JP2005267050A - Client, server, and system provided with connection management function, connection management method, and its program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a client, server, system, connection management method, and its program minimizing the number of unnecessary connections. <P>SOLUTION: A focus determination means determines existence of a focus, and existence of a connection which are operation objects of a user with respect to a predetermined window on the client. A connection control means controls establishment/termination of a connection with a server on the basis of determination of the focus determination means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a client, a server, a system, a connection management method, and a program therefor having a connection management function for managing connections.

  Conventionally, in a system that manages and provides information in a client-server format, the number of clients that can be simultaneously connected to a server may be limited. For example, assuming that a client using a database server establishes a connection with the server, and the user has purchased only 10 licenses for the connection, the program on the server will be the 11th and subsequent clients. The connection is not established. As a result, even with the same server, a sales method of providing an additional connection license for a large-scale system is possible, or an excessive load on the server is prevented.

If the connection establishment / release procedure is completed normally, the current number of established connections is counted without any problem. For example, if the client terminates abnormally after establishing a connection, unused connections are counted. This may be disadvantageous for the server user. To prevent such a situation, for example, the server performs communication for checking whether the client is operating at regular time intervals, and if there is no normal response from the client in the communication, the connection is forcibly released. Such processing is performed. As a result, even when the client is abnormally terminated, a state in which the connection is released and the connection is over-counted after the predetermined time has elapsed is prevented (for example, Reference: Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-84200 A

  By the way, in the conventional technology described above, when a client having a multi-window environment is used, the connection is maintained even though the connection is not used, and as a result, the number of users who can use the server at the same time. There arises a problem such as decrease.

  That is, normally, on a client having a multi-window environment, a user can use a plurality of applications. For example, consider a case where a user establishes a connection and uses application A that communicates with a database server and word processor software (application B) that does not use communication. In such a case, in a multi-window environment, window A corresponding to application A and window B corresponding to application B are displayed on a display or the like connected to the client. The switching between the windows A and B is performed by the user via a pointing device such as a mouse connected to the client or a keyboard. For example, when the user performs an operation such as character input on the window B, that is, word processing software, the window B is selected by a pointing device to move the focus to the window. Thereby, for example, the user can input characters or give instructions to the window B which is the operation target of the user. In this case, the window B has the focus, and the window A has no focus, so that the user cannot operate the window A.

  In such a state, the window A without focus cannot be operated by the user and, for example, the connection by the window A is normally maintained even though the window A is not used for a long time. If multiple clients are in this state, the number of connections will be saturated even though the database server is not used at all, and other users aiming to use the database server will not be able to establish a connection. It ends up.

  As a result, the user needs to purchase (contract) the number of connections that can be held by the server more than necessary.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed based on the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and it is possible to monitor the details of the connection usage status of the user, thereby minimizing the number of unnecessary connections to a client, server, system, and connection. It aims at providing the management method and its program.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to achieve the above object. That is, the present invention is premised on a client that establishes a connection for communication with a server in advance via a network and transmits / receives data under this connection. The OS operating on the client has a multi-window environment. Here, the focus determination means determines the presence or absence of a focus and the presence or absence of a connection, which are user operation targets, for a predetermined window on the client. The connection control unit controls establishment / release of the connection with the server based on the determination by the focus determination unit.

  According to this, it is possible to minimize the number of unnecessary connections by managing the presence or absence of the focus of the window, establishing a connection when there is focus, and once releasing the connection when there is no focus Thus, it is possible to solve the problem of squeezing the number of connections even though the connection is not used for a long time.

  Note that the connection control by the connection control means specifically includes, for example, a configuration in which the connection is released when the predetermined window transitions to the no-focus state and the connection is established when the predetermined window transitions to the focused state.

  In addition, when the connection is released due to the transition of the predetermined window to the no-focus state, the connection control unit temporarily stores the connection information used for the connection in the connection information storage unit in association with the window, and the predetermined window has the focus. At the time of re-establishing the connection by the transition to the state, the re-establishment may be performed based on the stored connection information.

