JP2006260212A - File edition management system, file registration server, file edition management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a file edition management system with a shortened download time. <P>SOLUTION: The file registration server 10 extracts, upon updating a file, a difference of the file of the latest edition from each of files of all past editions, and forms a differential file for each of the past editions. A file delivery server 11 receives and stores differential files formed by the file registration server 10. The file delivery server 11 transmits, upon receiving a download request stating a past edition owned by a client 13 from the client 13, transmits the differential file between the stated past edition and the latest edition to the client 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for distributing a version-managed file.

  Conventionally, in a file version management system, file version management is performed on a server, and the latest file is downloaded from the server to the client as required by the client. As a result, the client can acquire files such as updated programs and data via the network.

  In a conventional file version management system, a history table is created based on management information such as file version information and update date / time information, and a file whose history has been updated is a download target (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional file version management system. Referring to FIG. 9, the conventional file version management system has a file registration server 80 and a file management server 81. The file registration server 80 and the file distribution server 81 are connected to the network 82. A client 83 is connected to the network 82.

  The file registration server 80 performs registration processing of the created file or the updated file.

  The file distribution server 81 stores the file registered by the file registration server 80 and downloads the file to the client 83 in response to a request from the client 83.

  The client 83 acquires a desired file from the file version management system and stores it.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional file registration server. Referring to FIG. 10, the file registration server 80 includes a file registration unit 84 and a file transfer unit 85.

  The file registration unit 84 creates management information of the file to be registered and gives it to the file transfer unit 85. The management information includes version information and update date / time information.

  The file transfer unit 85 transfers the file given from the file registration unit 84 and its management information to the file distribution server 81.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional file distribution server. Referring to FIG. 11, the file distribution server 81 includes a file storage unit 86 and a client request reception unit 87.

  The file storage unit 86 stores the file received from the file registration server 80 and its management information.

  The client request receiving unit 87 receives a request from the client 83 and transfers a file or management information stored in advance by the file storage unit 86 to the client 83 in response to the request.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional client. Referring to FIG. 12, the client 83 includes a download request unit 88, a file acquisition unit 89, a management information reading unit 90, a management information comparison / determination unit 91, a transfer end determination unit 92, and a file storage unit 93.

  The download request unit 88 requests download of a desired file.

  The file acquisition unit 89 acquires the management information of the file requested by the download request unit 88 from the file distribution server 81 and gives it to the management information reading unit 90. Further, the file acquisition unit 89 downloads and acquires the file requested from the management information comparison / determination unit 91 from the file distribution server 81 and stores it in the file storage unit 93.

  The management information reading unit 90 reads the management information acquired by the file acquisition unit 80 from the file distribution server 81.

  The management information comparison / determination unit 91 records management information of the file stored in the file storage unit 93 by downloading in advance. When the management information is read by the management information reading unit 90, the management information is recorded in advance. The management information stored is compared, and the necessity of downloading is determined from the comparison result. If the management information matches, the latest version of the file on the file distribution server 81 is already in the file storage unit 93 of the client 83 itself, so downloading is not necessary. If the management information does not match, the latest version of the file does not exist in the file storage unit 93, so downloading is necessary. If the download is necessary, the management information comparison / determination unit 91 issues a file transfer request to the file acquisition unit 89.

  The transfer end determination unit 92 determines the end of the file downloaded by the file acquisition unit 89, and when the end is detected, causes the file acquisition unit 89 to end the download.

  The file storage unit 93 stores the file downloaded by the file acquisition unit 89.

  The operation of the conventional file version management system having the above configuration will be described below.

First, the file registration server 80 creates management information for a file to be downloaded, and registers the file and management information in the file distribution server 81. When there is a download request in the client 83, the client 83 acquires management information from the file distribution server 81, and determines whether or not the download is necessary by comparing with the management information recorded in the client 83 beforehand. Then, the client 83 downloads a file from the file distribution server 81 based on the determination result and stores it.
JP 11-345125 A

  In the conventional file version management system, useless downloads are prevented by not performing a download unless it is necessary from a comparison of management information. However, the entire file is downloaded when the file needs to be downloaded from the comparison of management information, and if the file size is large, the download takes time.

  In addition, since it takes time to download, the file distribution server 81 may transfer files to a plurality of clients 83 at the same time, which may increase the load on the file distribution server 80. In this case, since the performance (CPU and memory capacity) of the file distribution server 81 cannot be supported, the client 83 may not be able to download the file normally or may take a very long time.

