JPH03240130A - System for checking onerous program - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simultaneously inhibit the use of programs and to limit the number of users with plural systems by checking the number of installed recording media and the available periods of them when these recording media are installed. CONSTITUTION:When an onerous program 108 on an installing medium is installed, an installed program 101 is carried out and a user number checking mechanism 102 checks the program user number control information 109. Then an intra-system execution program 107 can be carried out when an available period checking mechanism 104 checks and decides that an installed medium available period is kept within the installed medium available period control information 110 and when the user input available period information 111 is included in an installed medium available period, the execution of the intra- system execution program 107 is attained. Thus, it is possible to check whether the programs are simultaneously used in plural processor systems or not and also to check the number of users.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for checking a paid program, particularly a method for checking a paid program that prohibits simultaneous use on multiple systems, limits the period of use, and restricts the number of users. .

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of check method for paid programs uniquely determines the systems that can be used when the program is installed, even if the system in use is configured with a multiprocessor system, etc. The period and number of program users are not managed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

With the conventional check method for paid programs described above, when a program is used under conditions where it is not used simultaneously on multiple processor systems, it is difficult to check whether the program is being used at the same time, and furthermore, it is impossible to check the number of users. The problem is that contracts with program purchasers are often not honored.

[Means to solve the problem]

The check method for paid programs of the present invention is based on the usage period information area provided on the recording medium of the installation program and the number of users provided on the recording medium in the paid programs for which usage conditions for users are determined. an information area, a user number check mechanism that updates the number of users by checking whether the number of users has reached the permissible number stored in the user number information area at the time of installation, and an input by the user at the time of installation. A usage period checking mechanism that checks whether the usage period is smaller than the remaining allowable usage period information stored in the usage period information area and updates the remaining allowable usage period; and the number of users checking mechanism and the usage period checking mechanism. a dispensing mechanism for permitting the execution of an in-system executable program and storing a usage period input by the user in an in-system usage period information area; It is configured by having a running check mechanism that checks the usage period information area.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of an information processing system to which the present invention is applied. The information processing system used in the present invention includes a central processing unit W1 that handles calculations, a main storage device 2 and an auxiliary storage device 4 that store programs and data, and an input/output device 3 that handles input and output. It is composed of an input/output medium 5.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, an installation medium program 108, which is a paid program, is composed of an installation program 101 and an in-system execution program 107. The operation shown in FIG. 1 will be explained below. The program 108 on the installation medium is installed from the input/output device 3. The installation program 101 is executed, and first, the number of users check mechanism 10 of the program on the installation medium is executed.
2, the program user number management information 109 on the installation medium is checked. If the number of program users is within the range of the preset number of users, the number of users rewriting mechanism 103 rewrites the information in the program user number management information 109 on the installation medium.

Next, the usage period check mechanism 104 checks the usage period management information 110 on the installation medium. If the usage period of the installation medium is within the usage period management information 110 on the installation medium, next, the usage period checking mechanism 1.4 checks whether the user input usage period information 111 input by the user of the program is valid or not. Check. If the user input usage period information 111 is valid and is included in the installation media usage period, the user input usage period is deleted from the installation media usage period by the dispensing machine [105, and the deleted result is used on the installation media. The period management information 110 is registered as the period management information 110, and the user input usage period information 111 is registered as the in-system usage period management information 112.

Thereafter, the in-system execution program 107 can be executed, and during execution, the running check mechanism 106 checks whether the program 107 is used within the system.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in order to check the running conditions of a program executed in an information processing system, the present invention provides a program usage period that does not overlap for each system and a user who can use this recording medium in one program recording medium. By setting the number of users and checking the number of users who have already installed this recording medium and checking the usage period when installing this recording medium, it is possible to prohibit the use of this program on multiple systems at the same time and to check the number of users. It has the effect of limiting

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of an information processing system to which the present invention is applied.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a paid program that has user usage conditions, a usage period information area provided on the recording medium of the installation program, a user number information area provided on the recording medium, and the number of users at the time of installation. A user number check mechanism that updates the number of users by checking whether the allowable number of users stored in the information area has not been reached, and a usage period input by the user at the time of installation is stored in the usage period information area. a usage period check mechanism that updates the remaining allowable usage period by checking whether it is smaller than the remaining allowable usage period information; and an in-system execution program when both the number of users checking mechanism and the usage period checking mechanism permit. a dispensing mechanism that allows the execution of the program and stores the usage period input by the user in an in-system usage period information area; and a running check mechanism that checks the in-system usage period information area while the in-system execution program is running. A method for checking a paid program, comprising: