JP2014179002A - Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method, information processing program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve processing dependent on an upper module from a lower module without correcting an actual module as the upper module in development of an emulator.SOLUTION: The information processing device reproduces an operation of a program for executing prescribed processing operating on an apparatus. The information processing device includes: an upper module as a module equivalent to a module of the program that the apparatus operates; and a lower module for reproducing the operation of the program on the information processing device. The information processing device further includes: access information management means that manages identification information for identifying the module and access information enabling an access from the lower module to the upper module, with their associated with each other; and access means that causes the lower module to access to the upper module on the basis of the access information associated with the identification information of the upper module as the access object from the lower module.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, an information processing program, and a recording medium.

  In order to verify the operation of an application installed in an electronic device in a development environment, the operation is verified by an emulator that operates on a PC (Personal Computer), for example, without using an actual device (electronic device). The electronic apparatus is an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) or an information processing apparatus such as a server. This emulator is created by stubbing the lower module without modifying the actual module that is the upper module in order to clarify the development range of the application.

  Moreover, in the actual machine, there is only a dependency that refers to the lower module from the upper module, but in order to make the emulator design simpler and clearer, the stub module, which is the lower module, is used only for emulation. You may want to set a new dependency on the actual module.

  However, in such a case, there is a problem that if the dependency relationship from the lower module to the upper module is set without modifying the actual module that is the upper module, the lower module cannot be referred to the upper module. Emulator design has been complicated.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1, for the purpose of improving the efficiency of the development work of the multifunction device by realizing the behavior of the developed program closer to that of the image forming apparatus, the upper module is equivalent to the actual multifunction device. There is disclosed a technique for realizing an emulator of a multi-function peripheral by using a real module and using a stub module emulated to operate on a PC as a lower module.

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a dependency relationship from a stub module, which is a lower module, to a real module, which is a higher module, is newly set, it may occur that the lower module cannot be referred to the higher module. The problem cannot be solved.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to realize processing dependent on a higher module from a lower module without modifying an actual module that is a higher module in the development of an emulator. And

  In order to solve the above problem, an information processing apparatus is an information processing apparatus that reproduces the operation of a program for executing a predetermined process that operates on a device, and is equivalent to a module of the program that the device operates. And a lower module for reproducing the operation of the program on the information processing apparatus, enabling identification information for identifying the module and access from the lower module to the upper module. Access information management means for managing the access information in association with each other, and the lower module accesses the upper module based on the access information corresponding to the identification information of the upper module to be accessed from the lower module Access means.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, in the development of an emulator, it is possible to realize processing depending on a higher module from a lower module without modifying a real module that is a higher module.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the emulation system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of a class loader. It is a figure which shows an example for demonstrating the condition of the reference permission between the conventional modules. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement outline | summary of the reference process between the modules in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the information processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the class loader information management table in embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the operation | movement procedure after starting of the emulator of the information processing apparatus in embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of an emulation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The emulation system 1 includes an information processing apparatus 10 and an image forming apparatus 20. The information processing apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 are connected via a network N1 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

  The image forming apparatus 20 is an electronic device such as a printer or a multifunction peripheral (MFP) that realizes one or more functions of printing, scanning, copying, fax (FAX) communication, and the like with a single casing. The image forming apparatus 20 includes a general-purpose OS (Operating System) 21 and an application 22. The application 22 includes an upper module 22 and a lower module 23. The general-purpose OS 21 mediates the application 22 and hardware of the image forming apparatus 20, manages the sharing of computer device resources, provides an interface for accessing each resource, and provides services for other applications. It is. The application 22 is a program that operates on the general-purpose OS 21, and is, for example, a Java (registered trademark) application. The upper module 23 included in the application 22 is a module that uses the lower module 24. Note that there may be a plurality of applications 22, upper modules 23, and lower modules 24.

  The information processing apparatus 10 is a computer that virtually executes a module mounted on the image forming apparatus 20 used in the development environment of the image forming apparatus 20, for example. The information processing apparatus 10 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer). The information processing apparatus 10 includes an OS 11, an application 12, an emulator 16, and the like. The application 12 includes an upper module (real module) 13, a lower module (stub module) 14, and a management module 15. The OS 11 is an OS installed in the information processing apparatus. The application 12 is a program that runs on the OS 11, and is, for example, a Java application. An upper module (actual module) 13 included in the application 12 is an actual module equivalent to the upper module 23 included in the image forming apparatus 20. The upper module (actual module) 13 is, for example, a copy of the upper module 23 provided in the image forming apparatus 20, and is a module having the same function as the function (including the interface) of the upper module 23. The lower module (stub module) 14 is a temporary module used as a substitute for the lower module 24 included in the image forming apparatus 20 used (called) by the upper module (real module) 13 which is a real module. The management module 15 manages information on the class loader that loads the module. The class loader is access information that enables reference (access) between modules. The emulator 16 is a program that virtually builds an environment in which the application 22 included in the image forming apparatus 20 is executed by the information processing apparatus 10. The information processing apparatus 10 generates an upper module (actual module) 13 based on the upper module 23 provided in the acquired (copied) image forming apparatus 20 via the network N1. However, the upper module may be transferred to the information processing apparatus 10 using an external recording medium in which the upper module 23 is recorded. In this case, the information processing apparatus 10 and the image forming apparatus 20 may not be connected via the network N1.