  In this configuration, since connection information is stored when a connection is released, resources (the number of connections) can be used effectively without the user being aware of it even when reconnecting. Further, by providing predetermined means on the client side, it is not necessary to provide special means on the server side, so that it can be easily applied to a conventional system.

  Furthermore, the connection control means may be configured to release after confirming that there is no communication with the server for a predetermined time when the connection is released due to the transition of the predetermined window to the no-focus state.

  In this configuration, by combining with the determination of the no-communication time, it is possible to avoid the problem that the connection is released when the application is communicating in the background regardless of the user's instruction.

  Further, the present invention is premised on a client / server system in which a connection for communication is established in advance between a client and a server via a network, and data is transmitted / received under the connection. In this client / server system, a focus determination unit that determines presence / absence of a focus and a connection that is a user's operation target for a predetermined window on a client side, and a focus in a window having a connection by the focus determination unit And a focus information transmitting unit that transmits information about the presence or absence of focus to the server when the transition is determined. Also, the server side controls the establishment / release of the connection with the client based on the focus information receiving means that receives information about the presence / absence of the focus from the client and the information about the presence / absence of the focus received by the focus information receiving means. Connection control means.

  In this client-server system, the connection is controlled by the server based on information on the presence or absence of focus on a predetermined window from the client. As a result, it is possible to minimize the number of unnecessary connections as described above, and it is possible to solve the problem of compressing the number of connections without using the connection for a long time. In addition, since user IDs and passwords do not frequently flow on the network, security is improved.

  Specifically, the connection control by the connection control means is, for example, when the transition to the no-focus state of the window is determined based on the information on the presence / absence of the focus, the connection is released and the transition to the focused state is performed. For example, a configuration is established in which a connection is established.

  Here, the server and the client can be embodied using a computer. In that case, each means excluding the storage means is embodied by operating a program on a computer.

  In the client, server, system, connection management method, and program therefor provided with the connection management function according to the present invention, the presence / absence of the focus of the window is managed, and when the focus is present, the connection is established. Release the connection once. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the number of unnecessary connections, and it is possible to solve the problem of pressing the number of connections even though the long-use connection is not used. In addition, since connection information is stored when a connection is released, resources (number of connections) can be used effectively without the user being aware of it even when reconnecting.

  Furthermore, when the connection is controlled by the server based on the information regarding the presence / absence of the focus of the predetermined window from the client, the user ID and password do not frequently flow on the network, so that the security is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. In addition, the following embodiment is an example which actualized this invention, Comprising: It is not the thing of the character which limits the technical scope of this invention. The client 101 and the server 102 according to the present invention are communicably connected via a network 200 such as the Internet or an intranet as shown in the hardware configuration diagram of FIG.

  In the server 102, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 202, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 203, an HDD 204, and a network I / F (interface) 205 are connected via an internal bus 206. Yes. The CPU 201 operates as each unit described below by using, for example, the RAM 202 as a work area and executing a program stored in the ROM 203 or the HDD 204. The network I / F 205 is connected to a network and can exchange data with other devices. The configuration of the client 101 is the same as that of the server 102, and different processes can be executed because the stored programs are different.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, processing of the client having the connection management function according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic functional block diagram of the client 101. The processing of each means will be described later.

  Next, processing in the client 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5. FIG. The alphabet “S” added before the numerical value in the flowchart means a step.

  First, it is assumed that the user starts a plurality of applications on the client 101, for example. When the user starts an application on the client 101, the application creates a window as necessary. The window is managed by an OS (operating system) having a multi-window environment and operating on the client 101.

  In other words, in the client 101, for example, the focus management unit 103 constituting the OS recognizes the activation of the application, and adds information about the activated window to the focus information storage unit 104 as focus information (FIG. 4: S401 → S402).

  An example of the focus information is shown in FIG. The focus information 301 includes a window ID 302 for uniquely recognizing each window, an application 303 corresponding to the window ID, an application activation time 304, a final focus time 305 that is the last time that the window has the focus, A focus 306 indicating presence / absence, a connection destination terminal 307 which is information of a terminal connected to the window, and a connection state 308 indicating a connection state with the connected terminal are included. The term “connection” here means having a connection, and it has a connection even when the connection is released.

