JPH07219835A - Decentralized hyper text device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the reference to a file of a link destination by providing a link and an overlay file including the information on the comments, etc., related to an original file registered in a directory service when the overlay file is produced and without changing the original file in reference to a decentralized hypertext device connected to a wide network. CONSTITUTION:A hypertext device 4 is provided with a directory service 1 which stores the registered information on a produced file in a network and notifies the location of the file in reply to an inquiry. Thus the device 4 stores a newly produced file including the information related partly to an existing original file without changing the contents of this original file and also generates the link information between the original and new files to register this information to the service 1. Then the device 4 produces an overlay file including the information on the link original file and the information showing the link destination and stores this file.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to distributed hypertext devices. In recent years, computerization of information has progressed, and many files created by individuals have been stored in a computer in a computerized state. The computers are connected by a high-speed, large-capacity LAN, and the LANs are connected by a low-speed, small-capacity wide area network. for that reason,
Files that are stored in remote computers can be freely transferred over a network, and the basis for accessing them is being created.

However, when transferring a file, it is necessary to know where the file containing the necessary information is located before it. There is also a demand to transfer files in the shortest possible time and without increasing the burden on the network.

A hypertext device (a system for acquiring a file across a directory) has been considered as a means for referring to information without being aware of the file name. However, most conventional hypertexts are supposed to be used in an environment where files are shared using a LAN at the most. Therefore, the conventional hypertext system has a wide area network (WAN).
In the environment via (ork), the following inconveniences occur.

Since the management of the file is performed independently in each distributed computer, the location where the file is recorded (computer address or absolute path name of the file) may change arbitrarily according to the convenience of the administrator. There is. In addition, a wide area network is often low-speed and small in capacity, and it takes a long time to transfer a file via the wide area network each time a link is followed, and the network load becomes heavy.

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to solve the above-mentioned inconvenience, the applicant of the present invention first can follow the location of a file in an environment via a wide area network and reduce communication through the wide area network as much as possible. We proposed a possible hypertext system (Japanese Patent Application No. 5-1895989, "Hypertext System", the title of the invention, filed on July 28, 1993).

The proposed system incorporates a directory service in which various information such as file information is stored in an environment in which a wide area network and a plurality of LANs are connected.

A hypertext device (comprising a computer such as a workstation) having a file device is connected to each LAN. The directory service that can be used in a wide area includes a title corresponding to the content of the file used as a node of the hypertext device and information indicating the location of the file as a unit, which is the first creator of the file. Is registered in the directory service as an attribute of. This will handle changes in file names and addresses.

[0008] Further, DN (Distinguished) on the directory service is used as link information to the registered file.
Name: An expression that is uniquely assigned to distinguish entries such as the first author on the directory service) and a title that is attached to the file, so that the location of the required file can be changed, and It is intended to reduce communication via a wide area network as much as possible.

In hypertext, in addition to following a link to view a file, a comment is often added to the file to organize one's thoughts and help others to read. In the case of ordinary books, annotations and thoughts from another related point of view are written directly in the book or attached with a sticky note. With hypertext, annotations can be created as a single file. Since adding the created file to the original file modifies the original file, it was not possible to inform the user that there is an annotation only by referring to the original file.

[0010] Regarding the link generation, various studies have been made in the conventional hypertext devices, but the files handled are hypertexts having link information from the beginning. Therefore, it is relatively easy to create a link from hypertext to hypertext, and even when an annotation is added, the annotation itself is generated as hypertext, so that the link can be added like other files.

[0011]

As described above, even if a user is reading a file and wants to deepen understanding, there is no link to a related file, or when a file is being created by himself, an annotation or the like is added. There are times when you want to add an appropriate link to add a file, or when you want to find a file created by another person and create a file of another thought or suggestion for it and add it as a link to the original file. In addition, there are many non-hypertext files on the network. If these files can be used in hypertext format, the existing resources can be effectively used, but there has been a problem in the past that there is no method of converting existing files into hypertext and registering them in the directory service.

[0012] That is, there are problems in a method of selecting a file from the file system, a means for confirming whether or not the file is already registered in the directory service, and the fact that the registration cannot be easily performed when the file is not registered. Was there.

