JPH0816553A - Document processing system and document processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always perform an access with excellent responsiveness to a file by excluding and updating a document file and the control information by page units by a first document processor and subsequently opening the exclusion of the excluded document file and/or the control information. CONSTITUTION:Document processors 1 to 6 are connected one another via transceiver 8 to 13 and the processors 1 to 6 are capable of using all document files data existing in the respective document processors. At this stage, because the range in which the updating of data in document files is generated is specified in accordance with the edition contents performed on the side of an editing device and the exclusive control of a data access is performed for only the range concerned, a mode delicate exclusive control is performed according to a document edition. Thus, even if many users or the editing devices perform an edition by sharing a document file, a time for waiting access due to access competition becomes shorter and a system with higher responsiveness can be constructed by the more delicate exclusive control.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a document processing system and a document processing method, and more particularly to a document processing system and a document processing method in which a plurality of document processing devices share one document file to perform document processing. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a document processing in which a document file is stored in a file system that can be shared by a plurality of users, and at the same time, the file read right and modification right are limited to a specific user, A general method is to control so that an unspecified number of users change the data without permission, and while one user is reading the data, another user does not rewrite the data and cause data inconsistency. It was target.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, a plurality of users collaborate with each other via the network.
When two document files are edited at the same time, the document files may be accessed at the same time. Therefore, when one user changes the data, all the other users are notified of the change and the data consistency seen from all users is confirmed. It is necessary to perform processing to retain the sex.

[0006] Such data consistency maintaining processing is performed as the number of users who jointly edit documents increases.
The updating work of the document file by the user also frequently occurs, and accordingly, the data consistency maintaining process frequently occurs. Until this data consistency processing is completed, the user is not allowed to access the document file. Therefore, if the data consistency maintaining process frequently occurs during the document editing work, an access wait occurs, and as a result, the responsiveness of the document editing process deteriorates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and an object thereof is to provide a document processing system and a document processing method in which the responsiveness of file access in the document editing process using a shared document file is improved. There is.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the document processing system of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, at least the first and second document processing devices are connected to each other via a network, and the document file is stored in the first file.
And a second document processing device for performing document processing shared by the second document processing device, wherein the first document processing device comprises:
First storage means for holding the document file, second storage means for holding management information of the document file on a page-by-page basis of the document file, and the document file and the document file according to a request from the second document processing device. An exclusion unit that excludes the management information in page units, an updating unit that updates the document file and / or the management information that is excluded by the exclusion unit, and an exclusion unit that is updated after the updating by the updating unit. The second document processing apparatus includes an editing unit that edits the document file, and an editing result by the editing unit, and an exclusive release unit that releases an exclusion of the document file and / or the management information. A statement comprising requesting means for requesting an update request to the first document processing device so as to be reflected in a file. It includes a processing system.

According to another aspect of the invention, at least first and second document processing devices are connected to each other via a network, and a document file is shared by the first and second document processing devices to perform document processing. A method of processing a document, comprising: a first storing step of holding the document file in a first storage medium of the first document processing device; and management information of the document file in page units of the document file. A second storage step of holding the second storage medium of the document processing device of
An editing step of editing the document file in the second document processing device; and a first document processing device in the second document processing device so that the editing result of the editing step is reflected in the document file. A request process for requesting an update request, an exclusion process for exclusion of the document file and the management information in page units in accordance with a request from the second document processing device for an earlier update request, and the document excluded in the exclusion process. An update step of updating the file and / or the management information, and an exclusive release step of releasing the exclusion of the document file and / or the management information excluded in the exclusion step after the update by the updating step is completed. And a document processing method.

[0008]

With the above arrangement, according to the present invention, based on the update request from the second document processing device, the first document processing device holding the document file and its management information manages the document file and its management page by page. It operates so as to exclude information, update the excluded document file and / or management information, and release the exclusion of the excluded document file and / or management information after the update is completed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a network environment in which a document processing apparatus according to a typical embodiment of the present invention is used. In FIG. 1, 1 to 6 are independently operable document processing devices, 7 is a network bus that allows the respective document processing devices 1 to 6 to access each other, and 8 to 13 are provided on the network bus 7 and are the respective document processing devices 1 to 1. Reference numeral 6 is a transceiver for exchanging information with the network. Document processing devices 1 to 6 via transceivers 8 to 13
Are connected to each other, and all the document processing devices 1 to 6 can use the document file data existing in each document processing device. The document processing devices 1 to 6 have the same configuration.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the document processing apparatus 1. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 31 denotes a CPU that controls the entire document processing apparatus, and executes the processing shown in the flowchart described later to share the document file data with other document processing apparatuses and perform processing such as document editing and document printing. I do. The CPU 31 is connected to the network interface 30 by the system bus 34, and the transceiver 8
And CP of another document processing device via the network bus 7.
You can exchange information with U.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a ROM for storing various control programs executed by the CPU 31, a document processing program in consideration of file sharing, which will be described later, and font data used when developing a print image, and 33 is used as a work area for programs executed by the CPU 31. The RAM is a RAM for temporarily storing various data and print image data obtained via the system bus 34. A hard disk 28 connected by a disk interface 29 stores a large amount of document data to be co-edited.

