JPH02128262A - Transmission job supervising method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the procedure and processing of transmission job supervision by introducing the conception of a transmission job status, and coupling a queue and a journal on a single control table. CONSTITUTION:Each entry (job entry) of a transmission job control table 10 consists of a job number set area 11, a reserved information set area 12, a transmission journal information set area 13, and a status setting information 14. A single job entry is fixedly allocated to a single transmission job regardless of its condition transition, and reserving information, journal information and the status are connectively supervised. Consequently, the whole condition of the transmission jobs can be directly grasped by the control table 10 regardless of completed or uncompleted conditions, and their list can be immediately obtained. Thus, the procedure and processing of the transmission job supervision is simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transmission zip management method in a communication device or system such as a facsimile machine or a broadcasting device that can perform stored transmissions.

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of communication device, in order to send a message to a certain destination, parameters such as the destination telephone number, designated date and time of transmission execution, communication format, and resolution and size of the message image are specified. It is necessary to reserve and register a transmission job to be sent, and to connect to a queue for waiting for transmission processing (transmission queue). The communication device checks this transmission queue and executes the transmission job according to the conditions of the reserved parameters.

For sending jobs that have finished executing, it is necessary to accumulate journal information such as the date and time of the end of sending, communication time, communication status, presence or absence of a communication error, and error code in order to notify the user. .

A conventional transmission job management method connects a transmission job to a transmission queue, deletes it after execution, and handles transmission keys and journals independently.

This basic method of conventional sending job management (referred to as conventional method ■) uses a sending queue table and journal table that are managed separately, writes reservation information for jobs waiting to be sent to the sending queue table, and then sends When a waiting job finishes executing, its reservation information is deleted from the transmission queue table and journal information is written to the journal table.

In addition, as a more advanced method, as shown in FIG. 6, the transmission queue table 51 and journal table 52 can be referenced for each job using a table called a transmission job management master 53, and each table 51, 52 can be edited at once. Transmission job management method (referred to as conventional method ■)
was there.

In this transmission job management method, reservation information of transmission jobs is written in the transmission queue table 51 in the order of reservation registration, and a pointer indicating that the transmission job is in a "reserved" state and pointing to the corresponding entry on the transmission queue table 51 is written. It is written to the transmission job management master 53. When the transmission job in the "reserved" state is activated, the state of this transmission job is rewritten to the "execution" state. When the execution of the sending job is completed, the status of the sending job is rewritten to "finished", journal information such as the end date and time of the sending job, whether there is a communication error, and the error code is written to the journal table 52, and the After copying the reservation information from the transmission queue table 51 to the journal table 52, the finished job is deleted from the transmission queue table 51.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with such conventional methods, it is not possible to easily grasp the overall status of sending jobs, management of sending jobs is complicated, and a management table is required to manage a large number of sending jobs. The problem was that it required a large amount of memory space. This will be explained below.

In a storage type communication device, a large number of transmission jobs are generated and executed one after another, but in the conventional method (2), the transmission job disappears from the transmission key table when the execution ends, so please refer to the transmission key table. The only content that can be grasped by doing this is the status of unfinished jobs. Also,
The contents that can be understood by referring to the journal table are as follows.
It only contains journal information such as the end time of the completed job.

Each table is managed separately. Therefore, it is not possible to easily grasp the status of all transmitted jobs, including completed jobs and unfinished jobs, and the process of generating the list is complicated. Also, reservation information for completed jobs cannot be grasped.

On the other hand, in conventional method (2), the reservation information of the completed job is deleted from the transmission queue table, but is copied and saved in the journal table, and the transmission queue table and journal table are collectively managed by the transmission John management master. Therefore, compared to the conventional method (2), it is easier to grasp the overall status of transmission jobs and generate a list, and it is also possible to grasp reservation information for completed jobs.

However, since there are a large number of tables, not only does the memory space occupied by the tables become large, but the management procedure is also complex, and it is still necessary to copy the reservation information from the transmission queue table to the journal table, so transmission job management The processing for is quite complicated. For example, if you want to display the status list of all sending jobs on the screen,
The processing for grasping the overall status of the transmission job and generating the list is also quite complicated, as the transmission job management master must draw the transmission queue table and journal table to create a display.

In addition, when a transmission error occurs, the transmission zone is re-reserved, but in conventional methods ■ and ■, the abnormally terminated job is registered in a separate entry in the journal table or transmission queue table. ) is an increasing factor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the processing for managing sending jobs is simple, and the overall status of sending jobs, including the reservation information of completed jobs, can be directly grasped from a management table. An object of the present invention is to provide a transmission job management method that can reduce the memory space required for management.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention uses one management table that is a collection of job entries made up of setting areas for reservation information, journal information, and status. The IJ is fixedly allocated, and the reservation information, journal information, and status of each sending job are managed in an integrated manner on the assigned job entry, and multiple statuses such as waiting for the status of each sending job, communicating, and completed It has a structure that allows it to be managed separately.