  Conventionally, in a communication system in which a program is downloaded from a central station to a plurality of base stations, the difference between the latest program and the previous generation program is transferred from the central station, and the base station previously owns the previous generation. A technique for creating the latest program from the above program and the difference transferred from the central office has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-242588).

  However, in a file version management system that transfers a file in response to a request from the client 83, there is a high possibility that a difference of a plurality of generations will occur between the latest file and an already downloaded file. In that case, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-242588, it is necessary to transfer the entire file, and it takes a long time to download.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a file version management system that shortens the download time.

In order to achieve the above object, the file version management system of the present invention provides:
A file version management system that manages file versions and provides clients with the latest version on demand.
When the file is updated, a file registration server that extracts a difference between each of all past versions of the file and the latest version of the file, and creates a difference file for each past version;
The differential file created by the file registration server is received and stored, and when a download request specifying the past version of the client is received from the client, the specified past version and the latest A file distribution server for sending a difference file with the version to the client.

  According to the present invention, when registration of an updated file is requested, the file registration server creates a difference file and registers it in the file distribution server. When a file download request is received from the client, the file distribution server Since the difference file is transferred to the client, the download time can be shortened.

  In addition, the file registration server sets in advance an update policy that defines whether or not to create a difference file at the time of update, and refers to the update policy when the file is updated. The file distribution server creates the difference file only when it is specified to create a difference file, and updates the file itself without creating the difference file when it is not specified to create a difference file. It may be sent to.

  According to this, the file registration server determines whether or not to create a differential file as a file update policy, and when updating a file, whether to transfer the differential binary file or to transfer the updated file itself Therefore, it is possible to reduce the system load by selecting an appropriate method for determining whether to create a difference file for each file.

  According to the present invention, when registration of an updated file is requested, the file registration server creates a difference file and registers it in the file distribution server. When a file download request is received from the client, the file distribution server Since the difference file is transferred to the client, the download time can be shortened.

  Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the file version management system of this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the file version management system includes a file registration server 10 and a file management server 11. The file registration server 10 and the file distribution server 11 are connected to the network 12. A client 13 is connected to the network 12.

  The file registration server 10 performs registration processing of a created file or an updated file. At that time, the contents of the file registration process differ depending on whether the file is newly created or updated.

  When a new file is created, the file registration server 10 creates management information for the file, stores the file and management information in itself, and sends it to the file distribution server 11.

  On the other hand, when the file is updated, the file registration server 10 extracts the difference between the updated latest file and the file of the past version stored therein, and creates a differential binary file. Update management information. Then, the file registration server 10 stores the latest file and the updated management information in itself, and sends the latest file, the created differential binary file, and the updated management information to the file distribution server 11.

  In addition, when a plurality of past versions of files are stored in the file registration server 10, the file registration server 10 extracts a difference from the latest file for each of the past versions of the file, and stores a plurality of difference binary files. Create and send to file distribution server 11.

  The management information includes information indicating the version of the file such as version information and creation date and time, and may also include storage destination addresses of the file and the differential binary file.

  The file distribution server 11 stores the file registered by the file registration server 10 or the differential binary file, and downloads the file to the client 13 in response to a request from the client 13. If the file requested by the client 13 has never been updated, the file distribution server 11 transfers the entire file registered in advance to the client 13. On the other hand, if the file requested by the client 13 has been updated, the file distribution server 11 sends a differential binary file between the version of the client 13 and the latest version to the client 13. If the file requested by the client 13 has been updated but the client 13 does not have any previous version of the file, the file distribution server 11 sends the entire latest version of the file to the client 13.

  The client 13 accesses the file distribution server 11 of the file version management system to acquire and store a desired file. At that time, the client 13 obtains management information of a desired file from the file distribution server 11, and if the latest version of the desired file is different from the version owned by the client 13, the client 13 obtains a differential binary file between the version owned by the client and the latest version. get. Then, the latest version file is created from the obtained differential binary file and the version file of the file, and stored in the file.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the file registration server. Referring to FIG. 2, the file registration server 10 includes a file registration unit 14, a file transfer unit 15, a differential binary extraction unit 16, and a file storage unit 17.

  The file registration unit 14 creates or updates the management information of the given file to be registered, and gives it to the file transfer unit 15. Further, when creating the management information, the file registration unit 14 sets an update policy for the file. The update policy defines whether or not to create a differential binary file when the file is updated.

  Considering the processing load and network load, it may be preferable for the system to download the file itself rather than creating a differential binary file and downloading it. Such a file may be defined as not creating a differential binary file as an update policy. For example, it is conceivable that a differential binary file is not created for a file in which almost the entire file is changed at the time of update, or a file that is small in size and can be downloaded in a short time. Further, the file registration unit 14 may determine an update policy based on an instruction from a user who intends to register a file, and creates an update policy as a difference binary file for a file of a certain size or larger. It is good.

