JP2019185276A - Application program and function program module - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique for easily identifying the cause of forced initialization by a watchdog timer in an application program for executing a target process by combining a plurality of function program modules.SOLUTION: An application program executes a target process by activating a plurality of function program modules in a predetermined order. The activated function program module stores: in an operation history storage area 21a of a backup memory in time series, activation information Ast, Bst, Cst, and Dst and arguments Av, Bv1, Bv2 and Dv indicating that the activation has been done; and end information Aen, Ben, Cen, and Den indicating that the operation has been completed. Even when initialized by the watchdog timer, if information about the function program module that was activated last time is stored in the backup memory, the activation information and the end information are stored following the information about the function program module.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to an application program that runs on a computer and a function program module that is activated by the application program and provides functions necessary for the application program to operate.

  An application program is required to perform a target process using a computer. Conventionally, development of this application program has been carried out independently by each company. However, with the recent increase in functionality and complexity, it has been shared by a plurality of companies. For example, an application program to be developed is divided into a plurality of small program units (referred to as “functional program modules” in this specification) mainly from the viewpoint of functions, and the plurality of functional program modules are divided into a plurality of companies. Will be shared and developed. One application program is developed by combining the functions provided by the plurality of function program modules.

  In the application program developed in this way, a plurality of function program modules are activated one after another in a predetermined order to realize a function, thereby realizing a target process. In addition, due to the above-described operation, if at least one function program module including a program error (so-called bug) exists among the plurality of function program modules, the processing of the application program ends normally. Disappear.

  Therefore, using a monitoring program module called a so-called watchdog timer, the execution time of the operation by the function program module is monitored, and if the execution time becomes abnormally long, it is determined that a problem has occurred. Then, the application program is forcibly initialized by software. In addition, in order to easily identify the cause of the malfunction, the function program module that was operating at the time of the malfunction (that is, the functional program module that seems to have a bug), and the operation contents of the function program module A technique for storing the information has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-011991 A

  However, when forced initialization is generated by the watchdog timer, the cause of the problem may not be found no matter how many times the function program module and operation contents that were operating at that time are examined. There was a problem that the development of may not proceed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems in the prior art, and forcible initialization by a watchdog timer has occurred in an application that executes a target process by combining a plurality of function program modules. The purpose is to provide a technology that can easily identify the cause.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the application program and the function program module of the present invention include start information indicating that the function program module has started and end information indicating that the function program module has ended operation. Store in series in backup memory. If information about the function program module that was activated last time is stored in the backup memory, activation information and end information are stored following the information.
In this way, even if the function program module has been executed by the monitoring program module because the execution time of the function program module has reached a predetermined upper limit time, if the backup memory is examined, it can be determined whether or not the function program module has been started normally. I can know. If it has not been started normally, it can be determined that there is no cause in the function program module that was operating when the initialization occurred, so the cause of the initialization can be easily identified. It becomes possible.

It is the block diagram which showed the rough internal structure of the application program 1 of a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which showed notionally the mode that the main program module 10m performs the target process by starting the several function program module 10 in predetermined order. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the monitoring program module 10w monitors the execution time of the function program module 10, and initializes the main program module 10m. It is a block diagram which shows the rough internal structure of the function program module 10 of a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which showed the internal structure of the backup memory 21 in which the function program module 10 of a present Example writes data. It is a flowchart of the function provision process which the function program module 10 of a present Example performs. It is explanatory drawing which showed notionally that a function program module 10 of a present Example writes data in the operation | movement log | history storage area | region 21a of the backup memory 21. FIG. In the application program 1 of the present embodiment, even when it is forcibly initialized by the monitoring program module 10w, it is an explanatory diagram showing the reason why the cause can be easily identified.

