JP2009080587A - Data transfer server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce inconvenience due to a wait state while a server creates data requested for transfer. <P>SOLUTION: In a data transfer system 10, when a client terminal 12 issues a request for data transfer, in a server arithmetic processing unit 24 of the server 14, a process is started which corresponds to a transfer management unit 28 and a data creation unit 30. The data creation unit 30 creates requested data and stores it in a database 36. The transfer management unit 28 acquires information on data creation progress in the data creation unit 30 according to access at predetermined intervals from the client terminal 12, and transmits the information to the client terminal 12. Furthermore, data are transferred by predetermined amount to the client terminal 12 every time the predetermined amount of data is created. On an output unit 22 of the client terminal 12, information on the data creation progress in the server 14 is displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to information processing technology, and more particularly, to a data transfer server that transfers data to a client terminal via a network.

  With the development of information processing technology and the enhancement of network environment in recent years, users operating computers and mobile terminals can easily acquire desired data stored in the server regardless of type or size. It is possible.

  As one form for realizing this, browsing of documents by a WWW (World Wide Web) system is widely used. In a WWW system, when a desired URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is specified in a web browser activated on a terminal operated by a user, the WWW server sends data of a web page corresponding to the URL to HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or the like. And is transferred to the user terminal (hereinafter referred to as a client terminal).

The WWW server needs to perform processing in response to requests from an enormous number of client terminals. Therefore, a technique has been proposed in which a function for managing a session with a client terminal is provided in a WWW server, and continuous processing for one client terminal is efficiently performed (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-326243

  The technology as described above is mainly for the purpose of improving the efficiency of resource use on the server side, so it has not solved the inconvenience on the client terminal side that may occur in one data transfer request. . For example, when a large amount of document data is to be downloaded from a database provided in the server, the user may wait for a long time on the client terminal side while the server performs processing necessary for transfer of the document data. Forced.

  Such inconvenience occurs not only when the transfer target is document data, but also with video data, audio data, etc., as long as the server performs data conversion such as format conversion before transfer. obtain. Services that provide relatively large data over a network that requires time to process data transfer continue to increase, making it impossible to overlook the stress placed on users due to the waiting state for transfer processing that occurs on the client terminal side Yes.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data transfer technique that can efficiently use resources in a server and improve a waiting state for transfer processing on the client terminal side. There is to do.

  One embodiment of the present invention relates to a data transfer server. In accordance with a request from a client terminal connected via a network, the data transfer server creates a data to be transferred and transfers the data to the client terminal. When the program code for executing access to the server at a predetermined time interval is transmitted to the client terminal and the access from the client terminal executing the program code to the server is detected, the data creation status in the data creation unit And a transfer management unit that acquires the information and transmits the information to the client terminal.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a representation of the present invention converted between a method, an apparatus, a system, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the resource of a server can be used effectively, improving the state waiting for transfer in a client terminal.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a data transfer system according to the present embodiment. The data transfer system 10 has a configuration in which a client terminal 12 and a server 14 are connected via a network 40. The client terminal 12 requests the server 14 to transfer data. The server 14 appropriately performs necessary processing on the requested data and transfers it to the client terminal 12. Taking the WWW system as an example, on the client terminal 12 side, the user designates a desired URL in the activated web browser, and the server 14 generates an HTML document or the like based on the URL designated as the WWW server and returns it to the client terminal 12. . However, the present embodiment is not limited to the WWW system, but can be applied to any scale and any kind of data transfer system. The data transferred by the server 14 is, for example, a list of patent data that matches the search keyword input at the client terminal 12.

  The client terminal 12 includes an input unit 16 that receives an input of a data transfer instruction including designation of data to be transferred, a client arithmetic processing unit 18 that performs various processes in the client terminal 12 and overall management of the client terminal 12, and a network 40. A client communication unit 20 that is an interface for communicating with the server 14 via the server 14, and an output unit 22 that outputs data creation status information and information related to the transferred data in the server.