  The emulation system 1 is a system that is used in the development environment of the image forming apparatus 20 and that executes modules in the image forming apparatus 20 in a virtual environment constructed by the information processing apparatus 10. With the emulation system 1, for example, in response to a display command on the display unit of the operation panel of the image forming apparatus 20, a screen similar to the screen displayed on the image forming apparatus 20 by the emulator 16 of the information processing apparatus 10 is processed. It is displayed on the display of the device 10. However, since the information processing apparatus 10 that is a development environment does not include the engine (scanner, printer, etc.) in the image forming apparatus 20, for example, in response to a print command, an image to be printed on the screen of the information processing apparatus 10 is displayed. The information is displayed or printed on a default printer connected to the information processing apparatus 10. Further, when the user performs a copy operation on the emulator screen of the information processing apparatus 10, for example, the user is notified to select a file to be copied from the local file system, and a dialog box asking for the copy destination is displayed. And copy the selected file to its designated destination.

[Operation overview]
Next, the operation outline of the emulation system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention will be described in comparison with the conventional operation.

  A class loader that loads classes (modules) has a hierarchical structure (tree structure) as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the class loader. In the example of FIG. 2, the boot slap class loader is a higher class loader than the class loader below the system class loader, and the system class loader is a higher class loader than the class loader below the shared component class loader. On the other hand, the system class loader is a class loader lower than the bootstrap class loader. Note that the name and structure of the class loader shown in FIG. 2 are examples, and the name and structure of the class loader are not limited to the example of FIG.

  With this class loader hierarchy, modules loaded with a lower class loader can refer to (access) modules loaded with a higher class loader, but conversely, modules loaded with a higher class loader Cannot refer to modules loaded by other class loaders. For example, FIG. 3 shows an example for explaining the status of whether or not reference is possible between conventional modules. As shown in FIG. 3, a higher class loader (for example, “class loader B”) is loaded to a higher level module (actual module) 13 loaded by a lower class loader (for example, “class loader A”). The lower module (stub module) 14 cannot be referenced (accessed) using the upper class loader (class loader B). On the other hand, reference (access) from the higher module (actual module) 13 to the lower module (stub module) 14 is possible. As described above, depending on the relationship between the module and the class loader hierarchy, there is a case where the lower module cannot always refer to the upper module.

  On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows an outline of the operation of the reference (access) processing from the lower module (stub module) 14 to the upper module (real module) 13 in the embodiment of the present invention. First, the upper module (real module) 13 loaded by the lower class loader (class loader A) notifies the management module 13 of the class loader (class loader A) that has loaded itself (S1). Next, the lower module (stub module) 14 acquires the class loader (class loader A) loaded with the upper module (real module) 13 from the management module 15 (S2). Then, the lower module (stub module) 14 refers to the upper module (real module) 13 using the acquired class loader (class loader A).

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the lower module (stub module) 14 refers (accesses) to the upper module (real module) 13, the lower module (stub module) 14 actually ) Reference (access) is performed using the class loader loaded with 13. Thus, the upper module (actual module) 13 can be reliably referenced (accessed) from the lower module (stub module) 14 without depending on the hierarchy (upper or lower) of the class loader.

[Hardware configuration]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus 10 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a CPU 104, an interface device 105, a display device 106, and an input device 107 that are connected to each other via a bus B. Have.

  A program for realizing processing in the information processing apparatus 10 is provided by a recording medium 101 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 101 storing the program is set in the drive device 100, the program is installed from the recording medium 101 to the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. However, the program need not be installed from the recording medium 101 and may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed program and also stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 103 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 102 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the program. The CPU 104 executes functions related to the information processing apparatus 10 according to a program stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a wired or wireless LAN network. The display device 106 is hardware that displays and outputs information to the user, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The input device 107 is hardware for receiving input of information from a user such as a mouse or a keyboard.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the emulation system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The information processing apparatus 10 includes a class loader notification unit 131 and a lower module reference unit 132 included in the upper module (actual module) 13, and a class loader acquisition unit 141 and an upper module reference unit 142 included in the lower module (stub module) 14. A class loader reception unit 151 included in the management module 15, a class loader management unit 152, a class loader transmission unit 153, a class loader information management table 154, and a class loader unit 161 included in the emulator 16. Each function is realized by the CPU 104 executing a program and cooperating with hardware.