Hereinafter, in order to clarify the contents of the present invention described above, examples of the present invention will be described.
A. Device configuration :
A-1. Overview of operation of application program 1:
FIG. 1 shows a rough internal structure of the application program 1 of this embodiment. As illustrated, the application program 1 includes a main program module 10m, a plurality of function program modules 10a to 10d, and a monitoring program module 10w.
The function program modules 10a to 10d are small programs that operate on a computer, and each implements a predetermined basic function. The main program module 10m executes a target process (hereinafter may be referred to as a target process) by activating the plurality of function program modules 10a to 10d in a predetermined order. The main program module 10 m and the function program modules 10 a to 10 d operate by reading necessary data from the memory 20 or writing data to the memory 20.
In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish the individual function program modules 10a to 10d, they may be simply referred to as function program modules 10. Further, although the application program 1 of the present embodiment includes the four function program modules 10, it may include a larger number of function program modules 10.

  The monitoring program module 10w is a so-called watchdog timer, starts counting when activated by the main program module 10m, and forcibly initializes the main program module 10m when a predetermined upper limit time elapses. When the main program module 10m and the function program module 10 are operating normally, the main program module 10m initializes the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w before the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w reaches the upper limit time. . For this reason, the main program module 10m in operation is not initialized by the monitoring program module 10w.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the main program module 10m executes a target process by activating a plurality of function program modules 10a to 10d in a predetermined order. In the illustrated example, the main program module 10m first activates the function program module 10a. Further, when starting the first function program module 10 (here, the function program module 10a), the monitoring program module 10w is also started. The solid arrows shown in FIG. 2 conceptually indicate that the main program module 10m activates the function program module 10 and the monitoring program module 10w. In addition, when the monitoring program module 10w is activated, it starts timing.

  When the function program module 10a is activated by the main program module 10m, the function program module 10a provides a basic function unique to the function program module 10a to the main program module 10m by executing a predetermined process. An arrow indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2 indicates that the function program module 10 provides basic functions to the main program module 10m. In addition, in order for the function program module 10 to execute the process, when an argument such as a variable value or a numerical value for specifying the process content is necessary, it is acquired from the main program module 10m at the time of activation.

When the function program module 10a executes a predetermined process and completes the operation of providing the function, the main program module 10m starts the function program module 10b this time according to its own program and counts the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w. Is initialized. The dashed-dotted arrow shown in the figure indicates that the main program module 10m has initialized the time count of the monitoring program module 10w.
In addition, the upper limit time that the monitoring program module 10w counts is the time required for the function program module 10a to provide the function and until the main program module 10m initializes the timing time of the monitoring program module 10w based on the result. It is set to a sufficiently longer time than the total time required for the above. Therefore, the main program module 10m can initialize the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w before the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w reaches the upper limit time.

When the function program module 10b is also activated, a basic process unique to the function program module 10b is provided to the main program module 10m by executing a predetermined process. Then, the main program module 10m activates the function program module 10c this time and initializes the time count of the monitoring program module 10w.
Here, the time required for the function program module 10b to provide a function and the time required for the function program module 10a to provide a function are not necessarily the same. Similarly, the time required for the main program module 10m provided with a function from the function program module 10b to activate the function program module 10c and the main program module 10m provided with a function from the function program module 10a are connected to the function program module 10b. The time required to start up is not necessarily the same.

  However, the time required for the function program module 10b to provide the function and the time required for the main program module 10m to start the function program module 10c in response to the result (therefore, the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w) The total time of the time required for initialization) is sufficiently shorter than the upper limit time counted by the monitoring program module 10w. Therefore, the main program module 10m can initialize the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w before the time measured by the monitoring program module 10w reaches the upper limit time.

Hereinafter, similarly, the main program module 10m starts the function program module 10 in the order of the function program module 10a, the function program module 10d, and the function program module 10c according to its own program, and sets the time count of the monitoring program module 10w. initialize. In this way, the main program module 10m executes a target process by activating a plurality of function program modules 10 in a predetermined order. If the main program module 10m and the function program module 10 are operating normally, the time keeping time is initialized before the time keeping time of the monitoring program module 10w reaches the upper limit time. The main program module 10m is never initialized.
However, if the main program module 10m or the function program module 10 does not operate normally for some reason, the time count of the monitoring program module 10w cannot be initialized, and the main program module 10m is initialized. .