In addition, when the file has a replica at the time of reading the original file, and the file transfer source can be selected from a plurality of files (the original file and one or more replicas thereof), There is a problem that a method of determining a file transfer source and a method of recording link information do not exist in the related art.

When the system proposed by the applicant of the present invention is used as the distributed hypertext, when the file at the link destination has a replica, it must be decided from where the file is transferred. Moreover, the purpose of the replica is to reduce the traffic of the wide area network and to transfer the file in a short time. Therefore, it is necessary to select an appropriate site that suits the purpose.

According to the present invention, when a file including information such as annotations related to a file (original file) registered in the directory service is created, it is possible to easily create a link from the original file to the created file. An object is to provide a distributed hypertext device using a directory service used in a wide area network.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a distributed hypertext device capable of registering a file retrieved from a database as a link and increasing the connection between information items. It is another object of the present invention to provide a hypertext device that can store link information in an easy-to-understand notation for a directory service and an added file.

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the principle of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of file information and link information.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a directory service in which various information such as file information is stored, 2 is a wide area network, 3 is an LA connected to the wide area network 2 and the directory 1 and also to a computer or a terminal.
N and 4 are hypertext devices formed by computers such as workstations connected to the LAN 3, 4a is link generation means, 4b is overlay file creation means, and 5 is a file device provided in the file system of the hypertext device 4. , 6 are databases provided on the network.

The directory service 1 holds information about a file created for a certain entry (item), and an entry for a replica stores information about a replica file owned in the domain to which it belongs.

According to the present invention, as a method of converting an existing file into hypertext, the original file is left as it is without writing the link information to the file, and a file including information (annotation etc.) attached to the original file (hereinafter referred to as an overlay file). ) Is newly provided, and link information is written in it. By this, existing files are managed in the same manner as before, and overlay files are newly added to form hypertext.

[0021]

When the user of the hypertext device 4 connected to the LAN 3 of FIG. 1 specifies a file and requests it to the directory service 1, the directory service 1 searches the location information of the requested file and applies it. Get the hypertext device address of the file and its absolute path. Further, the directory service 1 uses the obtained address and absolute path to request the hypertext device 4 having the file.
File transfer to.

As a method of converting an existing file into hypertext, instead of writing the link information in the file, the file is left as it is, a file (overlay file) attached to the file is provided, and the link information is written in the file. did. Also, the overlay file is managed by the directory service 1 in the same manner as an existing file. The overlay file does not have to be recorded in the same place as the existing file, but may be stored in a file device of a completely different machine.

When the information of the file 5a (original file) created by the user is registered in the directory service 1 by the hypertext device 4, the original file is newly annotated with respect to a part of its contents. When a file (referred to as an overlay file) 5b including information such as is created, it is stored in the file device 5 of the hypertext device 4. This newly created file (called an overlay file) is registered in the directory service so that it can be referenced from the original file without changing the contents of the original file. When searching the location where the file is stored in the directory service,
Location information for the overlay file is returned along with the location of the file.

The link generation means 4a designates a place (an area or a sentence for highlighting that there is a file of a link destination) in the original file displayed by the hypertext device 4 where an annotation or the like is made, and specifies the link source. When the area is designated, the link source information is set, the link destination file is selected, and when the file is designated as the link destination, the link destination information is set. This link information is recorded in the overlay file corresponding to the link source file and stored in the file device 5 of the hypertext device 4.

The overlay file stores information about the linked file, and the structure (description format) of the information will be described below. 2A. As shown in, information about the file is information about the author of the file a,
It is composed of information such as a file title b, a file (original or replica) location c, information d on the author of the overlay file, and an overlay file (original or replica) location e.

By using the file information of such a format, as shown in FIG. Link information of the overlay file is constructed as shown in. The information of the file (original file) to which the overlay file should be attached as in the first, and the area that highlights the link to the overlay file when the next link source file is displayed Areas to be highlighted when displaying information and linked files are set.

