JP2006031189A - Information processing device and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for enabling a user using an application of old version to easily learn how to use the application of new version. <P>SOLUTION: The display of a part corresponding to a display-changing part is changed on the interface screen of an application of old version (S3406 and S3408) in case that the display-changing part exists on the interface screen (S3404) due to an operation on the interface screen of the application of latest version. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for executing an application.

  Conventionally, systems that provide applications to users using the Internet or intranet, such as Web servers and file servers, have become widespread, and users download and install applications from servers on the network to personal computers. It is possible to run the application on top.

  In addition, when the latest version of the application downloaded and installed by the user on the personal computer is developed and registered on the server, the user needs to download and install it again from the server. Some applications have a function of monitoring update information and updating the application on the personal computer when the application on the server is updated.

  In view of such circumstances, conventionally, a system that multiplexly executes different versions of a program on a plurality of processing devices connected to a network has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, there has been proposed a system that analyzes differences in assembly language programs caused by differences in compiler versions, and outputs the difference information when there is a difference (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 7-49844 A JP-A-10-293683

  In conventional applications, the UI (user interface) configuration is often different between the new version application after the upgrade and the old version application used so far, and the UI difference between the old and new versions Therefore, it is difficult for the user to learn the UI configuration of the new version of the application.

  In addition, even if the user interface configuration is different between the new version of the application after the upgrade and the old version of the application that has been used, the UI configuration of the new version of the application can be easily learned. Until now, there has been no application distribution system that distributes the application.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for facilitating the acquisition of a new version of an application for a user who has handled an old version of an application.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an information processing apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, an information processing apparatus that executes an application and displays the execution result on a display means,
First processing means for displaying an interface screen of the application of interest in the first version on the display means;
Second processing means for displaying on the display means an interface screen of the application of interest in a second version that is an older version than the first version;
When there is a display change portion on the interface screen as a result of performing an operation on the interface screen displayed on the display means by the first processing means, the display is displayed on the display means by the second processing means. Display changing means for changing the display of the portion corresponding to the display change portion on the interface screen displayed.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an information processing method of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, an information processing method for executing an application and displaying the execution result on a display means,
A first processing step of displaying an interface screen of the application of interest in the first version on the display means;
A second processing step of displaying on the display means an interface screen of the application of interest in a second version which is a version older than the first version;
When there is a display change portion on the interface screen as a result of performing an operation on the interface screen displayed on the display means in the first processing step, the display on the display means is displayed in the second processing step. And a display change step of changing the display of the portion corresponding to the display change portion on the interface screen.

  With the configuration of the present invention, a user who has handled an old version of an application can easily learn a new version of the application.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, an apparatus that executes software of an already installed application and displays the execution result together with the application GUI (graphical user interface), and an operation of the apparatus will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. An information processing apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is a general-purpose computer such as a PC (personal computer) or WS (workstation).

  A CPU 101 controls the entire computer using programs and data stored in the RAM 102 and the ROM 103, and performs a process for controlling a series of processes related to execution of an application, which will be described later.

  A RAM 102 includes a work area necessary for the CPU 101 to execute various processes, and an area for temporarily storing programs and data loaded from the external storage device 106.

  A ROM 103 stores a boot program, setting data of the apparatus, and the like.

  An operation unit 104 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and can input various instructions to the CPU 101. For example, when an operation is performed by a user using an application GUI described later, This is performed using the operation unit 104.

  A display device 105 includes a CRT, a liquid crystal screen, and the like, and can display an execution result by the CPU 101 with an image, text, or the like. For example, an application GUI described later is displayed on the display screen of the display device 105. Is displayed.

  Reference numeral 106 denotes an external storage device, which is a large-capacity information storage device such as a hard disk drive device, and programs and data for causing the OS (operating system) and the CPU 101 to execute a series of control processes related to the execution of applications described later. Are stored in the RAM 102 under the control of the CPU 101 and are processed by the CPU 101.

  Reference numeral 107 denotes an interface (I / F), and data communication with an external device is performed via the I / F 107.

  Reference numeral 108 denotes a bus connecting the above-described units.

  Next, application software installed in the information processing apparatus (the external storage device 106) according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described.

  Here, it is assumed that the latest application software is currently installed in the external storage device 106. The version of this software is assumed to be 1.01. In general, the current version of the application is obtained by adding some functions to an older version of the application, or integrating several old functions into one function.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing functions in each version for the same application. In the figure, functions are indicated by A to F for convenience. In the figure, “0_9_8” indicates version 0.98, “0_9_9” indicates version 0.99, “1_0_0” indicates version 1.00, and “1_0_1” indicates version 1.01. Is shown.