FIG. 3 conceptually shows how the monitoring program module 10w initializes the main program module 10m. In the example shown in FIG. 3 as well, in the same way as in FIG. 2, the main program module 10m first activates the function program module 10a and the monitoring program module 10w, and thereafter initializes the time count of the monitoring program module 10w. Then, a plurality of function program modules 10 are activated in accordance with a predetermined order.
However, in the example shown in FIG. 3, an abnormality occurs in the function program module 10d and the operation does not end. As a result, the main program module 10m cannot initialize the time count of the monitoring program module 10w, and the time count reaches the upper limit time, is initialized by the monitoring program module 10w, and the operation of the function program module 10d is also forcibly stopped. Is done.
As described above, when an abnormality occurs in the operation of the main program module 10m or the function program module 10, the main program module 10m is initialized by the monitoring program module 10w. For this reason, the situation where the main program module 10m or the function program module 10 runs away can be avoided.

  Further, prior to initializing the main program module 10m, the monitoring program module 10w displays the function program module 10 operating at that time and the operation contents of the function program module 10 in the backup memory 21 (FIG. 1). Save to Browse). Unlike the memory 20, the backup memory 21 does not erase the stored contents even when the main program module 10m is initialized. For this reason, when initialization by the monitoring program module 10w occurs, the contents stored in the backup memory 21 are read to identify the function program module 10 that caused the initialization or the operation contents. The location of the bug can be specified from

However, after initialization by the monitoring program module 10w occurs, a bug can be found even if the contents stored in the backup memory 21 are read and the function program module 10 operating at that time is examined in detail. There was a case where it was not possible. When such a situation occurs, the reason for the initialization cannot be specified, and the development of the application program 1 is delayed.
Therefore, the function program module 10 of this embodiment adopts the following internal structure.

A-2. Internal structure of the function program module 10:
FIG. 4 shows the internal structure of the function program module 10 incorporated in the application program 1 of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the function program module 10 of this embodiment includes an activation request detection unit 11, a function providing unit 12, an activation information output unit 13, and an end information output unit 14.
Note that these “units” focus on the functions of the function program module 10 in order to easily identify the cause of the initialization of the main program module 10m by the monitoring program module 10w. This is an abstract concept that classifies the program code for convenience. Accordingly, one program code may be classified into a plurality of “parts”, or there may be a program code that is not classified into any “part”.

When the activation request detection unit 11 detects that the activation is requested from the main program module 10m, the activation request detection unit 11 activates the function providing unit 12.
The function providing unit 12 provides a predetermined function to the main program module 10m by executing a predetermined operation on the computer when activated. Further, when the function providing unit 12 operates, if a variable value is required or an operation condition needs to be specified, an argument indicating the variable value or a value specifying the condition is detected as an activation request. The unit 11 acquires from the main program module 10m and supplies it to the function providing unit 12.

When activated, the function providing unit 12 outputs activation information indicating activation to the activation information output unit 13. In addition, when an argument is supplied from the activation request detection unit 11 at the time of activation, the argument is also output to the activation information output unit 13.
The activation information output unit 13 outputs the activation information (and an argument when present) received from the function providing unit 12 at the time of activation to the backup memory 21.

In addition, when the function providing unit 12 is activated, the function providing unit 12 reads out data from the memory 20, executes predetermined processing on the read data, and stores the obtained data in the memory 20. A predetermined basic function is provided to the main program module 10m. Then, when the predetermined operation for providing the function ends, the fact is output to the end information output unit 14.
When the end information output unit 14 receives from the function providing unit 12 that the operation has ended, the end information output unit 14 outputs end information indicating that the operation has ended to the backup memory 21.

FIG. 5 conceptually shows the data structure of the backup memory 21 into which the function program module 10 of the present embodiment writes start information, end information, and the like. As shown in the figure, the backup memory 21 of this embodiment includes an operation history storage area 21a and an initialization status storage area 21b.
Of these, the operation history storage area 21a is an area in which the above-described activation information and termination information are written when the function program module 10 is activated or terminated. The initialization status storage area 21b includes information for specifying the function program module 10 that was operating when the monitoring program module 10w described above with reference to FIG. 1 initializes the main program module 10m, This is an area for writing the operation status. As described above, the data written in the operation history storage area 21a and the initialization status storage area 21b is not erased even when the main program module 10m is initialized.
Further, as shown in the figure, the operation history storage area 21a is divided into a plurality of small areas, and specific address numbers are assigned to them. The operation history storage area 21a of the present embodiment is divided into eight small areas assigned address numbers ad1 to ad8.

