JP2004078744A - Information processor and method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically recognize an unnecessary printer driver, to provide know-how to delete the recognized driver, and to simplify the uninstalling operation of the printer driver. <P>SOLUTION: This information processor comprises, for example, an acquiring step for acquiring the version information of a device driver in a host computer 1000 and a printer driver management table B of information charts 11, 12 of peripheral devices capable of being controlled by the device driver, a recognizing step for recognizing the unnecessary device driver among the device drivers in which a plurality of versions can exist corresponding to the specific peripheral device, on the basis of the version information of the device driver acquired in the acquiring step, and a delete control step for controlling the delete of the device driver recognized as the unnecessary device driver by the recognizing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a peripheral device, an information processing device connectable to the peripheral device, and a system including the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, when printing is performed in a printing system including a host computer and a printer that is an example of a peripheral device, first, an application is executed on the host computer side to create drawing data to be printed such as characters and graphics. When print processing is selected from a menu or the like, the application passes the created drawing data to the operating system to request the print processing. When a printing process is requested by the application, the operating system converts drawing data passed from the application into a print command executable by a printer connected to the host computer. An example printer driver is executed. The printer driver receives drawing data from the operating system and converts it into a print command according to a procedure defined by the operating system. The printer driver outputs a print command to the connected printer using the communication function of the operating system.
[0003]
Each printer has different functions such as supported paper size, ink type, recording method on paper, transportable paper type, paper transport method, etc. The processing method and available printer command parameters are different. For this reason, a printer driver that converts drawing data of an application into a control command of a printer must be designed and created with due consideration of the functional characteristics of each printer model. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect the difference in the functional characteristics of the printer in the control algorithm of the printer driver. Even if the command system supported by the printer is the same, the execution module of the printer driver may be affected by the difference in the program that executes the control algorithm. Is created and supplied to each printer individually.
[0004]
On the other hand, there is a programming method in which a printer driver switches the internal algorithm in accordance with information obtained by referring to the database by creating a database of the functional characteristics of the printer and processing the parts that must be dealt with for each model. In this case, it is possible to support a plurality of types of printers with an execution module of one printer driver. In this way, one printer driver is supplied as a product to a plurality of types of printers having different functional characteristics.
[0005]
As described above, there is a correspondence between a printer and a printer driver that controls the printer, and it is necessary to install a printer driver suitable for the printer being used in the host computer. Installation and uninstallation of the printer driver is performed by a program called an installer.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When the printer driver is installed in a host computer in which the printer driver is already installed, if there is no change in the file name of the printer driver, the file may be overwritten, and no problem occurs. However, if the specifications of the printer driver are changed, for example, whether the printer driver supports only one printer or multiple printer models, it is necessary to change the file name of the printer driver to cope with it. May not be. If there is a change in the file name of the printer driver, it is necessary to delete the printer driver that was previously on the host computer.
[0007]
At this time, the function for uninstalling (deleting) the driver may be provided as one function of the installer of the printer driver, or may be provided as a dedicated uninstallation program. It is necessary to manually perform complicated uninstallation work.
[0008]
However, for example, there is a case where a system migration operation that requires a change from a printer driver of a type supporting one model to a printer driver of a type supporting a plurality of models is performed. In this case, when multiple types of printers are connected to the host computer and used, the user must accurately determine whether the currently connected printer is supported by the new multi-type supported printer driver. After grasping, it was necessary to manually delete the printer driver for the unnecessary unnecessary model. Alternatively, a troublesome operation such as deleting all the printer drivers once and then installing (introducing) the printer drivers again is required.
