JP2003323402A - Thin client system, and thin client terminal, thin client terminal control method and control program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin client system capable of efficiently operating by a GUI function even through a high delay network such as a movable body communication network. <P>SOLUTION: A GUI emulator function 10 simulating a user interface of a server 2 is provided at a thin client terminal 1. When operating the user interface simulated by the GUI emulator function 10 equivalently to the server, it is not immediately transferred to the server 2 but is stored until the completion of a series of closely relating operations. At the time of completion of the series of closely relating operations, they are collectively transmitted to the server 2. The server 2 collectively executes them for an application program APL. Therefore, the number of communications between the thin client terminal and the server can be largely reduced, and operations can be done efficiently even through the high delay network between the thin client and the server. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin client system, a thin client terminal, a thin client terminal control method, and a control program, and more particularly to a thin client system or a thin client which is a modification of a client-server system. -Regarding a system called a fat server system or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, companies' OA (Office Au)
personalization (Personal Computer) dedicated to general employees
er; hereinafter, PC) is allocated, and its introduction cost is a problem. In addition to this, operation and management costs (total cost of installation) of application programs on individual PCs, version upgrades, hardware maintenance, etc.
f Ownership (TCO) is also becoming a big problem. As a means of solving these problems, the client-server computing model is expanded, and the client computer used by general employees does not use a complicated and expensive personal computer, but the minimum functions such as screen display and key / mouse input. A low-priced dedicated computer with only
A method of unified management by a server has been proposed.

As described above, in order to reduce the processing load on the client side, a computing model in which the processing burdening the client is significantly reduced, and a client terminal intended to be used for such an application, It is called a thin client. 2 examples of realization of thin client system
It can be roughly divided into two. That is, the application is managed and stored by the server, the application program is downloaded from the server to the thin client side when the application is executed, and is executed by the thin client side (hereinafter referred to as method 1). In addition to saving, the execution is also performed on the server side, and on the thin client side, the application screen display,
GUI (Graph) such as input with mouse and keyboard
It can be roughly classified into a type that performs only input / output by means of an ICAL User Interface (hereinafter referred to as method 2).

Regarding Method 1, Joseph Sin
clair's book "Thin Clients Cle"
"ally Expressed" (Morgan Ka
ufmann publishing, ISBN 0-12-645535-
X). Further, regarding the method 2, the Internet site “http: //www.sun.
co. jp / sunray / intro / get_of
f_01. html ”.

[0005]

In the above method 1,
The application program itself is executed on the thin client side. Therefore, the thin client terminal side is required to have the same processing capability as the server, and it is difficult to significantly reduce the price of the thin client terminal. For the same reason, a mobile phone with a browser function (browser phone), which has been explosively popular recently, and a PDA (Persona).
It is difficult to use l Data Assistant as a thin client terminal.

Further, in the method 1, the application program itself needs to be designed for the thin client system according to the method. Therefore, the convenience is significantly limited in the sense that the existing PC application cannot be used as it is. On the other hand, in method 2, the application program main body is executed on the server. Therefore, the specifications required on the thin client terminal side are low, and it is easy to reduce the price. In addition, it is possible in principle to use the existing PC application as the application program. However, in this method, every time the user performs some input operation on the thin client terminal, the thin client sends a message informing the server of the operation, and the response of the application program to the operation is sent to the server this time. Must be returned to the thin client terminal and displayed on an output device such as the screen of the thin client terminal (hereinafter, performing such an operation is referred to as synchronization between the thin client and the server).

Therefore, in an environment where the transmission delay of the network between the thin client terminal and the server is large,
When a user executes an application program that frequently interacts with the application program, such as a word processor application or pointer control using a mouse, the user receives at least a response to the operation performed by the user as a round trip on the network. It is necessary to wait for time (time required for a signal to make a round trip on the network; hereinafter referred to as RTT). For this reason, there is a problem that the working efficiency is remarkably reduced and it is not practical. In a mobile communication network that has rapidly spread in recent years, this RTT value is the same LA.
It is known that it is about several tens to several hundred times larger than that in N.

Here, consider a case where an icon at an arbitrary position is clicked on a general GUI screen.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the operation of the pointer P1 performed by the user on the thin client terminal is performed by the pointer operation start S701 and the pointer operation continuation S7.
02, double click after arrival at destination position S703. In this case, the pointer operation start S701 is immediately transmitted to the server, and the pointer P2 moves on the monitor screen of the server. Further, subsequently, pointer operation continuation S702 is also transmitted to the server. Then, even if the double-click S703 is performed after the arrival at the target position, the pointer P2 displayed on the monitor screen of the thin client terminal overruns and the double-click is performed at an unexpected position.

That is, when the above-mentioned method 2 is used,
The thin client terminal and the server must constantly exchange information regarding the current position of the pointer. Therefore, if there is a transmission delay between the server and the thin client terminal, the RTT7 is generated between the position of the pointer actually moved by the user and the position of the pointer reflected on the screen.
A shift based on 00 occurs. Therefore, the pointer overruns and it is considered that a double-click was made at an unexpected position. Then, work efficiency is significantly reduced.

In addition, in the method 2, basically, the GUI function on the thin client system side and the GUI on the server side are used.
It is premised that the I function has almost the same specifications. Therefore, even in the method 2, the browser phone cannot be used as a thin client terminal. Further, even when a thin client terminal having a GUI function equivalent to that of a server is used instead of a browser phone, it is difficult to use it in an environment via a high-delay network such as a mobile communication network.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and its purpose is to operate efficiently with a GUI function even in an environment via a high-delay network such as a mobile communication network. A thin client system, a thin client terminal, a thin client terminal control method, and a control program are provided.

[0012]

A thin client system according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a server device for executing an application program and a thin client terminal for exchanging data with the server device. In the thin client terminal, a graphical user interface simulating means for simulating a graphical user interface of the server device, and an operation for collectively transmitting a predetermined amount of operation contents using the graphical user interface simulating means to the server device. And a content transmitting unit, wherein the server device executes the application program in accordance with a process corresponding to the operation content. Even if the environment in which the transmission delay of the network with the server is large is transmitted by transmitting a predetermined amount of the operation contents to the server instead of sequentially transmitting the operation contents in the thin client terminal, the GUI function can be used. It can be operated efficiently.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the thin client system according to the first aspect is characterized in that the operation content transmission means collectively transmits a series of related operation content to the server device. By collectively transmitting a series of related operation contents to the server, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function. In the thin client system according to claim 3 of the present invention, when the application program uses kana-kanji conversion in claim 1 or 2, the kana-kanji conversion is performed in the thin-client terminal, and the kana-kanji conversion is performed. The conversion result is transmitted to the server device by the operation content transmission means. By transmitting the finally determined conversion result without transmitting it during the Kana-Kanji conversion, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function.

A thin client system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the thin client system according to any one of the first to third aspects,
The server device includes a conversion unit that converts the operation content so that the application program can be executed. By converting the operation content transmitted from the thin client terminal in the server device, it is possible to realize a thin client system that can be operated efficiently by the GUI function.

A thin client terminal according to claim 5 of the present invention is a thin client terminal for exchanging data with a server device executing an application program, and a graphical user interface simulating a graphical user interface of the server device. And a manipulation unit for transmitting a predetermined amount of operation contents using the graphical user interface pseudo unit to the server device, the server device according to a process corresponding to the operation contents. The feature is that an application program is executed. Even if the environment in which the transmission delay of the network with the server is large is transmitted by transmitting a predetermined amount of the operation contents to the server instead of sequentially transmitting the operation contents in the thin client terminal, the GUI function can be used. It can be operated efficiently.

A thin client terminal according to claim 6 of the present invention is the thin client terminal according to claim 5, wherein the operation content transmitting means is
It is characterized in that a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server device. By collectively transmitting a series of related operation contents to the server, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function. A thin client terminal according to claim 7 of the present invention is the thin client terminal according to claim 5 or 6.
In the case where the application program uses kana-kanji conversion, the kana-kanji conversion is performed in the terminal and the conversion result of the kana-kanji conversion is transmitted to the server device by the operation content transmission means. Is characterized by. By transmitting the finally determined conversion result without transmitting it during the Kana-Kanji conversion, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function.

A thin client terminal control method according to claim 8 of the present invention is a thin client terminal control method for controlling a thin client terminal for exchanging data with a server device executing an application program. And a graphical user interface pseudo step for simulating the graphical user interface, and an operational content transmitting step for collectively transmitting a predetermined amount of operational content in the graphical user interface pseudo step to the server device. Even if the environment in which the transmission delay of the network with the server is large is transmitted by transmitting a predetermined amount of the operation contents to the server instead of sequentially transmitting the operation contents in the thin client terminal, the GUI function can be used. It can be operated efficiently.

The thin client terminal control method according to claim 9 of the present invention is characterized in that, in the operation content transmitting step of claim 8, a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server device. To do. By collectively transmitting a series of related operation contents to the server, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function.

In the thin client terminal control method according to claim 10 of the present invention, in claim 8 or 9, when the application program uses kana-kanji conversion, the conversion result of kana-kanji conversion performed in the own terminal. Is transmitted to the server device in the operation content transmitting step. By transmitting the finally determined conversion result without transmitting it during the Kana-Kanji conversion, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function.

A control program according to claim 11 of the present invention is a control program for controlling a thin client terminal that sends and receives data to and from a server device that executes an application program, and simulates a graphical user interface of the server device. And a step of transmitting the operation contents in the graphical user interface pseudo step together with a predetermined amount of the operation contents in the graphical user interface pseudo step to the server device. Even if the environment in which the transmission delay of the network with the server is large is transmitted by transmitting a predetermined amount of the operation contents to the server instead of sequentially transmitting the operation contents in the thin client terminal, the GUI function can be used. It can be operated efficiently.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the control program according to the eleventh aspect, in the operation content transmitting step, a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server device. By sending a series of related operation contents to the server all together, G
The UI function enables efficient operation.

The control program according to claim 13 of the present invention is the control program according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the application program uses kana-kanji conversion.
The conversion result of the kana-kanji conversion performed in the own terminal is transmitted to the server device in the operation content transmitting step. By transmitting the finally determined conversion result without transmitting it during the Kana-Kanji conversion, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function.

In short, the present invention is a system for controlling an application running on a server from a remote place via a network by a simple thin client terminal, wherein the simple terminal simulates a user interface of the server. The user performs a server control equivalent to the normal server control on the simulated user interface, and the simulated user interface immediately transfers the server control to the server body. Instead, a plurality of server control groups performed by the user are stored until a series of highly relevant operations are completed. Then, when the series of operations with high relevance are completed, the simulated user interface collectively transmits the accumulated server control group to the server side, and the server side displays the operating environment of the thin client. Has a function of simulating. This function, when receiving the operation group transmitted by the simulated user interface of the thin client terminal, collectively executes the operations on the application on the server, thereby determining the number of communication between the thin client and the server. Drastically reduce. As a result, even when the network between the thin client and the server is a high-delay network, work can be efficiently performed.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings referred to in the following description, the same parts as those in the other drawings are designated by the same reference numerals. (Thin Client System) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a thin client system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, this system has a configuration in which a thin client terminal 1 and a server 2 are connected via a high-delay network 3.

In the server 2, the application program APL1 is executed in this example. In addition, the APL that is the GUI for the application program APL1
The 1GUI 21 and the thin client proxy 20 operate on the server 2. In the figure, 200 is AP
It is an L1 command interface. In the thin client terminal 1, the application program APL
APL1 which is an emulator for GUI for 1
The GUI emulator 1A for use operates. The GUI emulator storage unit 4 includes a GUI emulator 1 for APL2.
B, APL3 GUI emulator 1C, APL4 G
The UI emulator 1D is stored, and these emulators are read by the thin client terminal 1 and executed.

As shown in the figure, in the present system, the main body of the application program APL1 is executed on the server 2 as in the case of the method 2 described above. Also, as in the case of method 2, basically no modification of the main body of the application program APL1 is required, and the application program for the existing PC, the document file created by the application program for the existing PC, the desktop of the existing PC It is possible to use the environment as it is.

In the present system, the GUI function of the application program body executed on the server 2 is simulated on the thin client terminal 1.
The greatest feature is that it has a GUI emulator function. The user does not directly interact with the GUI of the application program on the server 2, but interacts with the GUI emulator on the thin client terminal to perform a certain amount of work. The GUI emulator accumulates a certain amount of GUI operations performed by the user, and when a need arises for synchronization, collectively transfers the accumulated operation group to the thin client proxy on the server. Then, the thin client proxy collectively processes the corresponding GUI operation group for the application program on the server.

In this way, by mounting the function of simulating the operations of both the application on the server 2 side and the thin client, it is possible to greatly reduce the frequency of direct synchronization between the two. As a result, method 2
It became possible to greatly improve the work efficiency when connecting the server and the thin client via the high-delay network, which was a problem in.

As described above with reference to FIG. 8, when the method 2 is used, the thin client and the server must always exchange information regarding the current position of the pointer. If there is a transmission delay between this server and the thin client, the RTT between the position of the pointer actually moved by the user and the position of the pointer reflected on the screen.
Therefore, the work efficiency is significantly reduced.

On the other hand, when the GUI emulator according to the present invention is used, the user may move the pointer over the desired icon on the GUI emulator screen and click. During this pointer movement and click, communication between the server and thin client is not performed.
Then, at the time when this click is made, the GUI emulator transfers only the coordinate at which the click was made and the type of click to the thin client proxy on the server.

In the thin client proxy, on the GUI of the application program on the server,
The same process as when the pointer is moved to the coordinate and click is performed may be performed. This result is transferred again to the thin client. This ensures that synchronization only needs to be the last one. Similarly, Kana-Kanji conversion (Front-End Process) when entering characters
r; hereinafter referred to as FEP), etc.
Then, in order to display the conversion candidates, it is necessary to be affected by this RTT. However, by supporting FEP on the GUI emulator side, kana-kanji conversion can be performed locally on the thin client terminal, and the last selected character can simply be written back on the application.

Further, the GUI emulator does not need to faithfully reproduce the original GUI of the application program, and may provide only the functions required by the user in a form suitable for the specifications of the thin client terminal. Further, the processing itself of the GUI emulator is generally very light in weight as compared with the processing contents of the application program itself. Therefore, there was a problem in method 1,
It is possible to solve the terminal performance problem.

The GUI emulator basically needs to be created for each application type, but on the thin client terminal side, a GUI dedicated to the application to be used is used.
Since only the I emulator needs to be downloaded and used as needed (that is, when the application is executed), the memory resources on the thin client terminal side are not wasted.

As a result, it is possible to realize a thin client system which can be practically used even when a browser phone, PDA or the like is used as a thin client terminal via a mobile network.

[0035]

EXAMPLE A more specific example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a mobile device such as a mobile phone is used as the thin client terminal 1. The thin client terminal 1 includes a GUI emulator function unit 1 including a pseudo pointer function unit 11, an image control function unit 12, and a menu control function unit 13.
Has 0. In addition, this thin client terminal 1
Is an HMI (Human Ma) for browser, character input, etc.
It has a Chinese Interface) function unit 15 and a text editor / FEP editing function unit 14. The thin client terminal 1 has a function of downloading and executing a user-written program.

In this embodiment, the gateway 5 is installed between the thin client terminal 1 and the server 2. The gateway 5 realizes a function corresponding to the thin client proxy 20 described above and a function corresponding to the GUI emulator storage unit 4. Gateway 5
Is a menu DB (Data Base) 50, a gateway control unit 51, a text transfer unit 52, an image conversion unit 53, a command conversion unit 54, and a process monitoring unit 5.
5 and a thin client viewer 56.

The server 2 comprises an application program APL body and a thin client server 22. The thin client viewer 56 on the gateway 5 and the thin client server 22 on the server 2 use the thin client protocol according to the method 2 described above. As a result, the gateway 5 and the application program APL main body on the server 2 are always in synchronization with each other.

On the other hand, the asynchronous interface according to the present invention is provided between the thin client terminal 1 and the gateway 5. In this embodiment, it is premised that a high delay network is provided between the thin client terminal 1 and the gateway terminal 5, and a low delay network is provided between the gateway terminal 5 and the server 2. The GUI emulator in this embodiment is an image control function unit 1 that provides an environment close to the original screen of the server to the thin client terminal.
2 and a pseudo pointer function unit 11, and a menu control function unit 13 that provides a GUI format degenerated to a format compatible with the display capability of the thin client terminal.

The gateway 5 has a menu DB 50,
Gateway control unit 51 for controlling each unit of the gateway
And a text transfer unit 52 for transferring text data
An image conversion unit 53 that divides / reduces / compresses the desktop screen, a command conversion unit 54 that issues a command that needs to be executed on the server, and a process monitoring unit 55 that monitors the process being executed. It is configured to include and.

The operation contents of each of these parts will be described below in some specific user operation examples. (1) Search in directory by menu screen and start of application FIG. 3 shows a window screen displayed on the browser of the thin client terminal 1 by the menu control function unit 13 in the GUI emulator function unit 10 in the thin client terminal 1. It is a display example. The contents of the specific directory of the server are shown in FIG. 9A, and the contents of the subdirectory 1 are shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5A, an operation command for the directory, "file (new creation)",
“Directory 1 (Dir)”, “Directory 2 (Dir)”, “Directory 3 (Dir)”, “APL1 (Exe)”, which represents information related to the directory.
"APL2 (Exe)", "File 1 (Apl
1) "," File 2 (Apl2) ", and" previous "and" next "are displayed as the functions for scrolling the screen on the thin client terminal.

In FIG. 6A, parentheses after each item name indicate the file type. That is, (Dir) represents that the item is a directory, (Exe) represents that the item is an executable file, that is, an application program, and (Apli) represents a specific application “Apl”.
i "indicates that the file is a dedicated file.

In FIG. 3A, when the user uses the HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal 1 to select the item "file (new creation)", the menu control function unit 13 selects the item. To that effect is transmitted to the gateway control unit 51. Gateway control unit 51
Searches the menu DB, and when the item “file (new creation)” is selected, (1) obtains the name input screen (FIG. 7C) and transfers it to the menu control unit 13 (2) ) Obtain name from menu control unit 13 (3) Request command conversion unit 54 for operation of creating new directory and name “directory 4” (4) Request command conversion unit 54 for directory information collection operation ( 5) Menu DB 50 update (6) It is detected that the menu control unit 13 operates in the order of transmitting the updated menu.

According to the above procedure (1), the gateway control unit 51 acquires the menu screen shown in FIG. 6C from the menu DB 50 and transfers it to the menu control unit 13 of the thin client terminal. The menu control unit 13
Using the HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal,
A new menu screen is displayed as shown in FIG. Next, the user selects the HM of the thin client terminal.
Using the I function unit 15, the text data “directory 4” is entered in the name field S of the menu screen of FIG. The menu control unit 13
The gateway control unit 5 indicates that the item is selected.
Send to 1. When the cancel button C is selected, the operation is canceled.

The gateway control unit 51 receives this in accordance with the above procedure (2), and in accordance with the above procedure (3), the command conversion unit 54 is operated by the above operation "new directory creation, name" directory 4 "". The request is transmitted to the command conversion unit 54. The command conversion unit 54 converts the operation into a command “mkdir directory 4” on the application program, and inputs it to the thin client viewer 56.