  In addition, if the file to be registered is a new file, the file registration unit 14 gives the file to the file transfer unit 15. On the other hand, if the file to be registered has been updated, the update policy of the file is referred to. If the file to be created is a differential binary file, the differential binary extraction unit 16 is instructed to create the differential binary file.

  The file transfer unit 15 transfers the file and its management information given from the file registration unit 14 to the file distribution server 11. If the differential binary extraction unit 16 has created a differential binary file according to an instruction from the file registration unit 14, the file transfer unit 15 also transfers the differential binary file to the file distribution server 11.

  The differential binary extraction unit 16 creates a differential binary file of the file for which the differential binary file is to be created in accordance with an instruction from the file registration unit 14. At that time, the differential binary file extraction unit 16 compares the latest version file given from the file registration unit 14 with a previously stored version file, and creates a differential binary file. When there are a plurality of past version files, the differential binary file extraction unit 16 creates a plurality of differential binary files for each past version.

  The file storage unit 17 stores the file given to the file registration unit 14. As a result, all past versions of the file are stored. The past version of the file is used when the differential binary extraction unit 16 creates a differential binary file.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the file distribution server. Referring to FIG. 3, the file distribution server 11 includes a file storage unit 18 and a client request reception unit 19.

  The file storage unit 18 stores a file received from the file registration server 10, a differential binary file, and management information thereof.

  The client request receiving unit 19 receives a request from the client 13, and transfers a file, difference binary, or management information stored in advance by the file storage unit 18 to the client 13 in response to the request.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the client. Referring to FIG. 4, the client 13 includes a download request unit 20, a file acquisition unit 21, a management information reading unit 22, a management information comparison / determination unit 23, a transfer end determination unit 24, a file storage unit 25, and a differential binary integration unit 26. have.

  The download request unit 20 requests download of a desired file.

  The file acquisition unit 21 acquires the management information of the file requested by the download request unit 20 from the file distribution server 11 and gives it to the management information reading unit 22. The file acquisition unit 21 downloads and acquires the file requested from the management information comparison / determination unit 23 from the file distribution server 11. When acquiring a file from the file distribution server 11, the file acquisition unit 21 notifies the file distribution server 11 of the previously acquired version number. This is to determine whether the file distribution server 11 sends the latest version of the entire file or the difference binary file to the client 13 and which version of the difference binary file to send.

  The acquired file may be the latest version of the entire file or a differential binary file. If the acquired file is the entire latest file, the file acquisition unit 21 stores it in the file storage unit 25. On the other hand, if the acquired file is a differential binary file, the file acquisition unit 21 sends it to the differential binary integration unit 26 and instructs the creation of the latest version of the file.

  The management information reading unit 22 reads the management information acquired from the file distribution server 11 by the file acquisition unit 21.

  The management information comparison / determination unit 23 records the management information of the file stored in the file storage unit 25 by downloading in advance. When the management information is read by the management information reading unit 22, the management information is recorded in advance. The management information stored is compared, and the necessity of downloading is determined from the comparison result. If the management information matches, the latest version of the file in the file distribution server 11 is already in the file storage unit 25 of the client 13 and no download is necessary. If the management information does not match, the latest version of the file does not exist in the file storage unit 25, so downloading is necessary. If download is necessary, the management information comparison / determination unit 23 issues a file transfer request to the file acquisition unit 21.

  The transfer end determination unit 24 determines the end of the file downloaded by the file acquisition unit 21, and when the end is detected, causes the file acquisition unit 21 to end the download.

  The file storage unit 25 stores the file downloaded by the file acquisition unit 21.

  When the difference binary integration unit 26 receives the difference binary file from the file acquisition unit 21 and is instructed to create the latest version file, the difference binary integration unit 26 creates the latest file from the past version file and the difference binary file, and stores the file. Stored in the unit 25.

  The operation of the file version management system of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described below. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the file version management system.

  First, the operation of the file registration server 10 will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 5, first, when the file registration unit 14 of the file registration server 10 is given the file 111 to be distributed, it creates management information 112 of the file 111 (step A1).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of management information. Referring to FIG. 6, the management information includes a file name, a storage destination address, a version (version number), a file size, a creation date / time, an update history, a differential binary storage destination address, and a differential binary size.

