JP2006139364A - Execution environment maintenance system, apparatus for instructing environment maintenance, and apparatus, method and program for maintaining execution environment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an execution environment maintenance system capable of maintaining an environment where a program to be installed can be executed; an apparatus for instructing environment maintenance; and an apparatus, a method and a program for maintaining an execution environment. <P>SOLUTION: To maintain a program execution environment when installing a program in a second computer by means of data stored in a first computer, environment information for specifying the environment in which the program is executed is transmitted by the first computer and received by the second computer. Based on the environment information received, the environment to execute the program is maintained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an execution environment maintenance system, an environment maintenance instruction device, an execution environment maintenance device, an execution environment maintenance method, and an execution environment maintenance program.

As a technique for installing a program having the same application (for example, a program for controlling the same printer) to a large number of computers connected to a network, pull type or push type installation is known (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.). In this technique, information regarding the hardware environment and software environment of the computer is collected at a computer (distribution destination) on which the program is installed, and the collected information is notified to a server computer (distribution source). Based on the notified information, the server computer determines whether or not the use condition of the software is compatible with the environment of the computer on which the program is installed.
JP-A-10-301760

In the prior art, depending on the operating environment of the computer on which the program is installed, it may be difficult to automatically execute the process of distributing the program. In other words, if the operating system (OS) of the computer on which the program is installed is a version or type that cannot execute the program, or if a program that cannot coexist with the installation target program has already been installed on the computer, the installation is performed. Even if that is the case, the program cannot actually be executed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for checking compatibility of distribution software at a distribution source. However, if there is a problem with compatibility, only the reason is notified to the distribution destination (Patent Document 1, paragraph 0040). In this configuration, the automation of installation is not realized in the above case.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an execution environment maintenance system, an environment maintenance instruction device, an execution environment maintenance device, an execution environment maintenance method, and an execution environment maintenance system capable of maintaining an environment in which an installation target program can be executed. The purpose is to provide an execution environment maintenance program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the environment information for specifying the environment for executing the program is transmitted from the first computer to the second computer, and the program is executed on the second computer based on the environment information. Prepare an environment for That is, since the environment for executing the program to be installed is specified in advance by the environment information, the second computer can easily prepare its own environment by referring to this environment information. The program can be operated reliably.

  In addition, since the second computer can maintain its own environment based on the environmental information, it is not necessary to artificially prepare the environment in the second computer. Therefore, an environment for installing the program can be automatically maintained. This automation is particularly useful when there are many second computers on which programs are to be installed. That is, when there are a large number of second computers, it is very complicated and labor-intensive to manually perform environment maintenance work on a plurality of computers that do not have an environment for executing a program.

  However, according to the present invention, since the second computer maintains its own environment only by transmitting the environment information from the first computer, it is not necessary to artificially maintain the environment in the second computer. It is possible to easily improve the environment. In addition, if a large number of computers determine whether or not the environment of the second computer is compatible with the program in the first computer, the processing burden increases. However, according to the present invention, the compatibility is improved in the first computer. There is no need to judge, and the processing load is very small. Of course, the second computer performs processing based on the environment information, but since this processing is performed in each computer, even if the environment is improved in a large number of computers, the processing burden on each computer will not be excessive. Absent. Furthermore, since the environment can be maintained without transmitting information indicating the operating environment from the second computer to the first computer, it is possible to suppress the outflow of useless information.

  As described above, it is preferable to install the program after preparing an environment in which the program can be executed on the second computer. For example, the installer of the program is transmitted from the first computer, and the installer is executed while the installer is received by the second computer. In this configuration, after the environment maintenance is executed on the second computer, the execution result (whether the environment maintenance is successful) is returned to the first computer, and the installer is transmitted when the environment maintenance is successful. It is preferable to adopt a configuration that does this. As a result, it is possible to automatically complete the processing up to the installation of the program. Of course, even in this configuration, the labor reduction effect by automation increases as the number of second computers increases.

  The installer may be a program that maintains an environment necessary for program execution, and various configurations can be adopted. For example, a folder or directory indicating the storage location of a program or data is created, the program itself is stored in an appropriate storage location, data necessary for program execution is stored in an appropriate storage location, and an environment setting file (registry or A program that implements any one or combination of processing for rewriting (resource fork) can be adopted as an installer. Of course, the installer may include a file (inf file) describing information to be grasped at the time of installation. In addition, various processes such as a process of decompressing compressed data are included.

  In addition, when installing the program, the data storage location is limited, no other data is required to execute the program, and rewriting of the environment setting file is not required. In some cases, the installation can be completed simply by copying the file to some location. In such a case, the installer may perform a process of copying the executable file.

  The installation of the program in the second computer may be performed at the same time as the environment maintenance by the environment maintenance means or after the environment maintenance is completed. For example, when an unnecessary program is deleted or overwritten by the installer, it can be said that the processing by the installer includes environment maintenance, and therefore environment maintenance and installation are simultaneous. Of course, it is also possible to employ a configuration in which unnecessary data or the like is deleted from the second computer and the installer is executed after completing the environmental maintenance.

  In the present invention, the first computer and the second computer are connected to each other via a network so that data can be transmitted and received between them. However, it is sufficient that at least one first computer exists. Although the present invention functions even if there is only one second computer, as described above, a situation where a plurality of computers corresponding to the second computer are connected on the network is preferable as an application target of the present invention. .