[0009]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide an installer that can simplify installation work of a printer driver by automatically recognizing and deleting unnecessary printer drivers. Aim.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve at least one of the above objects, the present invention includes, for example, the following configuration.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 1 is a management method for managing a device driver in an information processing device connectable to a peripheral device, wherein the version information of the device driver in the information processing device and the peripheral device controllable by the device driver are included. An acquisition step of acquiring information, and from the version information of the device driver acquired by the acquisition unit and the information of the peripheral device that can be controlled by the device driver, the device driver corresponding to the specific peripheral device and having a plurality of versions available. The information processing apparatus includes a recognition step of recognizing an unnecessary device driver among device drivers existing in the storage device of the information processing apparatus, and a deletion control step of controlling deletion of the device driver recognized as unnecessary by the recognition unit. It is characterized by the following.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recognizing step, it is not necessary to specify a specific procedure for specifying a peripheral device and a device driver having the latest version among device drivers capable of controlling the peripheral device specified by the specific procedure. A determining step of determining that there is no peripheral device, wherein the processing in the determining step is repeatedly performed on a device driver corresponding to the peripheral device specified by the specifying step.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recognition step, management is performed as table data including information on peripheral devices and device drivers, and an unnecessary device driver is obtained from the table data.
[0014]
The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that, after a device driver is newly added to the information processing apparatus, the acquiring step, the recognizing step, and the deleting step are executed.
[0015]
The inventions described in claims 5 to 9 are the device or program inventions of the inventions described in the claims 1 to 4, and will not be described.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a print system including a computer on which a printer driver is installed and a printer. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a host computer to which a printer A11 and a printer B12 are connected via an external bus 10 (communication bus) such as Ethernet (R) or USB. Although FIG. 1 shows only two printers, any number of printers can be connected via the communication bus 10.
[0018]
The printer A11 and the printer B12 are inkjet printers each including a printer controller 13 and a printer engine 14, and can print out images, characters, graphics, and the like on print media of various sizes. Here, the printer controller 13 means a control circuit and a program for controlling the entire printer, while the printer engine 14 means a mechanism for scanning an inkjet printer head and transporting a print medium. The printer 11 and the printer 12 each include an ink-jet cartridge, and the ink-jet cartridge is obtained by combining ink tanks storing ink to be supplied to the heads of the ink-jet heads for each color and integrating them.
[0019]
In the host computer 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a CPU, which is an operating system (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as an OS in the drawings) stored in an external storage device 6 such as a hard disk or a CD-ROM by a program stored in the ROM 3 at the time of startup. Is loaded into the RAM 4 and executed to control the system. Reference numeral 5 denotes a display device such as a CRT or an LCD, which can perform various displays under the control of the CPU 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, which performs various inputs to the CPU 1. Reference numeral 9 denotes an internal bus of the host computer, which enables data exchange among the CPU 2, the ROM 3, the RAM 4, the display device 5, the external storage device 6, the input device 7, and the external I / F 8.
[0020]
The external storage device 6 stores various programs such as an application program and a printer driver in addition to the operating system. The CPU 1 executes various application programs and corresponds to the printers A11 and B12 according to the control of the operating system. The printer driver converts the drawing data of the application program into a printer control command executable by the printers A11 and B12. The printer control command generated by the CPU 1 based on the control of the printer driver is output to the communication bus 10 by the I / F 8 and transmitted to the printer A11 or the printer B12. The printer A11 or the printer B12 receives the printer control command transmitted from the host computer 1 in this way, and performs printing.
[0021]
FIG. 2 is an internal block diagram of a program execution module related to print processing in an operating system of a computer. The application 15 passes drawing data created by a user's operation in advance to the operating system 16 and requests the operating system 16 to perform a printing process. The operating system 16 saves the drawing data passed from the application in the print spool file 17. After receiving all the drawing data from the application and storing it in the print spool file 17, the operating system 16 loads the printer driver 18 corresponding to the output destination printer. The operating system 16 loads the drawing data from the print spool file 17 and passes the drawing data to the printer driver 18 to request processing. The printer driver 18 converts the received drawing data into a printer command, and outputs it to the printer 19 using the communication function of the operating system 16. The printer 19 performs printing based on the print command generated in this manner.
[0022]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of an execution environment when the installer of the embodiment is executed. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the printer driver 1 and the printer driver 2 are already installed on the host computer and the printer driver 3 is newly installed. The installer 20 includes an installation main module 21 that is responsible for performing an installation operation, and a version management module 22 that obtains information on a printer driver version and a supported printer and performs processing. The printer driver 1 is a printer driver based on a control program of version 1.0.0, and supports the printer A. The printer driver 2 is a printer driver having a version 1.1.0 control program, and supports the printer D. The printer driver 3 is a printer driver having a version 2.0.0 control program, and is capable of supporting all printers of the supported model information saved in the support information table.