As the overlay file, a file created by another person can be used as a link source file. In that case, a file (overlay file) containing annotations and the like in its content is created and saved in a state where the file created by another person is displayed by the hypertext device, and then the link source and the link destination are included by the link generation means 4a. Link information is generated and registered in the directory service 1.

Further, when the hypertext device 4 inquires the database 6 by using the information contained in a certain file as a keyword and the information of the file containing the related information is obtained, it can be registered in the overlay file as a link destination.

The user of the hypertext device 4 sees the highlighted display (underline or the like) indicating the link information when referring to the original file in the overlay file created above, and the link destination is You can find out what is. In this case, if the input indicating the highlighted portion is performed, the location of the overlay file at the link destination is obtained, and the overlay file can be accessed via the network to extract and display the content.

[0030]

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system in which the present invention is implemented. In FIG. 3, reference numerals 1 to 3 correspond to respective parts having the same reference numerals in FIG. 1, and DSA1 to DSA3 represented by 1 are directories for realizing a directory service (1 in FIG. 1) provided on a network (LAN or wide area network). It is a service providing device (Directory Service Agent).
In the following description, the directory service 1 is simply referred to as the directory service providing device DSA. Further, in this embodiment, the directory service is an X.X. which is an international standard by ISO and ITU (formerly CCITT). 500 (also called OSI Directory, O
SI: Open System Interconnection).

Reference numeral 30 is a plurality of hypertext devices (corresponding to 4 in FIG. 1) provided as indicated by # 1 to # 3,
Only the internal structure of the # 1 hypertext device (hereinafter referred to as the hypertext device 30) is shown, but the same applies to other devices.

The hypertext device 30 requests a directory service to the directory service 1 connected to the LAN 3 or the wide area network 2 directly, receives a required file, registers a file created by the device itself in the DSA, and the like. Service user
It is configured by a computer such as a workstation having an agent (hereinafter, referred to as DUA) function.

The DUA-front end 31 in the hypertext device 30 is a directory service 1 (DSA).
Interface control, the control unit 32 controls mutual operation of each unit in the hypertext device 30, the window control unit 33 performs window control by multi-window, and each window is incorporated in a corresponding program in advance. Functions are provided. The file creation control unit 34 performs file creation control (including an editor and the like).

The file device 36 stores a file (original) created by itself, a file (replica) transferred from another device, and an overlay file created for annotating other files according to the present invention. Then, the file management unit 35 manages the file system.

The hypertext device 30 is also provided with a display 37 for displaying file contents by window control, a keyboard 38 for data input, a mouse 39 for input operation on the screen, and the like.

The detailed information structure of the overlay file used by the hypertext device of the present invention will now be described. (1) Data structure of overlay file Information about files in the overlay file is expressed by a character string consisting of ASCII characters generated according to the following rules.

.. Enclose items related to a file in parentheses to make one group. When recorded in a directory service, it is easy to read because it is in a grouped list format with information enclosed in parentheses.

.. Items enclose the item name and item value in parentheses. ． Separate each item name with a space. ． Parentheses at the beginning of the item value indicate that there are multiple items, and one item if there is no parentheses.

.. If there is a specific character (for example, "", "(", ")", "+" etc.) in the item value,
Add a "+" in front of it. If there is a "+" when reading, remove it.

Items recorded in the directory service are as follows. Of these, the first author, the title, and the location of the original file are mandatory, and if there is no item value, the item itself is not included. In each item shown below,
“AAA”, “AAB” and the like represent character strings, and, for example, when the item value of the first author is XXX and the title is YYY, the file information is expressed as ((fAuthor XXX) (title YYY)).

A. First Author (fAuthor AAA) b. Authors AAB AAC other than the first author c. Title (title BBB) d. Version (version CCC) e. DSA (replica D DD DDD) for managing replicas Note that DSA is an abbreviation for directory service agent and represents a directory service providing device realized by a computer such as a workstation.