  The server 14 is connected to the client terminal 12 via the server arithmetic processing unit 24 that performs creation of data to be transferred and monitoring of the creation status, the shared memory 32 that stores data necessary for processing in the server arithmetic processing unit 24, and the network 40. A server communication unit 34, which is an interface for performing communication, and a database 36 for storing data to be transferred are included. The server arithmetic processing unit 24 monitors the creation status of the data to be transferred and provides the client terminal 12 with information related to the transfer, and the data creation unit that creates the data to be transferred and stores it in the database 36 30 is included.

  Each element described as a functional block for performing various processes in FIG. 1 can be configured with a CPU, a memory, and other LSIs in terms of hardware, and other devices via a network in terms of software. This is realized by a program that realizes communication with the computer.

  For example, the server arithmetic processing unit 24 can be a single processor or a processor unit including a plurality of sub processors. The transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 may be two processes generated in accordance with a data transfer request from the client terminal 12. The server arithmetic processing unit 24 executes these two processes in parallel, for example.

  However, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 may each have a dedicated processor. In the following description, the transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 are two processes. Assume that a set of processes corresponding to the transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 is generated for one data transfer request. That is, when another data transfer request is made from the client terminal 12 or when a data transfer request is made from each of the plurality of client terminals 12, a process corresponding to the transfer management unit 28 and a process corresponding to the data creation unit 30 are performed. Generate according to the number of requests. In the following description, the process corresponding to the transfer management unit 28 and the process corresponding to the data creation unit 30 are also simply referred to as the transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30, respectively.

  The data creation unit 30 creates data requested by the user at the client terminal 12 in a format corresponding to information such as the type of the client terminal 12, the communication protocol, and designation from the user. The data to be created may be in the form of general data such as web pages, text data, archives, compressed data, and data streams. The transfer management unit 28 acquires data creation status information in the data creation unit 30 at a predetermined timing, and provides it to the client terminal 12 as a progress. Further, a part of the data requested to be transferred is transferred to the client terminal 12 without waiting for completion of creation of all data. The detailed configuration of the transfer management unit 28 will be described later.

  The input unit 16 in the client terminal 12 may be a device that is generally provided or connectable to a computer or a portable terminal, such as a keyboard, a direction instruction button, a mouse, a trackball, and a pointing device, a web browser, and the like It is also possible to combine a display device that displays a screen on which transfer data can be specified and those devices.

  The client arithmetic processing unit 18 in the client terminal 12 can be a single processor or a processor unit including a plurality of sub processors. The client arithmetic processing unit 18 detects the input of the user data transfer request received by the input unit 16, and generates information necessary for making the transfer request to the server 14. Further, communication setup with the server 14 is performed via the client communication unit 20. Further, the output unit 22 is controlled so that the transferred information is output by recognizing the information on the creation status of the data transmitted from the server 14, the information related to the transferred data, and the program and executing the program. I do.

  The output unit 22 may be a device that can materialize the information transmitted from the server 14 in a form that is visible or accessible, such as a storage device such as a display device, a printer, and a hard disk. Or it can also be set as the screen displayed on a display apparatus by running predetermined programs, such as a web browser, in the client arithmetic processing part 18. FIG. Hereinafter, the output unit 22 will be described as a display device or a screen displayed thereon.

  The transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 send and receive information through interprocess communication. Specifically, the data creation unit 30 writes information on the creation status of the data that the data creation unit 30 is performing in the shared memory 32. The transfer management unit 28 reads the information from the shared memory 32 and transmits it to the client terminal 12. The creation status information may be a ratio of data created by the data creation unit 30 among all data requested to be transferred, or may be an absolute value such as the size of the created data or the number of documents.

  In the present embodiment, the beginning of the transfer management unit 28 reading the creation status information from the shared memory 32 is an access from the client terminal 12. Therefore, when the transfer management unit 28 of the server 14 transmits the creation status information to the client terminal 12 for the first time, the transfer management unit 28 also transmits a program code for periodically accessing the server 14 from the client terminal 12 at a predetermined time interval. . Hereinafter, this program code is referred to as “automatic access code”. Then, when an automatic access code is executed in the client arithmetic processing unit 18 of the client terminal 12 and the server 14 is periodically accessed at a predetermined time interval, for example, at an interval of 3 seconds, the transfer management unit 28 that detects the access is executed. Information on the creation status at that time is read from the shared memory 32 and transmitted to the client terminal 12 again.

