JP2007280148A - Printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To substitute a printer command generation program with another program. <P>SOLUTION: Such a means is provided, which can store correction printer command generation programs in a dedicated directory and selectively linked the correction printer command generation programs by version numbers and execute the correction printer command generation programs to thereby be able to substitute a printer command generation program with another by providing necessary minimum programs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a computer program, for example, a technique suitable for use in replacing a printer command generation program.

  Conventionally, when printing from an application program that runs on a UNIX (registered trademark) OS, the application program first generates print data. Then, it is usually submitted as a print request to a spooling system prepared by the OS, and thereafter, processing is performed by the spooling system.

  This will be described with reference to FIG. The print data generated by the application program 201 is passed to the spooling system 202 as a print request. The spooling system 202 activates the renderer program 203 in order to convert print data input as a print request into a printer command for controlling the printer. The renderer program 203 normally includes a print data analysis program 204 that reads and analyzes print data, and a printer command generation program 205 that converts the analysis result into a printer command.

  The print data analysis program 204 sequentially analyzes the received print data and converts them into printer commands. Various data such as line drawing, rectangle drawing, rectangle painting, polygon painting, and image drawing prepared by the printer command generation program are provided. Call drawing API as appropriate. In the printer command generation program 205, individual printer command generation programs 206 for line drawing, rectangle drawing, rectangle painting, polygon painting, and image drawing corresponding to each drawing API are prepared. Then, by executing the individual printer command generation program 206 corresponding to the API sequentially called by the print data analysis program 204, printer commands are sequentially generated, and the generated printer commands are output to the printer.

  The print data analysis program 204, the printer command generation program 205, and the individual printer command generation program 206 included in the printer command are generally provided as an integrated renderer program 203.

  However, the printer command generation program 205 must be prepared for each printer type and model. Therefore, in the case where the print data analysis program 204 and the printer command generation program 205 are integrated, if the renderer program 203 corresponding to many types and models of printers is prepared, the size of the entire renderer program is reduced. Enlarge. As a result, even when a program for using only one printer is distributed, a large amount of distribution media is consumed, and the time required for the user to download the renderer program from the server becomes long. There was a point.

  In recent years, as shown in FIG. 3, the renderer program 303 and the printer command generation program 305 are configured separately, and only the print data analysis program 304 is included in the renderer program 303. In this case, the renderer program 303 loads the printer command generation program 305 into the memory at the time of execution, and dynamically links it. Thereafter, in order for the print data analysis program 304 included in the renderer program 303 to sequentially analyze the received print data and convert them into printer commands, straight line drawing, rectangle drawing, rectangle painting, Various drawing APIs such as polygon filling and image drawing are appropriately called.

  In the printer command generation program 305, individual printer command generation programs 306 for line drawing, rectangle drawing, rectangle painting, polygon painting, and image drawing corresponding to each drawing API are prepared. Then, by executing the individual printer command generation program 306 corresponding to the API sequentially called by the print data analysis program 304, printer commands are sequentially generated, and the generated printer commands are output to the printer.

  In such a configuration, the user downloads and installs the renderer program 303 and the printer command generation program 305 separately from a distribution medium or server. This has made it possible to reduce the consumption of media for distribution. Also, once the renderer program 303 and the printer command generation program 305 are downloaded from the server and installed, only the printer command generation program 305 for another model is downloaded from the server and installed. This makes it possible to shorten the download time.

  However, on the other hand, the user must first install the renderer program 303 and the printer command generation program 305 separately. If either one of the installation methods is wrong or the installation is forgotten, there is no renderer program 303 including the print data analysis program 304 even if the print data generated by the application 301 is passed to the spooling system 302 as a print request. For this reason, the print data cannot be analyzed, or since there is no printer command generation program 305, a printer command for controlling the printer cannot be generated, and as a result, printing cannot be performed. There was a problem.

  Further, when there is a problem with the printer command generation program 305, the entire printer command generation program 305 including all N individual printer command generation programs 306 must be replaced in this configuration. For this reason, there has been a problem when the size of the printer command generation program is large.

  Further, from the viewpoint of program development, in order to enable efficient debugging in the debugging work of the printer command generation program 305, when the operation of the printer is partially changed and the operation is confirmed, the entire renderer program 303 is checked. Therefore, there is a need for a method for replacing a part of the individual printer command generation program 306 in the printer command generation program 305 or returning the replaced function without compiling or relinking the program.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to replace a printer command generation program in view of the above-described problems.

