounting an external recording medium. An information processing device capable of executing
The present invention relates to an application program starting method and a system program used in the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an information processing device such as a portable PC or PDA, the user can arbitrarily customize the operating environment at the time of starting an application, and by saving the setting information in the main body memory, the application can be re-created. A mechanism has been developed so that the same settings do not have to be repeated when activated. For example, in the case of a mail application, the setting information includes a mail server account, a dial-up telephone number, and the like, and further includes device settings such as a modem. Such setting information is stored in the main body memory in association with the application,
When the application is started, it is read from the main body memory and passed to the application, and the application executes a predetermined process based on this setting information.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned information processing apparatus, even for an application read from an external recording medium such as a CF (Compact Flash) card,
Two operating environments can be set. However,
Since the setting information is stored in the main body memory, there is a problem that the same operating environment must be reset when the application of the external recording medium is operated by another terminal device, for example.

Further, the application is an OS (Operatin
There is also a problem that the application installed in the external recording medium cannot be executed unless the application installed in the main body is compatible with the OS incorporated in the main body.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an information processing apparatus and an application program starting method capable of executing an application installed in an external recording medium under an operating environment suitable for the application. And to provide a system program.

[0006]

An information processing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a main body memory storing an application program and setting information relating to an operating environment of the application program, and the application program and the application program. An information processing apparatus capable of mounting an external recording medium storing setting information on an operating environment, wherein it is determined whether the starting source of an application program designated as a starting target is the main body memory or the external recording medium, and When it is determined to be the main body memory, the application program is executed based on the setting information stored in the main body memory, and when it is determined to be the external recording medium, it is stored in the external recording medium. App based on the setting information Those having a control unit for executing Activation program.

According to this structure, the application program and the setting information relating to the operating environment thereof are stored in the external recording medium separately from the main body memory, and the application program contained in the application program is activated when the application is activated. By changing the read destination of the setting information, for example, when the application stored in the external recording medium is operated by another terminal device, the setting information can be read from the external recording medium and the application can be executed.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means holds start source information indicating a start source of the application program at the time of starting the application program, and the control means stores the start source information in response to an inquiry from the application program. It is characterized in that the application program is executed based on the notification of the storage location of the setting information to be referred to by the application program.

According to such a configuration, when the application program is executed, by notifying whether the storage destination of the setting information to be referred to by the application program is the main body memory or the external recording medium,
The application can read its own setting information from the storage location and execute it.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an application program and a system program suitable for the application program are installed in the external recording medium, and the control means is attached with the external recording medium. The system program is loaded from the external recording medium to execute the application program.

With this configuration, when executing the application program stored in the external recording medium, the system program suitable for the application program can be loaded from the external recording medium and executed.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This device is composed of, for example, a portable PC or PDA, and as shown in FIG. 1, a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a flash memory 13,
RAM 14, peripheral circuit controller 15, LCD (Liquid C
rystal Display) 16, touch panel 17, CF (Comp
act Flash) A card slot 18 and a CF card 19 are provided.

The CPU 11 controls the entire apparatus, and by reading a program, executes a predetermined process according to the procedure described in the program. ROM 12, Flash memory 13, RAM 14
Constitutes a memory device of this apparatus, and various information including programs is stored in each. The information stored in these memory devices will be described later with reference to FIG.

Further, the peripheral circuit control device 15 is connected with an LCD 16 and a CF card slot 18 as a peripheral circuit of this device. The LCD 16 is a display device for displaying data, and in this apparatus, a transparent touch panel 17 is placed on the screen of the LCD 16 and has a structure capable of directly inputting data on the screen. The CF card slot 18 is a CF card 19 used as an external recording medium.
It is a slot for mounting. By mounting the CF card 19 in the CF card slot 18, the information recorded in the CF card 19 can be read.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of this apparatus.

In this apparatus, the ROM 12, the flash memory 13, and the RAM 14 are used as memory devices, and various information necessary for this apparatus is stored in these.

The ROM 12 stores in advance a BOOT program or the like which is first started when the power of the apparatus is turned on. The flash memory 13 stores an OS (hereinafter referred to as a core system). Also, this Flas
A part of the area of the memory 13 is used as a main body disk 13a, in which applications, user data, etc. are stored. As will be described later, programs such as applications and core systems stored in the flash memory 13 are once loaded into the RAM 14 and then executed (see FIG. 7). RAM14
Is used as the code area of the execution program,
It is also used as a working memory for programs or a temporary storage memory for data created by programs.

In addition to the memory device, the present apparatus has a structure in which a CF card 19 can be mounted as an external recording medium, and an application can be recorded in the CF card 19 together with its setting information and a core can be recorded. The system can be recorded and provided.

In such a configuration, when the power of this apparatus is turned on, the system is activated according to the following procedure as described below.