  The transfer management unit 28 further transmits the data to the client terminal 12 every time a predetermined amount of data is generated. That is, in this embodiment, the created partial data is sequentially transferred to the client terminal 12 without waiting for all the data requested to be transferred to be created. Hereinafter, partial data that is a transfer unit to the client terminal 12 is referred to as “transfer unit data”. For example, when the client terminal 12 requests transfer of 100,000 pieces of document data, the server 14 transmits 1000 pieces of data to the client terminal 12 when the 1000th piece of data is created. As a result, in this example, all data is divided into 100 times and transferred. The transfer unit may be set in advance or may be specified by the user. When the user designates, the information is included in the data transfer request transmitted from the client terminal 12 to the server 14.

  On the other hand, in the client terminal 12, the creation status information transmitted by the transfer management unit 28 of the server 14 is displayed on the output unit 22. For example, the output unit 22 displays, for example, absolute values such as the size and number of data that have been created in characters, or displays a figure that expresses the ratio of the created data with respect to all the data requested to be transferred using an indicator or the like. . When transfer unit data is transferred from the server 14, the output unit 22 displays the data itself or displays an icon representing each data. Alternatively, the transfer management unit 28 of the server 14 first transmits the data of the page including the hyperlink that can access the data, such as the database 36 storing the transfer unit data, to the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12 first. You may make it display. In this case, when the user clicks the hyperlink, the transfer unit data is transferred from the server 14 to the client terminal 12 in a two-stage transfer process.

  With the configuration described above, the user who has requested data transfer on the client terminal 12 side can always check how far the data creation process has progressed in the server 14. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which data that does not know when it is transferred is kept waiting in front of the client terminal 12. In addition, problems occurring in the server 14 such as processing stoppage, interruption, and processing speed reduction can be recognized in real time. Furthermore, it is possible to estimate how long the transfer of all data is completed, and to provide a basis for the user to consider actions to be taken, such as stopping the data transfer or starting another process.

  Here, by transmitting the creation status information by periodic access from the client terminal 12, it is possible to prevent the connection between the client terminal 12 and the server 14 from being disconnected due to timeout. If access for a certain period does not occur between the client terminal 12 and the server 14, a timeout may occur depending on the setting of an access control server (not shown) such as a proxy server that relays communication. Then, the communication between the client terminal 12 and the server 14 is disconnected and the data transfer is interrupted, and the server 14 continues to create data regardless of the disconnection of the communication, and wastes the resources of the server 14. It also becomes. Therefore, as described above, if the creation status information is transmitted from the server 14 starting from the access from the client terminal 12, it is possible to simultaneously prevent the occurrence of an undesired timeout and confirm the creation status by the user. Can do.

  Further, when transfer unit data, which is a predetermined transfer unit, is created, it is transferred to the client terminal 12 at any time, so that the user can confirm the transfer unit data transferred earlier and perform further processing using it. That is, the processing after acquiring the transfer data can be performed in parallel with the data creation of the server 14. As a result, the processing efficiency is improved on the user side. This effect becomes more prominent as more data is requested to be transferred.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, for users who request data transfer, the stress caused by the data creation time in the server 14 can be reduced. However, the use of the mechanism improves the efficiency of resource use in the server 14. Also realized. That is, when the user stops the data transfer in the client terminal 12, the processes of the transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 in the server 14, that is, the two processes corresponding to each of the server 14 are terminated using the above configuration.