  At this time, if the file 111 is a newly created file, the management information 112 is also newly created. The created management information 112 and new file 111 are sent to the file transfer unit 15 (step A2). When creating the management information 112, the file registration unit 14 also determines an update policy for the file 111. This update policy may be changed at any timing. The update policy defines whether to create a differential binary file when the file is updated.

  On the other hand, if the file 111 is an update of a previously created file, the management information 112 is also updated, so the management information 112 is updated. If the update policy of the file stipulates that a differential binary file be created, the file registration unit 14 instructs the differential binary extraction unit 16 to create a differential binary file (step B1). The differential binary extraction unit 16 takes out the past version of the file 114 (step B2), creates the differential binary file 113 of the latest version and the past version, and sends it to the file transfer unit 15 (step B3).

  Upon receiving the newly created file, or the updated file, the differential binary file, and the management information, the file transfer unit 15 sends them to the file distribution server 11 (step C1), and the latest newly created or updated latest file. The file is stored in the file storage unit 17 (step C2). This will be used as a past file after the next time.

  Next, the operation of the file distribution server 11 will be described.

  Upon receiving the new file 111 or the differential binary file 113 and the management information 112 from the file registration server 10, the file storage unit 18 of the file distribution server 11 stores them as the new file 212 or the differential binary file 213 and the management information 211 ( Step D1). At this time, each file is stored at the storage destination address specified in the management information. Normally, the update file will overwrite the existing file.

  Further, when the client 13 receives a file or management information transfer request from the client 13 (step D2), the client request reception unit 19 of the file distribution server 11 takes it out and transfers it to the client (step D3). When requested to transfer a file, the client request receiving unit 19 determines whether or not there is a differential binary file 213 of the file. To the client 13. When transferring the differential binary file, the client request receiving unit 19 transmits the differential binary file between the past version number of the client 13 and the latest version notified from the client 13.

  Next, the operation of the client 13 will be described.

  When a file acquisition request is generated, the client 13 first requests the file distribution server 11 to transfer management information from the file acquisition unit 21 in order to confirm the acquisition status of the file to be downloaded. Obtain (step E1). The download target may be a plurality of files. In this case, the management information is a list of a plurality of files.

  When management information is acquired by the file acquisition unit 21, the management information reading unit 22 reads it (step E2). Next, the management information comparison / determination unit 23 compares the management information with the management information of the existing file downloaded in the past (step E3). If the management information does not match the version number of the file, the download is necessary, and the management information comparison / determination unit 23 requests the download request unit 20 to download the file (step E4).

  When the management information is a list of a plurality of files, the management information comparison / determination unit 23 creates a list of files that need to be downloaded, and requests the file to be downloaded based on the list. FIG. 7 is an example of a list showing a list of files that need to be downloaded. Referring to FIG. 7, as an example, file names and other information of a plurality of files that need to be downloaded are shown.

  The download request unit 20 instructs the file acquisition unit 21 (step E5), and the file acquisition unit 21 requests the file distribution server 11 to transfer a file (step E6). When requesting file transfer, the file acquisition unit 21 notifies the file distribution server 11 of the past version number already stored in the client 13. When a file is transferred from the file distribution server 11, the transfer end determination unit 24 monitors the file transfer (step E7), and when the transfer ends, instructs the file acquisition unit 21 to end the acquisition process (step E8). .

  From the file distribution server 11, there are a case where the file itself is transferred and a case where the differential binary file is transferred. When the file itself has been transferred, the file storage unit 25 stores the file acquired by the file acquisition unit 21 (step E9). When the differential binary file 313 is transferred, the differential binary integration unit 26 integrates the acquired differential binary file 313 and the previously downloaded file 315 of the previous version to create the latest version file 314, Store (step E10).

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an operation example of the file version management system of the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, the file registration server 10 extracts a difference 403 between the past version file 401 and the latest version file 402. They are uploaded to the file distribution server 11 and stored. The file distribution server 11 sends only the difference 403 to the client 13a having the file 401 of the past version, and sends the latest file 402 to the client 13b not having the file 401.

  As described above, according to the file version management system of this embodiment, when registration of an updated file is requested, the file registration server 10 creates a differential binary file and registers it in the file distribution server 11, When a file download request is received from the client 13, the file distribution server 11 transfers the differential binary file to the client 13, so that the download time can be shortened.

  In the file version management system of the present embodiment, the file registration server 10 determines whether to create a differential binary file as the file update policy, and when updating, transfers the differential binary file accordingly. Since it is determined whether to transfer the updated file itself, an appropriate method can be selected for each file to reduce the load on the system.

  The specific example of the file version management system of this embodiment is shown. The file version management system of the present embodiment can be applied regardless of the file type such as a program, data, and text. Here, an example in which the present invention is applied to a system that transmits an online game to a client is shown.