  The class loader means 161 included in the emulator 16 is a memory device included in the information processing apparatus 10 according to a class loader associated with each module (higher module (real module) 13, lower module (stub module) 14, and management module 15). Each module is loaded in 103.

  The class loader notification means 131 included in the upper module (real module) 13 notifies the management module 15 of the class loader information used for loading when the upper module (real module) 13 is loaded by the class loader. Here, the class loader information is a module identifier for identifying each module and a class loader (for example, class loader name) used for loading.

  The lower module reference means 132 refers to the lower module (stub module) 14 which is a stub module.

  When the class loader receiving unit 151 included in the management module 15 receives the class loader information notified from the higher module (actual module) 13, the class loader receiving unit 151 notifies the class loader managing unit 152.

  The class loader management unit 152 manages class loader information using the class loader information management table 154 shown in FIG. 7, and performs class loader reading and writing processing in response to a request. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the class loader information management table 154 according to the embodiment of this invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the class loader information management table 154 stores “class loader” in association with “module identifier”.

  Returning to FIG.

  When the class loader transmission unit 153 receives a class loader acquisition request including the module identifier of the upper module (actual module) 13 transmitted from the lower module (stub module) 14, the class loader information is transmitted via the class loader management unit 152. The class loader corresponding to the module identifier included in the class loader acquisition request is acquired from the management table 154. Then, the class loader transmission unit 153 transmits the acquired class loader to the lower module (stub module) 14.

  When the class loader acquisition unit 141 included in the lower module (stub module) 14 receives an operation from the user for the lower module (stub module) 14, the class loader acquisition unit 141 receives the module identification information of the higher module (actual module) 13 to be referred to. A class loader acquisition request is transmitted to the management module 15. When the class loader acquisition unit 141 acquires the class loader loaded with the upper module (actual module) 13 to be referred to as a response to the class loader acquisition request, the acquired class load name acquired by the upper module reference unit To be notified.

  The upper module reference unit 142 refers to the upper module based on the class loader of the upper module notified from the class loader acquisition unit 141.

[Operation procedure]
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation procedure after activation of the emulator 16 of the information processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of this invention.

  First, the user operates the input device 107 such as a keyboard of the information processing apparatus 10 (S101) to activate the emulator 16 (S102).

  When the emulator 16 is activated, each module is loaded into the memory device 103 using a class loader associated with each module (upper module (real module) 13, lower module (stub module) 14, and management module 15). (S103, S104, S105). Here, for example, a class loader loaded with the upper module (actual module) 13 is called “class loader A”, and a class loader loaded with the lower module (stub module) 14 is called “class loader B”. Further, it is assumed that “class loader A” is a lower class loader (upper: class loader B, lower: class loader A) of “class loader B”. Therefore, in this state, the lower module (stub module) 14 loaded by the higher class loader B cannot refer to the higher module (real module) 13 loaded by the lower class load A.

  Next, when the class loader notifying unit 131 of the upper module (actual module) 13 is loaded by the “class loader A” and the initialization process is performed, the class loader (“class loader”) used for loading during the initialization process is performed. A ”) and the class loader information including the module identifier (for example,“ module A ”) of the upper module (actual module) 13 is notified to the management module 15 (S106).

  When the class loader receiving unit 151 of the management module 15 receives the class loader information from the higher module (actual module) 13, the class loader information management table 154 receives the module identifier (“module A”) via the class loader managing unit 152. ) And a class loader (“class loader A”) are stored in association with each other (S107).

  Next, when the user performs an operation of accessing (referring to) the upper module (actual module) 13 from the lower module (stub module) 14 (S108), the emulator 16 performs an operation based on an input instruction from the user as a lower module (stub module). Module) 14 is requested (S109).

  When the lower module (stub module) 14 receives an operation request from the emulator 16, the class loader acquisition unit 141 includes the module loader including the module identifier (“module A”) of the upper module (real module) 13 in the management module 15. An acquisition request is made (S110).

  The class loader transmission unit 153 of the management module 15 receives the class loader (“class loader”) corresponding to the module identifier (“module A”) included in the class loader acquisition request from the class loader information management table 154 via the class loader management unit 152. A "). Then, the class loader transmission means 153 transmits the class loader (“class loader A”) as a response to the class loader acquisition request (S111).

