JPH10133934A - Distributed document managing system and program storing medium realizing it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To fetch pertinent document data without updating individual linking information though the moving, the change of a name, etc., occur concerning document data in a distributed document managing system consisting of document data individually stored on a host or a network and managing a document obtained by combining them by a link. SOLUTION: When operation for moving, the change of a name, copy, erasing, etc., occurs with respect to document data, a history manager 5 stores these history information in a history table 6. At the time of receiving information of the fetching fail of document data from a document processing application 3, the table 6 is retrieved and new identification information after update processing is returned. The application 3 obtains this new identification information and fetches pertinent document data from a file system 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a distributed document management system for arranging and storing document data in a distributed manner on a host computer (hereinafter referred to as "host"). The present invention relates to a distributed document management system having means for managing a document update history and a domain update history for maintaining consistency of document storage locations, and a storage medium storing a program for realizing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a network-distributed document management system in which document data is distributed and arranged on hosts on a network, various types of document data (for example, chapters) created on a plurality of hosts by a plurality of document creators. , Paragraphs, partial text, figures, photos, etc.
Are linked by a link describing the storage position and the identification name of the individual document data, and it is possible to create a document in which these plural pieces of document data are combined.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of data and link relations distributed and stored in hosts on a network. As shown in FIG. 13, data b to data d which are each component of the document data a stored in the host A are:
Hosts A to C are stored separately and independently, and are connected by a link. A document in which the document sub-elements are stored separately and independently and linked by a link is called a compound document.

[0004] Partial element data of a document includes data such as text data, graphs, figures, photographs, and moving images.
There are various types of data link formats. Here, compound documents include an integrated document linked by a hierarchical link and a hypertext linked by a non-hierarchical link.
HTML documents and the like also correspond to this.

[0005] The links between the data include a domain, a host, a directory path, and a data storage location and an identification name.
It is expressed by a combination of a file name, database name, and the like. When creating a compound document, the reference to the document can be described by writing this link information in the reference document. For example, if document data a (text data) is a reference document in FIG.
The link information of the data d is written.

When arranging document data in a distributed manner on hosts on a network, in order to refer to or retrieve the document data, information on the storage location and the identification name of the document data is required. For example, in the case of a system that uses a file system for storing document data, the storage location of the document data is expressed as a hierarchical domain name and host name indicating the location of the host, and the storage location of the document data in the host. Is used, and a file name is used as the identification name.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a domain, a host, and a file system having such a structure. Here, as a description of the identification information, "host name. Domain name. Domain name 1.
…. If the format of "domain name n / directory name 1 /.../ directory name n / file name" is used, FIG.
Is represented as "host A. domain E. domain A / directory A / directory B / directory C / file A (text A)".

As described above, when a compound document is created using the data storage position and the identification name, link information indicating the storage position of the external document data and the identification name is embedded in the compound document.

[0009]

As described above, in order to describe the data storage position and the identification name as the link information of the compound document, it is necessary to move the document data (in the host or between the hosts), change the document data name, Furthermore, if there is a change in the host name or the domain name to which the host belongs, a situation may arise in which the document data cannot be extracted only from the link information.

That is, once such a compound document is created, when the storage position or the identification name of the document data indicated by the link information is changed, the document data to be changed embedded in the compound document is changed. It is necessary to rewrite all related link information with the changed storage location and identifier.

Therefore, the conventional method has the following problems. 1) The processing becomes complicated because it is necessary to rewrite all the related link information in the compound document with the update such as the movement of the document data and the change of the document data name.

2) With the change of the host name or the domain to which the host belongs, it is necessary to correct the link information referring to the host or the domain. The above process involves searching for the parent document data that refers to the document data whose storage location or name has been changed, so it is often difficult in practice. If access fails, the document data is not retrieved. I had to do it.

The present invention solves such a problem by moving, renaming, and renaming document data constituting a compound document.
Provide processing means for collecting and managing history information of processing such as change of host or domain in each host and each domain, and when access to document data by link information embedded in compound document (document data) fails An object of the present invention is to make an inquiry to the processing means to check the location of the corresponding document data, thereby enabling access to the changed document data.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, as shown in an example of a block configuration in FIG. 1, a history information management means is used as a processing means for collecting and managing history information. It has a manager 5, a history table 6 as history information storage means, and a history information deletion means 7. As means for collecting and managing domain history information, a domain manager 1 which is domain history information management means is used.
1. It has a domain history table 12 and a domain history information deletion unit 13 which are domain history information storage units.