  The first computer may be a computer that can configure the environment information transmission means, and may be a general-purpose computer that executes a program by installing a general-purpose processor, or a processor that executes the environment information transmission means. A dedicated computer may be used. Of course, it may be a computer that realizes other functions and realizes the environment information transmitting means. For example, a computer included in a mobile phone, a digital camera, or the like, or a computer included in a peripheral device such as a printer or a scanner may be used. If it is the latter, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the environment is maintained when the driver stored in the peripheral device is installed in the second computer.

  The second computer is the same as the first computer, and a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or the like constituting each means in the second computer can be the second computer. In addition, a computer provided in a device such as a mobile phone or a digital camera or a peripheral device such as a printer or a scanner is used as the second computer, and the environment required for installing the programs required by these devices is configured. Also good.

  The environment information only needs to be able to indicate the environment to be maintained by the second computer by specifying the environment in which the program is executed, and the environment maintenance means should prepare its own environment based on this environment information. If you can. Therefore, when the environment is acquired by the second computer and the environment specified by the environment information is different from the environment, the environment may be changed to be the environment indicated by the environment information.

  The environment in the second computer is an environment when the computer operates, and either or both of the hardware environment and the software environment in the second computer correspond to the environment here. However, in the present invention, since the configuration in which the environment in the second computer is automatically maintained is adopted, the environment here is an environment that can be changed by control processing in the second computer.

  For example, the hardware environment includes the free capacity of a hard disk drive. If the free space of the hard disk drive is insufficient in the second computer, the hardware environment can be improved by executing a process of deleting unnecessary data. The software environment can be defined by the presence of installed programs and data, their versions, and the like.

  Various other information can be used as the environment information. For example, a configuration including either or both of the type of OS for operating the second computer and the total capacity of the RAM installed in the second computer may be employed. According to the information specifying the type of OS, it can be determined whether or not the OS of the second computer corresponds to the program. When the types of OS are different, it is generally difficult to automatically change the type of OS, but it is also possible to improve the environment by performing a process of switching the type of OS in a computer capable of executing a plurality of OSs. Is possible.

  In general, it is difficult to change the total capacity of the RAM mounted on the second computer without using human work. However, when the total capacity of the RAM is smaller than the capacity indicated in the environment information, the virtual memory It is also possible to improve the environment by increasing the capacity. Of course, it is not essential that all the above information is included in an environment that can be changed by the control process, and it may be impossible to prepare an environment for a certain type of environment. Even in this case, if some of the environments that can be changed by the control processing in the computer can be maintained, it is possible to reduce the labor for performing the environment maintenance in many computers.

  As described above, as a preferable configuration example of the invention for maintaining the environment based on the environment information, a configuration for uninstalling unnecessary programs can be employed. That is, when an environment for executing a certain program (hereinafter referred to as an execution target program) is prepared by the environment improvement means in the second computer, if there is a program that cannot coexist with the execution target program, the coexistence Uninstall the program that cannot. For this purpose, the environment information may include information indicating a program that cannot coexist with the execution target program.

  Various configurations can be adopted as the configuration for specifying the uninstall target in the second computer. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which environment information includes information for identifying an uninstaller of a program that cannot coexist with the execution target program, and the environment maintenance unit detects and executes the uninstaller of the program based on this information. .

  As information for specifying the uninstaller, various information such as a name of a program that cannot coexist with the execution target program and data (path name or the like) indicating a storage location can be adopted. When the program that cannot coexist with the execution target program is a peripheral device driver program, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which information for identifying the peripheral device (peripheral device name or the like) is included in the environment information. According to this information, the driver program can be specified by the OS function (API or the like), and the driver program uninstaller can be specified from the name of the peripheral device or the like.

  Furthermore, as a preferred configuration example of the invention for maintaining the environment based on the environment information, a configuration for executing a program upgrade can be employed. That is, when an environment for executing a program is prepared by the environment maintenance means in the second computer, information indicating the version of the program is described in the environment information. According to this information, it is possible to determine whether or not a program of that version or later is already installed in the second computer, so that the program of the version or later indicated in the environment information is already installed in the second computer. If not, you can install the program.

  For the installation, as described above, a configuration in which the installer of the program is transmitted from the first computer, the installer is received and received by the second computer, and the like may be adopted. By adopting the above configuration, if a version of the program older than the version specified in the environment information is installed or if no version is installed, the version of the program indicated in the environment information Can be installed. Therefore, it is possible to prepare an environment for executing the version of the program indicated in the environment information. Further, by comparing the versions in accordance with the environment maintenance, it is possible to prevent the version from being outdated even when the old version is described in the environment information.

  Further, the environment information includes information indicating whether or not the program can be upgraded, and the installation is executed when the upgrade is permitted, thereby permitting and prohibiting the execution of the upgrade process in the second computer. be able to. According to this configuration, the creator of the environment information can determine whether or not version upgrade can be performed. In addition, if an old version of a program has been installed, installing the new version without deleting it may cause problems in the operation of the program, and installation is prohibited by information indicating whether the version can be upgraded. In this case, this problem can be prevented beforehand. Of course, even if a problem occurs, installation may be permitted, and the existing program may be uninstalled to maintain the environment as described above, and then a new version of the program may be installed.