· The program counter is set to R by reset
Start from OM12. The BOOT program is written in the ROM 12, and the BOOT program reads the core system written in the flash memory 13 and loads it into the RAM 14. -When the BOOT program is loaded, it jumps to the start address of the core system. -The core system initializes the operating environment of the OS and IO devices. The core system first activates the menu application written in the main body disk 13a.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a menu screen displayed by the menu application. Click on the "Main" tab 21 on this menu screen
A list of various applications stored in the main body disk 13a of the flash memory 13 is displayed on the screen 2. Also, if you click on the "Card" tab 23,
CF card 19 installed in this device as an external recording medium
A list of the above applications is displayed. Tap one of the listed applications to launch that application. In the example of FIG. 3, “C” that is standard equipment in this memory (Flash memory 13)
"alender", "Contacts", "Note"
"s", "Tasks", "Mail", "Intern"
A state in which various applications such as “et” ... Are displayed in a list by selecting the “Main” tab 21 is shown.

By the way, in recent years, various applications and core systems are being developed, and it is difficult to preliminarily incorporate these programs in this apparatus because of the memory capacity. Therefore, in this device, the program is installed by the following three methods.

A. Application device installation The first method is to add ADD-IN, as shown in FIG.
This is a method of installing an application (function expansion software that is installed by the user after purchase) in the main body disk 13a on the flash memory 13. After installation, the core system is first
The flash memory 13 is loaded into the RAM 14, and then the ADD-IN application on the main body disk 13a is loaded into the RAM 14 by an application such as a menu.
14 is loaded and executed.

B. Application CF installation The second method is to add ADD-IN as shown in FIG.
CF card 19 which is an external recording medium for applications
Is the way to install on. This CF card 19
When the card is inserted into the CF card slot 18 provided in the device, the core system is first loaded from the CF card 19 into the RAM 14 when the device is activated, and then an AD on the CF card 19 is executed by an application such as a menu.
The D-IN application is loaded into the RAM 14 and executed.

C. The third method of core system installation is as shown in FIG.
9 is a method of installing the core system together with the ADD-IN application. When such a CF card 19 is inserted into the CF card slot 18,
Instead of the core system in Flash memory 13,
The core system on the CF card 19 is loaded into the RAM 14, and then the ADD-IN application on the CF card 19 is loaded into the RAM 14 and executed.

Further, in this apparatus, the following three memory areas (called folders) are prepared as the working environment of the application, and the application saves the data corresponding to these folders respectively.

1. MyDocuments: Save destination for user data and user settings 2. DeviceSetting: Universal application launch setting 3. ProgramFiles: The program code and the library "My Documents" that requires the program is a folder for storing the data created by the user. For example, in the case of a mail application, the mail text file created by the user is saved. It Personal setting information is also stored in this folder. The personal setting information includes a mail server account necessary for the operation of the mail application and a dial-up telephone number, as well as a mail address.

"DeviceSetting" is a folder for storing the setting information at the time of universal application startup that does not depend on the user. Data that requires the same calculation repeatedly each time the application is started, and device It is a place to store device information other than personal information such as the type of connected modem.

"Program Files" is where application codes and libraries and resource files used by the applications are stored. The contents displayed in the menu application described above are a list of the types of each application in this folder.

As shown in FIG. 5, the flash memory 13
The three folders are automatically created in the main body disk 13a when the apparatus is first started. Also, CF
Two folders, "Program Files" and "My Documents", are created on the card 19 when an application is installed or when the CF card 19 is formatted. For the "DevicsSetting" folder, the CF card 19 is created. Created when the core system is installed on.

Next, the relationship between the application startup source and its operating environment, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the application launch source and the location of the folder. The "body" in the figure is F.
It refers to the main body disk 13a of the flash memory 13, and "CF" refers to the CF card 19 used as an external recording medium. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the storage destination of the folder changes depending on the application startup source.

That is, when the application of the main body disk 13a is started, the setting information for defining the operating environment of the application is stored in the folder on the main body disk 13a, and in the case of the application of the CF card 19, the operation of the application. The setting information that defines the environment is saved in the folder on the CF card 19. Therefore, when the CF card 19 in which the application is installed is attached to another terminal device, the application can be installed using the setting information saved in the folder on the CF card 19 without resetting the operating environment. Can be executed.

Since the device-specific settings are stored in the main body disk 13a, even if the CF card 19 is moved to another terminal device, the device-specific settings are not reflected in the terminal device.

Next, the operation of this apparatus will be described by dividing it into the processes performed by each program.

(1) BOOT First, the processing of the BOOT program will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining the processing flow of the BOOT program.

BOOT program (IPL: Initial Pr)
The gram loader is also stored in the ROM 12 and is first executed when the apparatus is started up. The core system is loaded according to the following procedure.