  Since the application program 1 of the present embodiment incorporates the function program module 10 as described above, even if the main program module 10m is initialized by the monitoring program module 10w, the function program module 10 having a bug can be easily obtained. It becomes possible to specify.

B. Operation of the function program module 10:
FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a function providing process executed by the function program module 10. When the function program module 10 is activated by the main program module 10m, the function program module 10 executes a function providing process to provide a predetermined function to the main program module 10m.

As shown in FIG. 6, the function program module 10 first determines whether it has been activated by the main program module 10m (S100). As a result, if it is not activated (S100: no), the same determination is repeated to enter a standby state until it is activated.
Then, when activated by the main program module 10m, it is determined as “yes” in S100, and subsequently activation information indicating activation is stored in the operation history storage area 21a of the backup memory 21 (S101). .

Here, as described above with reference to FIG. 5, the operation history storage area 21a is divided into a plurality of (here, eight) small areas, and address numbers ad1 to ad8 are assigned to the small areas. ing. When the function program module 10 of this embodiment writes data in the operation history storage area 21a, the function program module 10 sequentially writes the data in the small areas according to the order of the address numbers ad1 to ad8.
For example, if data has not yet been written to the operation history storage area 21a, the data is written to the address number ad1 of the operation history storage area 21a. If data is written to the address number ad1, but data is not yet written to the address number ad2, the data is written to the address number ad2.
Further, when data is written to all the address numbers ad1 to ad8 in the operation history storage area 21a, the data is written to the address number where the oldest data is written. For example, when data is written to the address number ad8, the next data to be written is the address number ad1, the next is the address number ad2, and the next is the address number ad3. .

  Further, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, the plurality of function program modules 10 are sequentially activated, and each function program module 10 writes data in the operation history storage area 21 a of the backup memory 21. Therefore, if the function program module 10 that has been activated before has been written to, for example, the address number ad3 of the operation history storage area 21a, the activation information is written to the address number ad4 in S101.

When the activation information is written in the operation history storage area 21a as described above (S101), it is determined whether there is an argument supplied from the main program module 10m (S102). As described above, the argument is a variable value necessary for the function program module 10 to provide a predetermined function, a numerical value such as a value specifying the function content, an address value storing the variable value or the numerical value, an address A numerical value such as a pointer value indicating the value. When there is a function program module 10 that requires an argument to be specified, an argument that is not necessary but an argument that can be specified, or an argument that cannot be specified, the main program module 10m activates the function program module 10. Supply arguments as needed.
Therefore, in S102, it is determined whether there is an argument supplied from the main program module 10m.

As a result, when an argument is not supplied (S102: no), processing for providing a basic function unique to the function program module 10 is started (S104).
On the other hand, if an argument is supplied (S102: yes), the argument is stored in the operation history storage area 21a of the backup memory 21 (S103), as in the above-described activation information. Note that the number of arguments supplied is not necessarily one, so when n arguments are supplied, those arguments are stored in n address numbers of the operation history storage area 21a.
When the arguments are thus written in the operation history storage area 21a of the backup memory 21 (S103), processing for providing basic functions unique to the function program module 10 is started (S104).

During a process for providing a unique function, a predetermined process is executed while reading data from or writing data to the memory 20 (see FIG. 4).
Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the process for providing the unique function is completed (S105). If the process is not completed (S105: no), the process is continued as it is.
On the other hand, when the processing is completed (S105: yes), the fact that the provision of the function is completed is output to the main program module 10m (S106).

Subsequently, end information indicating that the process for providing the function has ended is stored in the operation history storage area 21a of the backup memory 21 (S107). When storing the end information, the end information is stored at the address number in which the oldest data is stored in the operation history storage area 21a, as in the case of storing the above-described activation information and arguments. For example, when an argument is stored in S103, the end information is stored in the address number next to the address number storing the argument (address number ad1 in the case of address number ad8). If the argument is not stored in S103, the end information is stored following the address number in which the activation information is stored in S101.
When the end information is thus written in the operation history storage area 21a of the backup memory 21, the function providing process in FIG.