  When the class loader acquisition unit 141 of the lower module (stub module) 14 acquires the class loader (“class loader A”) of the upper module (real module) 13, the acquired class loader is notified to the upper module reference unit 142. Then, the upper module reference unit 142 refers to the class loader (“class loader A”) loaded with the upper module (actual module) 13 (S112).

  As described above, according to the emulation system 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, when the lower module (stub module) 14 refers to the upper module (real module) 13, the class in which the higher module (real module) 13 is loaded. The management module 15 manages the loader, and the lower module (stub module) 14 acquires the class loader loaded with the upper module (real module) 13 from the management module 15. Then, the lower module (stub module) 14 refers to the upper module (real module) 13 using the class load in which the acquired higher module (real module) 13 is loaded.

  Therefore, the lower module (stub module) 14 does not depend on the relationship (upper or lower) between the class loader loaded with the lower module (stub module) 14 and the class loader loaded with the upper module (actual module) 13. By using the class loader loaded with the upper module (actual module) 13, the upper module (actual module) 13 can be reliably referred to.

  As a result, when developing an emulator for an electronic device such as the image forming apparatus 20, the upper module (actual module) 13 can be changed from the lower module (stub module) 14 without modifying the actual module that is the upper module (actual module) 13. Any processing depending on the module 13 can be implemented.

  Each of the above-described embodiments is only used for explaining an image forming apparatus as an example of a device. For example, various devices other than the image forming apparatus 10 in which a program such as a projector, a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a digital camera is installed. The present invention may be applied to various electronic devices.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Can be changed.

1 Emulation system 10 Information processing device 13 Upper module (actual module)
131 Class loader notification means 132 Lower module reference means 14 Lower module (stub module)
141 Class loader acquisition unit 142 Host module reference unit 15 Management module 151 Class loader reception unit 152 Class loader management unit 153 Class loader transmission unit 154 Class loader information management table 16 Emulator 161 Class loader unit 20 Image forming apparatus

JP 2010-218469 A

Claims (11)

An information processing apparatus that reproduces the operation of a program for executing a predetermined process that operates on a device,
An upper module that is a module equivalent to the module of the program operated by the device, and a lower module for reproducing the operation of the program on the information processing apparatus;
Access information management means for managing identification information for identifying the module in association with access information enabling access from the lower module to the upper module;
An information processing apparatus comprising: access means for accessing the upper module from the lower module based on the access information corresponding to the identification information of the upper module to be accessed from the lower module. An access information notifying means for notifying the access information managing means together with the identification information of the upper module when the upper module is activated, together with the identification information of the upper module;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the access information management unit manages the identification information notified by the access information notification unit in association with the access information.   An access information acquisition unit configured to acquire the access information from the access information management unit based on the identification information of the upper module when an operation for requesting the lower module to access the upper module is performed; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the access information is a class loader. The class loader has a hierarchical structure,
5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a module activated by a lower class loader cannot be accessed from a module activated by an upper class loader by using the upper class loader.   6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower module is a stub module that is a substitute for another module accessed by a module of the program that is operated by the device in the device.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the equivalent module is a module having the same function as a module of the program operated by the device. An information processing system having a device for operating a program for executing a predetermined process and an information processing apparatus for reproducing the operation of the program,
The information processing apparatus includes:
An upper module that is a module equivalent to the module of the program operated by the device, and a lower module for reproducing the operation of the program on the information processing apparatus;
Access information management means for managing identification information for identifying the module in association with access information enabling access from the lower module to the upper module;
An information processing system comprising: access means for accessing the upper module from the lower module based on the access information corresponding to the identification information of the upper module to be accessed from the lower module. Reproducing the operation of a program for executing a predetermined process that operates on a device, and an upper module that is a module equivalent to the module of the program that the device operates, and the operation of the program on the information processing apparatus An information processing method executed by an information processing apparatus including a lower module for reproduction,
An access information management step for managing identification information for identifying the module in association with access information that enables access from the lower module to the upper module;
And an access step of accessing the upper module from the lower module based on the access information corresponding to the identification information of the upper module to be accessed from the lower module. Reproducing the operation of a program for executing a predetermined process that operates on a device, and an upper module that is a module equivalent to the module of the program that the device operates, and the operation of the program on the information processing apparatus An information processing program that is executed in an information processing apparatus including a lower module for reproduction,
The information processing apparatus;
Access information management means for managing the identification information for identifying the module in association with the access information enabling access from the lower module to the upper module;
An information processing program that functions as an access unit that accesses the upper module from the lower module based on the access information corresponding to the identification information of the upper module to be accessed from the lower module.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the information processing program is recorded.

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