When the document data is stored in its own processing device, the CPU 31 causes the disk interface 29 to operate.
The data is read from the hard disk 28 via the. On the other hand, when the document data is stored in another processing device, the CPU 31 issues a data access and read / write request to the CPU of another document processing device via the network interface 30, the transceiver 8 and the network 7. Upon receiving the request, the CPU of the document processing device reads the corresponding data from the hard disk of the device via the disk interface of the device, and through the network interface of the device, the transceiver connected to the device, and the network bus 16. The corresponding data is transmitted. In this way, even if the document data is stored in the hard disk of its own device or in the hard disk of another document processing device, it is possible to perform operations such as editing and printing in the same manner.

Reference numeral 23 is a CRT for displaying the contents of the VRAM 24, which can display the status of document editing work.
The user can perform editing work using the keyboard 25 and the mouse 26 connected to the input interface 27, and can output the edited document from the printer 21 connected to the printer interface 22.

Next, the structure of document data for creating and editing a document by the document processing apparatus having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure (layout) of one page of a document which is the object of document creation and editing. One of the pages shown in FIG. 3 is a body composed of a text string continuous to all pages of a document, a fixed block whose display (or print) position is fixed at a position on a designated page regardless of document editing, and a document of the body. It is composed of a floating block whose display (or print) position moves in association with editing. The fixed block and the floating block display data such as a figure such as a table and a line drawing, an image, or text.

4 to 5 are diagrams showing the structure of file data of a document as shown in FIG. This file data is composed of a substantive data part corresponding to the substantive part of the document data as shown in FIG. 4 and a management data part necessary for managing the document data as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the substantive data section includes one body data, a plurality of floating block data, and a plurality of fixed block data. On the other hand, the management data section is, as shown in FIG. 5, a page management table composed of a plurality of page management blocks holding configuration information for each page. Each page management block holds data required to display the designated page.

When it is desired to expand a specific page for display by the information held in this page management block, the page management block of the specific page is read and the fixed block n (n = 1,
N) First, the fixed block data in the corresponding page is expanded in the RAM 33 by referring to the address, and then the body data is expanded in the RAM 33 by referring to the body data start address and the body group / font information. Further, referring to the floating block n (n = 1, N) address in the block, the data of the floating block in the corresponding page is first stored in the RAM 33.
Expand to.

The text group / font information indicates the group structure of the text (for example, vertical writing or horizontal writing, and if horizontal writing, how many columns are provided on one page). It is setting information for setting whether or not there is, and specifying information such as what kind of font of what size is used. Further, the page management block has a body data change flag indicating whether or not the body has been changed, and if the size or display position of any one fixed block of the page is changed, the flag value is ON. Fixed block change flag that indicates whether or not the size or display position of each fixed block has been changed.
= 1, N) Change flag, whether the size of any one floating block of the page is changed, the value of the flag is set to ON. Floating block change flag, whether or not the size of each floating block is changed. A floating block n (n = 1, N) change flag indicating whether or not is provided.

By the way, the normal document editing work is performed in a specific
The page is displayed on the CRT 23, and the page management table of the corresponding document file is expanded in the memory area of the device in which the document file exists (hereinafter, this device is referred to as a management device), while each user writes a document. A document processing program activated in a device used for editing (hereinafter, this device is referred to as an editing device) first accesses the page management table. Then, the document processing program of each user accesses the page management block of the page to be edited by himself / herself, and reads the document data from the hard disk of the management device according to the information of this management block to display / edit (add / delete / change, etc.). ).

Next, the details of the collaborative editing process by a plurality of users using the document processing apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration will be described.
This will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

First, the editing process executed by the management apparatus is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. here,
It is assumed that the process is started when a request for opening a document file including a page management table (this is called a shared open) is issued from the editing device to the management device.

