JP2006338343A - Time-linked window system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily perform linkage of screen display and synchronization of time between a pane and a program, in a process-monitoring window system. <P>SOLUTION: This window system comprises a framework managing a CRT screen of a client and the program managing one or more panes on the CRT screen, in a computer network system. The window system is configured by a storage means of framework time in the framework, a storage means of pane time in the pane, and time control stuck onto the pane. In the window system, the pane time can be synchronized with the framework time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

This is related to the technology related to computer human interface, and it is a screen display based on time, especially for window systems related to various information display screens as production management, manufacturing management systems and other business portals in the manufacturing industry. The present invention relates to monitoring screen software for plants and processes that handle past data.

Recently, with the advancement of computer hardware and software, the terminal display screen has become high-definition and the number of display pixels has improved, so it is possible to configure multiple windows on one screen, and each window is independent. Program has been able to perform each function. One or more windows on one screen, in particular, a screen area that is divided by tiling, is hereinafter referred to as a “pane”.
Arbitrary programs can be assigned to the panes, and these programs (hereinafter referred to as “pane programs”) form an independent execution form. Therefore, cooperation between programs is not necessarily taken, and it is necessary to review each program from the design of each program, especially handling history data such as process variables that depend on time, and history data of equipment. Such screen programs in the field of process control have become highly demanding and sophisticated in time coordination.

Conventionally, there are many cases where a screen related to a display operation is constructed by going back to past data on a process monitoring screen. Patent Document 1 is also an example, and is an invention related to a so-called playback screen display device, which is intended to extract data at an arbitrary past time point from a trend database and use it for analysis. However, functions other than trend display, such as a function for displaying past data in a multi-window in cooperation with an alarm / event history, have not been targeted.
JP-A-5-18786

Next, in Patent Document 2, in addition to the playback function similar to Document 1, the guidance function is also developed, and the cooperation is considered up to the event history. However, as a configuration, it is necessary to design an integrated large application program, and the present invention for synchronizing and synchronizing independent pane programs on an arbitrary pane is a premise of the idea itself. Are different.
JP 2003-50622 A

In other words, the design specification is fixed in the method as in the prior art, and there is a problem from the extensibility as a system. For example, in addition to history data and event history data, it is not possible to easily cope with the situation where there is a need for a software platform that can easily construct a pane program that can be linked with a database arbitrarily defined by the user. . It is desired that a pane program created using the provided software components can easily synchronize time with other pane programs.

The purpose is to easily and flexibly realize time synchronization between programs allocated on the pane.
In other words, when the time of one pane program is traced back to the past, it is free to select whether the time of other pane programs that should be linked in operation can be synchronized or remain independent What can be done is an object of the invention.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to be able to obtain a time linkage function such as a playback function between a plurality of pane programs arbitrarily for the operator.

In a network system using a computer client server, a first invention is a software called a framework for managing a CRT screen of a client, a program software for managing one or more panes on a CRT screen, and the framework Further, the present invention relates to a client window system comprising a framework time storage means, a pane time storage means in the pane, and a time control control pasted on the pane.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the window system according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the window configuration is such that each pane time can be selected to be synchronized with the framework time.

A third invention is a time control control which is a software component, and is related to the first invention, characterized by a management control configuration relating to various times where the pane program is pasted on the pane. .

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network system. There, the client / server configuration is taken, and the pane program is executed in software resources such as the clients (nodes) 11, 12, and 13. The application servers 81 and 82 and the like serve as servers for various databases, and execute server functions for process variable history data, process alarm and operation event history data, and real-time process data.

The configuration of the client program is determined by the configuration work performed by the conf node 10. Conf information 09 of the work result is stored in the primary server 80.
The client 11 or the like is provided with a management program called a framework that handles various screen display operation services positioned on an operating system (Windows ™, Linux, etc.). Various pane programs are positioned under the management of the framework. When the client node is energized, the framework is activated and connects to the primary server 80. It performs user authentication, sets a plurality of pane areas based on the conf information, manages the entire screen layout, loads definition data of the pane program and its execution environment from the primary server 80, Enter the launch phase of the pane program. The pane program appropriately accesses the application server from the definition to access the data and displays the pane screen.
Here, interface functions such as screen device event operations and periodic execution for execution by the pane program are service-managed by the framework. The above is the outline flow of the program execution on the overall CRT screen.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a CRT screen layout. Although the entire CRT screen 21 is managed by the framework 20, the display operation operation of each pane is controlled by each pane program. The CRT screen 21 is divided into a plurality of panes by splitters 40, 41 and 42. The division method is arbitrary, but generally, it is performed by repeating horizontal division and vertical division, and the pane can be resized by (drag) movement of the splitter. For example, the splitter 40 is first drawn horizontally on the screen 21 and then horizontally divided, and then the splitter 41 is drawn vertically on the left region to generate the panes 22 and 23. On the other hand, the splitter 42 is drawn vertically on the right region. Thus, panes 24 and 25 are generated.
In the example of FIG. 2, the program in the pane 24 indicates an event history screen, and the program in the pane 25 indicates a process trend display screen. Further, the time control control 50 is pasted on the upper end of each pane.