  Therefore, in the present invention, there is provided a printing method for converting print data output from the application program and outputting a printer command to a printer, a determination step for determining the presence or absence of a modified printer command generation program, and the renderer program A first number acquisition step of acquiring a version number of a printer command generation program provided together with the dynamic link step of loading the modified printer command generation program into an execution memory and dynamically linking with the renderer program; A second number acquisition step of acquiring a version number of the modified printer command generation program; a comparison step of comparing the version number of the printer command generation program with the version number of the modified printer command generation program; To provide a printing method or the like, characterized in that it comprises a printer command generating process of generating the printer command based on the comparison result in.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to distribute a printer command generation program integrated with a renderer program, and at the same time, it is possible to replace all or part of the functions of the printer command generation program with a modified printer command generation program. In addition, by providing a modified printer command generation program that performs the minimum necessary corrections, programs that do not need to be replaced are efficient without consuming media for distribution or requiring extra download time. It is possible to replace the printer command generation program. In addition, it is possible to replace all or part of the functions of the printer command generation program without compiling or re-linking the entire renderer program, enabling efficient program debugging from the viewpoint of program development. Become.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail and specifically based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a program according to the present embodiment.
Reference numeral 101 denotes an application program, and reference numeral 102 denotes a spooling system. Reference numeral 103 denotes a renderer program, and reference numeral 104 denotes a print data analysis program included in the renderer program 103.

  Reference numeral 105 denotes a printer command generation program, and reference numeral 106 denotes an individual printer command generation program included in the printer command generation program. Reference numeral 107 denotes a modified printer command generation program, and reference numeral 108 denotes an individual printer command generation program included in the modified printer command generation program.

  Reference numeral 110 denotes a function table included in the print data analysis program. The function table 110 is a table that stores a function name and a head address of each individual printer command generation program 106 included in the printer command generation program 105 using ASCII character strings. The number of elements in the function table 110 is prepared in advance for the number of individual printer command generation programs 106. Note that the area for storing the function name in the function table 110 is an area having a fixed number of bytes long enough to store the function name of the individual printer command generation program 106. Then, an ASCII code and a character string terminated with 0 are stored in the area.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a computer system according to the present embodiment.
A CPU 601 is a central processing unit that performs control. A RAM 602 is a memory that loads and operates a program and temporarily stores data. The external storage device 603 is configured by an external storage device such as a hard disk and stores a program. An I / O 604 is a physical interface such as a USB for connecting to a printer.

  4A, 4B, and 4C are flowcharts illustrating a processing procedure of the printing apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment. The operation of this apparatus will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 4-1 to 4-3.

  First, when the application program 101 in FIG. 1 generates print data and inputs it as a print request to the spooling system 102, print processing is started. The start of the printing process corresponds to the printing start in the flowchart of FIG.

  When the printing process is started, the spooling system 102 loads the renderer program 103 onto the memory and starts it in step S401. The renderer program 103 and the spooling system 102 are executed as separate execution units on the OS, that is, as separate processes. The print data transfer from the spooling system 102 to the renderer program 103 is performed by a pipe function provided in the OS. To do.

  When the renderer program 103 is activated, the printer command generation program 105 is loaded onto the memory and linked in step S402. At this time, the renderer program 103 and the printer command generation program 105 are executed as the same execution unit on the OS, that is, as the same process.

  In step S403, the renderer program 103 acquires the version number recorded in the data area of the linked printer command generation program 105 and sets it in the register R1.

  In step S <b> 404, the renderer program 103 sets the function name and head address of each individual printer command generation program 106 included in the printer command generation program 105 in the function table 110. At this point, the function name and head address of any individual printer command generation program 106 included in the printer command generation program 105 are set in all elements of the function table 110.

  Next, in step S405, the presence or absence of the modified printer command generation program 107 is checked. The modified printer command generation program 107 is recorded in advance in a dedicated directory of the external storage device 603 such as a hard disk. The presence / absence of the modified printer command generation program 107 is checked based on whether the program exists in a dedicated directory of the external storage device 603.