[0023]
FIG. 5 shows the data structure of the support information table. The support information table has information on the number and types of printers supported by the printer driver. The column of the printer module 3 in the table of FIG. 5 relates to the printer driver 3 and stores data of a printer that can be supported. In this embodiment, the printer driver 3 can control three types of printers A, B and C.
[0024]
When the installer of the present embodiment is executed, first, the installation main module 21 is executed by the CPU of the host computer. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing of the installation main module 21. In step S1, a printer driver is installed in a predetermined location defined by an operating system. In step S2, the version management module 22 is called, the version of each printer driver and information on the supported printer models are acquired, and a printer driver management table B is created and acquired.
[0025]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the details of step S2 and the processing of the version management module 22. In step S9, a search is made for a printer driver present on the external storage device of the host computer. In this process, for example, it is assumed that the printer driver is installed in a predetermined directory within the range defined by the operating system, and the version management module 22 executes the executable file in the directory. This is done by searching. In step S10, the total number of printer drivers found by the search is stored in a variable n. In step S11, a counter variable i is initialized to zero. In step S12, the counter variable i is compared with the total number n of the printer drivers. If i <n, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, version information of the printer driver is obtained. For example, in an OS such as Mac OS X (trademark), the printer driver has a directory hierarchical structure called a bundle. There is a file having a predetermined file name at a predetermined location under the directory, and a version number is described therein. Alternatively, in an operating system such as Mac OS 9 (trademark), version information is described in a file area called a resource. In step S13, for example, an installer provided as an application acquires version information by referring to the information managed by the OS.
[0026]
In step S14, the installer searches the support information table of the i-th printer driver. For example, a printer driver managed by a directory structure such as a driver for Mac OS X (a trademark of Apple Inc.) stores a support information file in a predetermined location under a directory hierarchy of the printer driver. In a printer driver of another operating system, support information can be stored in a file area called a resource. In step S14, such a search process of the support information table is performed. If a support information table is found, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, a printer model that can be controlled by the printer driver described in the support information table is acquired. If the support information table is not found in S14, the process proceeds to S16. In S16, printer model information supported by the printer driver is acquired by another means. For example, when the file name of the printer driver includes the model name of the printer, the version management module can acquire the model name supported by the printer driver from the file name. Even when the file name does not include the printer model name, the version management module has a table that associates the printer driver file name with the printer model, and refers to this table to determine the printer that can be controlled by the printer driver. You can know the model.
[0027]
In step S17, the module management table A is updated with the printer model information supported by the i-th printer driver and the printer driver version number.
[0028]
9 and 10 are diagrams showing the structure of the module management table A. The module management table A has information indicating the model of the printer, a version number of the printer driver, and information for identifying the printer driver. The information for identifying the printer driver is reference information of the printer driver managed by the operating system.
[0029]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the details of step S17. In step S20, the number of printer models supported by the printer driver currently being processed is substituted for the variable m. In step 21, a counter variable j is initialized to 0. In step 22, the magnitude relationship between the variable m and the variable j is compared. If j <m, the process proceeds to step S23, and the processing after step S23 is performed for the j-th printer among the printers supported by the printer driver. In step S23, it is checked whether the j-th printer has been registered in the printer driver management table A. If the j-th printer does not exist in the printer driver management table A in step S23, the process proceeds to step S25 to register the printer information in the module management table A. If the j-th printer exists in the printer driver management table, the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the version of the printer driver already registered in the printer driver management table A and the version of the printer driver currently being processed are compared for the j-th printer of interest. If the version of the printer driver currently being processed is larger, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the information of the corresponding printer in the printer driver management table A is updated with the identification information and the version information of the printer driver currently being processed. If the version of the printer driver currently being processed is smaller than the version of the printer driver already registered in the printer driver management table A, the updating process of the printer driver management table A in S25 is not performed. In step S26, the counter variable j is incremented, and the process returns to step S22, where the same processing is performed for the next supported printer of the printer driver to be processed. In step S22, when j <m is not satisfied and the processing for all the printers is completed, the processing in the flowchart in FIG. 8 is completed, and the process returns to step S18 in the flowchart in FIG.