  Specifically, each time the transfer management unit 28 of the server 14 transmits the creation status information and the transfer unit data information, or the transfer unit data itself to the client terminal 12, the process is temporarily terminated. Then, the process is generated again by periodic access from the client terminal 12. Then, if there is no access from the client terminal 12 for a predetermined time, the transfer management unit 28 does not read the creation status information stored in the shared memory 32. When the data creation unit 30 detects that the transfer management unit 28 has not read the creation status information stored in the shared memory 32 for a predetermined time, the data creation unit 30 determines that the user has stopped the transfer and ends its own processing. A more detailed procedure will be described later.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the data creation status information and the transfer unit data are transmitted to the client terminal 12 as needed, thereby increasing the choices of actions to be taken by the user. In such an aspect, the user can grasp the time required to complete the transfer of all data and confirm the transfer unit data, so it is expected that it will take time unexpectedly or no more data is required. If it becomes clear, the data transfer can be stopped. At this time, with the above-described configuration, the transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 can release resources without performing unnecessary processing. Therefore, it is possible to give the user the option of canceling the data transfer without causing waste of resource use of the server 14.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the procedure of data transfer processing performed in the above-described configuration. First, the user performs input for designating desired data and requesting data transfer to the input unit 16 of the client terminal 12 (S10). Then, the client arithmetic processing unit 18 of the client terminal 12 issues a signal for making the request to the server 14 via the client communication unit 20 (S12). When the server communication unit 34 of the server 14 receives the request signal, a process corresponding to the transfer management unit 28 and a process corresponding to the data creation unit 30 are started as processes corresponding to the request (Y in S13, S14). If the access from the client terminal 12 is not the first time (N in S13), the process corresponding to the data creation unit 30 is being executed as described later, so that only the process corresponding to the transfer management unit 28 is generated. (S15). Then, the data creation unit 30 performs data creation processing (S16). Each process may be activated and processed using a function provided by a general OS.

  At this time, as described above, the data creation unit 30 stores the created data in the database 36 in order from the finished data, and writes the creation status information in the shared memory 32.

  The transfer management unit 28 reads out the information of the creation status written in the shared memory 32 at a predetermined timing after starting the data creation process, and transmits the information to the client terminal 12 via the server communication unit 34, thereby outputting the client terminal 12. The information is displayed on the unit 22 (S18). For example, a page for displaying an indicator expressing the creation status is described in a markup language such as HTML and transmitted. At this time, as described above, the automatic access code is also transmitted. This can be realized, for example, by specifying a predetermined time interval for performing access to a method such as “Refresh” that is generally used and including it in the HTML document.

  As a result, the indicator indicating the creation status information displayed on the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12 is updated based on the new creation status information transmitted by accessing the server 14 at predetermined time intervals. Will be. If the creation status information read by the transfer management unit 28 in S18 indicates that a predetermined amount of data, that is, transfer unit data is not stored in the database 36 (N in S20), transfer management The process corresponding to the unit 28 is terminated as it is (S24).

  When the creation of one transfer unit data is completed by the data creation unit 30 (Y in S20), the transfer management unit 28 transmits the information to the client terminal 12, so that the database 36 finally sends the information to the client terminal 12. The transfer unit data is transferred via the server communication unit 34 (S22). Various methods are conceivable for the transfer procedure of transfer unit data and the method of outputting the transfer unit data in the client terminal 12 as described above, and any of them may be adopted.

  For example, the transfer management unit 28 may transmit a program for starting a web browser to the client terminal 12 together with a URL accessible to the database 36 storing the transfer unit data. For this, an existing technology such as JAVA (registered trademark) applet can be used. In this case, in the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12, the web browser is automatically started, and the transfer unit data is displayed on the web browser by starting access to the designated URL.

  The process corresponding to the transfer management unit 28 is also temporarily ended even when the information of the transfer unit data is transferred to the client terminal 12 (S24). In such a state, the input unit 16 of the client terminal 12 always accepts cancellation of the transfer from the user. When there is an input for canceling the transfer (Y in S26), as described above, the data creation unit 30 detects it and terminates its own process, thereby stopping the data creation process (S30). In the flowchart of FIG. 2, the detection of the transfer stop input is performed in step S26. However, the detection may be performed promptly when the client terminal 12 receives the input indicating that the transfer is stopped, thereby You may move to the end of process step.

  As long as there is no input for canceling the transfer from the user (N in S26), the process generation of the transfer management unit 28, the indicator displayed on the output unit 22, etc. are created until the next transfer unit data is created. The automatic update of the status display and the process end of the transfer management unit 28 are repeated (S13, S15, S16, S18, S20, N, S24), and when the next transfer unit data is created, a new web browser is started. The transfer unit data is transferred (Y in S20, S22). The above process is repeated until the transfer of all data requested by the user first is completed (N in S28, S15 to S26). When the transfer of all data is completed (Y in S28), the process for the data creation unit 30 is terminated, and the process for the request is terminated (S30). The process end process of the process generation unit in S30 will be described later.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of a screen displayed on the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12 when data transfer processing is performed in the present embodiment. A plurality of windows displayed on the display screen 50 may correspond to web browsers, or may be subwindows derived from a certain browser. Or it may not be a separate window. The display screen 50 includes a creation status display field 52 and transfer unit data display fields 58a to 58c. The creation status display field 52 includes an indicator 54 that indicates the creation status that is displayed or updated in S20 of FIG. 2 and a “cancel” button 56 that is pressed when the user stops data transfer in S18.