F. Original file location (originalI
EEE) g. First Overlay Author (ovLfAuthor FFF) h. Non-first author of overlay (ovLAuthors GG G
GG) i. Overlay version (ovLversion HHH) j. The location of the overlay's original file (ovLorigi
nalI III) k. Overlay Replica Location (ovLreplicaI JJJ) To indicate where the files are actually stored, connect the Internet address (indicated by Internet Protocol address: IP) or host name of the machine (computer) and the absolute path. Expression is used. An IP address is expressed by connecting decimal numbers with "." Delimiters. For example, the IP address of a workstation or 133.160.47.11, and the host name is "XXXl.
abo.YYY.co.jp ", the absolute path of the file in the file system of this workstation is / usr
In case of / test, "133.160.47.11:/usr/test" (IP
Address) or "XXXlabo.YYY.co.jp: / usr / test"
The (absolute path) represents the storage location of the file.

When link information is recorded in the overlay file using the above file description structure, the link information is composed of the following information. Information on the file that should be accompanied by the overlay file described above The area for displaying that there is a link when displaying the link source file. Link destination file information described in the above representation method. Area to be highlighted when displaying The overlay file is a. And b. It is described by and.

A. On the first line of the overlay file, the information of the original file corresponding to it is described in the above notation format. b. From the second line onward, the following three lines describe the information for one link.

The first line is the position information of the anchor in the link source file. The second line describes the linked file information in the above notation format. The third line is the link position information in the link destination file.

The types of files handled are a PostScript (PostScript: page description language that describes an image of a document to be printed or displayed) file and an ordinary ASCII (ASCII) file. B. Above. The link position information used in and is different depending on whether the file is Postscript or ASCII, and is specified in the following formats.

In the case of Postscript: It is expressed in the area of "ps (page number), x xx yy yy", and (x, y)
The rectangle with (xx, yy) as the diagonal is the relevant area. However, the origin is at the lower left of the window.

In the case of ASCII file: "text start e
The area is represented by "nd", and it starts from the start byte of the file
The area is up to the byte. FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the data of the overlay file having the above configuration. The specific example of FIG. 4 is an example of the case where the link relationship as shown in FIG. 5 is provided.

The relationship when two overlay files (link destinations) are provided for the original file (link source) is shown. The example of FIG. Is provided as a link source ASCII file A, and as a link destination b. Postscript file B shown in c. And ASCII file C shown in FIG. The relationship is as shown in a. Regarding the items written in the 92-97-byte area (highlighted by reversing when displaying the file contents) of the ASCII file A shown in (4), another PostScript file composed of information such as annotations A file B is created, and a. Regarding the items written in the area of 105 bytes to 115 bytes of the file A indicated by, another ASCII file C composed of sentences representing annotations is created.

In FIG. 3, the first (first line) 40 is the information of the file A of the link source of FIG. 5 (corresponding to a. Above).
As information 40a about the first author (fAuthor), c (country) = US (US), o (meaning of organization, representing organization name) = ABCco,
ou (organization unit) = DEF, cn
(Common name) = KATO (name) is set, and they are described in order from the top of the hierarchical structure. In addition, "@" in the figure represents a delimiter.

Here, a DN (Distinguished Name) is represented by the information from c to cn regarding the first author, and this DN is used as management information on the directory service 1 (FIG. 1) and a title representing the next file name. (Titl
e) One file is described by combining with 40b. After the title, information 40c indicating the position where the original of this file A is stored is described. In this case, the host name is used, but the IP address may be used.

The next 41 is link information to the overlay file (Postscript) B shown in FIG. 5, and the first 41a is an area (92) to be highlighted in the original file.
.About.97 bytes) and represents the portion indicated by A in FIG.
The following 41b to 41d are the information of the overlay file B, and the DN information 41b related to the first author, the title (file name) 41c, and the file position (machine name etc.) 41d in which the original file is stored are described. It
41e represents an area for highlighting the existence of a link in the information of this file B. Since file B is a Postscript file, two x points on the diagonal of the rectangle,
y coordinate, ie (138,471) and (600,80
0) is stored. When this file B is displayed,
B. The rectangular area is highlighted as indicated by.

The next 42 is the link information to the file C in the overlay shown in FIG.
It has the same structure as 1a to 41d. However, the highlighted area 42a in the file A of the link source is the above 41a.
Is a different area (105 to 115 bytes), and the area 42e highlighted in the information of the file C is a byte position (5 to 10 bytes) because it is an ASCII file.
Is. When this file C is displayed, c. Is highlighted as shown.