Here, FIG. 3 shows the transition state of time management in the framework and each pane program. The framework 20 has a flakework time 30. On the other hand, the programs in panes 24 and 25 have pane times 34 and 35, respectively. It will be apparent that the pane 24 program can independently handle the time and go back to past data or return to the current time by manipulating its own pane time 34. The same applies to the pane 25.
Then, how to synchronize the time operated by the pane 24 program with the other panes is as follows: first, the pane time 34 is synchronized with the framework time 30, and then the pane time 35 is also set in the pane 25. If there is a designation to synchronize with the time, the pane 25 program is realized by operating in synchronization with the framework time 30.
If the pane 25 program does not want to operate in synchronization with the pane 24 time or the framework management time, only the own pane management time 35 needs to be used.

By synchronizing in this way (indicated by CheckOn in the figure), when the event history screen by the pane 24 program is to be traced back to the past date and time, not only the pane 24 but also the pane 25 program is synchronized to the framework time. If the designation is made, the trend display screen of the pane 25 goes back to the past data in synchronization with the event history screen of the pane 24, and the data display linked in the past time is completed.

(1) The time control control 50 will be described. It has the appearance shown in FIG. Here, the control means a software component that can be attached to an arbitrary place when the screen is confused.
In FIG. 4, a time synchronization check box 51 specifies whether or not the pane time is synchronized with the framework time, with or without checking (check on / off switching). The quick progress switch 52 advances the pane time in the future direction for one hour. When the current time is exceeded, the current time is reached. The real progress switch 53 advances the pane time at a real time speed. The stop switch 54 stops the progress of the pane time. The retroactive switch 55 returns the pane time to the past for one hour. The dialog switch 56 displays a dialog corresponding to a calendar and directly changes the pane time to an arbitrary date and time. The OS time switch 57 makes the pane time coincide with the network standard time (not shown) managed synchronously in the entire system shown in FIG. Finally, the toggle switch 58 switches whether the pane time is displayed as in the row display 59 or not.

(2) The pane program structure is shown in the flow of FIGS.
First, the activation is called from the framework and executed from the Start step 100 when an initial activation, a periodic activation, or an operation event occurs. If it is the first activation at the branch 101, the pane time is set to the OS time (step 110). If it is not the first time and there is no time synchronization control, or if there is control and the time synchronization check is not On, step 111 is executed (in step 111, the own pane time is updated, but if the pane time is in stop mode) If it is, leave it stopped.) If the time synchronization control is present and the time synchronization check is ON, step 112 is executed, and the pane time is rewritten to the flakework time.
Next, if there is any operation in the time synchronization control by the branch 120, a step 200 time operation subroutine is executed.
As described above, in step 130 using variously designated pane times, a history data read request is made by appropriately linking to a necessary application server, and various necessary history data is acquired.
Finally, a pane screen display update process is performed based on the history data read in step 140 as described above. In step 150, the pane program ends and returns screen control to the framework.

In the time operation subroutine 200, processing such as changing the pane time based on the operation of various switches described in FIG. 4 is performed (execution of steps 211 to 217 corresponding to the branches 201 to 207). After that, if the time synchronization check is ON at branch 208, the pane time is written in the flakework time. Thereby, the pane time by various operation is memorize | stored in flakework time, and it synchronizes by propagating to another pane time through it.

The configuration of the present invention is not limited to the configuration given in the examples. It should be noted that hardware / real-time operations such as system time and framework time as the OS time, driver functions, and the like should be appropriately designed, and are omitted from the description because they are out of the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the common specifications are set to the framework time, the pane time, and the time control control, and are not restricted by other specifications, so that the burden on the programmer is light and the addition of the pane program is possible. Etc. can be handled flexibly.

The network system block diagram is shown. An outline of the layout of pane programs in the window system is shown. The transition state of the time synchronization between the framework and the pane program is shown. Indicates time control components. The main flow of the pane program is shown. Fig. 6 shows a time manipulation subroutine of a pane program.

Claims (3)

In the computer client server system,
A framework for managing client CRT screens;
A program that manages one or more panes on the CRT screen;
The framework includes framework time storage means;
The pane has a means for storing the pane time,
A time control control pasted on the pane;
Client window system composed of The window system of claim 1,
A window system wherein the pane time is synchronized with the framework time. The window system of claim 1,
The time control control is
A designation means for synchronizing the pane time and the framework time;
A time advance switch, a time stop switch, and a time return switch of the pane time;
A window system comprising:

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