As described above, the function program module 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment stores the startup information at the time of startup, the argument when an argument is supplied, and the end information at the time of termination in the operation history storage area 21a of the backup memory 21. I am writing in series. For this reason, even when the monitoring program module 10w initializes the main program module 10m during the execution of the application program 1, the initialization cause can be easily identified by examining the backup memory 21.
In particular, in the application program 1 of this embodiment, the function program module 10 writes start information, end information, and the like in the operation history storage area 21a of the backup memory 21 in time series. For this reason, as will be described in detail later, it is possible to know the situation when each function program module 10 is activated by examining the operation history storage area 21a. Can be identified more easily.

FIG. 7 illustrates a state in which data is written in the operation history storage area 21a as the main program module 10m sequentially activates the function program modules 10. In the following description, it is assumed that the main program module 10m is activating the function program module 10 in the order shown in FIG.
As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the main program module 10m first activates the function program module 10a. Accordingly, the function program module 10a is activated in the address number ad1 of the operation history storage area 21a. Information Ast is written. Further, the function program module 10a uses one argument, and accordingly, the argument Av of the function program module 10a is written to the address number ad2 of the operation history storage area 21a. Further, when the function program module 10a ends the operation, the end information Aen of the function program module 10a is written to the address number ad3.

  The main program module 10m activates the function program module 10b following the function program module 10a (see FIG. 2). Accordingly, the activation information Bst of the function program module 10b is written to the address number ad4 in the operation history storage area 21a. As the function program module 10b uses two arguments, two arguments Bv1 and Bv2 are written in the address number ad5 and address number ad6 of the operation history storage area 21a. The end information Ben of the function program module 10b is written in the address number ad7 of the storage area 21a.

Subsequently, the main program module 10m activates the function program module 10c. Accordingly, the activation information Cst of the function program module 10c is written to the address number ad8 in the operation history storage area 21a. Since the function program module 10c does not use an argument, the end information Cen of the function program module 10c is written to the address number ad1 of the operation history storage area 21a.
Hereinafter, similarly, each time the function program module 10 is activated, the activation information of the function program module 10 is written in the operation history storage area 21a, and if an argument exists, the argument is also written. When the function program module 10 ends, the end information of the function program module 10 is written in the operation history storage area 21a.

Here, as described above with reference to FIG. 3, a case is considered in which the main program module 10m is initialized by the monitoring program module 10w during the operation of the function program module 10d.
As described above, the contents stored in the backup memory 21 are not erased even if initialized, so the initialization state storage area 21b of the backup memory 21 is initialized as in the conventional application program 1. The operation status of the function program module 10 that was operating at the time of recording is recorded. Further, information written by the function program module 10 before initialization is recorded in the operation history storage area 21a.

  FIG. 8A shows data stored in the operation history storage area 21a when it is initialized. The hatched portion in the figure is data (in this case, activation information Dst and argument Dv) written by the function program module 10d that was operating when it was initialized. As described above, the function program module 10 writes data in the order of address numbers. Therefore, when the data shown in FIG. 8A is rearranged in the order in which the data is written, the order shown in FIG. 8B is obtained.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the function program module 10d that was operating at the time of initialization receives the argument Dv stored in the address number ad5 when it is activated. The function program module 10a is operating before the function program module 10d is activated, but the end information Aen of the function program module 10a is not stored in the operation history storage area 21a. That is, the function program module 10a does not end normally for some reason, such as when an interrupt occurs, and the function program module 10d cannot be normally operated because the function program module 10d is activated in such a situation. Thus, it is considered that initialization by the monitoring program module 10w has occurred.

  For the function program module 10c that was operating before the function program module 10a that caused the initialization in the function program module 10d, the end information Cen of the function program module 10c is stored. Therefore, it is considered that the function program module 10c has been normally completed. Therefore, although the function program module 10a is activated in a normal state, it does not end normally for some reason, and the function program module 10d is activated in that state. It is presumed that initialization by the monitoring program module 10w has occurred. Accordingly, the initialization has occurred during the operation of the function program module 10d, but it is considered that the function program module 10a needs to investigate the presence of bugs in the program.