As described above, the link information and the notation of the overlay file are in a format that can be easily read by the user, which is convenient for the user (the data can be displayed to easily find an error, and the link can be traced. It will be easier, etc.).

Next, the operation of link generation of an overlay file will be described. (2) Link generation (a) When using a file created by myself When the file is displayed on the display display (Fig. 3) on the hypertext device 30, if you want to add a comment to the file, When the user wants to add the file created by the file to the current file as a link, the user creates an annotation by the editor of the control of the file creation control unit 34, and the file device 3 through the file management unit 35.
Save to 6.

A case where a link is added to the currently displayed file will be described. FIG. 6 is a display example of each window displaying a file, FIG. 7 is a processing flow of setting an area for highlighting a link source and a link destination, and a processing flow of linking files to FIG.

FIG. 6A shows a window for displaying the current file. This window is provided with two buttons, "Link from" and "Link to", which have a function function for linking the links. Is clicked at the position with the mouse (FIG. 3) which is a pointing device, the corresponding link generation process is executed. Further, although FIG. 6 shows an example for an ASCII file, the window for PostScript has the same button.

FIG. 6B shows a file selection window which is displayed for menu selection and the like. In this window, a file list composed of many file names included in the file device and an icon for displaying the files are displayed.

When the file of the annotation created by the user and stored in the file device 36 is linked as an overlay file in a state where the link source file is displayed in the window as shown in FIG. 6A, the information displayed in A is displayed. In order to set an area for indicating that there is a link (a character string area of a description item to which a comment or the like is added), the area in the window A is designated by using the mouse.

In this case, step S of the flow shown in FIG.
1, S3 is executed. Specifically, when the mouse cursor is set to the character string to be highlighted with the mouse and dragged (drag: pulled out), the character string in that part is colored (or inverted) or underlined and highlighted. It For PostScript files,
When you specify a rectangular area (expressed by the coordinates of two diagonal corners) with the mouse, the rectangular area is highlighted with a color or frame. In A of FIG. 6, the "Experiment" portion is highlighted. If you make a mistake, repeat the operation and
When the correct area is highlighted, the "Link from" button is pressed with the mouse, and the highlighted area is recorded as the link source area.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a processing flow of linking an annotation file to an original file (link source). Explaining with the example of FIG. 6, the file selection window B is called and displayed at the same time as the window A for linking. In the file selection window B, a list of saved files is displayed, and some files are displayed as icons.

When a file to be used as a link destination (a file of a created annotation) is selected from the displayed contents, the icon of the file is dragged by operating the mouse, and the window A is displayed at the same time. Pull out and drop (S in Fig. 8
1). Note that dragging means pressing a mouse button and moving the mouse as it is, and dropping means moving the mouse by dragging and releasing the mouse button on another window.

By this, the window control unit 33 activates a specific function which is incorporated in the window program in advance. This notifies the file of the window that dropped the absolute path of the file corresponding to the icon. As a result, the file control unit of the hypertext device 30 records the notified absolute path and displays the notified file in the window (C in FIG. 6) using this (S2 in FIG. 8).

The content of the selected link destination file is displayed in the newly displayed window shown in FIG. 6C. The processing flow is shown in FIG.
S3 is executed.

Explaining with the example of FIG. 6, in the window C, the portion to be highlighted when the window is displayed by tracing the link is designated by the mouse. This specification method is
The method is the same as the method for specifying the link source area, and the link destination may be either an ASCII file or a PostScript file. After specifying the area, this time "Link to"
Press the button, and this will be recorded as the link destination.

When the hypertext device detects that both the link source area and the link destination area have been set, link information is generated using the window and the set area.

In the above description, an example of linking when the linked file has not been displayed has been shown.
Drag and drop an icon (representing a file) from the file selection window (B in Fig. 6) even if the linked file is already displayed or if you want to add a link to another part of the same file It can be performed in the same way as above, except that the steps to Further, as shown in the flow of FIG. 7, either the link source area or the link destination area may be specified first.