That is, first, the area of the BOOT information in the RAM 14 is read and it is checked whether or not the core system is loaded in the RAM 14. After confirming that the core system is not loaded, the flash memory 13
After reading the Volume information of, the core system is read from a predetermined area of the flash memory 13, and the RAM is read.
It is loaded and executed in the OS area, which is 14 free areas.
After that, jump to the top address of the loaded core system.

(2) Core System (At Startup) Next, the processing of the core system at startup will be described with reference to FIGS. 7B and 8A. Figure 7
(B) is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing of the core system at startup. Further, FIG. 8A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure, and shows the processing at the start-up when the core system is loaded from the flash memory 13 to the RAM 14 by the BOOT program.

The core system is the OS of the RAM 14
After initializing the work memory area (step A1), IO
The device is initialized (step A2). At this time, the main body disk driver is also initialized (step A3), and the information stored in the main body disk 13a of the flash memory 13 is read (step A4).
The core system first extracts the menu application from the information read from the main body disk 13a, loads it into the program area of the RAM 14, and executes it (step A5).

(3) Menu Application Next, the processing of the menu application will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8B is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of this menu application.

The menu application first creates a "Main" tab 21 as shown in FIG. 3 by reading in various applications stored in the "Program Files" folder of the main body disk 13a (step B1). Further, it is confirmed whether or not the CF card 19 is installed (step B2). If the CF card 19 is installed, the "Program File" of the CF card 19 is checked.
By loading various applications saved in the "s" folder, the "Card" tab 2 as shown in FIG.
3 is created (step B3). Then, in accordance with the selection of the tab by the user, a list of corresponding applications is displayed on the list 22 as a menu (step B4), and the applications selected from the list are displayed on the main disk 13a.
Alternatively, it is read from the CF card 19 and executed (step B5).

(4) Application Next, a typical operation of the application will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the application.

The application first initializes the application work area in the RAM 14 (step C1),
The core system is queried for the storage location of its own operating environment (step C2). The operating environment is the "Progra
mFiles ”,“ DevicsSetting ”,“ MyDocuments ”are stored in the folder, and the setting information that defines the operating environment of the application is stored in the folder in the main body disk 13a or in the folder in the CF card 19. Whether or not it is notified from the core system as described later (see steps D3 and D4 in FIG. 9B).

When the save destination (main unit / CF) of the setting information is acquired from the core system, the application reads the device setting file for itself from the "DevicsSetting" folder of the save destination and performs the device setting process (step C3). . In this case, if the device setting file of the application is not in the "DevicsSetting" folder, the user will be required to perform the setting.

In addition, the application is "MyDocument
Read the personal setting file for itself from the "s" folder and perform application setting processing (step C
4). In this case, if the personal setting file of the application is not in the “My Documents” folder, the user is allowed to set the personal setting file.

Further, the application is "ProgramFil
The library is loaded from the "es" folder as needed to execute various application functions (step C5).

(5) Core System (At Application Startup) Next, the processing of the core system at application startup will be described with reference to FIG. 9B. FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the core system when the application is activated.

When the application is activated (step D1), the core system holds the information of the activation source of the application in a predetermined area of the main body disk 13a (step D2). For example, body disk 1
If the mail application in the “Program Files” folder of 3a is started, remember that it is started from: \\ Main Disk \ Program Files \ Mail.

Then, when the application inquires about the storage location of the setting information (step D
3), the core system determines whether the starting source of the application is the main body disk 13a or the CF card 19, and returns the storage destination information as shown in FIG. 10 according to the starting source (step D4).

That is, if the source of the application is the main body disk 13a, the setting information is returned by returning information such as \\ main body Disk \ Program Files \\ main body Disk \ My Documents \\ main body Disk \ DevicsSetting.
Notify that it is in the folder in 3a.

If the application launching source is the CF card 19, by returning information such as \\ CFDisk \ ProgramFiles \\ CFDisk \ MyDocuments \\ Main Body Disk \ DevicsSetting, setting information other than the device setting file is stored in the main body disk. Notify that it is in the folder in 13a.

As described above, when an application is activated, the application is notified of the storage location of the setting information related to the operating environment of the application according to the activation source (main body / CF). It is possible to read its own setting information from the saved destination and execute a predetermined process.

(6) When the CF has the core system Next, the processing when the core system is installed in the CF card 19 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7C and 9C. FIG. 7C is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing of the core system when the CF is inserted. Further, FIG. 9C is a flowchart showing the processing procedure.

As described above, normally, the Flas of the main body is
h Core system stored in memory 13 is RAM1
4 and is activated, the operation changes when the CF card 19 has a core system.