  It can be seen from the focus information 302 shown in FIG. 3A that six windows are currently displayed. Further, since the value of the focus 306 is “0”, it can be read that the window having the focus is Window 6. For the sake of explanation, only Window 1, Window 5, and Window 6 are displayed in FIG.

  Now, in a state where a plurality of windows 1 to 6 are displayed, the window 6 having the current focus is the operation target of the user. As shown in the display example 501 of FIG. 5, the window 6 (502) that is the operation target is displayed in front of another window (here, the window 5 (503)). The window 6 corresponds to the application F, and the connection destination establishes a connection with a server indicated by a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) “www.xxxxx”. The first connection is established, for example, when the user inputs a user ID and a password as necessary.

  When the user performs an operation on Window 6 in the state described above and then tries to perform an operation on Window 5, the user selects Window 5 using a pointing device or the like. When the selection is recognized by the OS, the focus moves (transitions) to Window 5, and that effect is reflected in the focus information 301 by the focus management unit 103 (FIG. 4: S403). For example, in this case, the focus 306 of Window 5 is “0”, and the focus 306 of Window 6 is “1”. Also, the final focus time 305 of Window 5 becomes “-------”, and the final focus time 305 of Window 6 is updated to the time when the focus has moved. Further, as shown in the display example 504 in FIG. 5, the window 5 (506) to be operated is displayed in front of other windows (here, the window 6 (505)).

  When the focus is moved from Window 6 to Window 5 by the user's operation, the OS determines whether the operation accompanying the movement of the focus is closing of the Window 5 (FIG. 4: S404). If the window is not closed, the focus determination unit 105 acquires information indicating that the focus has moved from the focus management unit 103, and acquires focus information from the focus information storage unit 104 based on the information. The acquired focus information is shown, for example, in the focus information 310 in FIG. 3B (however, only the windows 5 and 6).

  Subsequently, the focus determination unit 105 that has acquired the focus information 310 determines the presence / absence of focus and the presence / absence of connection for each window (FIG. 4: S405). In this embodiment, the presence / absence of the focus may be determined by determining the movement of the focus. Since the focus 311 is “0” with respect to Window 5, it can be seen that the state without focus is changed to the state with focus. In addition, regarding Window 6, since the final focus time 312 is recent, it can be seen that the state has shifted from the focused state to the unfocused state. Whether or not there is a connection can be determined from the fact that the connection destination information is stored in the connection destination terminal 313.

  Here, when attention is paid to Window 6, since the transition from the focused state to the unfocused state is made in Window 6 and the connection is established, the focus determination means 105 notifies the connection control means 106 (FIG. 4: S405 Yes → S406 Yes). The connection control means 106 that has received the above message stores the window ID of the window 6 and the connection information in the connection information storage means 107 in association with each other (FIG. 4: S409). For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, the connection information 326 includes a destination address 322 that is the address of the destination with which the connection is established, a user ID 323 that can be used to uniquely identify the user when establishing the connection, It consists of a corresponding password 324 and other 325 which is information necessary for establishing other connections. Subsequently, the connection control unit 106 transmits a signal for releasing the connection via the transmission / reception unit 108, so that the server 102 with which the window 6 has established a connection (here, the connection destination address is “www.xxxxx”). The connection with the server is released (FIG. 4: S410).

  When attention is paid to Window 5, since the transition from the non-focus state to the focus state is established in Window 5, the focus determination means 105 notifies the connection control means 106 to that effect (FIG. 4: S405 Yes → S406 No). . The connection control means 106 that has received the above message acquires the corresponding connection information from the connection information storage means 107 using the Window 5 as a key (FIG. 4: S407). Here, it is assumed that the connection information of Window 5 has already been stored in the same procedure as that of Window 6. Subsequently, the connection control means 106 transmits a signal for establishing a connection based on the acquired connection information, so that the server 102 with which the window 5 has established a connection (here, the connection destination address is “192.168.”). .22.3 ″ server) (FIG. 4: S408).