  As a result of this check, if there is no program in the directory, it is determined that no modified printer command generation program is prepared, and the process proceeds to step S420 in FIG. 4-3. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S405 that the program exists in the directory, the process proceeds to step S411. A detailed description of the case where the program exists in the directory will be described later.

  In step S420, the renderer program 103 sequentially reads print data from the spooling system 102 via a pipe provided by the OS, stores the print data in the buffer of the renderer program 103, and passes the data to the print data analysis program 104. At the same time, the spooling system 102, which is a process different from the renderer program 103, sequentially writes the print data to the pipe, but closes the pipe when all the print data has been sent to the renderer program 103 via the pipe. To do. The renderer program 103 determines whether all print data has been read by detecting that the pipe has been closed.

  As a result of the determination, if the renderer program 103 has finished reading all print data from the spooling system 102, the process proceeds to step S423, and if not completed, the process proceeds to step S421. Since the print data analysis program 104 is a program included in the renderer program 103, print data is transferred from the renderer program 103 to the print data analysis program 104 via the buffer of the renderer program 103.

  Next, in step S421, the print data analysis program 104 analyzes the print data. In order to execute the individual printer command generation program 106 for line drawing, rectangle drawing, rectangle painting, polygon painting, and image drawing according to the type of print data, a function that stores the top address of each program is stored. Refer to table 110. As a result, the head address of each program is acquired, and the individual printer command is generated by executing the individual printer command generation program 106 from the address.

  In step S422, the generated printer command is output to the printer to drive the printer, and the process returns to step S420 to repeat the process. On the other hand, in step S423, the printer command generation program 105 linked by the renderer program 103 is released, the execution of the process of the renderer program 103 itself is terminated, and the entire printing process is terminated.

  As described above, the print data generated by the application is converted into a printer command by a plurality of printer command generation programs 105 and output to the printer, whereby the printer is driven, and the print result is output from the printer.

  Next, processing for replacing a part of the printer command generation program by the modified printer command generation program 107 will be described. The application program 101 in FIG. 1 generates print data and inputs it as a print request to the spooling system 102, so that the printing process is started and there is no modified printer command generation program 107. It is the same. The same applies to the processing from step S401 to step S404.

  In step S405, the presence / absence of the modified printer command generation program 107 is checked. The presence / absence of the modified printer command generation program 107 is similarly checked based on whether or not the program exists in a dedicated directory of the external storage device 603. If there is a program in the directory, it is determined that the modified printer command generation program 107 exists, and the process proceeds to step S411 in FIG.

  In step S411, a list of program names of the modified printer command generation program 107 is first created. The list of program names is obtained by taking out the names of programs stored in a dedicated directory of the external storage device 603 one by one and using a list structure as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, the head address of the element 511 for storing the first program name is stored in the name list pointer 501 of the modified printer command generation program 107. It should be noted that the name list pointer 501 of the modified printer command generation program 107 is prepared in the RAM 602.

  The pointer “next” in the element 511 stores the start address of the element 512 for storing the next program name, and the pointer “str” in the element 511 stores the character string of the program name stored in the element 511. The head address of 521 is stored. The character string is represented by a general character code such as an ASCII code, and the end thereof is represented by a character code having a value of 0. Hereinafter, the names of the programs stored in the dedicated directory are stored one by one as elements 512, 513, and 514, the NULL value (zero) is stored in the pointer “next” of the last element, and the last element It is clearly indicated that

  FIG. 5 shows a case in which there are four elements, that is, the number of programs stored in the dedicated directory is four, and four names thereof are stored in the list structure, but the number of programs is four. It is not limited to one. Assume that a list structure having the same number of elements as the number of one or more programs stored in a dedicated directory is created.

  Next, in step S412, the program name stored in the first element 511 of the list is designated using the pointer 501 indicating the head address of the name of the modified printer command generation program 107 shown in FIG. Then, the first modified printer command generation program 107 is loaded from the dedicated directory of the external storage device 603 onto the memory and linked.

  In step S413, the version number recorded in the data area of the modified printer command generation program 107 linked in step S412 is acquired and set in the register R2.

  Next, in step S414, the two version numbers set in the registers R1 and R2 are compared, and it is determined whether or not the version number of the register R2 is newer than the version number of the register R1. As a result of the determination, if the version number of the register R2 is newer, the process proceeds to step S415. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S416.