First, in step S801, in response to the open request from the editing device, the management data part and the actual data part of the corresponding document file are opened, and then in step S802, the user who tries to open the document file in common. Create a list. In step S803, it is checked whether or not there is a data read request from each editing device. If it is determined that there is a data read request, the process advances to step S804 to send the document data or the page management table data to the editing device that has made the request. When sending this document data or page management table, in order to prevent loss of data consistency due to access conflict with data change requests from other editing devices, from the start of sending the data until the end Lock the file and lock out access requests from other editing devices. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no data read request, the process skips step S804 and proceeds to step S805.

In step S805, it is checked whether or not there is a data change request from each editing device. Here, if it is determined that there is a data change request, the process proceeds to step S806, and if it is determined that there is no request, the process proceeds to step S814. Step S8
In 06, in order to prevent a user of an editing device other than the editing device that made the data change request from accessing the data being changed, the specific page data to be changed in the corresponding document file and the page management table corresponding to the page are locked. To do. Next, in step S807, it is checked whether or not the data change request relates to the page management table, and if so, the process proceeds to step S808 to all management devices (users) who have opened the corresponding document file. On the other hand, a message to the effect that the page management table is changed is transmitted, and in step S809, the page management table is actually updated. When the page table is changed, the set status of documents is usually changed, so the above message is sent. However, whether the user who receives the message edits the document according to the received message or not is determined by the user. It is up to you.

On the other hand, if the data change request is not only for the page management table but for the actual data part of the document file, the process proceeds to step S810, and the data change request is for deleting or adding information. To see if it's like a file size change. Here, if it is determined that the change request involves changing the file size, the process advances to step S811 to send the data of the file to all editing devices (users) who have opened the document file. Notify where and how much to increase and decrease, and change the page management table. Each editing device (user) notified of this information can continue to access the same data even after the substance data section is changed based on the information. On the other hand, if it is determined that the change request does not involve changing the file size,
The process skips step S811 and skips step S81.
Proceed to 2 to update the actual data part of the document file. Then, in step S813, the page management table corresponding to the page of the previously locked document file is unlocked.

In step S814, the process monitors whether there is a new request to open this document file from another editing device. here,
If it is determined that the request is made, the process is step S8.
Proceed to step 15 to add information about the user or the editing device to the user list. On the other hand, if there is no open request from another editing device, the process proceeds to step S816.

In step S816, it is monitored whether or not there is a use end notification (close request) from the editing device that has opened this document file. Here, if there is no close request, the process returns to step S803. On the other hand, if there is a close request, the process proceeds to step S8.
In step 17, the information of the editing device that issued the request or the information of the user is deleted from the user list, and in step S818, it is checked whether or not there is an editing device that has opened this document file, and the opened editing is performed. If there is a device, the process proceeds to step S803, and if there are no open editing devices, the process ends.

Next, the editing process executed by the editing apparatus is shown in FIG.
~ It demonstrates with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Here, the description will focus on the processing performed by one editing apparatus, but it goes without saying that the same processing is executed by another editing apparatus.

First, in step S601, an open request for a document file to be processed is issued to the management device.
Here, the document file includes the entity data part and the management data part described above. In response to this request, when the data of the document file (management data section and actual data section) is sent from the management apparatus, the page management block of the first page to be displayed first is read in step S602, and step S603. Then, the substantive data part of the document file is read and expanded and displayed according to the read management information. By the processing up to this point, the document file is transferred from the management device via the network bus 7 and displayed on the CRT.

The subsequent steps are the substantial document editing process.

In the substantial document editing process, first, step S
At 604, it is checked whether or not there is an operation that involves changing the data of the document. Here, if it is determined that the document data change operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S605, and if it is determined that such an operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S6.
Proceed to 11.

In step S605, a request for locking the target document data and its page management table is issued to the management device in order to prevent other users from accessing the data being changed. In a succeeding step S606, it is checked whether or not the change is only the specific page. If the change is only the specific page, the process proceeds to step S607, and the editing apparatus determines that the page sent from the management apparatus. A body data change flag, a fixed block change flag, and / or a floating block change flag of the page management block corresponding to the changed page in the management table are set to indicate a change in progress. On the other hand, if the change is such that the size of the fixed / floating block is changed to other than the specific page, the process proceeds to step S608, and the editing apparatus manages the page management sent from the management apparatus. A flag indicating that a change is in progress is set in the body data change flag, the fixed block change flag, and / or the floating block change flag of all page management blocks after the page in the table where the change is made.

In step S609, the editing device requests the management device to change the document data and page management block information based on the information generated in step S607 or S608. In response to this, the management device changes the requested document data and page management block information (steps S806 to S812 in FIG. 6). Step S
In step 610, a request to unlock the document data and the page management table requested to be locked in step S605 is issued to the management device.