  Each of the transfer unit data display fields 58a to 58c displays the transfer unit data transferred from the server 14 in S24 of FIG. Here, a state in which transfer unit data is acquired three times in a mode in which a new web browser is activated for each transfer unit data is shown. Therefore, the number of transfer unit data display fields 58a to 58c increases as the number of transfers increases. Even while the requested data is being created in the server 14, the user can check the creation status and transfer unit data on the display screen 50 at the client terminal 12.

  4 and 5 are time charts showing in detail the processing procedure shown in FIG. Hereinafter, an example of a detailed processing procedure will be described with reference to FIG. However, this figure is merely an example and does not limit the present embodiment. 4 and FIG. 5, regarding the input relating to the stop of data transfer by the user (S26) and the branch related to the completion of transfer of all data (S28) shown in FIG. A part of the illustration is omitted as it proceeds. The transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30 represent the period during which each process is operating in a rectangle. The procedure for ending the data transfer process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, the client terminal 12 that has received an input from the user issues a signal indicating a data transfer request to the server 14. In the server 14 that receives the signal, the transfer management unit 28 and the data creation unit 30. Activates its own process (S30, S34). The signal may appropriately include information related to data requesting transfer, an output format, a communication protocol, and the like. For example, a URL for starting a predetermined CGI (Common Gateway Interface) program that realizes transfer processing in the server 14 in a web browser started on the client terminal 12, for example, a URL represented by “http // A.cgi” The CGI program may be activated by designating. Alternatively, other existing techniques may be applied.

  Then, the data creation unit 30 creates data to be transferred based on information related to the transfer data included in the signal, and stores it in the database 36 (S36). Data that is the basis of data creation may be read from another database (not shown). Each time data is stored in the database 36 or at a predetermined time interval, the data creation unit 30 writes information on the creation status at that time in the shared memory 32 (S37).

  Instead of the shared memory 32, the database 36 may be used. The information on the creation status for one transfer request in the shared memory 32 includes information on other transfer requests using as a key a variable composed of one of the two process IDs and the time when the transfer request is received. Distinguish. Since the two processes are started for each transfer request issued by the client terminal 12, the data creation unit 30, the transfer management unit 28, and the client terminal 12 provide necessary information based on the key in the subsequent processing. Can be identified.

  In S37, the data creation unit 30 writes the creation status information in the shared memory 32 in association with the key. The data creation unit 30 repeatedly stores the created data in the database 36 and writes the creation status information (S38 to S43), but the creation status information is always written in association with the same key.

  On the other hand, the transfer management unit 28 accesses the shared memory 32 based on the key at a predetermined timing, and reads the latest creation status information (S45). Then, HTML data representing a page including the creation status display field 52 of FIG. 3 is transmitted to the client terminal 12 (S47). As described above, an automatic access code for accessing the server 14 at a predetermined time interval is incorporated in the data to be transmitted. In the automatic access code, for example, a URL including the URL when the CGI program is first activated and the key stored in the shared memory 32 is described. For example, if the CGI program is “A.cgi” and the key is “KEY1”, the information is “http: //A.cgi? KEY1”. The transfer management unit 28 terminates its process once when the transmission process of S47 is performed.