Alternatively, the function program module 10d that was operating when the initialization occurred receives the argument Dv at the time of activation, but the argument Dv may not be a normal value.
In such a case, a bug in the program does not exist in the function program module 10d, but the main program module 10m that supplies an abnormal argument Dv to the function program module 10d, or the function program module 10a that causes the function program module 10d. It should be investigated whether or not there is a bug.

As described above, the history of operation of the function program module 10 is stored in the operation history storage area 21a in time series. For this reason, when the initialization by the monitoring program module 10w occurs, it is possible to know the situation when the function program module 10 is activated. For example, it is possible to know whether or not the function program module 10 that was operating before the function program module 10 has ended normally, or whether or not a normal argument has been supplied at the time of activation.
If the function program module 10 that was operating at the time of initialization is not activated in a normal state, it is not the function program module 10 at the time of initialization but before the function program module 10. It is considered that a bug exists in the activated function program module 10.

  In addition, if the operation history for a plurality of function program modules 10 is stored as in the operation history storage area 21a of the present embodiment, the function that was operating before the function program module 10 in which initialization occurred is stored. It is also possible to know under what circumstances the program module 10 is activated. As a result, if the function program module 10 is not activated in a normal state, it is considered necessary to investigate the presence of a bug in the function program module 10 that was operating before that.

  As described above, in the application program 1 of this embodiment, the situation when the function program module 10 is activated is stored in the backup memory 21 that is not erased even when the main program module 10m is initialized. For this reason, even when the main program module 10m is initialized by the monitoring program module 10w, the cause of the initialization can be easily specified.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not restricted to said Example, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it can implement in a various aspect.

1 ... Application program, 10a to 10d ... Function program module,
10m ... main program module, 10w ... monitoring program module,
11 ... Activation request detection unit, 12 ... Function providing unit, 13 ... Activation information output unit,
14 ... End information output unit, 20 ... Memory, 21 ... Backup memory,
21a: Operation history storage area, 21b: Initialization state storage area.

Claims (7)

An application program (1) for executing a predetermined target process on a computer,
A plurality of function program modules (10) which are programs for realizing individual functions used in the object processing;
A main program module (10m) which is a program for realizing the target processing by activating the plurality of function program modules in a predetermined order;
When the execution time of the function program module is monitored and the execution time exceeds a predetermined upper limit time, information that can identify the function program module being executed is stored in a predetermined backup memory (21). A monitoring program module (10w) that is a program for initializing the main program module in a state,
The function program module stores start information indicating start-up and end information indicating end of the operation for realizing the function in the backup memory in time series, and starts the previous time in the backup memory. When the information on the function program module is stored, the activation information and the end information are stored following the information. An application program according to claim 1,
The monitoring program module stores, in the backup memory, information that can identify the function program module being executed when the main program module is initialized. An application program according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The function program module stores, in addition to the activation information, an argument received at the activation in the backup memory. An application program according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The function program module, when the amount of data stored in the backup memory exceeds a predetermined upper limit, overwrites and saves new data in order from the oldest data. A function program module (10) that is activated by an application program (1) that executes predetermined target processing on a computer and that realizes functions used in the target processing,
An activation information output unit (12) for outputting activation information indicating the activation to a backup memory (21) whose stored contents are not erased even when the application program is initialized;
An end information output unit (14) for outputting end information indicating that the operation for realizing the function has ended to the backup memory;
The activation information output unit outputs the activation information in a time series position on the backup memory with respect to information stored by the functional module activated last time,
The end information output unit outputs the end information to the time-series position on the backup memory with respect to the activation information. The function program module according to claim 5,
The function information module according to claim 1, wherein the activation information storage unit stores, in addition to the activation information, an argument received at the time of activation in the backup memory. The function program module according to claim 5 or 6, wherein
When the amount of data stored in the backup memory exceeds a predetermined upper limit, the startup information storage unit and the end information storage unit overwrite and store new data in order from the old data. Function program module to do.

Images