  By the way, the execution environment maintenance system described above may be implemented alone, or may be implemented together with other methods in a state of being incorporated in a certain device, and includes various aspects as the idea of the invention. It can be changed as appropriate. Of course, the first computer and the second computer cooperate to perform the installation, but various modes can be adopted as a product providing mode and usage mode according to the present invention. For example, the first computer can be provided and used as an environment maintenance instruction device, and the second computer can be provided and used as an execution environment maintenance device. The above-described installation method can also be applied as a method, and the invention according to claim 9 basically has the same effect.

  When trying to implement the present invention, a predetermined program may be executed by the execution environment maintenance system. Therefore, the present invention can be implemented as the program, and the invention according to claim 10 basically has the same operation. Of course, it is also possible to make the structure described in claims 2 to 6 correspond to the above method and program. Any storage medium can be used to provide the program. For example, a magnetic recording medium or a magneto-optical recording medium may be used, and any recording medium that will be developed in the future can be considered in the same manner. In addition, even when a part is software and a part is realized by hardware, the idea of the present invention is not completely different, and a part is recorded on a recording medium and is appropriately changed as necessary. It includes a reading form. Furthermore, the same is true for the replication stage such as the primary replica and the secondary replica.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of the execution environment maintenance system:
(2) Structure of environmental information:
(3) Installation process:
(3-1) Environmental maintenance processing:
(4) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of the execution environment maintenance system:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an execution environment maintenance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an administrator computer 10 corresponding to the first computer and user computers 20a to 20d corresponding to the second computer are connected via a network. The administrator computer 10 and the user computers 20a to 20d need only exist on the network, but it is preferable to implement the present invention in a situation where there are a plurality of user computers 20a to 20d on the network. Of course, the number of user computers 20a to 20d is not limited to four, and may be any number.

  In FIG. 1, a printer 30a is connected to an administrator computer 10 and printers 30b and 30c are connected to a network. A printer driver and various application programs for controlling any one of these are provided as user computers 20a to 20c. Install to 20d. At this time, the environment of each user computer 20a-20d is prepared before installation. Although not shown in FIG. 1, it is of course possible to prepare an environment for installing a printer driver for controlling a printer connected to any of the user computers 20a to 20d.

  When the environment is maintained, environment information is transmitted from the administrator computer 10 to the user computers 20a to 20d, and the user computers 20a to 20d maintain the environment based on the environment information. At this time, the administrator computer 10 designates arbitrary user computers 20a to 20d and transmits the environment information, and the environment maintenance is executed by the designated user computers 20a to 20d. In this embodiment, after such environmental maintenance, the installer of the execution target program is transmitted from the administrator computer 10, and the installer is executed on each of the user computers 20a to 20d. That is, push installation is performed. Note that the installer of the execution target program is recorded in the hard disk drive 14 in advance (printer driver installer 14b, application installer 14c).

  The user computers 20a to 20d perform processing by using various OSs (Windows (registered trademark), Macintosh (registered trademark), UNIX (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), and the like). Of course, the OS version is not limited. Moreover, in each user computer 20a-20d, the user of each computer can construct | assemble a desired environment, such as installing a required program by himself / herself. Therefore, the environment may differ between individual computers. However, whether or not a program executed on each of the user computers 20a to 20d can be executed depends on the computer environment such as the type of OS. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the environment for executing the program that is the target of the push installation is specified in the environment information, and the environment indicated in the environment information is prepared by the following configuration.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the administrator computer 10. In FIG. 1, an administrator computer 10 includes a CPU 11 that is the center of arithmetic processing. The CPU 11 controls the entire administrator computer 10 via a system bus. Connected to the system bus are a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a hard disk drive 14, a communication I / F 15, a CRTI / F (not shown), an input device I / F, a printer I / F, and the like.

  The hard disk drive 14 stores an operating system (OS) (not shown), a distribution program 16 for transmitting environment information to the user computers 20a to 20d, and the like, and these software are appropriately transferred to the RAM 13 by the CPU 11 at the time of execution. Is done. The CPU 11 executes various programs under the control of the OS while appropriately accessing the RAM 13 as a temporary work area.

  A keyboard 17a and a mouse 17b are connected to the input device I / F as operation input devices. A display 18a for display is connected to the CRTI / F. Therefore, the administrator computer 10 can accept the operation contents by the keyboard 17a and the mouse 17b, and can display various information on the display 18a.

  The CPU 11 executes the distribution program 16 to cause the user computers 20a to 20d to prepare their respective environments and install the programs. The distribution program 16 includes an environment information editing unit 16a, a user computer selection unit 16b, a file transmission unit 16c, and an execution result reception unit 16d. The environment information in the present embodiment is information that specifies a driver program and an application program for controlling the printer, and specifies an environment necessary for executing these programs. Details will be described later.

  The environment information is created by the environment information editing unit 16a, and a predetermined UI is constructed to accept input of environment information. That is, the environment information editing unit 16a appropriately displays a UI on the display 18a, and receives an input from the keyboard 17a or the mouse 17b, thereby specifying a printer to be controlled by the printer driver to be installed, an execution target program, and the like. ing. Such environmental information is stored in the hard disk drive 14 as environmental information 14a.