  The client terminal 12 displays a window such as the creation status display field 52 in FIG. 3 based on the transmitted data. Then, when a predetermined time interval designated by the automatic access code has elapsed, the client terminal 12 accesses the server 14 (S49). In the above example, the information transmitted to the server 14 at this time is the URL described in the automatic access code, “http: //A.cgi? KEY1”. The transfer management unit 28 of the server 14 starts its own process by the access, and again reads the information on the creation status stored in the shared memory 32 in association with the key included in the information transmitted at the time of access such as URL (S51). ). Then, by transmitting the information to the client terminal 12 (S53), the creation status display column 52 such as the indicator 54 displayed on the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12 is updated. The transfer manager 28 terminates its own process again when the transmission process of S53 is performed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the data creation unit 30 continues to store the created data in the database 36 and continues writing the creation status information in the shared memory 32 (S55, S57). 12 makes a new access to the server 14 (S59), and the transfer management unit 28 detects the completion of creation of one transfer unit data from the information of the creation status read from the shared memory 32 (S60). For example, when data for every 1000 cases is used as transfer unit data, up to 12000 cases have been transferred, and when creation of 13922 cases has been completed, transfer from 12001 to 13000 cases should be transferred. Detected as unit data.

  At this time, the transfer management unit 28 transmits to the client terminal 12 information for accessing the transfer unit data stored in the database 36 together with the creation status information, and a program for starting the web browser (S61). The information for accessing the transfer unit data may be a URL to the storage area. For example, as shown in the above example, the CGI program is “A.cgi”, the key is “KEY1”, and the transfer unit data is stored. If the information for identifying the storage area in the database 36 is “data = 13000”, the information is “http: //A.cgi? KEY1 & data = 13000”. As described above, a JAVA (registered trademark) applet or the like can be used as a program for starting a web browser. At this time, the transmitted program is started on the client terminal 12 and a web browser screen is displayed on the output unit 22. The transfer management unit 28 terminates its process again when the transmission process of S61 is performed.

  The client terminal 12 accesses the server 14 on the basis of the information for accessing the transmitted transfer unit data, in the above example, “http: //A.cgi? KEY1 & data = 13000” by the new browser (S62). Transfer unit data stored in the database 36 is acquired. (S64). The transfer processing of the transfer unit data may actually be mediated by some function held by the server 14 such as the transfer management unit 28. In this case, as shown in the figure, when there is an access from the client terminal 12 in S62, the transfer management unit 28 activates its own process, acquires the transfer unit data stored in the database 36, and the client Transfer to the terminal 12 (S63, S64). Thereby, the transfer unit data or the information thereof is displayed on the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12 in the output format designated in S30 of FIG. This is displayed, for example, in the transfer unit data display field 58a shown in FIG. The transfer management unit 28 terminates its process again when the transfer process of S64 is performed.

  Until the next transfer unit data is created, the client terminal 12 accesses the server 14 at the same predetermined time interval as before by using the automatic access code acquired in S61 of FIG. 5 (S65). In response to this, the transfer management unit 28 activates its own process, reads information on the creation status from the shared memory 32, and transmits it to the client terminal 12 (S67, S69), as in S51 and S53 of FIG. When the next transfer unit data is generated, the processes of S61, S62, S63, and S64 are performed again. Thus, the creation status display column 52 including the indicator 54 and the like is always displayed on the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12, and transfer unit data display columns 58a to 58c for displaying the transfer unit data when the transfer unit data is created are displayed. A display in the form of being displayed is performed.

  Here, when the user inputs to the client terminal 12 to stop the data transfer, the data creation unit 30 confirms whether or not the transfer management unit 28 has accessed the shared memory 32 as described above. Is detected (S75). As a result, all processing related to the request, such as data creation processing, is terminated.

  For example, when the user presses the “cancel” button 56 shown in the creation status display field 52 or closes the browser showing the creation status display field 52 in the output unit 22 of the client terminal 12, the client terminal 12 12, the process corresponding to the automatic access code is terminated. As a result, automatic access to the server 14 is not performed. By doing so, the transfer management unit 28 does not start its own process. The same applies to the case where the execution of the automatic access code stops abnormally, such as when the client terminal 12 freezes for some reason.

  On the other hand, when the data creation unit 30 detects that the transfer management unit 28 has not read the creation status information stored in the shared memory 32 for a predetermined time, the data creation unit 30 determines that the user has stopped the data transfer (S75). . In order to realize this, each time the transfer management unit 28 reads the creation status information from the shared memory 32, the transfer management unit 28 stores the time at that time in a predetermined area of the shared memory 32. Each time the data creation unit 30 writes the creation status information to the shared memory 32, the data creation unit 30 finally acquires the time when the transfer management unit 28 reads the creation status information. If the difference between the time and the current time is longer than a predetermined time, for example, a time interval for automatic access, it is determined that the process of the transfer management unit 28 has ended.