In step S611, it is checked in step S611 whether or not the document rearrangement process for redisplaying the difference between the actual display and the content of the data due to the change is performed according to the actual data. This is performed based on the message or information notified to the editing device by the processing of step S808 or step S811 of FIG. 6 in the management device. If it is determined that the reassembly is necessary, the process advances to step S612 to execute the document reassembly process. The details of this processing will be described later. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not necessary to execute the document reassembly process, the process proceeds to step S.
Proceed to 613.

In step S613, it is checked whether or not there is a request to end the document editing process. If it is determined that there is a request to end the process, the process proceeds to step S614 to close the document file opened in step S601. A close request is issued to the management device and the process ends. On the other hand, if there is no request to end the document editing process, the process proceeds to step S615 to check whether there are various document editing instructions other than those described above, and if there is such an instruction, The process executes the process according to the instruction in step S616, and thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6.
Returning to 04, the document editing is continued. On the other hand, if there is no other document editing instruction, the process is directly performed in step S6.
Return to 04.

Next, the document reassembly process executed in step S612 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S701, the page management block corresponding to the page to be reassembled is read based on the information sent from the management device.
In step S702, it is determined whether the page block has a change mark. The change mark is a flag set in the body data change flag, the fixed block change flag, and the floating block change flag in the page management block, and is updated by the management device during the document editing process. This flag is set when the document data is updated and the data displayed on the editing device and the actual data held in the management device are different.

Here, if it is determined that the change mark is set, the process advances to step S703,
First, the document data and the page management table are requested to be locked in order to avoid access conflict from other editing devices. Next, when the latest document file is transmitted from the management device, in step S704, the corresponding page management table is recreated from the document file in the latest state, and in step S705, the page management table in the editing device is rewritten. Clear the change mark. After that, in step S706, the document data (substantial data part) for which the lock request is made earlier and the page management table are requested to be unlocked.

Finally, in step S707, the page is expanded and displayed according to the latest page management table and document data (entity data section).

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the range in which the data update occurs in the document file is specified according to the editing contents performed on the side of the editing device, and exclusive control of the data access is performed only for this range. A more detailed exclusive control corresponding to this will be performed. As a result, even when many users or editing devices share and edit one document file, fine-grained exclusive control shortens the time waiting for access due to access conflict, resulting in more responsiveness. A high system can be built.

[0041]

Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the notification that the management device is updated is issued to all the editing devices or users at the timing when the document file is updated, and the document reassembly process is executed. However, in this embodiment, when the system is configured so that the user can specify the timing when the updated document data is reflected on the display of the CRT, that is, the user can select the timing when the document reassembly occurs. Will be described. Note that this embodiment also uses a document processing apparatus and system having the same configurations as those of the above-described embodiments, and a description of common device configurations and common processing will be omitted.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a re-composition timing selection menu and an immediate processing button displayed on the display screen of the CRT 3 of the document processing apparatus. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 901 denotes a reassembly timing selection menu (hereinafter referred to as a selection menu), and 902 an immediate processing button.

Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, description will be given of the document reassembling process at the timing depending on the user according to the present embodiment. Note that this process relies on the user to make the determination of the document reassembling in step S611 of FIG. 7, and once the document reassembling timing is determined, the subsequent document reassembling process is the same as the process shown in FIG. .

In step S1001, it is checked whether or not the "latest status" button (902 in FIG. 9) has been picked. If the button has been picked, the process proceeds to step S1008 to immediately reassemble the document. Decide to do it. As a result, the screen display reflecting the latest data can be performed at an arbitrary timing during the document editing process. On the other hand, if the button has not been picked, the process advances to step S1002.

In step S1002, it is checked whether a message notifying that the edition user of another editing device has changed the page management table has arrived from the management device. If the message has arrived, the process proceeds to step S100.
Proceed to step 3 and check whether "latest status display" is specified in the selection menu. Here, if the designation is made, the process proceeds to step S1008, and if not designated, the process proceeds to step S1004. When "latest status display" is specified in the selection menu in this way, when a user of another editing device changes data, it is immediately reflected on his / her display screen. Therefore, there is an advantage that the document can always be viewed in real time according to the latest information. However, if many users frequently make corrections, the display may be troublesome.

In step S1004, it is determined whether or not an operation for rewriting the current display page is performed during the document editing process. If it is determined that the rewriting operation is performed, the process proceeds to step S1005,
Check if "When rewriting own page" is specified in the selection menu. Here, if the designation is made, the process proceeds to step S1008, and if not designated, the process proceeds to step S1006. In this way, if "When rewriting own page" is specified in the selection menu, the current page only changes its own data at the timing of issuing a redisplay instruction to properly reflect the data changes made by itself on the display screen. Instead, the recomposed display that reflects the latest data updated by the user of another editing apparatus is performed. In this case, although not real-time, the display reflects information that is fairly close to the latest data.