The host 1 includes a CPU, a memory, and the like, and can be connected to another host via the network 9. The file system 2 is a means for storing and managing document data and the like, and is a subsystem of an operating system that provides an application program or the like with a file access function.

The document processing application 3 is processing means for performing processing such as editing, displaying, and printing of document data stored in the file system 2. When the processing such as the retrieval of the document data requested from the file system 2 fails, the document processing application 3 sends the identification information (storage position and identification name) of the document data to the history manager 5 and The new identification information of the corresponding document data is obtained from the manager 5, and the document data is extracted again.

The file management application 4 is, for example, an application for managing a file system of an operating system, and is a means for performing operations on files such as document data stored in the file system 2.

In the process of updating a document performed by the document processing application 3 and the process of updating a document file performed by the file management application 4, the type of the file operation and the identification information of the operation target data are sent to the history manager 5. , Are recorded in the history table 6.

The history manager 5 manages the history table 6, searches the history table 6 in response to a request from the document processing application 3 specifying the identification information of the document data, and finds the specified identification information in the history information. and when,
This is a means for notifying the requesting document processing application 3 of new identification information corresponding to the identification information.

The history table 6 is storage means for storing history information. The type of processing performed on document data or files stored in the file system 2 as history information and the document data to be processed are stored. And other identification information.

The history information deletion means 7 checks the information stored in the history table 6 at a predetermined timing, and
For example, it is means for removing logically unnecessary history information such as a past update history of deleted document data. Although not shown, the predetermined trigger includes an instruction from the user, a timer, a request from another processing unit, and the like.

The domain manager 11 is a means for managing the domain history table 12. The domain manager 11 searches the domain history table 12 in response to the request specifying the domain identification information, and notifies the request source of the new host or domain identification information obtained as a result.

The domain history table 12 is storage means for storing domain history information. The domain history information is the type of processing related to the change of the domain, the identification information (host name) of the host connected by the network 9, and the information (domain name) for identifying a set of hosts.

The domain history information deletion means 13 is a means for checking information stored in the domain history table 6 and removing logically unnecessary information at a predetermined timing.

A program for realizing each of the above processing means by a computer can be stored in an appropriate storage medium such as a computer-readable portable medium memory, a semiconductor memory, and a hard disk.

The operation of the present invention is as follows. When the document processing application 3 retrieves the corresponding document data from the file system 2 to retrieve the document data based on the link information in the process of referring to or updating the compound document, the file system 2 uses the document processing application 3 The document data is searched based on the identification information in the link information of the document data designated by the user. Here, if the retrieval of the document data fails due to a movement of the storage location of the document data to be searched or a change of the name, the document processing application 3 receives the failure notification and identifies the document data. The information is passed to the history manager 5.

The history manager 5 searches the history information in the history table 6 based on the passed identification information, and returns the new identification information of the obtained document data to the document processing application 3. The document processing application 3 notifies the file system 2 of the new identification information obtained from the history manager 5, and the file system 2 retrieves the corresponding document data based on the new identification information, and retrieves the corresponding document data. Pass to 3.

As described above, the management of the update history information by the history manager 5 allows the link information for the document data in the compound document to be corrected even if there is an update process such as moving or renaming the document data. , Access to the document data becomes possible. As for the division / merging of document data, it is possible to extract document data expected to be closest to the original document data based on the history information.

Further, the change information of the host for each domain is hierarchically managed by the domain manager 11, so that it is not necessary to correct the link information in the compound document even when the host or the domain is changed.

Further, the history information deleting means 7 or the domain history information deleting means 13 automatically extracts and removes logically unnecessary information in the history table 6 or the domain history table 12 for storing the history information. Thus, the amount of data stored in the table can be suppressed, and a decrease in the efficiency of the search process can be prevented.

[0031]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. (1) Processing for storing update history information of document data distributed and arranged on a host and processing for searching for document data FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of processing types recorded by the history manager 5 and target identification information thereof. Processing types include move, rename, delete, copy, split, merge, etc.
The history manager 5 records update source identification information, update destination identification information, and the like as target identification information determined for each of these processes. For example, in the case of movement, the source identification information and the destination identification information are recorded. Here, the identification information is information combining a storage location such as a directory path and a server name with an identifier such as a file name and a data identifier.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the history table. The history manager 5 stores, in the history table 6, as the history information, the type of the process relating to the link of the compound document notified from the document processing application 3 or the file management application 4, the update source identification information of the target,
Record target identification information such as update destination identification information.