Next, the gateway control unit 51 requests the command conversion unit 54 to perform a "directory information acquisition" operation in accordance with the above procedure (4). The command conversion unit 54 converts the operation into a command “dir” on the application program, inputs the command to the thin client viewer 56, acquires the updated directory information, and returns it to the gateway control unit 51.

The gateway control unit 51 updates the menu information related to the directory registered in the menu DB 50 according to the above procedure (5) and sends it to the menu control unit 13 of the thin client terminal according to the above procedure (6). . The menu control unit 13 of the thin client terminal uses the HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal to display the updated menu screen ((d) in the figure).

In FIG. 9A, when the user uses the HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal 1 to select the item "directory 1", the menu control function unit 13 informs that the item is selected. , To the gateway control unit 51. The gateway control unit 51 searches the menu DB for the item "directory 1".
Is a subdirectory of the directory "Desktop".

The gateway control unit 51 requests the command conversion unit 54 to collect information regarding the subdirectory. The command conversion unit 54 moves to the directory and sends a file list command (this is an application native command: in this case, the server OS (ope) via the thin client viewer.
A directory moving command) of the rating system) is issued, the contents of the subdirectory on the server are acquired, and passed to the gateway control unit 51. The gateway control unit 51 creates new menu information that reflects the contents of the subdirectory, and creates new menu information in the menu DB.
And stores it in the menu control function unit 13 of the thin client terminal 1. The menu control function unit 13
"Directory 1" using the acquired mail information
Display the file information in the file to the user. This is shown in Figure 3.
It is shown in (b).

In the figure (a), the items "previous" and "next" indicate that there are files, directories, etc. in a number exceeding the display capability of the HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal. It is an item for switching pages when doing. In FIG. 1A, the user has the HMI function unit 1 of the thin client terminal 1.
When the item “next” is selected using 5, the menu control function unit 13 informs that the item is selected.
It is transmitted to the gateway control unit 51. The gateway control unit 51 searches the menu DB 50, and if there is an item on the second page in the directory, acquires the item on the second page and causes the menu control function unit 13 of the thin client terminal 1 to retrieve the item. return. The menu control function unit 13 is an HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal 1.
Is used to display the information of the second page of the directory ((d) in the figure).

When the gateway control function unit 51 searches the menu DB 50 and there is no item on the second page in the directory, the menu control function unit 13 of the thin client terminal 1 displays the second page. Notify that there is no. The menu control function unit 13 uses the HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal 1 to display the screen of FIG.

In FIG. 6B, "directory 5" is set as a directory for "file (newly created)".
(Dir) ”, as a file“ File 1 (Apl)
3) ”,“ File 2 (Apl4) ”, and“ Previous ”and“ Next ”are displayed as the function for scrolling the screen on the thin client terminal. (2) APL activation by the menu screen (1) Subsequent to the above, it is assumed that the user selects the menu item “file 1” on the subdirectory “directory 1”.

The menu control function unit 13 sends the fact that the item is selected to the gateway control unit 51.
The gateway control unit 51 knows that the file is the document file of the application program APL3 by searching the menu DB 50. Next, the gateway control unit 51 requests the command conversion unit 54 to start the "application program APL3" and open the "file 1". The command conversion unit 54 uses the server O as in the case of (1) above.
The S command requests the thin client viewer to do this. In response to this, the server 2 starts up the application program APL3. The process monitoring unit 55 uses the thin client viewer to access the server 2
It detects that the application started up is APL3 and notifies the gateway control unit 51. The gateway control unit 51 searches the menu DB 50 for a menu screen dedicated to the application program APL3,
The menu information is sent to the menu control function unit 13 of the thin client terminal 1. The menu control function unit 13 of the thin client terminal uses the acquired menu information to
A menu screen dedicated to PL1 is displayed on the thin client terminal 1 and presented to the user. (3) APL Control by APL Menu Screen As an example of the APL dedicated menu, a menu screen for a word processor is shown in FIG. Referring to the figure, on the screen, in addition to the text box T,
"Page", "Line", "JUMP", "Next""Previous",
Each area of "screen" is provided. The area “page” and the area “line” are areas for specifying the page and the line (on the APL server) of the sentence to be copied to the text box T. The area "JUMP" is a button area for jumping to a designated page or line. The area "next" and the area "previous" are areas that serve as buttons for scrolling the edited document in the text box T forward and backward. The area "screen" is an area that serves as a button for switching the screen mode to a native screen or a text screen.

The area "input" is a button area for directly inputting a key operation. In addition, "file"
Has "submenu 1", "edit" has "submenu 2", and "tool" has "submenu 3".
That is, this menu screen is further hierarchized by submenus 1 to 3 as shown in FIG. 4B. Referring to FIG. 1, the submenu 1 includes items of "New", "Open", "Close", "Overwrite", "Save As", "Print", and "End". Has been.

After selecting the "Open" item, by specifying the path and file name, the specified file is opened and the text editor is activated. "close"
Selecting the item closes the open file. A confirmation screen may be displayed before closing. By selecting the "Save As" item and then specifying the path and file name, the file is saved with the specified name. When the "Print" item is selected, the screen is switched to the print screen, and printing is executed by designating the number of prints and paper settings. Selecting the "Exit" item will exit the application and return to the previous menu.

Further, the submenu 2 includes the items "undo", "search", and "replace".
When you select the "Search" or "Replace" item, switching to the search / replace screen is performed, and by specifying a word,
A search or replace is performed. Further, the submenu 3 includes items of "document proofreading" and "expression fluctuation check". When these items are selected, the automatic proofreading of the document and the automatic check of the fluctuation of the expression are performed.

In the hierarchical structure of the above menu, the main body of the application program APL1 on the server 2 is GUI2.
The menu provided in 1 is a degenerate version, and basically customization is required for each individual application. The user specifies the area to be edited on the application by specifying the page and line areas. The menu control function unit 13 sends the area information to the gateway control unit 51.
The gateway control unit 51 requests the text transfer unit 52 to extract the text data of the designated area on the application. The text transfer unit 52 controls the GUI of the server to execute it, and passes the text data to the gateway control unit 51. Gateway control unit 5
1 transfers this to the menu control function unit 13. The menu control function unit 13 displays the text data on the text box. The user edits the text data using the text editor / FEP editing function unit 14 of the thin client terminal 1. After editing, when the user presses the enter button on the thin client terminal 1,
The menu control function unit 13 sends the edited text data to the gateway control unit 51. The gateway control unit sends the edited text data to the text transfer unit 52, and the text transfer unit 52 uses the GUI function of the server (via the thin client viewer),
Write this edited text back to the application itself on the server.

Next, the user selects a file from the menu list. The menu control function unit 13 is shown in FIG.
Open submenu 1 as shown in (b).
Next, when the user selects the item "end", the menu control function unit 13 sends to the gateway control unit 51 a message indicating that "file" → "end" has been selected. The gateway control unit 51 searches the menu DB 50, acquires the processing content (application storage end) corresponding to the item, and requests the command conversion unit 54 to perform the processing. The command conversion unit 54 issues, via the thin client viewer 56, a command that needs to be executed on the server to terminate the application, via the thin client viewer 56. (4) Description of screen display function The thin client terminal operation using the menu control function described in (1) to (3) above is not suitable for an application that highly uses the GUI of the server, such as a graphic tool. Further, as described above, it cannot be used by an application that is not registered in the menu DB in advance. In this embodiment, the screen display function is supported in order to provide an operation environment with a feeling closer to the GUI of the server in such a case. The screen display function is a function of displaying the server native screen information as image information of the browser screen of the thin client terminal after dividing, reducing, and converting the format for the thin client terminal.

The operation contents of each unit will be described below by taking a specific GUI operation as an example. The user selects the screen display function. Then, the image control function unit 12 requests the gateway control unit 51 for the server screen. The gateway control unit 51 uses the image conversion unit 53.
Forward the request to. As shown in FIG. 5, the image conversion unit 53 uses the thin client viewer 56 to
The desktop screen 500 of the server 2 is copied, a part 500a of the screen is cut out, divided, reduced, compressed, and returned to the gateway control unit 51.

Returning to FIG. 1, the gateway controller 51
The screen information compressed as described above is transmitted to the image control function unit 12 of the thin client terminal 1. The image control function unit 12 restores the received screen information and displays it on the browser screen of the thin client terminal 1. The user uses the pseudo pointer on the screen displayed by the above process. The pseudo pointer realizes a local pointer that can be operated using the HMI function unit 15 of the thin client terminal 1. The user
Move the pseudo pointer to the desired location and perform the desired action (click, double click, drag and drop, etc.). This pseudo pointer is a local pointer on the thin client terminal side and is not synchronized with the pointer of the server unless some action is taken.

Here, in the thin client terminal 1, it is assumed that the user moves the pseudo pointer over the icon of a file and double-clicks. Then,
The image control function unit 12 works in conjunction with the pseudo pointer function unit 11 to calculate the coordinates at which the action is performed, and notifies the gateway control unit 51 in the server 2 of the coordinates along with the action type (double click). The gateway control unit 51 notifies the image conversion unit 53 of the coordinates and action type. The image conversion unit 53 converts the coordinates into the coordinates on the server screen, and the action is
This is performed for the thin client viewer 56.

The above processing will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the image control function unit 12 of the thin client terminal 1 transmits an image request to the gateway (S601). This image request is issued by the gateway control unit 51 and the image conversion unit 53 in the gateway.
Is input to the viewer 56 via. Then, the file is opened on the server 2 and a new window is opened. The process monitoring unit 55 detects the above and notifies the gateway control unit 51. The gateway control unit 51 notifies the image conversion unit 53. The image conversion unit 53 copies the desktop screen of the server from the viewer (S60
2) As described above with reference to FIG. 5, the screen is divided and reduced (S603). Thereafter, the screen is compressed and returned to the gateway control unit 51 (S604).
The gateway control unit 51 transmits the compressed screen information to the image control function unit 12 of the thin client terminal 1 (S
605).