  If it is determined that the data transfer is stopped, the data creation unit 30 stops its own processing and ends the process. The termination process of each process, such as releasing the allocated memory space, may be the same as that generally performed. By doing so, when the user makes an input for canceling the transfer or when the client terminal 12 is abnormally terminated, the process corresponding to the transfer process is completed in a short time, and the server 14 is wasted. In other words, resources such as CPU time are not used.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the data structure of creation status information stored in the shared memory 32. The creation status information table 100 includes a key column 102, a creation status column 104, a transferred data column 106, a completion status column 108, and a last access time column 110. In the key field 102, as described above, a key composed of a value uniquely determined for each transfer request for identifying the information of one transfer request from the other, for example, a process ID and a time when the transfer request is received, etc. Store. In the example of FIG. 6, four keys “9999920070823114503”, “9999920070823115806”, “9999920070823122300”, and “9999920070823132500” are stored, indicating that four transfer requests are currently accepted.

  The creation status column 104 stores the number of data stored in the database 36 by the data creation unit 30. For example, the data creating unit 30 writes the numerical value in S37 of FIG. The transfer management unit 28 refers to the creation status column 104 in S45 of FIG. 4 to acquire the creation status and transmits it to the client terminal 12 and determines whether or not predetermined transfer unit data is stored in the database 36.

  The transferred data column 106 stores the number of data that has been transferred to the client terminal 12 so far. When the difference between the numerical value stored in the transferred data column 106 and the numerical value stored in the creation status column 104 reaches a predetermined transfer unit, the transfer management unit 28 sends data to the client terminal 12 as shown in S61 of FIG. Starts transfer processing of transfer unit data. At this time, the value of the transferred data column 106 is also updated. In the example of FIG. 6, assuming that 1000 transfer units are used, for a transfer request having the key “9999920070823114503”, currently “16258” data is stored in the database 36, of which “16000” This indicates that the data has been transferred to the client terminal 12. The same applies to other transfer requests.

  The completion status column 108 stores a numerical value indicating the completion status of whether or not the creation of the requested transfer data has been completed. In the example of FIG. 6, “0” is stored in the same column, and the requests for the keys “9999920070823114503”, “9999920070823122300”, and “9999920070823132500” are being created, and the key “9999920070823115806” where “1” is stored. "Indicates that the creation of all data has been completed. The numerical value is “0” when a data creation request is issued from the client terminal 12, and the data creation unit 30 updates it to “1” at the timing when creation of all requested data is completed. Then, the data creation unit 30 ends its process.

  When the transfer management unit 28 reads the creation status from the shared memory 32, the transfer management unit 28 refers to the completion status column 108. If the value is “1”, the transfer management unit 28 stores all of the transfer requests with the data stored in the database 36 at that time. Detect that data was created. In this case, the data stored in the database 36 at that time is transferred to the client terminal 12 instead of the transfer unit data. The processing at that time is the same as S61 to S64 in FIG. However, the numerical value “1” of the completion status is also transmitted to the client terminal 12 at the same time. As a result, the client terminal 12 detects that all data has been transferred. At this time, the client terminal 12 may display a message indicating that all data has been transferred. On the other hand, after transferring the last data information or the data itself to the client terminal 12, the transfer management unit 28 terminates its process.

  Assume that the transfer management unit 28 receives access from the client terminal 12 and refers to the data of the creation status information in FIG. At this time, the key “9999920070823114503” has “16258” data stored in the database 36, of which “16000” data has been transferred to the client terminal 12 and the completion status is “0”. The management unit 28 transmits only the creation status of “16258” to the client terminal 12 that issued the request. The key “9999920070823115806” has “13923” data stored in the database 36, of which “13000” data has been transferred to the client terminal 12 and the completion status is “1”. Information on 923 pieces of data and completion status “1” are transmitted.

  The key “9999920070823122300” has “13922” data stored in the database 36, of which “12000” data has been transferred to the client terminal 12 and the completion status is “0”. ”, And 12001 to 13000 transfer unit data information is sent. The key “9999920070823132500” has “13921” data stored in the database 36, of which “11000” data has been transferred to the client terminal 12 and the completion status is “0”. Information on the transfer unit data of 11001 to 12000 items.