The items on the first line of the history table in FIG.
The document data “/ Doc / TextC” is changed to “/ New / T
extD ”. The item on the second line indicates that the name of the document data “/ Doc / TextA” has been changed to “/ Doc / TextB”.

The process of storing history information and the process of retrieving document data when the document data has moved will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of moving document data, and FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a history table after the moving process in the case of moving.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the document data “/ example / doc / text” of the compound document is changed to “/ exa
It is assumed that the file has been moved to “sample / newdoc / newtest”.

The file management application 4 uses “/
"example / doc / text" to "/ example
le / newdoc / newtest "to the history manager 5. As a result, the history manager 5 adds the history information X to the history table 6 as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the document processing application 3
When extracting the document data “/ example / doc / text”, first, the document processing application 3
Is the identification information “/ ex
The document data is searched using "sample / doc / text". Since the corresponding document data is not found, the identification information “/ examp
"le / doc / text" and issues a search request.

The history manager 5 searches the history table 6 and uses the history information X to store the document data “/ example”.
/ Doc / text ”becomes“ / example / newd ”
oc / newtext ”is returned to the document processing application 3.

The document processing application 3 receives this result, and again executes “/ exam” on the file system 2.
ple / newdoc / newtext ”. This makes it possible to access necessary document data after the movement.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a search process using the history manager 5 for extracting document data. In step S1, the file system 2 checks whether there is document data at the link destination when tracing the link information in the compound document or when receiving a document search request from the document processing application 3. If there is document data at the link destination, the process of step S2 is performed. If there is no document data at the link destination, step S3 is performed.
Is performed.

In step S2, the document data of the target link destination is extracted based on the identification information, and it is determined that the extraction is successful. If the retrieval of the document data fails, step S
At 3, the document processing application 3 issues a search request to the history manager 5 for identification information of the corresponding document data.

In step S4, the history manager 5
The history table 6 is searched to determine whether there is any corresponding history information. If there is no corresponding history information in the history table 6, the process in step S5 is performed. If there is corresponding history information in the history table 6, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S5, the history manager 5
The document processing application 3 is notified that there is no document data. In contrast, the document processing application 3
Error processing such as outputting a message indicating that there is no document data is performed. This error processing is the same as in the prior art.

If the corresponding history information is found in the history table 6, in step S6, the processing type of the history of the corresponding history information is determined. If the process type is move or rename, the process of step S7 is performed. If the process type is split, the process of step S8 is performed. If the process type is merged, the process of step S9 is performed. Is deleted, the process of step S10 is performed. If the processing type is other than the above processing, the process returns to step S1.

In step S7, the identification information of the moving or name changing destination (moving destination identification information / identification information after change) is set as new document identification information. In step S8, the identification information after division (division destination identification information) is used as new identification information, and document data after division is searched in order.

In step S9, document data is searched using the merged identification information (merge destination identification information) as new identification information. In step S10, by using the identification information of the deleted document data, the history table 6 is further searched to check whether there is a copy history for another document having the same identification information. If there is, the process of step S11 is performed, and if there is no copy history, the process of step S12 is performed.

In step S11, the identification information of the copy destination is set as new identification information. In step S12, information that the file has been deleted is returned to the search request source. (2) Processing for storing update history information of document data distributed on a network and processing for retrieving document data When managing documents distributed on a network, in addition to the above-described document data history information, a host is also required. By adding domain information such as identification information (host name) and information (domain name) for identifying a domain that is a set of hosts, the identification information of document data distributed and stored on the network is described. . A domain is defined hierarchically by a set of hosts and domains.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between a host and a domain. As shown in FIG. 6A, the domain is 1
Or multiple hosts or domains (sub-domains)
Consists of One host in each domain has a domain manager (DM) as a domain management host,
Each host has a history manager and stores document data and the like.

In FIG. 6B, the domain A (Domain
A) is composed of host A (HostA) and domain B
When (DomainB) includes the host B (HostB), the identification information of TextA of the document data stored in the directory Doc of the host A is “HostA.Do”.
mainA / Doc / TextA ". Where T
When extA is moved to the directory New of the host B, the identification information of the movement destination is “HostB.DomainB”.
/ New / TextA ".

As described in the previous section, the history manager records the processing type and target identification information to which such domain and host identification information has been added in the history table.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the history table. The history manager records, as history information, the process type notified from the document processing application or the file management application of the host, and the target identification information such as the change source identification information and the change destination identification information of the target in the history table. I do. The identification information of the stored document is represented in the form of, for example, “domain ₁ ... Domain _N .host / directory ₁ / directory ₂ ... / Directory _M / file name”.

