JPH0580997A - Program selection system for computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable each user to quickly start a desired program when the same computer system is shared by plural users by minimizing the time and the labor needed for shift of a cursor pointer on a menu screen for each use despite the difference of using frequency of each program for each user. CONSTITUTION:In a program selection system, a list of various programs 10c of an external storage 10 is displayed and these programs 10c are selected and executed with use of a cursor pointer CP. Then a program start information table 101b which identifies each user ID stores the past executing frequency of each program. The pointer CP is sequentially shifter for display of the programs in order to the higher using frequency shown in the program list before a program is selected and decided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program selection system in a computer for selecting and executing a target program from a plurality of programs stored in an external storage device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a program selection system for a computer of this type, a generally adopted method is to display a list of a plurality of programs stored in an external storage device on a screen of a display device and display the list. This is a method in which the cursor pointer is moved to the display field of the program to be executed from the displayed list and the execution program is selected.

In this case, conventionally, a plurality of program displays P1 (Japanese word processor) and P2 (English word processor) are displayed on the menu screen immediately after the program list is displayed when the power is turned on, as shown in FIG. ), P3
The cursor pointer CP is displayed at the position of the program display P1 at the top position of the (table calculation) ... Or, although not shown, the cursor pointer is at the position of the program display related to the program executed immediately before. Either method of displaying is used.

[0004]

When a plurality of users share and use the same computer system, the usage frequency (number of executions) of each program differs for each user. For example, one user U1 most often uses the "Japanese word processor" program, another user U2 most often uses the "spreadsheet" program, and so on.

Multiple program displays P1, P2, P3 ...
... is displayed in the order of "Japanese word processor", "English word processor", "Spreadsheet" ... as shown in the figure, the cursor pointer C is displayed on the menu screen immediately after the power is turned on.
The method in which the position where P is first displayed is the head position of the program display sequence is convenient for the user U1, but the user U2 operates the cursor key to execute the cursor pointer CP. Must be moved to the location indicated by "." When another user U3 most often uses the program displayed at the end of the program display row, the movement of the cursor pointer CP becomes more troublesome, and moreover, each time the computer system is used, You have to do a troublesome operation.

Further, in the method of displaying the cursor pointer CP at the display position of the program executed immediately before on the menu screen immediately after power-on, another user or the program executed immediately before by the person concerned is selected from now on. If it is different from the program you are going to try, you still have to perform the same troublesome operation as above.

The present invention was devised in view of such circumstances, and when a plurality of users commonly use the same computer system, all the users immediately after the power is turned on. The purpose is to reduce the trouble of moving the cursor pointer on the menu screen as much as possible.

[0008]

A program selection system in a computer according to the present invention displays a list of a plurality of programs stored in an external storage device, and a cursor pointer is displayed in the program list. A system for selecting and executing a selected program,
The external storage device has a program activation information table distinguished for each user ID, and the program activation information table stores the number of past executions for each program. In the menu screen for program selection, Until the selection of the program is determined, the cursor pointer is sequentially moved and displayed in the order of the program display having the highest execution count among the program displays in the program list.

[0009]

When a plurality of users share the same computer system, the number of times each program is executed (frequency of use) differs for each user, but no matter which user uses the program, the target program is displayed on the menu screen. Until the selection decision is made, the cursor pointer is sequentially moved and displayed on each program display of the program list in descending order of the number of executions.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a program selection system in a computer of an embodiment.

In the figure, 2 is an input device such as a keyboard, 4 is a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer, 6 is a main storage device (IC memory) consisting of ROM and RAM in the computer, 8 is a display device such as a CRT, 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes an external storage device using a magnetic storage medium, and the external storage device 10 has a user ID table 10a and a program activation information table 10b, and also stores various programs 10c.

Next, the operation of the program selection system in the computer of this embodiment will be described.

A user who intends to use this system is
Before starting up, the user ID from the administrator of this system in advance
(Identification information) must be acquired. The system administrator performs a procedure for issuing a user ID when the user requests the acquisition of the user ID. User ID
The issuing process is performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the central processing unit 4 performs a step S1 by a start operation of issuing a user ID in the input device 2.
A user ID table 1 that stores information for identifying the user ID of this system from the external storage device 10
The contents of 0a are read, transferred to the main storage device 6 and stored.