  In step S415, the head address of the individual printer command generation program 108 included in the modified printer command generation program 107 is overwritten on the corresponding element of the individual printer command generation program 106 in the function table 110. The selection of the elements in the function table 110 corresponding to the individual printer command generation program 108 is performed by selecting the function names of the individual printer command generation program and the function names stored in the N elements of the function table 110 one by one. Match. Then, a matching element X (1 ≦ X ≦ N) may be selected.

  By this processing, the individual printer command generation program 106 originally prepared in the printer command generation program 105 is no longer called from the print data analysis program 104. Then, the new individual printer command generation program 108 provided by the modified printer command generation program 107 is called and executed instead. On the other hand, in step S416, the modified printer command generation program 107 loaded and linked in the memory is unlinked and released from the memory, and the process proceeds to step S417.

  In step S417, it is determined whether or not a NULL value is stored with reference to the pointer “next” in the elements of the list structure of FIG. If a NULL value is not stored as a result of this determination, it is determined that there is a next element, and the process proceeds to step S418. If a NULL value is stored, it is determined that there is no next element, and FIG. -3.

  In step S418, the program name stored in the next element is designated, the corrected printer command generation program 107 is loaded and linked on the memory, and the process returns to step S413.

  Through the series of processes described above, the modified printer command generation program 107 having a version number newer than the version number of the printer command generation program 105 among the modified printer command generation programs 107 stored in the dedicated directory of the external storage device 603. Are loaded and linked into memory. After the head address of the individual printer command generation program 108 included in these programs is set in the function table 110, the process proceeds to step S420.

  In step S420, as in the case where there is no modified printer command generation program 107, the renderer program 103 sequentially reads print data via a pipe prepared by the OS and stores it in the buffer of the renderer program 103. Then, the data is transferred to the print data analysis program 104.

  At the same time, the spooling system 102 sequentially writes the print data to the pipe and closes the pipe when all the print data has been sent, and the renderer program 103 detects that the pipe has been closed. Thereby, it is determined whether or not reading of all print data is completed. As a result of the determination, if reading of all print data is completed, the process proceeds to step S423, and if not completed, the process proceeds to step S421.

  In step S421, the top address of the individual printer command generation program 108 in the modified printer command generation program 107 is set in some elements of the function table 110. In the remaining elements, the head address of the individual printer command generation program 106 in the printer command generation program 105 remains set.

  In this state, the print data analysis program 104 analyzes the print data. In order to execute the individual printer command generation program for straight line drawing, rectangular drawing, rectangular painting, polygon painting, and image drawing according to the type of print data, the function table 110 that stores the top address of each program is stored. Refer to Then, the top address of each program is acquired.

  Next, by executing the individual printer command generation program from the address, the printer command generation replaced by the modified printer command generation program 107 is performed by the individual printer command generation program 108. Other printer command generation is performed by the individual printer command generation program 106 in the original printer command generation program 105.

  In step S422, the generated printer command is output to the printer to drive the printer, and the process returns to step S420 to repeat the process. Finally, when reading of all print data, generation of a printer command and output to the printer are completed by a series of processes from step S420 to step S422, the process proceeds to step S423.

  In step S423, the printer command generation program linked to the renderer program 103 and all the modified printer command generation programs are released, the execution of the process of the renderer program 103 itself is terminated, and the entire printing process is terminated.

  As described above, when the print data generated by the application is converted into a printer command, the individual printer command generation program 108 provided by the modified printer command generation program 107 can be used to arbitrarily and a plurality of printer command generation programs 105. Is replaced, and a printer command is generated and output to the printer, thereby driving the printer and outputting a print result from the printer.

  In the above description, the flow of processing when the individual printer command generation program 106 in the printer command generation program 105 is replaced by another individual printer command generation program 108 has been described. However, which individual printer command generation program 106 in the printer command generation program 105 is replaced depends on the number of modified printer command generation programs 107 stored in a dedicated directory in the external storage device 603 and the individual printer command generation program provided by them. It is important that 108 can be changed in any way.

  Based on this characteristic, for example, in order to debug a part of the printer command generation program, a modified printer command generation program 107 including an individual printer command generation program 108 for debugging is prepared and stored in a dedicated directory. After that, it is possible to easily execute an individual printer command generation program for debugging that replaces a part of the function without recompiling and relinking the printer command generation program 105 only by issuing a print request from the application. Become.

