JPH0644109A - Installing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize high speed installation with an easy operation for any computer. CONSTITUTION:In an installing method by which arbitrary software is installed from a single medium in the computer, compressed installing data 11a and installing data 11b which is not compressed are previously stored in the single medium 11 and software is installed in the computer by using any of installing data based on a prescribed condition. The prescribed condition is decided by the combination of capacity for developing compressed data on the computer being the object of installation and the transfer capacity of data from the reader of the installation medium to the computer, for example.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an installation method for installing arbitrary software on a computer from a single medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Installing software in a computer is to read the software stored in an installation medium and transfer it to the memory of the computer so that the software can be used in the computer. This installation may include reading the installation medium with a reader locally attached to the computer and transferring the software, or transferring the software from a reader connected to another computer connected by the network. is there. In particular, when software is transferred via a network, there is a limitation due to the transmission speed of the network, so it takes time to transfer the software and installation takes time. In addition, the load on the network is increased, and the use of the network by users of other networks is restricted. This becomes more remarkable as the data capacity of software is larger. As a method for solving this problem, when the software has a large data capacity at the time of installation via a conventional network, the software is compressed. In the computer to be installed, the compressed software was decompressed and restored to its original form. As a result, at the time of transfer, the data amount of the software is reduced, and the speed can be improved.

[0003]

However, when the data is compressed in this way, it is necessary to decompress the data.
There are various types of computers to be installed that have different processing speeds depending on the performance of the CPU and other conditions. In the case of a computer with a slow processing speed, it takes time to decompress the data. When the installation data is compressed, the sum of the transfer time of the compressed data and the expansion processing time of the compressed data is necessary as at least the installation time. On the other hand, when the data is not compressed, data transfer time is required for installation, but decompression processing time is not required. Therefore, in installation of a computer having a low processing speed, if installation is performed using an installation medium that stores compressed software, it may take time rather than that without compression. This is because the demerit of increasing the processing time by the decompression processing outweighs the merit of shortening the transfer time by the compression. Thus, the conventional method of compressing data in order to speed up data transfer in installation is advantageous when the time required for decompression processing is sufficiently smaller than the time required for software data transfer, If the time required for the decompression process is sufficiently large compared to the time required for the transfer of software data, it would be rather disadvantageous. In addition, compressed software data and uncompressed software data media have to be prepared, and it has been a cumbersome task for the operator to replace the media in consideration of installation conditions.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide an installation method capable of performing the installation faster and with a simple operation regardless of the environment of the installation target computer.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the installation method of the present invention is a method for installing arbitrary software from a single medium into a computer, in which compressed installation data and compressed installation data are compressed. The installation data is stored in advance in a single medium, and the computer is installed using one of the installation data based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is a condition determined by a combination of, for example, the ability of the installation target computer to expand the compressed data, the ability to transfer data from the installation medium reading device to the computer, and the like. Compressed installation data and uncompressed installation data are stored together in a single medium, so you can easily and efficiently install by selecting either one according to such prescribed conditions. Becomes

In another aspect of the installation method of the present invention, the compressed installation data and the uncompressed installation data are stored together with selection information for selecting one of them. ing. The selection information is, for example, a table having a combination of a capacity of a computer to be installed, a compressed data decompression capacity such as presence / absence of network connection, and a data transfer capacity, and corresponding compression or non-compression selection information. Composed. At the time of installation, the table is indexed by information such as the expansion capacity and transfer capacity of the computer to be installed, and the compression or non-compression on the single medium is selected. Users can install efficiently without being aware of compressed data or not.

[0007]

【Example】

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an installation medium and an installation target computer for explaining a first embodiment of the installation method of the present invention. The single installation medium 11 stores both the installation data 11a that is not data-compressed and the installation data 11b that is data-compressed. These data are read by the reading device 12. The computer to be installed comprises a processor 13, a main storage device 14, an external storage device 15, a display device 16, an input device 17, a reading device 12 and the like connected by a data transfer mechanism 18. The program for the installation work is stored in the main storage device 14, and when this is started, a display prompting the user to input the data required for the installation is displayed on the display device 16, and the operator is designated by the input device 17 accordingly. Enter the item. The data to be input include information that specifies the ability to expand compressed data, such as the type of processor of the computer to be installed, and the type of mechanism for exchanging data between the reader 12 and the computer (network connection or local Enter information that identifies the data transfer capability, such as connection. The installation work program executed by the processor 13 compares the input information, that is, the compressed data decompression ability and the data transfer ability, and if the ability to decompress the compressed data is superior, the installation data is compressed data as the installation data. Select, and select uncompressed data if the data transfer capability is better. When the compressed data is selected as the installation data, the compressed installation data is read from the reading device 15 and temporarily stored in the main storage device 14. next,
The processor 13 executes decompression processing on the compressed installation data accumulated in the main memory 14, and stores the decompressed installation data in the external memory 15. On the other hand, when the data transfer capability is superior, the uncompressed installation data is read from the reading device 15 and stored in the external storage device 15 as it is via the main storage device 14.