  Referring to the figure, the application has only function C in version 0.98, and only function C in version 0.99. However, in version 1.00, function B and function E are added to this function C. In version 1.01, function C is lost, but functions A, B, D, E, and F are added.

  In this way, as the version increases (the version number increases), newer functions are added, so that the application GUI configuration becomes more complicated in order to use the newly added functions. . As described above, when an application user operates a newer application, if it is an old version, the operation for realizing the function is known, but if it is a new version, which is it? It is not known whether the same function can be realized by performing such operations.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, software for displaying the GUI screen (guide window) of the previous version of application software (hereinafter referred to as “guide window GUI software”) is added to the new version of application software. And distributed to users.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram showing list data indicating the GUI configuration of the application of the latest version (version 1.01), and FIG. 3B is a diagram of the previous version (version 1.00). It is a figure which shows the list data which shows the structural example of the GUI screen of an application.

  In general, various menus can be selected in the GUI, and when one of the menus is designated, functions selectable in the designated menu and further menus are displayed. The same applies to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3A, there are a “main menu” and a “submenu” as menus that can be selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application. The main menu includes “file”, “tool”, “display”, and so on.

  The submenus are hierarchized and hierarchized as “hierarchy 1”, “hierarchy 2”, and so on, respectively. “Group 1” in layer 1 includes “function 1”, “function 2”, and “function 3”, and “group 2” in layer 1 includes “function A”, “function B”, “Function C”, “Function D”, “Function E”, and “Function F” are included.

  In this way, the latest version of the application has menus for instructing various functions, and list data that defines the configuration of these menus. In other words, such list data is data indicating the GUI configuration of the latest version of the application. Such list data is included in the latest version of the application and is referred to in the processing described later.

  On the other hand, FIG. 3B shows the configuration of the GUI screen of the previous version of the application software as described above. The previous application software has the same function as the latest version of the application. (Function 1, Function 2, Function 3, Function B, Function E). In other words, the latest version of the application takes over some of the functions of the previous application software.

  Therefore, the developer of the latest version of the application creates list data defining the configuration as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B when creating the latest version of the application. Same code for the same function. In the figure, function 1, function 2, function 3, function B, and function E are the same in each version, and thus a common code is attached.

  As described above, there is list data that defines the menu configuration of the application software of the previous version. In other words, such list data is data indicating the configuration of the GUI of the previous application software. Such list data is included in the latest version of the application and is referred to in the processing described later.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing performed when the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment executes the latest version of the application software. Note that a program (in other words, a software program of the latest version of the application) for causing the CPU 101 to execute processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 is stored in the external storage device 106, and is executed according to the control of the CPU 101. The information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment executes each process described below by reading the data into the RAM 102 and executing it by the CPU 101.

  First, before the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 is performed, the RAM 102 is loaded with the latest version of the application program and data from the external storage device 106, and the CPU 101 executes the program. The GUI of the latest version of the application is displayed on the display screen 105. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of this GUI.

  In this GUI, the CPU 101 always checks whether a menu item has been selected. For example, menus such as “file”, “tool”, “display”, “help”, etc. shown in FIG. 7, submenus in these menus (groups 1 and 2 in the example of FIG. 3A), functions (FIG. In the example of 3 (a), functions 1 to 3 and functions A to F correspond to menu items.

  If it is detected that any menu item has been selected (step S3401), the process proceeds to step S3402, and it is determined whether or not the guide window is currently displayed on the display screen of the display device 105. A check is made (step S3402).

  If not displayed, the process advances to step S3403 to display a guide window on the display screen of the display device 105.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the GUI and guide window of the latest version of the application. In FIG. 10A, reference numeral 10301 denotes the GUI of the latest version of the application. In FIG. 10, the “tool” portion 10303 of the menu is instructed by the operation unit 104, so the configuration shown in FIG. As shown, sub-menus “group 1” and “group 2” included in “tool” are further displayed. In step S3401, if a menu item is selected as described above, this is detected.

  On the other hand, reference numeral 10302 denotes a GUI for a guide window. As shown in FIG. 3B, this GUI includes “file”, “tool 1”, “tool 2”, “window”, “help”. There is a menu. If it is determined in step S3402 that this guide window is not displayed on the display screen of the display device 105, the process advances to step S3403 to display this guide window on the display screen of the display device 105.