  The user computer selection unit 16b displays a UI as appropriate on the display 18a, and receives a selection from the user computer by receiving input from the keyboard 17a and the mouse 17b. The file transmission unit 16c transmits environment information to the user computers 20a to 20d via the communication I / F 15. At this time, the user computer selected by the user computer selection unit 16b becomes the transmission target of the environment information.

  The execution result receiving unit 16d receives data indicating the execution result of the environmental maintenance from each of the user computers 20a to 20d via the communication I / F 15. That is, after executing the environmental maintenance process, the user computers 20a to 20d transmit data indicating the success or failure to the administrator computer 10, and the data is sent to the user of the administrator computer 10 by this data. The maintenance execution result is notified.

  Since there are various causes of environmental maintenance failure, it is preferable to include data indicating the cause in the data indicating the execution result. According to this configuration, the cause when the environment maintenance has failed in the administrator computer 10 can be specified in detail, and countermeasures can be easily taken. In addition, the data transmitted from the user computers 20a to 20d to the administrator computer 10 in the environment maintenance is only data indicating the execution result, and data indicating the environment of the user computers 20a to 20d is not transmitted. Therefore, the environment in the user computers 20a to 20d is not leaked to the outside.

  When the data indicating the execution result is received by the execution result receiving unit 16d, the file transmission unit 16c of the administrator computer 10 determines whether or not the environment maintenance has been successful by referring to this data. Then, the file transmission unit 16c transmits the installer of the execution target program to the user computers 20a to 20d whose environment has been successfully maintained. As a result, the execution target program can be installed and executed reliably in each user computer 20a to 20d under an appropriate environment.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the user computers 20a to 20d. In the present embodiment, the hardware configuration of the user computers 20a to 20d may be common or different, but at least a receiving program to be described later can be executed, and a configuration capable of executing the execution target program is provided. ing. Hereinafter, the configuration of the user computer 20a will be described as an example of the user computers 20a to 20d.

  In the figure, a user computer 20a is provided with a CPU 21 serving as the center of arithmetic processing, and this CPU 21 controls the entire user computer 20a via a system bus. Connected to the system bus are a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a hard disk drive 24, a communication I / F 25, a CRTI / F (not shown), an input device I / F, a printer I / F, and the like.

  The hard disk drive 24 stores an operating system (OS) (not shown), a reception program 26 for receiving environment information from the administrator computer 10, and the like, and these software are appropriately transferred to the RAM 23 by the CPU 21 during execution. The The CPU 21 executes various programs under the control of the OS while appropriately accessing the RAM 23 as a temporary work area. As described above, the type and version of the OS are not particularly limited as long as the execution target program can be executed.

  A keyboard 27a and a mouse 27b are connected to the input device I / F as operation input devices. A display 28a for display is connected to the CRTI / F. Therefore, the user computer 20a can accept the operation contents by the keyboard 27a and the mouse 27b, and can display various information on the display 28a.

  The CPU 21 installs the program by executing the reception program 26. The reception program 26 includes a file reception unit 26a, an environment maintenance unit 26b, and an execution result transmission unit 26c. The file receiving unit 26a stores the environment information and installer received via the communication I / F 25 in the hard disk drive 24 (environment information 24a, printer driver installer 24b, application installer 24c).

  The environment maintenance unit 26b maintains the environment in the user computer 20a while referring to the environment information 24a. In the present embodiment, a program that may cause a problem by coexisting with the execution target program is uninstalled. The program that may cause the problem can be specified by the environment information 24a, and details will be described later. The execution result transmission unit 26c creates data indicating the execution result of the environmental maintenance in the environmental maintenance unit 26b, and transmits the data to the administrator computer 10 via the communication I / F 25. As a result, the administrator computer 10 can grasp whether or not the environmental maintenance has been properly performed in each of the user computers 20a to 20d.

  When the environment maintenance is successful, the installer of the execution target program is transmitted from the administrator computer 10, so the file receiving unit 26 a acquires the installer and stores it in the hard disk drive 24. Further, in the user computers 20a to 20d that have received the installer, an environment for executing a program installed by the installer is prepared, so that the installation is completed by executing the installer. As a result, it is possible to complete the environment maintenance and program installation for executing the program without performing human work in the user computers 20a to 20d.

(2) Structure of environmental information:
Next, the configuration of the environment information in this embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of environment information. In the present embodiment, the environment information 14a (or 24a) includes data for specifying an execution target program and data for preparing an environment for executing the execution target program. In FIG. 4, the execution target program is shown as “installation target”, and in this embodiment, a driver program for controlling the printer is specified by the model name of the printer (printer A or the like). The application program is specified by its name (APL2 or the like).

  Of course, the execution target program may be only one of the driver program and the application program, or a plurality of driver programs and a plurality of application programs may be the execution target programs. The environment information 14a includes “OS type”, “RAM capacity”, “HDD free capacity”, and “uninstall target” as data for preparing an environment for executing the program indicated as “install target”. , “Possibility of version upgrade”, “Necessity to uninstall existing version”.

  The type of OS indicates the type of OS that can execute the execution target program (OS1 in FIG. 4). When the OS described here is different from the OS that controls the second computer, The environment of the second computer is undeveloped. The RAM capacity indicates the capacity of the RAM to be mounted on the second computer. When a RAM having a capacity smaller than the capacity described here is mounted on the second computer, the environment of the second computer Is undeveloped.