That is, the core system loaded in the RAM 14 judges whether or not the CF card 19 is installed (step E1), and when the CF card 19 is installed, a folder such as \\ CFDisk \ Core. To find out if there is. If there is a core system program in this folder (step E2), the core system is stored in the main disk 13a to C.
The F loader is loaded into the RAM 14 and activated (step E3). As a result, the CF loader loads the new core system on the CF card 19 into the RAM 14. At this time, the fact that the new core system is loaded from the CF card 19 is recorded in the BOOT information.

As described above, when the core system is installed in the CF card 19, the core system on the CF card 19 is loaded into the RAM 14, and thereafter the application is executed under the environment of the core system. It will be. Therefore, for example, in the case where the version of the core system incorporated in the main body memory of this device is old and does not match the application provided by the CF card 19, the upgraded core system is used together with the application in the CF card 1
CF card 19
You will be able to run the above application correctly.

Further, as described above, since the CF card 19 stores the application and the setting information relating to the operating environment of the application, when the application stored in the CF card 19 is operated by another terminal device. By reading the setting information from the CF card 19, it is convenient that the application can be executed without resetting the operating environment.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, a portable PC is assumed for explanation, but the present invention is not limited to a portable PC and can be applied to all computers operated by a program, and an external recording medium is CF. It is not limited to cards.

Furthermore, the method of providing the program is not limited to the external recording medium, and the program itself can be transmitted by a transmission medium such as a network and applied to another terminal device. The computer that implements this device is
The program recorded in the recording medium or the program provided via the transmission medium is read, and the operation is controlled by this program, whereby the above-described processing is executed.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, even when the application program installed in the external recording medium is operated on another terminal device, the user does not have to perform an operation for environment setting each time. By using the setting information stored in the external recording medium together with the application program, it can be executed under an operating environment suitable for the application program.

Further, by installing the system program (OS) in the external recording medium, even an application that is not compatible with the system program provided in the main body can load the system program from the external recording medium and execute it correctly. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a memory device in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a menu screen displayed by a menu application in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of installing a program in the information processing device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main body disk of a flash memory and folders created in a CF card in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between an application startup source and a folder location in the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a flow of processing of a program in the information processing apparatus, and FIG. 7A is a BOOT.
The process of a program, the figure (b) shows the process of the core system at the time of starting, and the figure (c) shows the process of the core system at the time of CF insertion.

8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a program in the information processing apparatus, FIG. 8 (a) is a processing procedure of a core system at startup, and FIG. 8 (b) is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a menu application.

9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a program in the information processing apparatus, FIG. 9A is a processing procedure of an application, FIG. 9B is a processing procedure of a core system when an application is started, and FIG. 4) is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the core system when a CF is inserted.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the activation source and the storage destination information in the information processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... CPU 12 ... ROM 13 ... Flash memory 14 ... RAM 15 ... Peripheral circuit control device 16 ... LCD 17 ... Touch panel 18 ... CF card slot 19 ... CF card

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information processing system, which comprises a main body memory storing an application program and setting information on an operating environment of the application program, and which can be loaded with an external recording medium storing the application program and setting information on an operating environment of the application program. The device determines whether the application program designated as the activation target is the activation source of the main body memory or the external recording medium, and when it is determined to be the main body memory, is stored in the main body memory. And a control means for executing the application program based on the setting information stored in the external recording medium when the application program is executed based on the setting information stored in the external recording medium. That Information processing apparatus according to symptoms. 2. The control means holds start source information indicating a start source of an application program when the application program is started, and the application program should refer to the start source information based on the start source information in response to an inquiry from the application program. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the application program is executed by notifying a storage location of the setting information. 3. The external recording medium is installed with an application program and a system program suitable for the application program, and the control means controls the system from the external recording medium as the external recording medium is mounted. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program is loaded and the application program is executed. 4. An information processing device, which comprises a main body memory storing an application program and setting information on an operating environment of the application program, and which can be loaded with an external recording medium storing the application program and setting information on an operating environment of the application program. A method for starting an application program used in a device, comprising: determining whether a start source of an application program designated as a start target is the main body memory or the external recording medium, and the start source of the application program is the main body memory. In this case, the application program is executed based on the setting information stored in the main body memory, and when the application program is started from the external recording medium, the external recording medium is used. An application program starting method, characterized in that the application program is executed based on setting information stored in the body. 5. A computer having a main body memory storing an application program and setting information on an operating environment of the application program, and capable of mounting an external recording medium storing the application program and setting information on an operating environment of the application program. A system program used, wherein the computer has a function of determining whether a startup source of an application program designated as a startup target is the main body memory or the external recording medium, and a startup source of the application program is the main body memory. If it is, the function of executing the application program based on the setting information stored in the main body memory, and the starting source of the application program is the external recording medium. The case system program for realizing a function of executing the application program based on the setting information stored in said external recording medium.