  The last access time column 110 stores the latest time when the transfer management unit 28 refers to the creation status information table 100 in order to read the creation status in S45 of FIG. This is written by the transfer management unit 28 as described above, and is referred to by the data creation unit 30. In the example of FIG. 6, the time when the creation status was most recently read in response to the transfer request having the key “9999920070823114503” is “20070823122108”. If the difference between the time stored in the column and the current time referred to by the data creation unit 30 is longer than a predetermined time interval, it is determined that the process of the transfer management unit 28 has ended, and the process of the data creation unit 30 Is also ended (S75 in FIG. 5).

  According to the present embodiment described above, in response to a single data transfer request from the client terminal, the server side activates two processes, a process for managing transfer and a process for creating data to be transferred. The transfer management process acquires data creation status information in the data creation process through inter-process communication, and provides it to the client terminal 12. As a result, the user can grasp the progress of the current data creation process in real time on the client terminal side, and can set a future prospect. As a result, it is possible to avoid a stressful situation such as waiting in front of the client terminal 12 in an unclear situation when ending.

  Further, the process of managing the transfer transfers a predetermined amount of data to the client terminal 12 as transfer unit data when it is created. As a result, the user can actually confirm a part of the created data, and the process on the user side using the transfer unit data can be performed in parallel with the creation of the data in the server 14, Processing efficiency is improved. In addition, it is possible to comprehensively determine the data creation status described above and the contents of the actually transferred transfer unit data, and determine the significance of subsequent data transfer with high accuracy. This saves time and resources for the user and the client terminal, especially when the requested data is not really needed, especially when transferring data from the server at once.

  Here, when the user decides to cancel the transfer from the creation status and the contents of the transferred transfer unit data, the information of the cancellation is obtained through the process of managing the transfer from the client terminal and the process of creating the data. It is transmitted without performing a monitoring function or signal transmission / reception other than the functions described so far. Each process releases the CPU time and ends. As a result, even if the transfer is interrupted, the processing related to the data transfer is completed quickly without using any special resource in the server 14, so that the server can also save resources.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective constituent elements and processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. is there.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the data transfer system in this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the procedure of the data transfer process in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the screen displayed on the output part of a client terminal, when performing the data transfer process in this Embodiment. It is a time chart showing the procedure of the data transfer process in this Embodiment in detail. It is a time chart showing the procedure of the data transfer process in this Embodiment in detail. It is a figure which shows the example of a data structure of the information of the creation condition stored in a shared memory in this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  10 data transfer systems, 12 client terminals, 14 servers, 16 input units, 18 client calculation processing units, 22 output units, 24 server calculation processing units, 28 transfer management units, 30 data creation units, 32 shared memories, 36 databases, 50 Display screen, 52 creation status display field, 54 indicator, 58a transfer unit data display field.

Claims (5)

In accordance with a request from a client terminal connected via a network, a data transfer server that creates data to be transferred and transfers the data to the client terminal,
A data creation unit for creating data to be transferred;
When the program code for executing access to the data transfer server at a predetermined time interval is transmitted to the client terminal and access to the data transfer server is detected from the client terminal that has executed the program code, A transfer management unit for acquiring information on the creation status of data and transmitting it to the client terminal;
A data transfer server comprising:   The transfer management unit controls each time a predetermined amount of data is created in the data creation unit so that data is transferred to the client terminal in units of the predetermined amount without waiting for completion of creation of all data. The data transfer server according to claim 1. The transfer management unit detects a transfer stop request input by a user at the client terminal based on the absence of access from the client terminal for a predetermined time, and acquires at least data creation status information Stop
The data creation unit detects the transfer stop request based on the fact that the state in which the transfer management unit does not acquire data creation status information continues for a predetermined time, and at least stops creating data. The data transfer server according to claim 1 or 2.   The transfer management unit represents the creation status information and transmits screen data updated based on the creation status information transmitted by the transfer management unit to the client terminal. The data transfer server described in 1.   The transfer management unit transmits screen data for displaying the predetermined amount of data to the client terminal each time a predetermined amount of data is generated by the data generation unit. Data transfer server.

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