  The HDD free space indicates the free space required for the hard disk drive in the second computer. If the free space is smaller than the free space described here, the environment of the second computer is not yet prepared. It is. The uninstall target indicates a program that cannot coexist with the execution target program indicated as the install target. If the program described here has already been installed in the second computer, the environment of the second computer is It is undeveloped. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the driver program for controlling the printer is specified by the printer model name (printer B in FIG. 4) for the uninstall target, and the application program is specified by the name (APL1 in FIG. 4). Identify.

  Whether or not version upgrade is possible is information indicating whether or not a process of rewriting to a later version is permitted when the version of the execution target program indicated as the installation target is later than the version of the program already installed in the second computer. It is. In this embodiment, in order to compare the versions, the version of the execution target program indicated as the installation target is associated (version 2.00 in FIG. 4). Of course, if it is not necessary to define whether or not version upgrade is possible, there is no need to associate versions (version- etc. in FIG. 4). The installers (printer driver installer 24b and application installer 24c) are installers for each program and are versions of the installers associated as described above.

  The necessity of uninstalling the existing version is information indicating whether or not the program already installed in the second computer should be uninstalled. That is, when data relating to an existing version of the program remains in the second computer, there may be a problem in the execution of the later version of the program. Therefore, in this case, the environment in the second computer is not yet prepared, and it can be said that the environment in which the execution target program is executed in the second computer is specified by the information indicating whether the existing version needs to be uninstalled. .

(3) Installation process:
Next, processing for executing installation using the above-described configuration and environment information and environment maintenance processing performed in the course of installation will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the distribution program 16 of the administrator computer 10, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process executed by the reception program 26 of the user computers 20a to 20d. When the distribution program 16 is executed by the administrator computer 10, the environment information editing unit 16a displays a UI (not shown) on the display 18a and accepts an input operation from the keyboard 17a and the mouse 17b.

  Specifically, in order to specify an execution target program, a printer and an application program are selected by the UI (step S110). Here, it suffices if the driver program that is the execution target program can be specified by specifying the printer, and the printer connected to the network or the computer on the network is displayed as an option on the UI. Should be adopted. Further, the application program may be configured such that an installable application program is displayed as an option on the UI. Of course, the execution target program is selected from either the printer driver installer 14b or the program included in the application installer 14c.

  Subsequently, environment information relating to the execution target program is created (step S115). That is, a UI for inputting information other than the information shown in “Installation Target” in the environment information 14a shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display 18a, and an input operation from the keyboard 17a or the mouse 17b is accepted. When each information is input, the environment information 14a is configured by the input information and the information indicating the execution target program, and is recorded in the hard disk drive 14. Of course, when the environment information is determined, a configuration in which the user of the administrator computer 10 inputs the information is not essential, and the environment information may be created in advance in association with the execution target program.

  When the environmental information is created, the user computer selection unit 16b accepts the selection of the user computer (step S120). That is, a UI (not shown) for selecting a user computer is displayed on the display 18a, and an input operation from the keyboard 17a or the mouse 17b is accepted. Here, it is only necessary to select a target for installing the execution target program from the user computers 20a to 20d connected to the network, and a configuration such as displaying each user computer 20a to 20d as an option on the UI is adopted. That's fine.

  When the user computer to be installed is specified, the information is transferred to the file transmission unit 16c, and the file transmission unit 16c transmits environment information to the user computer (step S125). In the present embodiment, this process corresponds to the environment information transmitting unit. When the environment information is transmitted, the user computer to be transmitted performs an environment maintenance process and returns data indicating the execution result. The execution result receiving unit 16d receives data indicating the execution result (step S130), and displays the execution result on the display 18a. The user of the administrator computer 10 can know the result of the environment maintenance process from this display content. Therefore, if the environment maintenance has failed, the administrator computer 10 tries to install again, or the user computer Necessary processing such as taking countermeasures by operating can be performed.

  Further, the file transmission unit 16c determines whether or not the environmental maintenance is successful based on the data indicating the execution result (step S135), and performs push installation when it is determined that the environmental maintenance is successful. (Step S140). That is, the file transmission unit 16c refers to the environment information 14a to identify an execution target program, extracts the installer from the printer driver installer 14b and the application installer 14c, and transmits the extracted programs to the user computers 20a to 20d whose environment has been successfully prepared. . As a result, the execution target program can be automatically installed in the user computers 20a to 20d. In the user computers 20a to 20d, since the environmental maintenance is completed, the installed program operates reliably.

  On the other hand, in each of the user computers 20a to 20d, the reception program 26 is executed. When the environment information is transmitted in step S130, the user computers 20a to 20d designated as the transmission destinations in FIG. Perform the process shown. The reception program 26 monitors whether or not the file receiving unit 26a has received the environment information (step S210), and waits in the monitoring state of step S210 until it is determined that the environment information has been received. . When it is determined in step S210 that environment information has been received, the file receiving unit 26a stores the environment information in the hard disk drive 24. As a result, the environment information 24a is recorded in the hard disk drive 24. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the process of step S210 corresponds to the environment information receiving unit.