In the above example, the window displays "Link from
The area is specified by pressing the button and the "Link to" button, but it may be specified by other function selecting means such as a pull-down menu.

The information on the link generated in this way is registered in the directory service (for example, the directory service providing device DSA1 in FIG. 3) or the file device (see FIG. 3) by the registration method described in (3) below. Of 3
It is recorded in the overlay file of 6).

Link Information Registration Method The hypertext device 30 uses the "Link from" and "Link
When "to" is pressed and it is detected that both areas have been fixed, registration processing is performed. In this case, the processing flow of link information registration as shown in FIG. 9 is executed.

That is, the DSA 1 (FIG. 3) is searched to see if the file is registered in the directory service. X. In the directory service using 500, the hypertext device 30 is previously provided with the DN of the user.
And the host name and IP address of the machine being used are recorded. When the files of the link source and the link destination are those created by the user of this hypertext device 30, the hypertext device 30 uses the user's D
All the file information recorded in N is taken out, and it is searched whether there is a match using the host name or IP address and the absolute path of the file (S in FIG. 9).
1). Alternatively, X. The search function of 500 is used to search for a match between the host name or IP address and the absolute path of the file.

The result of this search is judged (S2 in FIG. 9),
If there is a match, it means that the file has already been registered, and the process moves to step S6. If it is found that the information has not been registered, a registration window for entering the necessary information is displayed for that purpose (S in FIG. 9).
3) Then, the user inputs data required for registration (S4 in FIG. 9). Subsequently, a process of registering the file in the directory service providing device (DSA1) is performed.

When the file is registered in the directory service, it is next checked whether the user has already created an overlay file in the link source file (S in FIG. 9).
6). This means that the item value of the first author of the overlay of the link source file (corresponding to 40a and 42b in FIG. 4) matches the DN of the user, and the overlay original (42 in FIG. 4)
It suffices to check whether the host name or IP address of the item value of (corresponding to d) matches that of the machine used.

If there is a match, the overlay file is used and no new overlay file is created. If there is no match, the hypertext device creates an overlay file and writes it to the directory service (X.500). Registered in DSA1) in FIG. 3 (S7 in FIG. 9). At this point, since all the information to be recorded in the overlay file is prepared, the link information is written in the overlay file using the data structure format of the overlay file described in (1) above (S8 in FIG. 9).

When the overlay file is created as described above and the link information is registered in the directory service, when the user refers to the overlay file, the flow shown in FIG. 10 is executed.

The file (original file) obtained by the user's request and the overlay file added thereto are used to display the file on the display, and the highlighted portion written in the overlay file is highlighted. (S1, S2 in FIG. 10). When the user designates the highlighted part (at step S3), the hypertext device inquires the directory service about the position of the linked file corresponding to the part (at step S4).

The directory service returns the position of the link destination file and the positions of the overlay files added to the link destination and their replicas (at step S5).
The hypertext device determines a file transfer source (at this time, a file transfer source selection method described later can be used), and transfers the file from the file transfer source to the user's hypertext device (S6 in FIG. 10). ), The link destination file is displayed, and the highlighted portion recorded in the overlay file is displayed (at step S7). If there are multiple overlay files, display the respective highlighting points for all of them.

Next, when the user adds the link information to the file already displayed by the hypertext device, the writing can be performed by the processing flow of writing to the overlay file shown in FIG. First, the directory service asks the directory service if there is an overlay file for the user as the link source file (S1 in FIG. 11). If the user has not created the overlay file, the hypertext device creates the overlay file. , The information of the link source file is described in the first line in the format shown in the data structure of the overlay file in (1) above, and the overlay file is registered in the directory service (S2). After doing this registration, or if there is an overlay file for the user,
The user informs the hypertext device of the location of the link source file and the location of the link destination file using the window described above (at step S3). The hypertext device writes the link information input by the user in the overlay file for the user in the above format (S4).

(B) Case of Generating Link by Searching from Database In the above description of the embodiment, an example in which a user creates an overlay file for a file created by himself and registers link information has been mainly described. However, many electronic files are stored on the network.
Hypertext cannot use existing resources because it does not have the ability to find files on the network that are not related by these links.

Therefore, the files on the network can be used by combining the database with the hypertext device. Selection of Link Destination Using Database FIG. 12 is a block configuration diagram for searching the database to generate a link. Each reference numeral 1 to 5 in the figure is
It is the same as the same reference numeral in FIG.

In the database 6, the files existing on the network (wide area network 2 and LAN 3) and the X. The file information registered in 500 is recorded. The file information registered in the database is the file itself or an index of the file, and X. The DN of the author of the file registered in 500, the title attached to the file, and the like are used. The database 6 is provided with a full-text search system. When a word string that is a sentence in natural language is input as a keyword, the file name or file information is returned in order from the file that uses those words most often.

FIG. 13 is a processing flow of link generation using a database. This processing is performed when there is a file currently displayed on the hypertext device 4, a suitable file is searched for as a link for this file, and a new linked file is added.
The process of is started.

First, the hypertext device inputs a keyword input from a keyboard or a file or file data to inquire the database (S1, S2 in FIG. 13). For example, in the case of an ASCII file, the relevant portion of the file is dragged with the mouse to specify the area, and the database 6 is inquired using the character string in the area as a keyword.

The database 6 selects some of the most relevant files in order from the files recorded in response to the inquiry, and returns the file information. Your name, file information to answer is the author of the file D
It is the registration information of the directory service consisting of N and the title of the file.

The hypertext device is a database 6
When the registration information of the directory service is obtained from
S3), a search request is issued to the directory service using the information (S4 in FIG. 13). The directory service returns the host name or IP address of the machine where the file is stored and the absolute path of the file (Fig. 13
S5). This information is used to store the corresponding file in the storage location (either the original location or the replica location, whichever is best)
And is displayed on the display of the hypertext device 4 (S6 in FIG. 13).

The user looks at the displayed file, and if there is an appropriate file as the link destination file, the method described above for that file (drag and drop with the mouse and button operation for designating the link source and the link destination) When the file is selected by (S7), the hypertext device additionally registers the file selected by the user in the overlay file of the file initially displayed in the above-described format (S8).

Thus, by searching for a file from the database using the keyword input from the hypertext device and registering the searched file as a link, it is not necessary to search the database for subsequent use. Therefore, it is possible to save the computer resources as well as the time for searching is unnecessary.

(3) Selection of File Transfer Source Generally, since a wide area network has a lower communication speed and a narrower bandwidth than a LAN, it is desirable not to use the wide area network and increase the traffic as much as possible. Therefore, when the hypertext device transfers a file from a transfer source that stores the file, if a replica exists for the file, it is necessary to determine the file transfer source in consideration of the transfer time and traffic of the network.

For example, when a file including a replica exists in the machine B on the same LAN as the transfer destination machine A and the machine C on another LAN via the wide area network, the file is transferred from the machine C to the machine A. Than machine B
It is clear that the file transfer time from the machine to the machine A is shorter.

Therefore, when files can be transferred from a plurality of machines, the file transfer source is selected. FIG. 14 is a processing flow of selecting a file transfer source.

Here, the hypertext device records in advance its own machine name and IP address. In addition, a machine registration file is prepared, and the machine name and IP address of the machine to be the file transfer source are registered in priority to the file. In this case, the machines in the same network as the self-device are given the highest priority, and the machines in the adjacent networks are registered in order, such as in the next order.

The hypertext device queries the directory service for the location of the file (S in FIG. 14).
1). The machine name or IP address obtained from the directory service is classified (at step S2). In this example, they are classified into the following.

Machine name or IP address of own machine It does not correspond to any machine name or IP address registered in the machine registration file.

Subsequently, the classified results are discriminated. First, it is determined whether or not a file is present in the device being used by the user (whether the above applies) (S3), and then it is determined whether the device is recorded in the registration file (whether the above applies). At the same step S4), it is finally determined whether or not it is another device (corresponding to the above) (step S5). If the corresponding machine name or IP address exists in this order,
A file is transferred from there, and when there are a plurality of selected devices, one of them is selected (at step S6).