The image control function unit 12 restores the received screen information and displays it on the browser screen of the thin client terminal 1. When the user makes a movement request to move the pointer P1 on the display screen 600a (S606),
The position of the pointer P1 changes like the display screen 600b. After selecting a specific file by such operation,
When a double click is performed (S607), the coordinate data is sent to the gateway side together with the event type "double click" (S608).

The image conversion unit 53 on the gateway side performs mapping to the actual screen coordinates (S609). Further, the projection process is performed on the action performed on the thin client terminal 1 side. As a result, the movement of the pointer P2 and the double-click operation at the movement destination are reflected on the server side (S610). As described above, in this system, the server control is not immediately transferred to the server body, but is accumulated until a series of highly related operations is completed. Then, when a series of highly related operations is completed, they are collectively sent to the server side,
By simulating the operation environment of the thin client terminal on the server side, even if the network between the thin client and the server is a high-delay network, work can be efficiently performed.

3 to 5 are merely examples of screen display, and the present system is not limited by the contents of these figures. (Thin Client Terminal) In the thin client system described above, the following thin client terminals are used. That is, a thin client terminal that sends and receives data to and from a server device that executes an application program, and a terminal that has the GUI emulator function described above is used. The GUI emulator function includes a graphical user interface simulating means for simulating the graphical user interface of the server device, and an operation content transmitting means for collectively transmitting a predetermined amount of operation contents using the graphical user interface simulating means to the server device. have. Then, in the server device, the application program is executed according to the processing corresponding to the operation content. As described above, by transmitting a predetermined amount of operation contents to the server instead of sequentially transmitting the operation contents of the thin client terminal, even in an environment in which the transmission delay of the network with the server is large. , GUI function can be operated efficiently.

The operation content transmitting means collectively transmits a series of related operation contents to the server device. By collectively transmitting a series of related operation contents to the server, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function. Further, when the application program uses kana-kanji conversion, the kana-kanji conversion is performed in the terminal itself, and the conversion result of the kana-kanji conversion is transmitted to the server device by the operation content transmission means. By sending the final confirmed conversion result without sending it during the Kana-Kanji conversion,
It is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function. (Thin Client Terminal Control Method) A thin client terminal control method realized by the thin client terminal used in the above-described thin client system will be described with reference to FIG. The figure is a flowchart showing a method of controlling the thin client terminal.

As shown in the figure, the GUI emulator function unit 10 in the thin client terminal 1 determines whether or not a series of operations has been completed (step S101), and if not, sends the operation content. Instead, they are accumulated (steps S101 → S102). In other words, the thin client terminal executes server control equivalent to that normally performed on the server, but does not immediately transfer this server control to the server itself, but rather waits for the user to complete a series of highly relevant operations. A plurality of server control groups performed by are accumulated. Then, when a series of operations having high relevance to each other is completed, the accumulated server control group is collectively transmitted to the server.

Here, the judgment as to whether or not a series of operations has been completed depends on the operation contents. In other words, when the click (or double click) is performed after moving the pointer, the operation does not end at the stage of moving the pointer, and a series of operations is performed when the click (or double click) is performed last. It can be judged that the operation is completed. Also,
When the kana-kanji conversion operation is performed, the operation does not end at the stage of displaying the candidates in the middle of conversion, and it can be determined that the series of operations has ended when the kana-kanji conversion is finalized and confirmed.

In this way, when it is determined that the series of operations has been completed, the contents of the series of operations are transmitted to the server device (steps S101 → S103). The above processing is
This is continuously performed until the end of the application (steps S104 → S101 ...). As described above, the following thin client terminal control method is realized in the thin client terminal. That is, it is a thin client terminal control method for controlling a thin client terminal that sends and receives data to and from a server device that executes an application program, and a graphical user interface pseudo step for simulating a graphical user interface of the server device; A control method including an operation content transmitting step of transmitting a predetermined amount of operation content in the user interface pseudo step to the server device in a lump. Even if the environment in which the transmission delay of the network with the server is large is transmitted by transmitting a predetermined amount of the operation contents to the server instead of sequentially transmitting the operation contents in the thin client terminal, the GUI function can be used. It can be operated efficiently.

In the operation content transmission step, a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server device. By collectively transmitting a series of related operation contents to the server, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function. Further, when the application program uses Kana-Kanji conversion, the conversion result of the Kana-Kanji conversion performed in the terminal is transmitted to the server device in the operation content transmitting step. By transmitting the finally determined conversion result without transmitting it during the Kana-Kanji conversion, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function. (Control program) A program for realizing the operation shown in FIG. 7 is prepared, and the thin client terminal can be controlled by this. That is, in the above-mentioned thin client system, the following control program is realized. That is, it is a control program that controls a thin client terminal that sends and receives data to and from a server device that executes an application program, and a graphical user interface pseudo step that simulates the graphical user interface of the server device, and the graphical user interface pseudo. A control program including an operation content transmission step of transmitting a predetermined amount of operation content in steps to the server device is realized. Even if the environment in which the transmission delay of the network with the server is large is transmitted by transmitting a predetermined amount of the operation contents to the server instead of sequentially transmitting the operation contents in the thin client terminal, the GUI function can be used. It can be operated efficiently.