  The environment maintenance unit 26b refers to the environment information 24a, determines whether or not the environment in the user computers 20a to 20d matches the environment described in the environment information 24a, and is described in the environment information 24a. The environment is maintained (step S215). In the present embodiment, the environment of the user computers 20a to 20d is maintained by uninstalling an unnecessary program, but the environment maintenance process is not limited to only uninstallation.

(3-1) Environmental maintenance processing:
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the environment maintenance process in step S215. In this process, information described in the environment information is verified in order. First, the environment maintenance unit 26b verifies whether the OS of the user computers 20a to 20d is an OS corresponding to the execution target program (step S310). That is, the OS type being executed in each of the user computers 20a to 20d is acquired and compared with the OS type described in the environment information 24a. As a result, if they match, it is determined that the OS of the user computers 20a to 20d corresponds to the execution target program. If they do not match, steps S315 to S365 are skipped, and the data indicating the execution result is set to indicate an environmental maintenance failure (step S375).

  If it is determined by the comparison in step S310 that the OS of the user computers 20a to 20d is an OS corresponding to the execution target program, it is further determined whether or not the RAM capacity is necessary (step S315). That is, the capacity of the RAM installed in each of the user computers 20a to 20d is acquired and compared with the RAM capacity described in the environment information 24a. As a result, if the installed RAM capacity is larger, it is determined that the RAM capacity is necessary. If the mounted RAM capacity is smaller, the data indicating the execution result is set so as to indicate the environmental maintenance failure (step S375).

  If it is determined by the comparison in step S315 that the required RAM capacity is reached, it is further determined whether the required HDD free capacity is reached (step S320). That is, the free capacity of the HDD installed in each user computer 20a to 20d is acquired and compared with the free capacity of the HDD described in the environment information 24a. As a result, if the installed HDD has a larger free capacity, it is determined that the HDD free capacity is necessary. If the installed HDD free capacity is smaller, the data indicating the execution result is set so as to indicate the environmental maintenance failure (step S375).

  Further, it is determined whether or not an unnecessary program is installed in the user computers 20a to 20d (step S325). That is, the uninstall target described in the environment information 24a is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the program specified as the uninstall target is already installed in the user computers 20a to 20d. In the present embodiment, since the environment information 24a specifies the uninstall target based on the printer model name and the application program name, in step S325, it is determined whether or not the program has been installed based on the information. judge.

  More specifically, in this embodiment, an uninstaller for each program is recorded in advance in the user computers 20a to 20d when the program is installed, and the uninstaller can be specified with a predetermined search key. . That is, by searching for data (environment setting file or the like) describing information indicating the uninstaller using the printer model name or application program name as a key, the uninstaller can be grasped.

  Of course, the uninstaller may be a utility related to a plurality of printers. In this case, the uninstaller is executed while notifying the utility of the model name of the printer. Further, in order to designate an application program, a GUID (Globally Unique IDentifier) may be used in addition to the name, or the uninstaller may be specified by a storage position (path name) or the like.

  In any case, the uninstaller is searched using the information indicated as the uninstall target as a key, and if found, the program specified as the uninstall target is already installed in the user computers 20a to 20d. Therefore, in step S325, it is determined that the installation has been completed, and the uninstallation is executed (step S330). That is, the found uninstaller is executed.

  The uninstaller only needs to be able to delete installed programs and associated data. For example, deleting a program or deleting a folder or directory indicating the storage location, deleting data necessary for program execution, deleting a folder or directory indicating the storage location, or rewriting the environment setting file Alternatively, a program that implements the combination can be adopted as an uninstaller.

  When the process by the uninstaller is finished, the environment maintenance unit 26b determines whether or not the uninstallation is successful (step S335). For example, if deletion of a file to be deleted has failed, it is determined that uninstallation has failed. If it is determined in step S335 that the uninstallation has failed, the data indicating the execution result is set to indicate the environmental maintenance failure (step S375). When it is determined in step S335 that the uninstallation is successful, and when it is not determined in step S325 that an unnecessary program is installed, processing related to version upgrade is performed.

  In the present embodiment, even if the program versions are different, they are not classified as different programs as long as the uses of the programs are the same. For example, even if the versions of the printer driver are different, the function of the printer driver remains the same as controlling a printer with a certain model name, so it is not considered a different program. That is, even if it is an old version, if the execution target program is already installed, the main functions provided by the program can be used by the user computers 20a to 20d, and the main use of the program is achieved. . On the other hand, if the version is new, the change accompanying the upgrade can be reflected. Accordingly, whether or not to upgrade the version is described in the environment information, and the following processing is performed according to the environment information.

  First, the installation target described in the environment information 24a is acquired, and it is determined whether or not the program specified as the installation target has been installed in the user computers 20a to 20d (step S340). That is, in this embodiment, the environment information 24a specifies the printer driver as an execution target program by specifying the model name of the printer as an installation target, and specifies the execution target program by the name of the application program.

  Therefore, when the printer model name is described in the environment information 24a, the printer driver is searched using the model name as a key. When the name of the application program is described in the environment information 24a, the printer driver name is described. Search for an application program using the name as a key. As a result, when a printer driver or an application program is found, it is determined that the execution target program specified as the installation target is already installed.

