JP2003131878A - Mobile operation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To build up an operating system for providing an interface and network environment having functions equivalent to those of browsers used in conventional computer systems, capable of operating directly from a portable external memory medium and using a system by a user's own system environment even in different computers without using a fixed disk at all. SOLUTION: A system is developed by limiting its purpose to perform data communication by executing a browser and provided with minimum functions and a browser necessary for the purpose. The system does not include a virtual memory function and has a mechanism of storing a system environment in the external memory medium and referring to it at starting up the system.

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operating system having a network environment and a function of providing a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to perform data communication. In this specification, an operating system having a function of providing a network environment and a GUI to perform data communication is hereinafter referred to as a network system. For the general architecture of the operating system, see "Operating System" by Hideo Taniguchi, published by Shokodo. [0002] A conventional network system executes a browser as one of applied applications. Further, the system has a function of executing various other application applications developed for the system, and a virtual memory function and an A
Functions such as provision of a PI (application programming interface) are included in the system. [0004] The system is ready for use when the user installs it on a hard disk according to a predetermined procedure, or the system is installed on the hard disk in advance at the factory shipment of the information processing apparatus. Due to the realization of a virtual memory function for executing the system itself and application applications, and the purpose of saving files necessary for operating the system, it is necessary to use a hard disk to operate the system. . Since the system environment is stored on the hard disk, each information processing apparatus has its own system environment. [0007] Since the conventional network system starts a browser as one of the application applications, in order to use the browser, the system must be started after the system has been started. When the system is terminated, it is necessary to perform a procedure for terminating the system after terminating the browser. For example, a user using only the browser needs an extra operation. In addition, since it operates as one of the application applications, data exchange with the operating system is performed through a general-purpose interface, which slows down the operation, and the system and the browser exchange with each other. It is necessary to prepare an interface for the system, so that the system capacity increases accordingly. In addition, the conventional network system
In order to execute various application applications developed for the system, it includes functions such as provision of virtual memory and API and control of various external devices. In addition to an increase in capacity, initialization and setting of these functions at the time of startup cause a longer startup time. When a network system is used, it is necessary to install the system in an information processing apparatus to be used in advance. Therefore, it is necessary to install the system each time it is used by a different information processing apparatus. In addition, the installation may render the existing system unusable or require a multi-system for coexistence,
In any case, the temporary use of the system is very unreasonable. In addition, the conventional network system requires the use of a hard disk in terms of functions and capacity. Therefore, when terminating the system, a procedure for terminating the head of the hard disk to a safe position is required. If the user accidentally turns off the power, or if the system must be shut down immediately for some reason, the nature of the hard disk may cause problems such as damaging the internal disk. is there. Since the system environment is stored on the hard disk of each computer, when using a network system with different information processing apparatuses, the user needs to set the environment each time, and thus immediately works. Cannot be said to be irrational. In order to solve the above problems, a browser having a function equivalent to a browser executed on a conventional network system is incorporated in the system.