Function The basic concept of conventional sending job management was to connect a sending job to a queue and delete it after execution.However, as described above, the present invention replaces this conventional concept with a system called the status of a sending job. Introducing the concept and integrating queues and journals on one management table.

Therefore, regardless of whether the job is completed or not, the overall status of the transmission job can be directly grasped from the management table, and a list thereof can be obtained immediately.

In addition, there is only one management table, and there is no need to reallocate IJs or copy reservation information between tables.
The procedures and processes for managing transmission jobs are simplified, and the memory space for management can be reduced.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a logical structure diagram of a management table used for transmission job management according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a physical structure diagram of this management table.

In FIG. 1, 10 is a transmission job management table, and each entry (job entry) is a job number setting area 11, a reservation information setting area 12, a sending journal information setting area 13, and a status setting information 14.
It becomes more. One job entry is fixedly assigned to one transmission job regardless of its state transition, and reservation information, journal information, and status are managed in an integrated manner on this job entry.

The job number is a number assigned to a transmission job at the time of reservation registration, and remains unchanged even if the job is rescheduled due to abnormal termination. Each transmission job can be referenced by its job number. Each job entry is logically arranged in order of earliest reservation (re-reservation) registration time of the transmission job (ascending order in chronological order), and this order is the job entry number.

Transmission job management table 10 with such a logical structure
The actual or physical structure of is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 15 denotes a job entry storage area for storing a set of setting areas 12, 13, and 14 for reservation information, transmission journal information, and status, which are the substance of a job entry.

Note that the job number matches the physical arrangement order (address) of each IJ on this job entry storage area 15, so it physically corresponds to the job number setting area 11 shown in FIG. The area is job entry storage area 1
It does not exist in each entry of 5.

Reference numeral 16 is a transmission job entry index for indexing entries on the job entry storage area 15. On this transmission job entry index 16, the physical entries in the job IJ storage area 15 are logically arranged in descending order of reservation (re-reservation) time as shown in FIG. That is, on the transmission job entry index 16, the transmission jobs are sorted in order of job entry number, and the job number (pointer) is set in correspondence with the job entry IJ number.

When a transmission job is rescheduled due to abnormal termination, job numbers (pointers) on the transmission job entry index 16 are re-sorted to form a logical structure as shown in FIG.

In the example shown in Figure 2, the sending job with job number l ended normally, and the sending job with job number 2 ended abnormally, so it was rescheduled. This is a case where the sending job of job number 3, which was registered during job number 7 which was later in time, is similarly re-scheduled and registered after job number 7.

FIG. 3 is a status transition diagram of a sending job, and a
, b, and c are possible statuses. In other words, the status is "Waiting", "Communicating", "Ended"
There are three types. The transmission job is registered as "
The status changes to ``Waiting'', and the status changes to ``Communicating'' when the transmission is started.
status, abnormal termination, and re-booking causes "
The status changes to "Waiting". A transmission job with a "Communicating" status will return to a "Waiting" status due to abnormal termination or rescheduling, but if it ends normally or the number of recommunications (rescheduled times) exceeds the specified number, it will be returned to an "Ended" status. Transition to.

Next, send job management table I having the above logical structure
A transmission job management method using O will be explained.

When a transmission job to a certain destination occurs, the reservation information such as the destination telephone number, the designated date and time of transmission execution, the communication format, and the resolution and size of the message image is stored in the last waiting job in the transmission job management table 10. Registered in the job entry following the entry.

This transmission job is assigned a job number that is one larger than the job number of the transmission job registered immediately before. Physically, the reservation information is registered in the entry with the lowest arrangement order among the free entry group (11 groups of en that have not been assigned to the sending job) in the job entry storage area 15, and A number (pointer) is set next to the last job number registered in the transmission job entry index 16. The status is set to "waiting".

The communication device checks the reservation information of the transmission jobs in the "waiting" status in descending order of job entry number. In practice, each entry on the storage area 15 is searched using the transmission job entry index 16 and its contents are referred to.

When a transmission job that has reached the specified date and time for transmission execution is found, transmission is started according to the reservation information, and the status is changed from "waiting" to "communicating".