As shown in FIG. 6, the user ID table 10a has user IDs, user names, and user directory items. Different user IDs are assigned to the individual users.

Next, the central processing unit 4 carries out step S2.
Then, it is judged whether or not the end function is selected in the input device 2, but normally, the user I
Since D is not registered, the process proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the system administrator waits for the user name and the user directory to be input from the input device 2.
Then, in step S4, it waits for the user ID to be input from the input device 2.

In step S5, the entered user ID
Is a user ID already registered in the user ID table 10a, and if already registered, the process returns to step S4 to prohibit duplicate registration, and the user ID Prompt for input. If the input user ID is an unregistered user ID, the process proceeds to step S6 to register the newly input user ID, user name, and user directory in the main storage device 6. Then, the contents of the user ID table 10a are updated.

When this update is completed, the system administrator selects the end function on the input device 2, but the central processing unit 4 returns to step S2, judges that the end function is selected, and proceeds to step S7. The contents of the updated user ID table 10a are transferred from the main storage device 6 to the external storage device 1
Transfer to 0 and store. This is the end of the user ID issuing process.

Next, the operation when a certain user starts a certain program will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, the central processing unit 4 is started by the user in the input device 2 in step S11.
The contents of the user ID table 10a are read from the external storage device 10, transferred to the main storage device 6 and stored therein. The user inputs his / her user ID by operating the input device 2, but the central processing unit 4 waits for the input of the user ID in step S12, and when it is input, the user ID input in step S13. Is a user ID existing in the user ID table 10a. If the user ID does not exist, the process proceeds to step S14, and it is determined whether the number of times the user ID has been input has reached, for example, "5". Unless it reaches 5 times, the process returns to step S12 to prompt the user to input the user ID again.
If there is an input error five times in a row, it is considered that something is wrong and all the operations are terminated.

When the input user ID exists in the user ID table 10a, the process proceeds to step S15, and the contents of the program activation information table 10b related to the corresponding user ID is read from the external storage device 10. reading,
It is transferred to the main storage device 6 and stored.

As shown in FIG. 7, the program start information table 10b is information necessary for starting the target program from the program list, that is, "Japanese word processor", "English word processor", "Spreadsheet". ...... The title of the program such as "Email" or "Editor",
Stored are information such as a startup directory, the number of executions, and a reference flag.

Next, the central processing unit 4 carries out step S1.
6, the program activation information table 10b is referred to, and in step S17, the cursor is associated with the program having the largest number of executions (the highest frequency of use) among the programs whose reference flag is “1” that can be referred to. Pointer C
Determine the display position of P. Then, in step S18,
The title names of the program start information table 10b are displayed on the screen of the display device 8 as a list of program displays, and the cursor pointer CP is displayed at the determined display position.
Is displayed.

The screen at this time is, for example, as shown in FIG. On the menu screen immediately after the power is turned on, a list of programs (title names) such as "Japanese word processor", "English word processor", "Spreadsheet" ... "Email", "Editor", etc. is displayed, and In this example, the cursor pointer CP is first displayed on the "editor". This is because the program “editor” is executed 12 times most.

Next, the central processing unit 4 carries out step S1.
Wait for the input of the function to be used from the input device 2 at 9, and then step S
At 20, it is judged whether the end function is selected.
At first, this function is usually not selected, so the flow advances to step S21 to determine whether or not the registration function is selected. The user who selects the registration function operates the input device 2 while looking at the screen of the display device 8 to determine the position where the target program should be registered in the program list, and the title name of the program to be registered, Enter the start directory and start command required to start the target program. The central processing unit 4 executes the processing corresponding to the above operation in steps S22 and S23. At this time, the screen of the display device 8 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
It will be in a state like. When this registration process ends, the process returns to step S18.