When the system starts, the browser is automatically executed, and when the browser is terminated, the system is terminated. In other words, the system is dedicated to the browser. [0013] The system is limited to a capacity that can be recorded on the external recording medium, and is configured to be loaded from the external recording medium in an executable form. All processes are operated only by the real memory. In addition, it has a function of stopping the operation of the hard disk at the time of startup. The system environment is stored in an external recording medium in which the system is recorded, and the system is configured to read the environment when the system is started. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present system has a CPU and a main memory. , A network adapter such as a network adapter or a modem, and a device having a function capable of providing a user interface necessary for performing data communication by executing a browser. Is possible. FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration of an information processing apparatus which can use the present system, and has a configuration often seen in a personal computer generally used. In that case, the essential components of the information processing apparatus 1 for using the present system are C
A PU 2, a main memory 3, a floppy (registered trademark) drive 4, a keyboard 9, a display adapter 12, and a display monitor 13. Other devices mounted on a general personal computer include a hard disk 6, a CD-ROM drive 7, and a mouse 10. A modem or a network adapter is required to use the network function. For example, it is assumed that a modem 15 connected to a serial port is mounted. In order to realize the features of the present system, the system must be considered as being recorded on a portable external recording medium. As an example, consider a system recorded on a floppy disk. The advantages of recording the system on a floppy disk are that it can be used with most personal computers, that it can be easily booted, that the medium is compact and portable, and that it is a readable and writable medium. No. The conventional network system is a CD-RO
Most are supplied in M. This means that a certain amount of space is required to realize various functions of the system, and if it is provided on a floppy disk, there are dozens of them, making the procedure for use complicated and impractical. Is one of the factors. To put the system on a floppy disk,
It is necessary to reduce the capacity of the system as compared with a conventional network system while including functions necessary for achieving the purpose. The purpose of the present system is to perform data communication by executing a browser, but in order to realize the purpose, boot processing, process management, memory management,
Functions such as input / output control, provision of a network environment, control of data communication, and execution of a browser are indispensable. However, unlike the conventional network system, each function does not need to be versatile so that various application applications can be executed and various external devices can be operated. What is necessary is just to have a mechanism for realizing the minimum functions necessary for the system and the features of the present system. Further, a browser equivalent to a conventional browser is incorporated in the system, and when the system is started, the browser is automatically executed, and when the browser is terminated, the system is terminated. That is, the browser is built into the operating system, and the system is dedicated to the browser. By doing so, the operation becomes simpler as compared with the conventional network system only when the browser is used, and the system is reduced in capacity and stabilized. FIG. 2 shows a functional relationship diagram of the present system. In this example, the system is classified into a boot processing unit 100, manager units 101 to 103, a driver unit 104, a network unit 105, and a browser unit 106. The boot processing unit 100 performs system start processing, and processes a process manager (PM) 10 which is an element of the manager unit.
1. A device manager (DM) 102 and a memory manager (MM) 103 perform process management, input / output control, and memory management, respectively. The driver unit 104 includes drivers for various devices. The network unit 105 provides a network environment and controls data communication. The browser unit 106 provides a user interface for operating various information. Incidentally, the file management function, which is one of the functions adopted in the general architecture of the operating system, is not included in this system.
In this system, data is not treated as a file, but is all managed in sector units. Depending on the location recorded on the external recording medium, the IP
L, the system body, various drivers, and the system environment. These can be roughly classified as shown in FIG.
All of them are recorded in predetermined sectors on the external recording medium, and are loaded in sector units at the time of startup. In this example, the boot processing unit 100, the manager units 101 to 103, the driver unit 104, and the network unit 105 follow the general architecture of the operating system, and are almost the same as those of the conventional network system. There are some functions that perform the same operation, but must be added, changed, or deleted in order to realize the features of the present invention. The boot processing unit 100 performs a system start process. Since the content substantially conforms to the architecture of a general operating system, a detailed description is omitted. The processing flow is as shown in FIG. 4. After being loaded into the main memory by the IPL, the timer, the interrupt vector, and the process table are initialized. Next, the driver and system environment are loaded from the corresponding sector. The driver and the system environment are loaded in units of sectors from the external recording medium and are different from the conventional network system in which the files are read from the hard disk using a file. Equivalent to the system. Then, control is transferred to PM. The manager units 101 to 103 have functions corresponding to the process management, input / output control, and memory management functions of the general architecture of the operating system, but the MM 103 has an overlay function, a swapping function, and on-demand paging. It does not include any functions related to virtual memory such as functions, and has only functions related to real memory. This not only eliminates the need to use a hard disk for operating the system, but also allows the system to have a smaller capacity, a higher speed, and more stability. FIG. 5 shows the flow of execution of the PM 101 and the DM 102. System is fully loaded and control is PM