  Further, when the debugging is completed, it is possible to easily return to the processing of the original printer command generation program 105 only by deleting the corrected printer command generation program 107 from the dedicated directory. In addition to this, when it is necessary to replace a part of the functions of the printer command generation program 105 as a result of debugging, the modified printer command generation program 107 for that purpose is stored in a dedicated directory. With this alone, it is possible to replace only the desired individual printer generation program without recompiling and relinking the printer command generation program 105.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the user installs a new version of the printer command generation program 105, it is possible to prevent the modified printer command generation program 107 having an older version from being executed. When it is necessary to replace the entire printer command generation program 105 due to this characteristic, a new version of the printer command generation program 105 is provided. When it is necessary to replace only part of the functions of the printer command generation program 105, a new version of the corrected printer command generation program 107 is provided. As a result, it is possible to replace the entire printer command generation program 105 without contradiction while minimizing the number of programs to be replaced.

(Other embodiments according to the present invention)
Each means constituting the printing apparatus and each process of the printing method in the embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized by operating a program stored in a RAM or ROM of a computer. This program and a computer-readable recording medium recording the program are included in the present invention.

  In addition, the present invention can be implemented as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4-1 to 4-3) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely transmitted to the system or apparatus. Supply. In addition, this includes a case where the system or the computer of the apparatus is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk. Further, there are MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) and the like.

  As another program supply method, there is a method of connecting to a homepage on the Internet using a browser of a client computer. The computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded from the homepage by downloading it to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  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 present invention.

  As another method, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and encrypted from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Download the key information to be solved. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. Furthermore, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

  As another method, the program read from the recording medium is first written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions of the program, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the program of embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing print processing in a conventional Unix (registered trademark) OS. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration for performing processing when a renderer program and a printer command generation program are separated in a conventional Unix (registered trademark) OS. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the list structure which stores the name of the correction printer command generation program in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the computer system in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Application program 102 Spooling system 103 Renderer program 104 Print data analysis program 105 Printer command generation program 106 Individual printer command generation program 107 Correction printer command generation program 108 Individual printer command generation program 110 Function table 201 Application program 202 Spooling system 203 Renderer Program 204 Print Data Analysis Program 205 Printer Command Generation Program 206 Individual Printer Command Generation Program 301 Application Program 302 Spooling System 303 Renderer Program 304 Print Data Analysis Program 305 Printer Command Generation Program 306 Individual Printer command of generating program 501 pointer 511-514 element 521 program name string 601 CPU
602 RAM
603 External storage device 604 Physical interface

Claims (4)

A printing apparatus that converts print data output from an application program and outputs a printer command to a printer.
Determining means for determining the presence or absence of a modified printer command generation program in a specific directory;
First number acquisition means for acquiring a version number of a printer command generation program provided together with the renderer program;
Dynamic link means for loading the modified printer command generation program into an execution memory and dynamically linking with the renderer program;
Second number acquisition means for acquiring a version number of the modified printer command generation program;
Comparing means for comparing the version number of the printer command generation program provided together with the renderer program and the version number of the modified printer command generation program;
If the version number of the printer command generation program provided with the renderer program is newer than the version number of the modified printer command generation program, the printer command generation program provided with the renderer program is used to If the version number of the printer command generation program provided with the renderer program is older than the version number of the modified printer command generation program, the modified printer command generation program is used. The printer command is generated, the version number of the printer command generation program provided together with the renderer program, and the version of the modified printer command generation program. If numbers are equal numbers, printing apparatus characterized by using either the printer command generation program or the modified printer command generation program is provided with the renderer program for generating the printer commands.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the modified printer command generation program replaces a part of a function of a printer command generation program provided together with the renderer program. A printing method for converting print data output from the application program and outputting a printer command to a printer,
A determination step of determining the presence or absence of a modified printer command generation program;
A first number acquisition step of acquiring a version number of a printer command generation program provided together with the renderer program;
A dynamic link step of loading the modified printer command generation program into an execution memory and dynamically linking with the renderer program;
A second number acquisition step of acquiring a version number of the modified printer command generation program;
A comparison step of comparing the version number of the printer command generation program with the version number of the modified printer command generation program;
And a printer command generation step of generating the printer command based on a comparison result in the comparison step.   A computer program that causes a computer to execute the steps of the method according to claim 3.

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