When the function input by the user on the input device 2 is neither the end function nor the registration function,
In step S24, the central processing unit 4 prompts the user through the display device 8 to input whether or not the program currently displayed by the cursor pointer CP in the program list is the target program. The user operates either the affirmative key or the negative key on the input device 2. From here, it is roughly divided into two routines.

One is the case where the cursor pointer CP is not displayed on the target program display, and the other is the case where it is displayed.

First, in the case where the cursor pointer CP is not displayed on the target program display, the negative key is operated and the process proceeds from step S24 to step S25 to start the program stored in the main storage device 6. Referring to the information table 10b, step S26
Then, after resetting the reference flag related to the program title name which is currently selected as the display position of the cursor pointer CP and which has the largest number of executions to “0” which is not referable,
It returns to step S17.

In this case, in step S17, the display position of the cursor pointer CP is determined corresponding to the program having the largest number of executions of the programs whose reference flag is "1" that can be referred to, so that after all, If the reference flags "0" and "1" are considered without distinction, the display position of the cursor pointer CP is determined corresponding to the program having the next highest execution frequency (frequency of use). In the next step S18, the cursor pointer C is displayed on the menu screen.
P will be moved. That is, the program with the highest number of executions next to the “editor” has the number of executions of 10
Since it is the first "Japanese word processor", the cursor pointer CP is skipped from the position of "Editor" to the position of "Japanese word processor".

In the same manner, the same operation as described above is repeated until the cursor pointer CP is displayed on the target program display (steps S24 → S25 →).
S26 → S17 → S18 → ... S24). That is, the display position of the cursor pointer CP is sequentially moved to the program display with the next largest number of executions.

Next, the case where the cursor pointer CP is displayed on the target program display will be described.
In this case, the affirmative key is operated in the input device 2 and the process proceeds from step S24 to step S27. In step S27, the central processing unit 4 reads the boot information corresponding to the target program from the program boot information table 10b on the main storage device 6. Then, step S28
Then, the target program is read out from the various programs 10c of the external storage device 10 according to the startup information,
The program is transferred to and stored in the main storage device 6, and the target program is activated.

When the execution of the program is completed, the process proceeds to step S29 and the program start information table 10b
Refer to. In step S30, the cursor pointer CP
For the program which is determined as the display position of and is executed as described above, the execution count is incremented by +1 and all the reference flags are set to “1” which can be referred to in step S31, and then the process returns to step S17.

When the use of this system is terminated, the user selects the termination function on the input device 2, and therefore the process proceeds from step S20 to step S32, and the updated program start information table 10b is stored in the main storage device. 6
After transferring from the external storage device 10 to the external storage device 10 for storage, all the operations are completed.

FIG. 10 shows a virtual screen image when the present system is shared by k users and the display position of the cursor pointer CP on the menu screen immediately after the power is turned on for each of the k users. Is illustrated.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a plurality of users share the same computer system, no matter which user uses the same computer system, until the program is selected and determined on the menu screen. Is configured so that the cursor pointer is sequentially moved and displayed on each program display of the program list in the descending order of the number of executions (frequency of use) for each individual user. Regardless of the frequency of use of the program, any user can stochastically position the cursor pointer on the target program display in the shortest possible time, and start the target program as quickly as possible. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a program selection system in a computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of a user ID issuing process in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of starting a program in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining a program starting operation in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of starting a program in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a user ID table in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a program activation information table in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a display state diagram of a menu screen immediately after the power is turned on in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a display state diagram during registration processing according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a virtual screen image when a plurality of users share the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a display state diagram of a menu screen immediately after the power is turned on in the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 input device 4 central processing unit 6 main storage device 8 display device 10 external storage device 10a user ID table 10b program activation information table 10c various programs CP cursor pointer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A system for displaying a list of a plurality of programs stored in an external storage device, and selecting and executing a program in which a cursor pointer is displayed in the program list, the system comprising: The storage device has a program activation information table that is distinguished for each user ID, and the program activation information table stores the number of past executions for each program. A program selection system in a computer, wherein the cursor pointer is sequentially moved and displayed in the order of program display with the highest number of executions of each program display in the program list until the selection is determined.