If the execution of this sending job ends normally, the status will be rewritten from "Communicating" to "Completed" and the end date and time, communication time, communication status, presence or absence of communication error, error code, etc. journal information,
Write in the setting area 13 of the corresponding entry.

On the other hand, if the sending job ends abnormally due to a communication error or the like, the sending job is rescheduled and the status is changed from "communicating" to "waiting".

The job entry number of this transmission job is set so that the rescheduled times are in ascending chronological order. In practice, the setting area 1 of the corresponding entry in the job entry storage area 15
3, the reservation information in the setting area 14 is rewritten, and the job numbers are sorted again on the transmission job entry index 16.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of rescheduling on the transmission job management table 10. When the sending job with job entry number 3 and job number X ends abnormally and is to be rescheduled, the rescheduled time is registered in job entry number 11 in ascending chronological order.

Note that when a transmission job ends abnormally, the number of retransmissions (number of abnormal ends) is checked, and if the number of retransmissions reaches a certain number, no rescheduling is performed and the status is set to "finished".

Now, the sending job with "finished" status (finished job)
will increase sequentially, but if this exceeds a certain number, each time a new sending job occurs, the reservation time will be changed to an earlier (older)
Delete jobs in sequence starting from the finished job (cancel assignment of job entries).

As is clear from the explanation so far, each send job is
Reservation information, journal information, and status are managed integrally and continuously on one job entry of the fixedly allocated transmission job management chifur 10, and the status of each transmission job is "waiting" or "communicating". , and "Completed". Further, reservation information is also saved for completed jobs. Therefore, by referring to the transmission job management table IO,
The overall status of the sending job, including the reservation information of the completed job, can be grasped instantly, and a status list can be obtained even if special processing is performed.

In addition, the only management table is the transmission job management table 10, so there is no need to copy the reservation information of the terminated job, and rescheduling of the abnormally terminated job is only a matter of rewriting the status and changing the job entry number. , there is no need to assign job entries separately, so management procedures and
The processing is simple, and a large number of transmission jobs can be managed even if the number of job entries is relatively small to reduce memory space.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a system to which the above-described transmission job management method is applied.

This system has a main unit 31 connected to a disk unit 32, a keyboard 33, a display, and a communication line.The main unit 31 has a central processing unit (CPU) 36, main memory 37, window memory, and frame memory. 39, disk controller 4
0, input control section 41. It includes an image display section 42 and a communication line control section 43.

Since the overall configuration and operation of such a system are common, only transmission job management will be explained.

Transmission job management table I shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2
O is placed in window memory or disk unit 32. The message image is stored in the disk unit 32. When the designated transmission execution time for a certain transmission job is reached, the designated number of electronic message images in the disk unit 32 are transmitted by the communication line control section 43 through the communication line section. Such execution management of the transmission job is executed by the central processing unit according to a program stored in the main memory 37. The same applies to referring to and updating the transmission job management table.

In addition, the central processing unit 36 can be operated according to the program in the main memory 37 by instructions from a keyboard or the like.
displays the contents of the transmission job management table as is, or after some simple processing such as formatting corrections, as a transmission job status list on a display-like screen.

Therefore, the user can grasp the overall status of the transmission job including the reservation information of the completed job.

Note that the "completed" status may be divided into "completed" due to normal termination and "completed" due to exceeding the number of retransmissions. In addition, the "waiting" status can be changed to "waiting" according to the first reservation,
Management may be performed such as dividing the job into a "waiting" job due to rescheduling and giving priority to the rescheduled job.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention introduces the concept of transmission job status and integrates queues and journals on one management table. The overall status of the job can be grasped directly from the management table.The list can be obtained immediately, and there is only one management table, and job entries cannot be re-entered regardless of the state transition of one sending job. Since there is no need to copy allocation or reservation information between tables, the procedure and process for managing transmission jobs are simplified, and the memory space for management can also be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a logical structure diagram of an example of a transmission job management table used in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a physical structure diagram of the transmission job management table, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of rescheduling of a transmission job. FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a system to which the transmission job management method of the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a diagram of a conventional transmission job management method. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a transmission job management method. 10... Transmission job management table, 12... Reservation information setting area, 13... Journal information setting area,
14...Status setting area, 15...Job entry storage area, 16...Sending job entry index. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and one other person

Claims (1)

[Claims] Using one management table that is a collection of job entries consisting of setting areas for reservation information, journal information, and status, one job entry is fixedly assigned to one sending job, and reservation information and journal information for each sending job are stored. A sending job management method characterized in that the sending job is managed in an integrated manner on a job entry to which a job entry and status are assigned, and the status of each sending job is managed by dividing it into multiple statuses such as reserved, communicating, and completed.