  Thereafter, the focus management unit 103 repeats the process of recognizing the focus selection (FIG. 4: S408 or S410 → S403). Note that it is determined whether the windows are closed. If the windows are closed, it is further determined whether or not all windows are closed. If all windows are closed, the processing for moving the focus is terminated (FIG. 4). : S404 Yes → S411 Yes → End).

  As described above, it is possible to minimize the number of unnecessary connections by managing the presence / absence of the focus of the window, establishing a connection when there is focus, and releasing the connection once when there is no focus. Thus, it is possible to solve the problem of squeezing the number of connections even though the connection is not used for a long time. In addition, since connection information is stored when a connection is released, resources (number of connections) can be used effectively without the user being aware of it even when reconnecting. Further, in the first embodiment, since the client side is provided with the means according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a special means on the server side, so that it can be easily applied to a conventional system.

  The connection control means may count the no-communication time between each application and the server, and release the connection when communication is not performed for a predetermined time. By combining with the determination of the no-communication time, it is possible to avoid the problem that the connection is released when the application is communicating in the background regardless of the user's instruction.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, processing of the server and client having the connection management function in the second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. Note that details of processes common to those in the first embodiment are omitted, and the same processes or means are denoted by the same numbers. FIG. 6 is a schematic functional block diagram of the client 601 and the server 602. The processing of each means will be described later.

  Subsequently, processing in the client 601 and the server 602 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9.

  First, as in the first embodiment, it is assumed that the user starts a plurality of applications on the client 601, for example. When the user activates the application on the client 601, in the client 601, for example, the focus management unit 103 constituting the OS recognizes the activation of the application, and adds information related to the activated window to the focus information storage unit 104 as focus information ( FIG. 8: S401 → S402).

  The focus information may be the same as the focus information 301 shown in the first embodiment, for example.

  As in the first embodiment, assuming that the focus is moved from Window 6 to Window 5 by the user's operation in a state where a plurality of Windows 1 to 6 are displayed, the OS performs the operation accompanying the movement of the focus. It is determined whether or not Window 5 is closed (FIG. 8: S403 → S404). If the window is not closed, the focus determination unit 105 acquires information indicating that the focus has moved from the focus management unit 103, and acquires focus information from the focus information storage unit 104 based on the information.

  Subsequently, the focus determination unit 105 that has acquired the focus information determines the presence / absence of a focus and the presence / absence of a connection for each window (FIG. 8: S405).

  Here, focusing on Window 6, since the transition from the focused state to the unfocused state is established in Window 6, and the connection is established, the focus determination unit 105 notifies the focus information transmission unit 603 (FIG. 8: S405 Yes). → S406 Yes).

  The above is the same processing as in the first embodiment. Here, the focus information transmission unit 603 that has received the above notification from the focus determination unit 105 has information about the presence or absence of focus, that is, the window ID and the focus information reception unit that configures the server 602 to indicate that the focus has been changed to no focus. It transmits to 604 (FIG. 8: S802). Focusing on Window 5, since the transition from the non-focused state to the focused state is established in Window 5, the focus determination unit 105 notifies the focus information transmission unit 603 to that effect, and the focus that has received the above notification. The information transmission unit 603 similarly transmits the Window ID and the fact that the focus has been changed to “with focus” to the focus information reception unit 604 (FIG. 8: S405 Yes → S406 No → S801).

  Through the above processing, information regarding communication with the server 602, which is the presence / absence of the focus of each window in the client 601, is transmitted to the server 602.