According to this embodiment, both compressed and uncompressed installation data are stored in a single medium,
The operator selects either compressed or uncompressed data only by inputting information corresponding to the compressed data decompression ability and the data transfer ability of the computer to be installed. In the selection, the data for which the efficient installation can be performed is selected according to the input information of the operator, so that the installation can be performed at a higher speed than the conventional technique. Further, since the compressed data and the uncompressed installation data are stored in a single medium, the above selection can be performed without extra trouble such as exchanging the medium.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the second embodiment. In addition, selection information 21c for selecting an installation method and an installation program 21d are additionally stored in an installation medium. However, other configurations are almost the same. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the data structure when a magnetic tape is used as the installation medium in this embodiment. In the figure, 31 is a read head position of the magnetic tape, 32 is an end of file mark (EOF mark) on the magnetic tape, 33 is an installation program for installing software, 34 is software selection information, and 35 is
Is an uncompressed software data group for CPU-1,
36 is a data compressed software data group for the CPU-1, 37 is an uncompressed software data group for the CPU-2, 38 is a data compressed software data group for the CPU-2, 39 is software for the CPU-n It shows that the data group continues.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the data structure of the selection information 34. Reference numeral 41 is a character string indicating the type of CPU, 42 is information on whether or not the connection is via a network (whether or not there is a network), 43 is a position up to the position where the software selected by the combination of the CPU type and the presence or absence of the network is stored. The number of EOFs is shown. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing steps for installing software from the magnetic tape having the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Hereinafter, the installation process will be described step by step with reference to FIG.

In this example, a magnetic tape is used as an installation medium and a hard disk is used as an auxiliary storage device. As shown in FIG. 3, since the installation program 33 exists on the installation medium, the tape is set in the reading device 22. The installation program 33 is loaded and executed. In the execution, first, in Step 1, preprocessing specific to the installation program is performed to check the adaptability of the installation conditions. Then, in Step 2, the character string of the CPU architecture is acquired and stored in the variable arch. In Step 3, the information indicating the presence / absence of network connection is acquired, and the variable ne
Store in t. In Step 4, the selection information 34 is stored in the external storage device (disk) as a selection information file.
The selection information is stored as a table having the data structure shown in FIG. 4 as described above. In Step 5, preparations necessary for analyzing the acquired information are performed. S
In step 6, the obtained variable arch and variable net
It is determined whether or not there is an entry that includes both of these in the selection information file. If not, an error message is displayed at Step 15. If so, in Step 7, the position on the magnetic tape is acquired and stored in the variable count. Ste
In p8, the magnetic tape is rewound, and in step 9, the tape reading position is skipped by the EOF count. At Step 10, desired software that matches the CPU architecture and the presence or absence of a network is stored in the main storage device. In Step 11, it is determined whether or not the selected data is compressed. If the selected data is not compressed, it is stored in the external storage device as it is. If it is compressed, the compressed data is processed in Step 12. Is expanded and then stored in the external storage device in Step 13. At Step 13, post-processing such as an end message is performed, and the process ends.

In this embodiment, high-speed installation is possible as in the first embodiment. In addition, since a mechanism for automatically determining the selection is incorporated in the installation program, the installation can be performed without being aware of whether or not the data is compressed data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the installation of a computer connected to the network. From the remote host 62 to the network 64 to the processor 64
When installing the software via 3
Since the data transfer speed is slow, the transfer time is shortened by transferring the compressed data by selecting the compressed data, and the processor 64 expands the compressed data and stores it in the external storage device 66. Although it requires extra time for the decompression process, the saving of the transfer time by the compressed transfer outweighs the speed of installation. On the other hand, when the installation is performed by the reading device 65 directly connected to the processor, since the data transfer does not take time, the uncompressed data is selected, so that the installation can be performed at high speed without decompression processing. You can In any case, since both compressed and uncompressed installation data are stored in a single installation medium, no extra effort such as replacement of the medium is required.

[0014]

According to the present invention, since compressed installation data and uncompressed installation data are stored together in a single medium, it is possible to comply with conditions such as transfer capability and compressed data decompression capability. , Only by selecting one, it becomes possible to easily and efficiently install.

Further, according to the aspect of the present invention in which the selection information is also prepared in a single medium for installation, the selection information is set at the time of installation depending on conditions such as expansion capacity and transfer capacity of the computer to be installed. Refer to to select whether to install by compression or non-compression on a single medium. The operator can perform an efficient installation without being aware of compressed data or not.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an installation medium and a computer to be installed for explaining a first embodiment of an installation method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an installation medium and a computer to be installed for explaining a second embodiment of the installation method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a data structure on a magnetic tape according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of position information according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of software installation processing according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining installation of a computer connected to a network.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 21 ... Install medium, 11a, 21a ... Install data (uncompressed), 11b, 21b ... Install data (compressed), 12, 22 ... Read device, 13, 23 ... Processor, 14, 24 ... Main memory Device, 15, 25 ... External storage device, 16, 26 ... Display device, 17, 27 ... Input device.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An installation method for installing arbitrary software into a computer from a single medium, in which compressed installation data and uncompressed installation data are stored in advance in a single medium, and based on a predetermined condition, An installation method characterized in that a computer is installed using any of the installation data. 2. The installation method according to claim 1, wherein information for selecting either the compressed installation data or the uncompressed installation data is stored in the single medium.