In the operation content transmission step, a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server device. By collectively transmitting a series of related operation contents to the server, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function. Further, when the application program uses Kana-Kanji conversion, the conversion result of the Kana-Kanji conversion performed in the terminal itself is transmitted to the server device in the operation content transmitting step. By transmitting the finally determined conversion result without transmitting it during the Kana-Kanji conversion, it is possible to operate efficiently with the GUI function.

As the recording medium for recording the above program, various recording media such as a semiconductor memory not shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 and a medium for recording electrically and magnetically are used. be able to.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention, the graphical user interface of the server device is simulated, and a predetermined amount of the operation contents of the simulated graphical user interface are collectively transmitted to the server device, so that Even in an environment in which the transmission delay of the network between them is large, there is an effect that the GUI function enables efficient operation. In this case, a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server, so that the GUI function enables the operation to be performed efficiently. Further, when the application program uses Kana-Kanji conversion, by transmitting only the conversion result to the server device without transmitting it during the Kana-Kanji conversion performed in the own terminal, the GUI function can improve work efficiency. It can be operated well.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a thin client system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a thin client system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a menu screen in a thin client system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a display example of a desktop.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a menu screen in a thin client system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a display example of a word processor application.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating processing contents of an image conversion function unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation when the thin client system of the present invention is used in a high delay network.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control method of a thin client terminal used in the thin client system of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a problem that occurs when a conventional thin client system is used in a high delay network.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Thin client terminal 2 servers 3 High latency network 4 Emulator storage section 5 gateway 10 GUI emulator function section 11 Pseudo pointer function part 12 Image control function section 13 Menu control function section 14 Text editor / FEP editing function section 15 HMI function section 20 thin client proxy 21 APL1 GUI 22 Thin client server 50 menu DB 51 Gateway control unit 52 Text Transfer Section 53 Image converter 54 Command converter 55 Process monitoring unit 56 Thin Client Viewer APL application program P1 and P2 pointers

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A thin client system including a server device for executing an application program and a thin client terminal for exchanging data with the server device, wherein the thin client terminal is a graphical user of the server device. A graphical user interface simulating means for simulating an interface; and an operation content transmitting means for collectively transmitting a predetermined amount of operation content using the graphical user interface simulating means to the server device, the server device including A thin client system for executing the application program according to a corresponding process. 2. The thin client system according to claim 1, wherein the operation content transmission unit collectively transmits a series of related operation contents to the server device. 3. When the application program uses kana-kanji conversion, the kana-kanji conversion is performed in the thin client terminal, and the conversion result of the kana-kanji conversion is transmitted to the server device by the operation content transmitting means. The thin client system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. The thin client system according to claim 1, wherein the server device includes a conversion unit that converts the operation content so that the application program can execute the operation content. 5. A thin client terminal for exchanging data with a server device executing an application program, the graphical user interface simulating means simulating a graphical user interface of the server device, and the graphical user interface simulating means. An operation content transmitting unit that collectively transmits a predetermined amount of operation content using the server device to the server device, wherein the server device executes the application program in accordance with a process corresponding to the operation content. Characteristic thin client terminal. 6. The thin client terminal according to claim 5, wherein the operation content transmission unit collectively transmits a series of related operation content to the server device. 7. If the application program uses kana-kanji conversion, the kana-kanji conversion is performed in the terminal itself, and the conversion result of the kana-kanji conversion is transmitted to the server device by the operation content transmission means. The thin client terminal according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that 8. A thin client terminal control method for controlling a thin client terminal that sends and receives data to and from a server device that executes an application program, the graphical user interface simulating step simulating a graphical user interface of the server device. And a manipulation content transmission step of collectively transmitting a predetermined amount of manipulation contents in the graphical user interface pseudo step to the server device, the thin client terminal control method. 9. In the operation content transmitting step,
The thin client terminal control method according to claim 8, wherein a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server device. 10. When the application program uses kana-kanji conversion, the conversion result of kana-kanji conversion performed in the terminal is transmitted to the server device in the operation content transmitting step. The thin client terminal control method according to claim 8 or 9. 11. A control program for controlling a thin client terminal that sends and receives data to and from a server device that executes an application program, the graphical user interface quasi step simulating a graphical user interface of the server device, An operation content transmitting step of transmitting a predetermined amount of operation content in the graphical user interface pseudo step together to the server device, and transmitting the operation content. 12. The control program according to claim 11, wherein in the operation content transmitting step, a series of related operation contents are collectively transmitted to the server device. 13. When the application program uses kana-kanji conversion, the conversion result of kana-kanji conversion performed in the terminal is transmitted to the server device in the operation content transmitting step. The control program according to claim 11 or 12.