JP2007072899A - Communication device and method, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device and method and a communication system that can establish communication by a single procedure without considering whether services are based on a network or used by clients at nodes executing them and without causing network overhead. <P>SOLUTION: The communication system has a transmission part selection part 102 for selecting either a remote or local transmission part in accordance with the address of a message set by a client program, a transmission interface 106 for transmitting the message from the selected transmission part, reception parts 152 and 153 for receiving the message, and a message allocation part 154 for allocating the destination of the message in accordance with the address of the message received by the reception part 152 or 153. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a method thereof, and a communication system, and more particularly to a technique effective when applied to message communication between systems in a distributed environment using a network.

  Web (Web) technology using SOAP for communication between computer programs connected to a network is attracting attention. Communication using a service using SOAP is generally used in an environment distributed on a network (see Patent Document 1). Consider a case in which a client using a web service arranged in a certain network uses a web service executed by a node arranged on another network. In this case, the client transmits a request to the service via the network, and the service returns a response to the client via the network.

  However, the node that executes the service is not limited to the network, but may be a service in a node including the client. In this case, in the service using SOAP, as described above, the client uses the service of its own node via the network. For this reason, the procedure of creating a SOAP message, transmitting it to the network, receiving it from the network, and interpreting the SOAP message is also performed for the service running on its own node. In this case, although it is an application program executed on the same node, an overhead such as passing through the network occurs.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the client program on the user side directly executes the application program executed by the service. However, in this case, if the service node is separated on the network, the client is forced to create a message again. In addition, since an application program on the service side must prepare both an interface called from the network and an interface called from its own node, it is not easy to create the application program. In addition, it is not easy to migrate a system, program, and device built as a service on the network to a client program that is executed by itself.
JP 2005-107699 A XXXX-XXXXXXX

  As described above, when a general web service application program that is assumed to be used on a network is used in the service of its own node, overhead is passed through the network, and processing time is wasted. In addition, it is not easy to change a system, a program, and a device that are built on the premise of use on a network so that the system, program, and device are used on a node that executes the service. Furthermore, when a system, program, or device constructed on the premise that the service is executed without using the network is used via the network, the migration is not easy. Originally, the program creator should concentrate on the process executed by the service and create the program. Creating a program while paying attention to whether the program is used via a network or from its own node causes a significant reduction in program development efficiency.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.

  The feature of the present invention is that it is a single procedure without being aware of whether the service is based on the network or the service used by the client at the node executing the service, and without the overhead of passing through the network. It is to provide a communication apparatus, a method thereof, and a communication system that can realize communication.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention has the following arrangement. That is,
Destination setting means for setting a message destination;
Selection means for selecting either a remote or local transmission unit according to the destination set by the destination setting means;
Transmitting means for transmitting the message from the transmitting unit selected by the selecting means;
Receiving means for receiving the message at a receiving unit;
A distribution unit that distributes a distribution destination of the message according to a destination of the message received by the reception unit;
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication system according to one aspect of the present invention has the following arrangement. That is,
A communication system that selects local communication or remote communication according to a destination and transmits / receives,
A sending interface for sending messages;
A local transmission class for transmitting the message sent from the transmission interface to a local destination;
A transmission class for remote that transmits the message sent from the transmission interface to a destination on a network;
A local receiving interface for receiving the message at the local destination;
A remote receiving interface for receiving messages from the network;
An adapter class for receiving a message received at the local receiving interface or the remote receiving interface;
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, a communication method according to an aspect of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
A destination setting process for setting a message destination;
A selection step of selecting either a remote or local transmission unit according to the destination set in the destination setting step;
A transmission step of transmitting the message from the transmission unit selected in the selection step;
A receiving step of receiving the message at a receiving unit;
A step of distributing a distribution destination of the message according to a destination of the message received in the reception step;
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, communication between systems distributed on a network can be realized in a single procedure without being conscious of whether the nodes are arranged on the same node or on different nodes on the network. .

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are essential to the solution means of the present invention. Not exclusively. The method, system, or apparatus described in the following embodiments can be implemented as a computer-usable program. Therefore, the present invention can take an embodiment as hardware, an embodiment as software, or an embodiment of a combination of software and hardware. The program can be recorded on any computer-readable medium such as a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or a flash memory.

  In addition, as a system that can be used in the following embodiments, a general computer system can be used as the system. A computer system that can be used in this embodiment is generally provided in a computer system such as a central processing unit (CPU), a main memory (RAM), a nonvolatile memory (ROM), and an input / output controller. Communication means capable of connecting to hardware resources and a network such as a LAN are provided. The computer system that can be used in this embodiment includes various computers such as a personal computer, a workstation, a mainframe computer, and an embedded device computer. Moreover, there is no restriction | limiting in particular in the environment which operates the program demonstrated by this Embodiment. An environment such as Unix (registered trademark), Windows (registered trademark), Linux (registered trademark), MacOS (registered trademark), Tron (registered trademark), or other OS may be used. There are no restrictions on the programming language.

  FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing a data communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  This data communication system performs data communication between the client program 101 and the device built-in function 157 in the transmission side system 100 and the reception side system 150. The transmission-side system 100 includes a transmission interface 106 common to the transmission unit selection unit 102, the local transmission unit 103, and the remote transmission unit 104. The WSDL interpreter 105 verifies the data of the input XML message 110 and transmits the input XML message 110 as the destination to the remote node as a SOAP message. As a result, the remote transmission unit 104 can use the web service of another node on the network.

  The receiving system 150 includes a SOAP receiving unit 151, a remote receiving unit 152, a local receiving unit 153, and a message sorting unit 154. Furthermore, it has one or a plurality of device built-in functions 157 of the receiving side system 150 used by the client program 101 and one or a plurality of device built-in function adapters 156 that correspond each device built-in function to the common reception interface 155.

  Here, the transmission interface 106 and the reception interface 155 receive the XML message 110 as an input, and output the XML message 110.

  The communication data that needs to be communicated by the client program 101 is specified as a destination of the local or remote device incorporation function 157 to be called, and the remote transmission unit 104 selected by the transmission unit selection unit 102 as the XML message 110. Alternatively, it is sent to the local transmission unit 103. Here, the remote transmission unit 104 and the local transmission unit 103 are mounted with a common transmission interface 106. Therefore, the client program 101 can transmit the XML message 110 without being conscious of which transmission unit.

  In addition, since there is no need to be aware of whether it is a remote or local transmission unit, the same client program 101 can be used for both local communication and remote communication, and the program size can be reduced. can do.

  The XML message 110 transmitted in this way is received by the remote receiving unit 152 or the local receiving unit 153. The message distribution unit 154 determines to which function of the one or a plurality of device built-in functions 157 this XML message 110 is transmitted. Then, according to the determination result, the information is sent to the device built-in function 157 through the device built-in function adapter 156. Here, each device built-in function adapter 156 has a common reception interface 155. Therefore, the message distribution unit 154 can distribute the XML message 110 without being conscious of the difference between the respective device built-in functions 157.

  The device built-in function 157 can be used regardless of whether it is called locally or remotely. This can reduce the size of the program. Furthermore, by providing the local transmission unit 103 and the local reception unit 153 separately corresponding to the remote transmission unit 104 and the remote reception unit 152, it is possible to achieve an implementation optimized for local calling. . As a result, communication can be performed while reducing the processing time without incurring overhead when using the network.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the communication apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The CPU 201 controls the operation of the entire apparatus according to a program loaded in the RAM 202 or a program stored in the ROM 203. The RAM 202 also provides a work area for temporarily storing various data during the control operation by the CPU 201. The ROM 203 stores a boot program and various data. The input unit 204 includes a keyboard and a mouse as a pointing device, and is used by the user to input various data and commands. A display unit 205 includes a display unit such as a CRT or a liquid crystal, and is used to display a message or data to the user. An external storage device (HDD) is a large-capacity storage unit in which various applications and programs such as an OS are installed. These programs are read in response to the activation of the program, loaded into the RAM 202, and executed under the control of the CPU 201. A network interface (I / F) 207 performs communication control with the network 208.

  1 is achieved by the CPU 201 executing a program loaded in the RAM 202, for example.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating remote communication in the communication system according to the present embodiment. In order to execute the data communication program of the present embodiment, a program execution environment, a utility program, a program library, or the like is required, but these are omitted in the figure.

  The client program 101 designates the destination with respect to the transmission unit selection unit 102 and makes a transmission unit acquisition request to the transmission unit selection unit 102 (301). As a result, based on the destination, the transmission unit selection unit 102 determines whether the destination is communication destined to local at the same node as itself or communication destined to remote at another node. . Based on the determination, the transmission unit designation information for designating whether the transmission unit to be used is local or remote is returned to the client program 101 (302). Here, if the address is local, the local transmission unit 103 is passed to the client program 101. On the other hand, if the address is remote, the remote transmission unit 104 is passed to the client program 101. As a result, the client program 101 sends the XML message 110 and the destination to the local transmission unit 103 or the remote transmission unit 104 passed through the common transmission interface 106 (303).

  Here, in the case of communication addressed to the remote, the remote transmission unit 104 is selected. The remote transmission unit 104 receives the destination and the XML message 110 via the transmission interface 106, and transmits the destination and the XML message 110 to the WSDL interpreter 105 (304). The WSDL interpreter 105 that has received the destination and the XML message 110 shapes the destination and the XML message 110 as a SOAP message and transmits the SOAP message to the remote SOAP reception unit 151 (305).

  The SOAP receiver 151 that has received this SOAP message sends the SOAP message to the remote receiver 152 and notifies the reception of the message (306). The remote receiving unit 152 separates the XML message 110 and the destination from the SOAP message, and notifies the message distribution unit 154 of the reception of the destination, the XML message 110 and the message (307).