  Now, with respect to Window 6, the focus information receiving unit 604 that has acquired the information regarding the presence of WindowID and the presence of focus (with / without focus) transmits the information to the connection control unit 606 (FIG. 9: S901). Upon receiving the information, the connection control unit 606 detects that the focus is changed from being present to not being present, and associates each client with the Window ID and connection information necessary for the connection, and as connection information storage unit as the focus information 701. It memorize | stores in 605 (FIG. 9: S902Yes-> S905). As shown in FIG. 7, the focus information 701 is associated with, for example, a connection terminal 702 that can uniquely identify a connection terminal, a window ID 703, and connection information 709. The connection information 709 includes a connection start time 704 that is a time when the client starts connection, a user ID 705 that can uniquely identify the connected user, a password 706 corresponding to the user ID, and the current focus. A focus 707 indicating the presence / absence state and a client focus reception latest time 708 which is a time when information on the presence / absence of the focus from the client was recently received are included. Next, after storing the focus information, the connection control unit 606 releases the connection to the server 602 by Window 6 of the client 601 (FIG. 9: S906).

  Further, with respect to Window 5, the focus information receiving unit 604 that has acquired the information about the WindowID and the presence / absence of focus (no focus → present) transmits the information to the connection control unit 606 (FIG. 9: S901). Upon receiving the information, the connection control unit 606 detects that the focus is changed from no focus to presence, and sends the corresponding client information, WindowID, and connection information necessary for connection from the connection information storage unit 605. get. (FIG. 9: S902 No → S903). Next, the connection control means 606 reestablishes the connection to the server 602 by Window 5 of the client 601 based on the acquired focus information (FIG. 9: S904).

  As described above, the server may control the connection based on the information regarding the presence or absence of the focus of the predetermined window from the client. As in the first embodiment, this makes it possible to minimize the number of unnecessary connections and to improve security because user IDs and passwords do not flow frequently on the network. become.

  Note that the connection control unit 606 in the server 602 also counts the non-communication time between each application and the server, as in the connection control unit 106 in the first embodiment. The connection may be released. This makes it possible to avoid the problem that the connection is released when the application is communicating in the background regardless of the focus.

  A client, server, system, connection management method, and program therefor having a connection management function according to the present invention manage connections based on the focus of a window, so that the number of unnecessary connections is minimized. It is useful as a system, a connection management method, and its program.

FIG. 3 is a schematic functional block diagram of a client. The hardware block diagram of a client and a server. The figure which shows an example of focus information and connection information. The flowchart which shows the outline process of a client. The figure which shows the relationship between the presence or absence of a focus, and a window. Schematic functional block diagram of client and server according to Embodiment 2 FIG. 10 shows an example of focus information in the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a schematic process of a client in the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a schematic process of a server in the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Client 102 Server 103 Focus management means 104 Focus information storage means 105 Focus determination means 106 Connection control means 107 Connection information storage means 108 Transmission / reception means 603 Focus information transmission means 604 Focus information reception means 605 Connection information storage means 606 Connection control means

Claims (16)