  If it is not determined in step S340 that the execution target program has been installed, the environment maintenance has been completed by the previous processing, and the data indicating the execution result is set to indicate the environment maintenance success (step S370). . If it is determined in step S340 that the execution target program is already installed, the preceding version of the installed program is uninstalled as necessary. In other words, if the program to be installed has changed significantly compared to the previous version, the previous version will be uninstalled if there is a possibility that the operation of the execution target program will fail if the data used by the previous version remains. There is a need.

  Whether or not such uninstallation should be executed is described in the environment information 24a. First, the version of the installed execution target program found by the search is confirmed. The version of each program is described in a predetermined place such as data associated with the program or program data, and the data may be referred to. When the version of the installed execution target program is confirmed, it is compared with the version described in the environment information 24a to determine whether the previous version has been installed (step S345).

  That is, if the version described in the environment information 24a is a later version, it is determined that the preceding version has been installed. Note that if the version is not associated with the installation target of the environment information 24a, the process proceeds as if the previous version has been installed. If it is not determined in step S345 that the previous version has been installed, the data indicating the execution result is set so as to indicate environment maintenance failure (step S375). Of course, in this case, the environmental maintenance is unsuccessful, but since the later version of the program has already been installed, there is no need for the administrator computer 10 to try the environmental maintenance again.

  If it is determined in step S345 that the previous version has been installed, it is further determined whether or not version upgrade is permitted (step S350). That is, the information indicating whether the version upgrade is possible or not described in the environment information 24a is referred to. If it is not determined in step S350 that the upgrade is permitted, the data indicating the execution result is set so as to indicate an environmental maintenance failure (step S375). Of course, in this case, the environmental maintenance is unsuccessful, but the previous version of the program has already been installed in the user computers 20a to 20d, and there is no need to upgrade the version. There is no need to try.

  If it is determined in step S350 that the upgrade is permitted, it is determined whether or not the existing version needs to be uninstalled (step S355). That is, the information indicating whether the version upgrade is possible or not described in the environment information 24a is referred to. If it is not determined in step S355 that the existing version needs to be uninstalled, the execution target program may be installed without performing the uninstallation. More specifically, if the data related to the existing version of the program is updated by installing the execution target program, the installed program operates without any problems. Therefore, the data indicating the execution result is set so as to indicate that the environmental maintenance is successful (step S370).

  If it is determined in step S355 that the existing version needs to be uninstalled, the existing version of the program is uninstalled (step S360). That is, the uninstaller of the existing version program is searched using the information indicated as the installation target as a key, and the uninstaller is executed to perform the uninstallation. In the present embodiment, uninstalling a program that may cause inconvenience to the operation of the execution target program corresponds to environment maintenance, and the processing in steps S330 and S360 corresponds to the environment maintenance means.

  When the process by the uninstaller is finished, the environment maintenance unit 26b determines whether or not the uninstallation is successful (step S365). For example, if deletion of a file to be deleted has failed, it is determined that uninstallation has failed. If it is determined in step S335 that the uninstallation has failed, the data indicating the execution result is set to indicate the environmental maintenance failure (step S375). If it is determined in step S335 that the uninstallation has succeeded, the data indicating the execution result is set to indicate that the environment maintenance has been successful (step S370). After executing step S370 or S375 as described above, the process returns to the process shown in FIG.

  When returning to the processing shown in FIG. 6, the execution result transmitting unit 26c transmits data indicating the execution result set in step S370 or step S375 to the administrator computer 10 (step S220). Thereafter, in order to execute processing according to the success or failure of the environmental maintenance, the file receiving unit 26a refers to the data indicating the execution result to determine whether or not the environmental maintenance is successful (step S225). If it is not determined in step S225 that the environment has been successfully maintained, the installer is not transmitted from the administrator computer 10, so the process returns to step S210 to monitor whether or not environment information is received.

  If it is determined in step S225 that the environment has been successfully established, the installer of the execution target program is transmitted from the administrator computer 10, and the file receiving unit 26a receives and executes the installer (step S230). ). As a result, the execution target program can be installed in the user computers 20a to 20d in a state where the environment for executing the execution target program is prepared.

(4) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for realizing the execution environment maintenance system, the environment maintenance instruction device, the execution environment maintenance device, the execution environment maintenance method, and the execution environment maintenance program according to the present invention, and other configurations can of course be adopted. is there. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which encryption processing is performed before transmitting environment information, execution result data, and an installer, and decryption processing is performed by a computer that receives the data. According to this configuration, the contents of data transmitted via the network can be kept private.

  For this purpose, the administrator computer 10 and the user computers 20a to 20d are configured to execute a module that performs encryption and a module that performs decryption. In addition, key data for performing encryption and decryption is stored in advance in recording media of both computers. The encryption process may be performed using the key data before the data is transmitted, and the decryption process may be performed using the key data when the data is received.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the driver program that mainly controls the peripheral device and the utility that cooperates with the peripheral device have been described as the installation target, but the installation target is not limited to these programs. For example, an environment may be prepared for a program that operates independently of peripheral devices, and installation may be executed. In this case, information regarding peripheral devices is not necessary in the environment information 14a.

  Furthermore, the format of the environmental information as described above is an example, and various other formats can be adopted. For example, it is possible to adopt a format in which a program to be uninstalled is specified as the uninstall target as the program is upgraded. Further, in the present invention, it is only necessary to maintain the environment in the second computer, and the information to be included in the environment information need not be only the information shown in FIG. 4, and may be a part of the information. Of course, the environmental information may be data including text, or data enumerating numerical values in a predetermined format.