  Returning to FIG. 5, in step S3404, it is checked whether the menu item selected in step S3401 is a menu (main menu or submenu in level 1) or a function (submenu in level 2). (Step S3404).

  If the menu item is a menu, the process proceeds to step S3405, and the contents of the menu selected in step S3401 in the GUI of the latest version of the application are displayed on the display screen of the display device 105 (step S3405). . In the example of FIG. 4B, since group 2 is selected, the functions included in group 2 (function A, function B, function C, function D, function as shown in FIG. 3A) E, a window 10305 for displaying a list of functions F) is displayed.

  Next, with reference to the list data shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, if there is a menu portion in the guide window corresponding to the menu selected in step S3401, this is displayed. Details of the processing in step S3406 will be described here. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the processing in step S3406.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4B, when “Group 2” in “Tool” is selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application, as shown in FIG. Has two functions with code to share with the guide window. That is, the function B with the code G501 and the function E with the G502. Therefore, in step S3701, the list data shown in FIG. 3A is referred to, and codes G501 and G502 for the functions B and E included in the menu selected in step S3401 are extracted (step S3701).

  Next, with reference to the list data shown in FIG. 3B, a submenu (inclusion submenu) including a function group having the same code as the codes G501 and G502 extracted in step S3701 is searched ( Step S3702). In the example of FIG. 3B, the submenu “tool” indicated by 11001 is the search result (inclusion submenu).

  Next, it is checked whether or not this inclusion submenu has been searched (step S3703), and if it can be searched, the process proceeds to step S3704, and the searched inclusion submenu is displayed on the guide window. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, since the group 2 is selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application, the tool 2 is searched as an inclusion submenu, and as shown by 10306 in FIG. Display as a menu. As shown in FIG. 3B, the tool 2 includes a function B, a function C, and a function E. Therefore, these functions are listed as a menu of the tool 2 as indicated by 10306 in FIG. 4B. indicate. For example, display is performed as if the tool 2 was selected by the user.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3404 that a function has been selected, the process advances to step S3407 to check whether there is a function in the guide window corresponding to the function selected in step S3401 (step S3407). . This check is performed by referring to the list data shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B and searching for a function in the guide window having the same code as that assigned to the function selected in step S3401. Is. For example, in the example of FIG. 4C, since the function B portion 10307 is selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application, the CPU 101 refers to the list data shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Then, a function in the guide window having the same code as the code G501 attached to the function B is searched. Referring to FIG. 3B, since function B is searched as a function having the same code, this is searched in step S3407.

  Returning to FIG. 5, if the corresponding function can be searched, the process proceeds to step S3408, and the display is changed by highlighting the display portion of the searched function (step S3408). In FIG. 4C, as shown by 10308, the display portion of the searched function is highlighted.

  In this way, when a menu is selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application, and there is a portion corresponding to the selected menu in the guide window, this can be displayed as an included submenu.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3, since the group 2 is selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application, the inclusion submenu can be identified as the tool 2 by the above processing. It can be displayed as indicated by 10306 in 4 (b).

  Further, when a function is selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application, and there is a part corresponding to the selected function in the guide window, this can be highlighted.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 3, since the function B is selected in the GUI of the latest version of the application, the function B can be specified in the guide window by the above processing, and this is shown in FIG. As shown at 10308, it can be highlighted.

  Returning to FIG. 5, in order to execute the program of the selected function, a parameter input dialog for realizing the selected function is displayed on the display screen of the display device 105 (step S3409). Note that the display purpose of this dialog is not limited to parameter input, but may be for allowing the user to confirm the start of processing.

  When the user operates the operation unit 104 to input parameters to be input to the dialog and then instructs execution of the selected function, the CPU 101 executes the program of the selected function to realize the selected function. (Step S3410). Then, the guide window is closed (step S3411).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, if the user knows the location of a desired function or menu if it is an old version, when a menu is displayed in the latest version of the application, In this old version of the application, a menu corresponding to this menu is displayed in the same manner. This allows the user to visually understand which menu is currently selected in the latest version of the application and which menu is selected in the previous version of the application. The operation can be easily learned. The same applies to the case where a function is selected.

  Therefore, the technology according to the present embodiment is useful for software having a relatively large number of menus and functions in the menu and having a high frequency of version upgrades, such as CG software. I understand that.

  For users who are familiar with a certain version of CG software, the operation of the CG software after upgrading is often difficult due to the number of menus and functions added to the upgraded CG software. .