In step 101, the PM 101 first creates and executes a process for initializing each device, and the DM 102 transmits a signal for stopping the operation to the hard disk 6. Next, a process for initializing the network environment and displaying a browser is executed based on the system environment loaded earlier. The initialization of the network environment and the display of the browser are performed by the same method as the conventional network system. After the browser is displayed and initialization is completed, PM
The process 101 creates a process if necessary when the interrupt handler is called, and repeatedly executes the process according to a schedule. The driver unit 104 is a set of drivers which is an instruction set for giving instructions to various devices and interfaces. However, due to the capacity, keyboard, mouse, modem, display adapter, network adapter, floppy drive, serial port,
It is assumed that only drivers related to system devices are included. As for the drivers for various devices, the product-specific functions are eliminated as much as possible, and the capacity is reduced by focusing on the basic functions. The network unit 105 extracts and summarizes a part related to data communication in the input / output control of the conventional network system. The browser unit 106 has a function equivalent to a browser operating on a conventional network system. In this system, since the browser is integrated with the system, unlike a conventional browser that operates as one of the application applications, a general-purpose interface between the system and the application is not required. Also, since the application is not executed on the system other than the browser, there is no need to consider various procedures by switching the application. Therefore, the operation of the browser is stabilized and speeded up as compared with the conventional network system, and the capacity of the system including the browser can be reduced. The information display capability and the basic interface of the browser have functions equivalent to those of a conventional browser. However, this system does not have a window function as in a conventional network system, and only one browser can be executed at a time. FIG. 6 shows an example of a browser screen. Various information is displayed in the center of the screen. Various buttons are arranged at the top of the screen, and the displayed contents are switched and operated by these buttons. For example, in consideration of switching from the Web page browsing function to the system environment setting function, pressing the corresponding button replaces the part displaying the Web page with an interface for setting various system environments. In the interface for setting the system environment, the set contents are stored in a corresponding area of an external recording medium containing the system. As contents to be saved,
This includes dial-up settings, e-mail profiles, display resolution, system colors and security information. According to the above description, the present invention focuses on performing data communication by executing a browser as compared with the conventional network system, and includes functions other than those related thereto. Because of this, the capacity is small and the startup is quick. The system is recorded on an external recording medium and can be used immediately by simply inserting the medium. Moreover, if the external recording medium is removed, it is possible to return to the original system, and there is no effect on the system that was in the computer before using this system.
Since no hard disk is used, troubles related to the hard disk can be avoided, and there is no need to perform a termination procedure, and the power can be turned off at any time. Since the system environment is stored on an external recording medium, the user does not need to set the system environment even when using a different computer, and can work on his or her own system environment on any computer. is there. Summarizing the above, it is possible to handle the computer easily because the installation is not required, the start-up is quick, and no procedure is required at the time of termination. Since the user can use the browser in his or her own system environment, the work of using the browser can be performed rationally and the operation is simplified as compared with the case of using the conventional network system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a configuration example of hardware. FIG. 2 is a functional relationship diagram of the system. FIG. 3 shows a recording state in an external recording device of the system. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operation of a boot processing unit. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the operation of PM and DM. FIG. 6 is an example of a browser screen. [Description of Signs] 1 Information recording device 2 CPU 3 Main memory 4 Floppy drive 5 IDE interface 6 Hard disk 7 CD-ROM drive 8 PS / 2 interface 9 Keyboard 10 Mouse 11 PCI bus 12 Display adapter 13 Display monitor 14 Serial port 15 Modem Reference Signs List 100 boot processing unit 101 process manager (PM) 102 device manager (DM) 103 memory manager (MM) 104 driver unit 105 network unit 106 browser unit

Claims (1)

Claims 1. An operating system executed by an information processing apparatus including a CPU, a main memory, and a plurality of devices, and having a function of performing data communication by providing a network environment and a graphical user interface. Incorporate a browser inside the system, do not include the function to execute application applications, start directly from an external recording medium, do not use a hard disk to operate the system, save the system environment on an external recording medium, and read it at startup An operating system having a function.