JPH09152947A - Distributed form printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To apply unique object ID in a computer system to each form and to arrange the form in an optional server on a network. SOLUTION: When form printing is requested from a work station 4, a print server 1 inquires a form address to a name server 2 by the use of object ID. The server 2 retrieves the form address from a form address file 21 and sends a response to the server 1. The server 1 requests the distribution of the form to a form server 3 corresponding to the answered form address by the use of the object ID. The server 3 retrieves the form from a firm file 31 and distributes the form to the server 1. The server 1 synthesizes the distributed form and printing data and outputs synthesized data to a printer 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a distributed form printing method, and more particularly to a distributed form printing method capable of arranging a form (an image of a fixed part of a form such as ruled lines and heading characters) on any server on the network. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the conventional form printing method, a form is either preloaded in a printer or downline loaded from a print server, and the degree of system freedom is low, and the same form can be duplicated. It was not suitable for shared use on the server.
As a prior art document, for example, JP-A-5-66901
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-66900 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-66900, but none of them describes the distributed arrangement of foams.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional form printing method, the position where the form is stored is fixed, and it is difficult to dispose the form in a distributed manner. Therefore, the form is preloaded in the printer. It is either installed or downline loaded from the print server, and it is difficult to flexibly configure the system when expanding the computer system, and forms cannot be shared between multiple print servers. There was a problem.

In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is that each form has a unique object I in the computer system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a distributed form printing method in which a D (IDentifier) is added and a form can be arranged on any server on the network.

[0005]

According to the distributed form printing method of the present invention, a work station which is a source of a form print request and a print server which performs a form print to a printer on the basis of the form print request from this workstation form a network. A computer system that is connected via the object I including a form address file connected to the network and storing a form address corresponding to an object ID.
A name server that retrieves a form address from the form address file based on a form address inquiry accompanied by D and responds to the inquiry source, and a form file that is connected to the network and stores a form corresponding to an object ID A form server that retrieves a form from the form file based on a form delivery request with an object ID and delivers the form to a form delivery request source; and an object ID for the name server when the form printing is requested. The form address is inquired, the form server corresponding to the returned form address is requested to deliver the form using the object ID, and when the form is received, it is combined with the print data from the form print request source and output to the printer. The pudding And a server.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a distributed form printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the distributed form printing method of this embodiment, the print server 1 that performs form printing on the printer 11 and the address of the server physically storing the form (hereinafter referred to as the form address) are stored in correspondence with the object IDs. A name server 2 that includes a file 21 that returns a form address in response to a form address inquiry, a plurality of form servers 3 that includes a form file 31 that stores a form corresponding to an object ID, and a workstation that requests a form print. 4 and 4 are connected via a network 5 to form the main part thereof.

Referring to FIG. 2, the form address file 21 stores a plurality of object IDs and form addresses in one-to-one correspondence.

Referring to FIG. 3, the form file 31
Stores a plurality of object IDs and forms, one-to-one.

Referring to FIG. 4, the process of the print server 1 includes a form print request reception step S101, a print data storage step S102, a form address inquiry step S103, a form address reception step S104, and a form distribution request step S105. When,
Form reception step S106, print data combination step S107, and printer output step S107.
And 108.

Referring to FIG. 5, the process of the name server 2 includes a form address inquiry reception step S201, a form address search step S202, and a form address response step S203.

Referring to FIG. 6, the processing of the form server 3 includes a form delivery request receiving step S301, a form searching step S302, and a form delivering step S.
303.

Next, the operation of the distributed form printing method of this embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration will be described.

At the workstation 4, when a form print request is issued to the print server 1, the object ID of the form to be used is designated and the form print request is sent to the print server 1 together with the print data.

When the print server 1 receives the form print request from the workstation 4 (step S10).
1) At the same time, the print data is saved in a temporary file (not shown) (step S102), and the name server 2 is queried for the form address of the form indicated by the object ID (step S103).

When the name server 2 receives the inquiry about the form address from the print server 1 (step S20).
1) Using the object ID as a key, the form address file 21 is searched for a form address (step S202), and the found form address is returned to the print server 1 of the inquiry source (step S203).

The print server 1 receives the response of the form address from the name server 2 (step S10).
4) The distribution request for the form indicated by the object ID is made to the form server 3 corresponding to the form address (step S105).

The form server 3 receives the form distribution request from the print server 1 (step S30).
1) Using the object ID as a key, the form file 31 is searched for the corresponding form (step S30).
2) The searched form is distributed to the print server 1 which is the source of the form distribution request (step S303).

When the print server 1 receives the target form delivered from the form server 3 in a temporary file (not shown) (step S106),
The print data already received and stored is combined (step S107), and the combined result is output to the printer 11 (step S108). This completes a series of form printing processes.

When the server configuration is changed by reconstructing the computer system, it is only necessary to reflect the result in the form address file 21 of the name server 2, which affects other parts of the computer system. There is no.

In the above embodiment, the print server 1, the name server 2 and the form server 3 are described as different servers, but the print server 1 is the name server 2 or the form server 3 at the same time, or the name server. It goes without saying that 2 may be the form server 3 at the same time.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, each form has a unique object ID in the computer system.
By providing a name server that holds the address of the form server where the form indicated by the object ID exists, a form server that actually stores the form, and a print server that outputs the print result of the form, Even if the form is stored in an arbitrary server in the network, the form print request source can request the form print from the print server using the object ID without being aware of the location of the form.

Even if the server configuration is changed by reconstructing the computer system, if the result is reflected only in the name server, it does not affect other parts of the computer system. There is an effect that the degree is improved.

Further, there is an effect that the form can be shared by a plurality of print servers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a distributed form printing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the contents of a form address file in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing contents of a form file in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the print server in FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the name server in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing of the form server in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 print server 2 name server 3 form server 4 workstation 5 network 11 printer 21 form address file 31 form file S101 form print request receiving step S102 print data saving step S103 form address inquiry step S104 form address receiving step S105 form distribution request step S106 Form reception step S107 Print data synthesis step S108 Printer output step S201 Form address inquiry reception step S202 Form address search step S203 Form address response step S301 Form distribution request reception step S302 Form search step S303 Form distribution step

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A computer system in which a workstation as a source of a form print request and a print server for performing a form print to a printer based on the form print request from this workstation are connected via a network, A name that is connected and has a form address file in which a form address corresponding to an object ID is stored, and that searches the form address from the form address file based on the inquiry of the form address accompanied by the object ID and responds to the inquiry source. A server and a form file connected to the network and storing a form corresponding to an object ID are provided, and a form is created from the form file based on a form delivery request accompanied by the object ID. A form server that searches and delivers to the form delivery request source, and when the form printing is requested, the name server inquires the form address using the object ID, and the form server corresponding to the returned form address A distributed form printing method comprising: a print server that requests distribution of a form using an ID, and, when the form is received, combines the print data from a form print request source and outputs the combined print data to a printer. 2. The distributed form printing method according to claim 1, wherein the print server is allowed to be the name server or the form server at the same time, and the name server is allowed to be the form server at the same time.