Further, in step S1006, it is determined whether or not an operation for switching the display to another page has been performed. If it is determined that the operation for switching the display has been performed, the processing proceeds to step S1007, and the "Other" Check whether "when switching pages" is specified. Here, if the designation is made, the process proceeds to step S1008, and if not designated, the process proceeds to step S1009 and it is determined that the document is not reassembled. In this way, if "When switching to another page" is specified in the selection menu, the display information will not be reassembled until another page is instructed to be displayed. Therefore, as long as the current page is being edited, even if another editing device is used. Even if the user changes the text data and the display position of the text data currently being edited is significantly deviated from the actual state, there is an advantage that the screen does not collapse due to other than changing the data.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by displaying the menu or / and the button to allow the user to select a desired operating condition and re-display the document,
It is possible to provide a system that is easier for the user to use.

In the above embodiments, the management device and the editing device are assumed to be separate devices, but the management device and the editing device are common to each other, that is, for the document files held by themselves. It goes without saying that the document editing process may be performed.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first document processing apparatus which holds the document file and its management information based on the update request from the second document processing apparatus,
Exclude the document file and its management information page by page,
The exclusive document file and / or management information is updated, and after the update is completed, the exclusive document file and / or
Alternatively, since the exclusion of the management information is released, the shared document file is finely controlled in an exclusive manner, and even in a document processing system in which one document file is shared and document editing is performed, access to the file is always responsive. The effect is that it can be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a network environment in which a document processing apparatus that is a typical embodiment of the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the document processing apparatus 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration (layout) of one page of a document that is the target of document creation and editing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an entity data part of the document file shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management data section of the document file shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a document editing process executed by the management device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a document editing process executed by the editing device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing document reassembly processing executed by the editing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a recomposition timing selection menu and an immediate processing button displayed on the display screen of the CRT 3;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a user-dependent document reassembly determination process according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 to 6 Document Processing Device 7 Network Bus 8 to 13 Transceiver Unit 21 Printer 22 Printer Interface (Printer I / F) 23 CRT 24 VRAM 25 Keyboard (KB) 26 Mouse 27 Input Interface (Input I / F) 28 Hard Disk (HD) 29 disk interface (disk I / F) 30 network interface 31 CPU 32 ROM 33 RAM 34 system bus

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A document processing system in which at least first and second document processing apparatuses are connected to each other via a network, and a document file is shared by the first and second document processing apparatuses to perform document processing. The first document processing device includes a first storage unit that holds the document file, a second storage unit that holds management information of the document file in page units of the document file, and the second document processing. According to a request from the apparatus, an exclusion unit that excludes the document file and the management information in page units, an updating unit that updates the document file and / or the management information that is excluded by the exclusion unit, and an updating unit. And a lock release unit for releasing the lock of the document file and / or the management information locked by the lock unit after the update is completed. The second document processing device includes an editing unit that edits the document file, and a request unit that requests the first document processing device to update the document file so that the editing result of the editing unit is reflected in the document file. A document processing system comprising: 2. The editing means includes display means for displaying the contents of the document file.
Document processing system described in. 3. The first document processing apparatus further comprises notifying means for notifying the second document processing apparatus of the updated contents of the document file and the management information associated with the update by the updating means, The document according to claim 1, wherein the second document processing apparatus further includes an edit content updating unit that reflects the update content in the editing unit based on the update content notified by the notifying unit. Processing system. 4. The document according to claim 3, wherein the editing content updating unit automatically reflects the updating content in the editing unit based on the updating content notified by the notifying unit. Processing system. 5. The editing content updating means includes instructing means for setting a timing of reflecting the updating content in the editing means based on the updating content notified by the notifying means by an external instruction. The document processing system according to claim 3. 6. A document processing method in which at least first and second document processing devices are connected to each other via a network, and a document file is shared by the first and second document processing devices to perform document processing. A first storage step of holding the document file in a first storage medium of the first document processing device; and management information of the document file in page units of the document file of the first document processing device. A second storage step of holding the second storage medium in a second storage medium; an editing step of editing the document file in the second document processing device; According to the request step of requesting the update to the first document processing device so as to be reflected, and the document file according to the request of the previous period update request from the second document processing device. And an exclusion step of exclusion of the management information in page units, an updating step of updating the document file and / or the management information excluded in the exclusion step, and an exclusion step in the exclusion step after the update by the updating step is completed. An exclusive release step of releasing the exclusion of the created document file and / or the management information.