  In online games, contents such as programs and terrain data are updated daily, and the client needs to acquire an updated file group before using the service. However, since the client, which is the user's personal computer, connects to the server irregularly for the convenience of the user, the version of the downloaded file is usually not available for each individual client.

  Since the user connects to the server when he / she wants to use the service, the download time before starting the use of the service is preferably short. In such a case, the system of the present embodiment can shorten the download time and improve the convenience for the user.

  Note that the file registration server 10, the file distribution server 11, and the client 13 of this embodiment may be realized by a computer executing a software program stored in a recording device.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the file version management system of this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a file registration server. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a file distribution server. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a client. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a file version management system. It is a figure which shows an example of management information. It is an example of a list showing a list of files that need to be downloaded. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation example of the file version management system of this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional file version management system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional file registration server. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional file distribution server. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional client.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 File registration server 11 File management server 12 Network 13, 13a, 13b Client 14 File registration part 15 File transfer part 16 Differential binary extraction part 17 File storage part 18 File storage part 19 Client request reception part 20 Download request part 21 File acquisition part 22 Management Information Reading Unit 23 Management Information Comparison Determination Unit 24 Transfer End Determination Unit 25 File Storage Unit 26 Differential Binary Integration Unit 111, 114, 212, 312 File 112, 211, 311 Management Information 113, 213, 313, 314, 315 Difference Binary file 401, 402 File 403 Difference A1-A2, B1-B3, C1-C2, D1-D3, E1-E10 Step

Claims (8)

A file version management system that manages file versions and provides clients with the latest version on demand.
When the file is updated, a file registration server that extracts a difference between each of all past versions of the file and the latest version of the file, and creates a difference file for each past version;
The differential file created by the file registration server is received and stored, and when a download request specifying the past version of the client is received from the client, the specified past version and the latest A file version management system comprising a file distribution server for sending a difference file with a version to the client.   The file registration server presets an update policy for the file that defines whether or not to create a difference file at the time of update. When the file is updated, the file registration server refers to the update policy to determine the difference file. The difference file is created only when it is prescribed to create a difference file, and when the difference file is not prescribed to be created, the updated file itself is sent to the file distribution server without creating the difference file. The file version management system according to claim 1. A file registration server that manages file versions and registers files in a file version management system that provides clients with the latest version files upon request.
A file registration unit that creates management information indicating a version of the file when the file is updated;
A difference extraction unit that extracts a difference between each of all past versions of the file and the latest version of the file, and creates a difference file for each of the past versions;
File registration having the management information created by the file registration unit and the difference file created by the difference extraction unit, the file transfer unit for transferring the management information and the difference file to a file distribution server that provides the client server.   The file registration unit sets in advance an update policy that defines whether or not to create a difference file at the time of update, and creates a difference file by referring to the update policy when the file is updated Then, the difference extraction unit creates the difference file only when it is defined, and when it is not defined that the difference file is created, the updated file itself is transferred without creating the difference file. The file registration server according to claim 3, wherein the file registration server sends the file to the file distribution server. A file version management method for managing the file version on the server and providing the client with the latest version file upon request.
When the file is updated, file registration means creates management information indicating the version of the file;
A step of extracting a difference between each of all past versions of the file and the latest version and creating a difference file for each past version;
A file version management method, comprising: a file transfer unit that transfers the management information and the difference file to a storage unit. The file registration means sets in advance an update policy for the file that defines whether to create a difference file at the time of update,
When the file is updated, the difference extraction unit creates the difference file only when the update policy stipulates that a difference file be created.
6. The file version management method according to claim 5, wherein if the difference file is not defined to be created, the file transfer means sends the updated file itself to the storage unit without creating the difference file. A file version management program for causing a computer to manage file versions and to provide clients with the latest version files upon request,
Computer
File registration means for creating management information indicating the version of the file when the file is updated;
A difference extracting means for extracting a difference between each of all past versions of the file and the latest version of the file, and creating a difference file for each of the past versions;
A file version management program for causing the management information created by the file registration means and the difference file created by the difference extraction means to function as a file transfer means for transferring the management information and the difference file to a storage unit.   The file registration means sets in advance an update policy that defines whether or not to create a difference file at the time of update, and creates a difference file by referring to the update policy when the file is updated Then, the difference extraction means creates the difference file only when it is specified, and when it is not specified that the difference file is created, the updated file itself is transferred without creating the difference file. 8. The file version management program according to claim 7, wherein the file version management program is sent from said means to said storage unit.

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