  Furthermore, the order in which the environments of the user computers 20a to 20d are checked based on the environment information need not be the order shown in FIG. For example, the process for checking the HDD free space may be performed after steps S330 and S360. In this order, it is possible to effectively determine the free capacity including the HDD capacity that has become empty after uninstallation.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the administrator computer 10 specifies the transmission target of the uninstaller after the environment is maintained in the user computers 20a to 20d. However, in the user computers 20a to 20d that have been successfully maintained, the installer A pull type installation that requires transmission may be performed.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an unnecessary program is uninstalled as environmental maintenance, but it is needless to say that environmental maintenance may be performed for other elements. For example, environment maintenance may be performed according to the type of OS indicated in the environment information. That is, when a plurality of OSs can be executed in the user computers 20a to 20d, and it is determined in step S310 in FIG. 7 that the OSs of the user computers 20a to 20d do not match the OSs indicated in the environment information. Then, a process of restarting the user computers 20a to 20d is executed so as to execute the OS indicated by the environment information.

  Further, the environmental maintenance may be performed by the RAM capacity indicated in the environmental information. For example, when it is not determined in step S315 in FIG. 7 that the RAM capacity is necessary, the environment is prepared by increasing the capacity of the HDD used as the virtual memory. Furthermore, the environment may be improved by the HDD free space indicated in the environment information. For example, when it is not determined in step S320 in FIG. 7 that the HDD free space is necessary, the environment is maintained by deleting excess data (such as temporary data) recorded in the HDD. According to the above configuration, various environments can be automatically maintained.

It is a schematic block diagram of an execution environment maintenance system. It is a block diagram of an administrator computer. It is a block diagram of a user computer. It is a block diagram of environmental information. It is a flowchart of the process which a delivery program implements. It is a flowchart of the process which a receiving program implements. It is a detailed flowchart of an environmental maintenance process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Administrator computer, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... ROM, 13 ... RAM, 14 ... Hard disk drive, 14a ... Environment information, 14b ... Printer driver installer, 14c ... Application installer, 16 ... Distribution program, 16a ... Environment information editing part , 16b ... User computer selection unit, 16c ... File transmission unit, 16d ... Execution result reception unit, 17a ... Keyboard, 17b ... Mouse, 18a ... Display, 20a-20d ... User computer, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... ROM, 23 ... RAM 24... Hard disk drive 24 a. Environment information 24 b printer driver installer 24 c application installer 26 reception program 26 a file reception unit 26 b environment maintenance unit 26 c execution result transmission , 27a ... keyboard, 27b ... mouse, 28a ... display, 30a~30c ... printer

Claims (10)

An execution environment maintenance system for maintaining a program execution environment when installing a program in a second computer using data stored in a first computer,
The first computer is
Environment information transmitting means for transmitting environment information for specifying the environment in which the program is executed is provided,
The second computer is
Environmental information receiving means for receiving the environmental information;
An execution environment maintenance system comprising: environment maintenance means for preparing an environment for executing the program based on the received environment information. The first computer includes an installer transmission unit that transmits the installer of the program, the second computer includes an installation reception unit that receives the installer, and the environment maintenance unit executes the installer when maintaining the environment. The execution environment maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the program is installed. 3. The execution environment maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the information indicated by the environment information is an environment that can be changed by a control process in a second computer. The environment information includes information indicating a program that cannot coexist with the program, and the environment maintenance means uninstalls the program indicated by the information. Execution environment maintenance system. The environment information includes information indicating the version of the program, and the environment maintenance means determines whether or not the program after the version has been installed in the second computer, and installs the program when it has not been installed. The execution environment maintenance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: 6. The execution environment according to claim 5, wherein the environment information includes information indicating whether the program can be upgraded, and the environment maintenance unit executes the installation when the upgrade is permitted. Maintenance system. An environment maintenance instructing apparatus for maintaining a program execution environment in a computer when installing the program in a computer connected to a network using data stored in a predetermined storage medium,
An environment maintenance instruction device comprising environment information transmission means for transmitting environment information for specifying an environment in which a program is executed to the computer connected to the network. When installing a program using data stored in a storage medium of a computer connected to a network, an execution environment maintenance device that maintains the execution environment of the program,
Environment information receiving means for receiving environment information for specifying an environment for executing the program from the computer;
An execution environment maintenance device comprising: environment maintenance means for preparing an environment for executing the program based on the received environment information. An execution environment maintenance method for preparing a program execution environment for installing a program in a second computer using data stored in the first computer,
The first computer is
An environment information transmission step for transmitting environment information for specifying an environment in which the program is executed;
The second computer is
An environmental information receiving step for receiving the environmental information;
An execution environment maintenance method comprising: an environment maintenance process for preparing an environment for executing the program based on the received environment information. An execution environment maintenance program for maintaining an execution environment of a program when installing a program in a second computer using data stored in the first computer,
An environment information transmission function for transmitting environment information for specifying an environment for executing a program is realized in the first computer,
An environment information receiving function for receiving the environment information;
An execution environment maintenance program for causing the second computer to realize an environment maintenance function for preparing an environment for executing the program based on the received environment information.

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