[0030]
In step S18 of the flowchart of FIG. 7, the counter variable i is incremented, and the process returns to step S12, and the same processing is performed for the next printer driver. In step S12, when i <n is not satisfied and the processing is completed for all printer drivers, the process proceeds to step S19. In step S19, a printer driver management table B is created from the printer driver management table A.
[0031]
11 and 12 show the structure of the printer driver management table B. The printer driver management table B has printer driver identification information, a printer driver version number, the number of printer models, and printer information. The printer driver management table A is arranged using the printer driver as a key. Then, by referring to this table, the model of the printer that requires the printer driver of each version can be determined.
[0032]
In the configuration of the printer driver of FIG. 3, the printer driver management table A and the printer driver management table B created by the version management module 22 performing the processes of the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8 are shown in FIGS. According to the printer driver management table A of FIG. 9, the printer driver of the largest version supporting the printer A is the printer driver 3, the printer driver of the largest version supporting the printer B is the printer driver 3, and the printer C is It can be seen that the printer driver with the largest version supporting the printer driver 3 is the printer driver 3, and the printer driver with the largest version supporting the printer D is the printer driver 2. Further, according to the printer driver management table B of FIG. 11 created based on this table, no printer requires the printer driver 1, the printer driver 2 is required for the printer D, and the printer driver 3 is It can be seen that it is necessary for the printers A, B and C.
[0033]
After the version management module creates the printer driver management table B, the process returns to step S3 in FIG. In step S3, the total number of printer drivers registered in the printer driver management table B is substituted for a variable n. In step S4, a counter variable i is initialized to 0. In step S5, the magnitude relationship between the variable n and the variable i is compared. If i <n, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the number of printer models that require the i-th printer driver in the printer driver management table B is acquired, and it is checked whether the number of printer models is zero. If the number of models is 0, the process proceeds to step S7, and the printer driver is deleted. If the number of printer models requiring the i-th printer driver is not 0 in step S6, the printer driver is not deleted.
[0034]
In step S8, the counter variable i is incremented, and the process returns to step S5. When the processing of all the printer drivers registered in the printer driver management table B has been completed and i <n is not satisfied in step S5, the processing of the installation main module 21 ends.
[0035]
In the configuration of the printer driver as shown in FIG. 3, since the printer driver management module B is as shown in FIG. 11, the printer driver 1 having zero printer models is deleted after the installation main module 21 is executed.
[0036]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another example of the execution environment when the installer of the present embodiment is executed. FIG. 4 shows a state where the printer driver 3 is installed and the printer driver 1 is deleted in the environment of FIG. 3, and a state where the printer driver 4 is further installed. The printer driver 4 has a support information table and can control four types of printers A, B, C and D as shown in the column of the printer driver 4 in FIG. The version of the control program of the printer driver 4 is 3.0.0.
[0037]
At this time, FIG. 10 shows the module management table A created by executing the version management module in the flowcharts of FIGS. It can be seen that the printer driver of the largest version supporting the printers A, B, C and D is the printer driver 4. FIG. 12 shows a printer driver management table B created based on the printer driver management table A of FIG. It can be seen that there is no printer that requires the printer driver 2 and the printer driver 3, and the printers that require the printer driver 4 are the printer A, the printer B, the printer C, and the printer D. That is, when the installer main module based on the flowchart of FIG. 6 is executed, the printer driver 2 and the printer driver 3 are deleted after the printer driver 4 is installed.
[0038]
(Other embodiments)
The processing shown in each drawing in the present embodiment is performed by each information processing device by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when a group of information including a program is supplied to a host computer from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external storage medium via a network. Things.
[0039]
As described above, the storage medium storing the program codes of the software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or the apparatus, or is downloaded from an external server (not shown), so that the system or the apparatus is obtained. It is needless to say that the object of the present invention can also be achieved when the computer (or CPU or MPU) reads and executes the program code stored in the storage medium.
[0040]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, DVD, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, or the like can be used.
[0041]
When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided on a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.