In a client that establishes a connection for communication with a server in advance via a network and sends and receives data under the connection,
Focus determination means for determining the presence / absence of focus and the presence / absence of a connection that is a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the client having a multi-window environment;
And a connection control means for controlling establishment / release of a connection with the server based on the determination by the focus determination means.   2. The client according to claim 1, wherein the connection control by the connection control unit is such that the connection is released when the predetermined window transitions to the no-focus state and the connection is established when the predetermined window transitions to the focused state. The connection control means includes
At the time of releasing the connection due to the transition of the predetermined window to the no-focus state, the connection information used for the connection is stored in the connection information storage means in association with the window,
3. The client according to claim 2, wherein when the connection is re-established due to the transition of the predetermined window to the focused state, re-establishment is performed based on the connection information stored in the connection information storage means. The connection control means includes
4. The client according to claim 3, wherein when the connection is released due to the transition of the predetermined window to the no-focus state, it is canceled after confirming that there is no communication with the server for a predetermined time. In a connection management method in a client that establishes a connection for communication with a server in advance via a network and transmits / receives data under the connection,
A focus determination step for determining presence / absence of a focus and a presence / absence of a connection that is a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the client having a multi-window environment;
A connection control step for controlling establishment / release of a connection with the server based on determination by the focus determination means. Establish a connection for communication with the server in advance via the network, and send / receive data under the connection to the computer.
A focus determination step for determining presence / absence of focus and presence / absence of connection as a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the computer having a multi-window environment;
And a connection control step for controlling establishment / release of the connection with the server based on the determination by the focus determination means. In the server that establishes a connection for communication with the client in advance via the network and sends / receives data under the connection,
Focus information receiving means for receiving, from the client, information relating to the presence or absence of a focus that is a user's operation target in a window corresponding to an application that is transmitting and receiving data to and from the server on the client;
A server comprising: connection control means for controlling establishment / release of a connection with the client based on information on the presence or absence of focus received by the focus information receiving means.   The connection control by the connection control means is performed when the transition to the no-focus state of the window is determined based on the information on the presence / absence of the focus, and when the transition to the focused state is determined. The server according to claim 7, wherein a connection is established. The information on the presence or absence of the focus includes a window ID that identifies the window,
The connection control means includes
When releasing a connection due to a transition to a no-focus state of a predetermined window, the connection information used for the connection is associated with the window ID and stored in the connection information storage unit,
9. The server according to claim 7, wherein when the connection is re-established due to the transition of the predetermined window to the focused state, re-establishment is performed based on the connection information stored in the connection information storage means. In a connection management method in a server that establishes a connection for communication with a client in advance via a network and transmits / receives data under the connection,
A focus information receiving step for receiving, from the client, information relating to the presence or absence of the focus, which is a user's operation target, in a window corresponding to an application performing data transmission / reception with the server on the client;
A connection management method comprising: a connection control step for controlling establishment / release of a connection with the client based on information on the presence / absence of focus received by the focus information receiving means. Establishing a connection for communication with the client in advance via the network and sending / receiving data under the connection to the computer
A focus information receiving step for receiving, from the client, information related to the presence or absence of the focus, which is a user's operation target, in a window corresponding to an application performing data transmission / reception with the computer on the client;
A program for executing a connection control step for controlling establishment / release of a connection with the client based on information on the presence or absence of focus received by the focus information receiving means. In a client that establishes a connection for communication with a server in advance via a network and sends and receives data under the connection,
Focus determination means for determining the presence / absence of focus and the presence / absence of a connection that is a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the client having a multi-window environment;
A focus information transmission unit configured to transmit information regarding the presence or absence of focus to the server when the focus determination unit determines a focus transition in a window having a connection. In a connection management method in a client that establishes a connection for communication with a server in advance via a network and transmits / receives data under the connection,
A focus determination step for determining presence / absence of a focus and a presence / absence of a connection that is a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the client having a multi-window environment;
And a focus information transmission step of transmitting information regarding the presence or absence of focus to the server when the focus determination unit determines focus transition in a window having a connection. Establish a connection for communication with the server in advance via the network, and send / receive data under the connection to the computer.
A focus determination step for determining presence / absence of focus and presence / absence of connection as a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the computer having a multi-window environment;
A program for executing a focus information transmission step of transmitting information on the presence / absence of focus to the server when the focus determination unit determines a focus transition in a window having a connection. In a client / server system that establishes a connection for communication between a client and a server in advance via a network and transmits / receives data under the connection,
On the client side,
Focus determination means for determining the presence / absence of focus and the presence / absence of a connection that is a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the client having a multi-window environment;
A focus information transmission unit configured to transmit information regarding the presence or absence of focus to the server when the focus determination unit determines a focus transition in a window having a connection;
On the server side,
Focus information receiving means for receiving information about the presence or absence of focus from the client;
A client / server system comprising: connection control means for controlling establishment / release of a connection with the client based on information on presence / absence of focus received by the focus information receiving means. In a connection management method in a client / server system in which a connection for communication is established in advance between a client and a server via a network, and data is transmitted / received under the connection,
A focus determination step for determining presence / absence of a focus and a presence / absence of a connection that is a user's operation target for a predetermined window in the client having a multi-window environment;
A focus information transmission step of transmitting information regarding the presence or absence of focus to the server when the focus transition in the window having a connection is determined in the focus determination step;
A focus information receiving step for receiving information on the presence or absence of the focus; and
A connection control step for controlling establishment / release of a connection with the client based on the information on the presence / absence of the focus received in the focus information reception step.

Images