[0095]

According to the present invention, link information can be easily added to a file created by oneself or another person without changing the file, and a plurality of overlay files can be added to the file. Link information can be easily added.

Further, the file retrieved from the database can be registered as a link. Therefore, the connection between information can be increased. Furthermore, since the link information can be stored in the directory service and the overlay file in a structure that can be read and understood by the user, it is easy to input the link information and understand the link information.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of file information and link information.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a system in which the present invention is implemented.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of data in an overlay file.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a link relationship.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of each window for displaying a file.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a processing flow of setting an area for highlighting a link source and a link destination.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing flow for linking files.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing flow of registration of link information.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of referring to an overlay file.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a processing flow of writing to an overlay file.

FIG. 12 is a block configuration diagram for searching a database to generate a link.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a processing flow of link generation using a database.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a processing flow of selecting a file transfer source.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Directory Service 2 Wide Area Network 3 LAN 4 Hypertext Device 4a Link Generation Means 4b Overlay File Creation Means 5 File Device 6 Database

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A distributed hypertext device connected to a wide area network, comprising a directory service for holding registered information about files created in the wide area network and notifying an inquiry of the location of the file, etc. The hypertext device saves a new file including information related to a part of the existing original file when the new file is created, and stores the original file and the original file without changing the content of the original file. Link generation means for generating link information with the created file, and overlay file generation means for generating an overlay file composed of information of the original file which is the link source and link information showing the link destination are provided. The registered link information is registered in the directory service. And distributed hypertext device. 2. The information about a file according to claim 1, wherein the information on the original file includes at least the author name, title, and file location of the original file, and the overlay file information including the author, title, and file location of the overlay file. Information is written in the overlay file, and the overlay file is provided in the form of information about the file in association with the link source file information and the link destination.
A distributed hypertext device characterized by including information on a position to be highlighted in a link source file to indicate the presence of a link, information on a file to be a link destination, and information on a position to be highlighted when a link destination file is displayed. . 3. The hypertext device according to claim 1, wherein the hypertext device displays a plurality of windows, and a window for displaying the contents of the file and a file selection by displaying the file as an icon. A window controller is provided for displaying the windows at the same time, selecting one file from the file selection window, and displaying the contents of the file to notify the absolute path of the file displayed as an icon to the file in the window. A distributed hypertext device, wherein link information between the link source file and the link destination file is created using the notified information and the displayed file information. 4. The hypertext device according to claim 3, wherein the link destination file is registered in the DN (user identification name on the directory service) of the user who created the link destination file. If a file is not registered when a search is requested using DN and file name, a window for inputting to register the file to the directory service is displayed, and the information required for file registration is displayed in the window. Is input, the information including the DN of the user, the title of the file, and the location of the file is registered in the directory service.
A distributed hypertext device characterized by using a title and link information as link information. 5. The file according to claim 1, wherein the file and the registration information of the directory service related to the file are recorded, the registration information including the relevant keyword is searched for the inquiry by the keyword, and the relevant registration information is notified. A database is provided in the wide area network, and the hypertext device makes an inquiry to the database using the input keyword or file data while displaying the current file, and obtains the registration information of the directory service as a search result for the inquiry. And, by using the registration information, transferring and displaying the corresponding file from the location of the file, and when making the file the link destination file, additionally registering it in the overlay file of the link source file using the link information related to the file. Characterized by San hypertext device. 6. The information according to claim 1, wherein the information on the file is at least the author name, title, and
Information on the original file, including the location of the file and its location when the replica exists, the author of the overlay file,
It is composed of a title, a file location, and information of an overlay file including its location when a replica exists. The hypertext device stores its own machine name and IP address in advance and gives priority to the file transfer source. It has a registration file in which the machine names and IP addresses of other machines that you want to set are registered, and in response to a file inquiry to the directory service, the machine name or IP address of the machine where the files and replicas are stored can be obtained as the search result. , From the obtained search results, the machine name or IP address of the own machine is preferentially selected, and if the machine name or IP address of the own machine does not exist, the machine name or IP registered in the above registration file Select an address and select the selected machine or IP address Distributed hypertext apparatus characterized by the transfer of files as the transfer source to scan.