[0042]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, a printer driver is installed in an environment of a host computer in which a printer driver having a different file name due to a difference between a printer driver version and a controllable printer is installed. After installing the printer driver, an installer of a printer driver that can recognize and delete an old printer driver of an unnecessary version can be provided. As a result, the installer can delete the unnecessary old version of the printer driver, which has been manually performed by the user in the past, thereby simplifying the user's uninstallation of the printer driver.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
Since the unnecessary printer driver is automatically recognized and the recognized driver is deleted, the operation of uninstalling the printer driver can be simplified.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a printing system including a computer and a printer.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating print processing via an operating system in the print system.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an environment in which an installer is executed.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating another example of an environment in which an installer is executed.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a support information table having information on printers that can be controlled by a printer driver.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing of an installer main module.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing of a version management module.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of an update process of a printer driver management table A in FIG.
9 is a diagram illustrating a printer driver management table A created in the example of the installer execution environment in FIG. 3;
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a printer driver management table A created in the example of the installer execution environment of FIG. 4;
11 is a diagram showing a printer driver management table B created in the example of the installer execution environment of FIG. 3;
12 is a diagram illustrating a printer driver management table B created in the example of the installer execution environment in FIG. 4;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Host computer
2 CPU
3 ROM
4 RAM
5 Display device
6. External storage device
7 Input device
8 External I / F
9 Internal bus
10 External bus
11 Printer A
12 Printer B
13 Printer controller
14 Printer Engine
15 Applications
16 Operating system
17 Print spool file
18 Printer Driver
19 Printer
20 Installer
21 Installation main module
22 Version control module
23 Printer Driver 1
24 Printer Driver 2
25 Printer Driver 3
26 Printer Driver 4

Claims (9)

A management method for managing a device driver in an information processing device connectable to a peripheral device, comprising:
An obtaining step of obtaining version information of a device driver in the information processing apparatus and information of a peripheral device that can be controlled by the device driver;
A device driver that can correspond to a specific peripheral device and has a plurality of versions, using the device driver version information acquired in the acquiring step and information on peripheral devices that can be controlled by the device driver; A recognition step of recognizing an unnecessary device driver among device drivers existing in the storage device of the device;
A management method comprising a deletion control step of controlling deletion of a device driver recognized as unnecessary by the recognition unit. The recognizing step includes a specifying procedure for specifying a peripheral device, and a determining procedure for determining that a device driver having the latest version among device drivers capable of controlling the peripheral device specified by the specifying procedure is not necessary. ,
2. The management method according to claim 1, wherein the processing in the determination procedure is repeatedly performed on a device driver corresponding to the peripheral device identified by the identification procedure. 3. The management method according to claim 2, wherein in the recognition step, management is performed as table data including information on peripheral devices and device drivers, and an unnecessary device driver is obtained from the table data. 4. The management method according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring step, the recognizing step, and the deleting step are performed after a device driver is newly added to the information processing apparatus. An information processing device capable of managing a device driver in an information processing device connectable to a peripheral device,
Acquiring means for acquiring version information of a device driver in the information processing apparatus and information of a peripheral device that can be controlled by the device driver;
A device driver corresponding to a specific peripheral device and having a plurality of versions, using the device driver version information acquired by the acquisition unit and information on the peripheral device controllable by the device driver. Recognizing means for recognizing an unnecessary device driver among device drivers existing in the storage device;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a deletion control unit configured to control deletion of a device driver recognized as unnecessary by the recognition unit. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recognition unit recognizes that a device driver having the latest version among device drivers capable of controlling a specific peripheral device is not necessary. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, in the recognizing step, the device data is managed as table data including information on the peripheral device and the device driver, and an unnecessary device driver is obtained from the table data. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the acquisition unit, the recognition unit, and the deletion unit are made to function after a device driver is newly added to the information processing apparatus. . A control program executed in an information processing device capable of managing a device driver in an information processing device connectable to a peripheral device,
An obtaining step of obtaining version information of a device driver in the information processing apparatus and information of a peripheral device that can be controlled by the device driver;
A device driver corresponding to a specific peripheral device and having a plurality of versions, using the device driver version information acquired by the acquisition unit and information on the peripheral device controllable by the device driver. A recognition step of recognizing an unnecessary device driver among device drivers existing in the storage device,
A deletion control step of controlling a process of deleting a device driver recognized as unnecessary by the recognition step in the information processing apparatus.

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