  Therefore, when the above-described technique according to the present embodiment is applied, when operating the latest version of the CG software, a menu corresponding to the menu selected by the latest version of the CG software is displayed in the conventional version of the CG software. Therefore, even if CG software that is difficult to operate is upgraded, when operating the latest version of CG software, it can be confirmed on the operation screen (guide window) of the old version of CG software. It becomes easy to learn the operation of later CG software.

  Note that the guide window is not limited to the application of the previous version of the latest version of the application, and may be an application of two or more previous versions.

  Further, a function that allows selection of how many previous versions of the application guide window are to be displayed may be added to the latest version of the application. In that case, it is necessary to include the list data as shown in FIG. 3B in the latest version of the application for the past version.

  Also, in this embodiment, when a menu or function is selected, the selection window displays what type of selection was made in the old version of the application. For example, the latest version When the check button on the dialog is indicated when displaying the dialog in the application of, the window corresponding to this dialog is displayed in the application of the previous version, and the button corresponding to the indicated check button May be changed to a display indicating “instructed state”. In that case, it is only necessary to attach a common code to check buttons and dialogs corresponding to the latest version and the old version. When the check button is instructed in the latest version of the application, the display of the button in the guide window having the same code as the check button may be changed.

  That is, the technique according to the present embodiment can be applied to any operation as long as the result of the operation in the latest version of the application is the purpose of displaying what operation has been performed in the old version of the application. In that case, it is necessary to attach the same code to the part that realizes the same function in the latest version and the old version. When a certain operation is performed in the latest version of the application, the display of the part in the old version of the application corresponding to the operation target (menu, function, dialog, check button, etc.) is changed.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the latest version of the application is executed on a computer such as a PC or WS has been described. However, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is not limited to such a computer, such as a PDA. The same processing may be performed on a computer such as a portable information processing apparatus or a map guide apparatus installed in a public place.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, it has been described that the latest version of the application is already installed in the external storage device 106. However, the application is downloaded from the external device via the I / F 107 and installed in the external storage device 106. You may make it do.

  In that case, when downloading the latest version of the application, the GUI screen of the previous (or more) previous version of the application is displayed together with the program and data for executing the latest version of the application. It is necessary to download the list data as shown in FIG. 3B for the previous version (that is, the guide window GUI software) and the previous (or more) previous version.

[Other Embodiments]
An object of the present invention is to read and execute a program code stored in a recording medium by a camera CPU or MPU from a recording medium (or storage medium) that records a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments. Needless to say, this is achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the camera, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) operating on the camera based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the camera or a function expansion unit connected to the camera, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, program code corresponding to the flowchart (functional configuration) described above is stored in the recording medium.

It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the function in each version about the same application. (A) is a diagram showing list data indicating the GUI configuration of the latest version (version 1.01) application, and (b) is the GUI screen of the previous version (version 1.00) application. It is a figure which shows the list data which shows a structural example. It is a figure which shows the example of a GUI of the newest version application, and a display of a guide window. It is a flowchart of the process performed when the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention performs the software of the newest version of an application. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the process in step S3406. It is a figure which shows the example of a GUI display of the newest version application.

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus that executes an application and displays the execution result on a display means,
First processing means for displaying an interface screen of the application of interest in the first version on the display means;
Second processing means for displaying on the display means an interface screen of the application of interest in a second version that is an older version than the first version;
When there is a display change portion on the interface screen as a result of performing an operation on the interface screen displayed on the display means by the first processing means, the display is displayed on the display means by the second processing means. Display changing means for changing the display of the portion corresponding to the display change portion on the interface screen displayed. Furthermore, a holding means for holding data relating to each part constituting the interface of the noticed application in the first version and data relating to each part constituting the interface of the noticed application in the second version,
In order to realize the same function between the data of each part in the interface of the target application in the first version and the data of each part in the interface of the target application in the second version, a common code is attached to the data of the part. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each unit is a menu. An information processing method for executing an application and displaying the execution result on a display means,
A first processing step of displaying an interface screen of the application of interest in the first version on the display means;
A second processing step of displaying on the display means an interface screen of the application of interest in a second version which is a version older than the first version;
When there is a display change portion on the interface screen as a result of performing an operation on the interface screen displayed on the display means in the first processing step, the display on the display means is displayed in the second processing step. A display change step of changing a display of a portion corresponding to the display change portion on the interface screen displayed.   A program causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 4.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 5.

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