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating local communication in the communication system according to the present embodiment. In order to execute the data communication program of the present embodiment, a program execution environment, a utility program, a program library, or the like is required, but these are omitted in the figure.

  The client program 101 designates a destination with respect to the transmission unit selection unit 102 and makes a transmission unit acquisition request to the transmission unit selection unit 102 (401). As a result, based on the destination, the transmission unit selection unit 102 determines that the destination is a communication addressed to a local in the same node as that of itself on the network. Based on this determination, the transmission unit designation information for designating that the transmission unit to be used is local is returned to the client program 101 (402). Here, if the address is local, the local transmission unit 103 is passed to the client program 101. As a result, the client program 101 sends the XML message 110 and the destination to the local transmission unit 103 that has been passed through the common transmission interface 106 (403).

  The local transmission unit 103 that has received the destination and the XML message via the transmission interface 106 directly calls the local reception unit 153 of its own node using the XML message 110 and the destination (404). . The local reception unit 153 called in this manner sends a destination and XML message 110 to the message distribution unit 154 to notify that the message has been received (405). Upon receiving the message reception notification from the local reception unit 153, the message distribution unit 154 notifies the device built-in function adapter 156 determined from the destination of the reception of the XML message 110 and the message via the reception interface 155 ( 406). In this way, the device built-in function adapter 156 activates the device built-in function 157 associated with the device built-in adapter.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the program creation or maintenance environment, whether the service is located at the same node as the client application program or at another node on the network. It is possible to communicate between systems distributed on the network in a single procedure without awareness. Further, when the service is arranged on the same network as the client application program, overhead due to using the network can be eliminated.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to construct a service that can be used from another node on the network without changing the device built-in function that is executed in the same node.

  Further, the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or an apparatus composed of a single device (for example, a copier, a facsimile machine, etc.). It may be applied.

  Another object of the present invention is to mount a storage medium recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments in a system or apparatus, and read and execute the installed program codes from the storage medium. Is also achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In addition, the operating system (OS) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. It is.

  Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and the CPU of the main body executes part or all of the processing. Thus, the functions of this embodiment may be realized.

  The storage medium for supplying the program includes, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, and nonvolatile memory. There are cards. Furthermore, ROM and DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) are also included.

  Alternatively, the browser of the client computer may be used to connect to a homepage on the Internet, and the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function may be downloaded from the homepage to a storage medium. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the claims of the present invention.

  Although the present invention has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing a data communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram explaining the hardware constitutions of the communication apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the remote communication in the communication system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the local communication in the communication system which concerns on this Embodiment.

Claims (9)

A destination setting process for setting a message destination;
A selection step of selecting either a remote or local transmission unit according to the destination set in the destination setting step;
A transmission step of transmitting the message from the transmission unit selected in the selection step;
A receiving step of receiving the message at a receiving unit;
A step of distributing a distribution destination of the message according to a destination of the message received in the reception step;
A communication method characterized by comprising:   The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the remote indicates an address on a network, and the local indicates an own apparatus. Destination setting means for setting a message destination;
Selection means for selecting either a remote or local transmission unit according to the destination set by the destination setting means;
Transmitting means for transmitting the message from the transmitting unit selected by the selecting means;
Receiving means for receiving the message at a receiving unit;
A distribution unit that distributes a distribution destination of the message according to a destination of the message received by the reception unit;
A communication apparatus comprising:   4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the remote indicates an address on a network, and the local indicates an own apparatus. A communication system that selects local communication or remote communication according to a destination and transmits / receives,
A sending interface for sending messages;
A local transmission class for transmitting the message sent from the transmission interface to a local destination;
A transmission class for remote that transmits the message sent from the transmission interface to a destination on a network;
A local receiving interface for receiving the message at the local destination;
A remote receiving interface for receiving messages from the network;
An adapter class for receiving a message received at the local receiving interface or the remote receiving interface;
A communication system comprising: A communication system in which local communication or remote communication is selected and transmitted according to a destination,
A sending interface for sending messages;
Local transmission means for transmitting the message sent from the transmission interface to a local destination;
Remote transmission means for transmitting the message transmitted from the transmission interface to a destination on a network;
Local receiving means for receiving the message of the local destination;
Remote receiving means for receiving messages from the network;
An adapter class for receiving a message received by the local receiving means or the remote receiving means;
A communication system comprising:   The communication system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the remote indicates an address on a network, and the local indicates an own device. A communication method for selecting and transmitting / receiving local communication or remote communication according to a destination,
A local transmission step of transmitting the message transmitted from a transmission interface for transmitting a message to a local destination;
A remote transmission step of transmitting the message transmitted from the transmission interface to a destination on a network;
A local receiving step of receiving the message at the local destination;
A remote receiving step for receiving a message from the network;
Receiving the message received in the local reception step or the remote reception step;
A communication method characterized by comprising:   The communication method according to claim 8, wherein the remote indicates an address on a network, and the local indicates an own device.

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