The item on the first line in FIG.
ostA. "DomainA / Doc / TextA" to "HostB. DomainB / New / TextA"
Indicates that it has moved to. The item on the second line indicates that the name of the document data “HostC / Doc / TextA” has been changed to “HostC / Doc / TextB”.

Further, in order to prevent identification information from being undetectable due to a change in identification information on the network due to a host update process such as deletion, movement, or host name change of a host, each domain is provided with a host under the domain. It has a domain manager (FIG. 1:11) for recording and managing the update history of the sub-domain. The domain manager 11 is provided in one of the hosts constituting the domain. The domain manager 11 records in the domain history table 12 update histories such as movement, name change, and deletion of hosts and sub-domains under its own domain.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a process type recorded by the domain manager 11 and its target identification information. Processing types include move, rename, delete, etc.
The domain manager 11 records change source identification information or change destination identification information as target identification information determined for each of these processes. The identification information here is domain information and a host name for a host, and domain information for a domain. The domain information is an identifier of a domain hierarchy that uniquely determines a certain domain.

With reference to FIG. 9, a description will be given of a process of storing history information and a process of retrieving document data when document data moves between hosts. FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an example of moving document data, and FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating a history table after the moving process.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the domain A (D
document data of the compound document “/ examp” in the document processing application of the host A (HostA) of the main
le / doc / TextA "is the domain B (Doma
inB) "/ exampl" of host B (HostB)
e / doc / TextB ".

The document processing application of the host A is
"HostA. DomainA / example / do
c / TextA ”as“ HostB. DomainB / e
When the history manager is notified that the file has moved to "xample / doc / TextB", the history manager adds this history information Y to the history table as shown in FIG. 9B.

Thereafter, another document processing application transmits the document data “HostA.DomainA / exa”.
The process when trying to extract “mple / doc / TextA” is as follows. First, the document processing application stores the document data “HostA.DomainA / exampleA / example / do” on the file system of the host A.
c / TextA ". However, since the corresponding document data cannot be found, a search request is issued to the history manager.

The history manager searches the history table shown in FIG.
stA. DomainA / example / doc / T
extA ”is“ Host B. Domain B / exam.
ple / doc / TextB "is returned to the document processing application.

The document processing application receives this result, and displays “/ exa” on the host B file system.
A process for extracting “mple / doc / TextB” is performed. Next, a process of storing history information and a process of searching for a host when a host moves between domains will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing an example of host migration, and FIG. 10B is a diagram showing a domain history table after migration processing. As shown in FIG.
Host A (Host) of domain A (DomainA)
A) is the host B (H) of the domain B (Domain B).
ostB).

The host setter or the host setting application changes “Host A. Domain A” to “Host A.
tB. When the domain manager is notified of the movement to “Domain B”, the domain manager adds this history information Z to the domain history table as shown in FIG. 10B.

Thereafter, the document processing application of the host A in the domain A transmits the document data “HostA.Dom”.
When extracting “ainA / example / doc / TextA”, the following processing is performed. First, the document processing application stores the document data “HostA.DomainA / exam” on the file system of the host A.
ple / doc / TextA ". However, since the host A (HostA) has moved and cannot be found, the host A (HostA) is notified to the domain manager.
Make a search request for.

The domain manager searches the domain history table shown in FIG. 10 (B), and changes “Host A. Domain A” to “Host B. Do
The information that the document has moved to “mainB” is returned to the document processing application.

The document processing application receives this result, and receives the result from the host B of the domain B (Domain B).
(Host B), a document data search request is issued,
The document data is retrieved from the file system on the destination host.

(3) Management processing of history information and domain history information Since the update information accumulated in the history manager or the domain manager only increases as it is, for example, the past update history of the deleted document data, etc. By removing logically unnecessary information, the amount of stored data and the search efficiency can be improved.

The history information deletion means 7 searches the history information in the history table periodically or in accordance with an instruction from the operator, and removes unnecessary history information. FIG.
A process in the case of deleting the update history information of the completely deleted document data will be described using the example of FIG.

In the history table of FIG. 11, search is made for history information of the processing type "deletion", and the deletion destination identification information "HostA.D"
history information N1 having "mainA / doc / text"
Get. Further, “HostA.Do” is added to the copy source identification information.
A search is performed to determine whether or not there is identification information having “mainA / doc / text”. If there is the corresponding identification information, the process is terminated and the history information is not deleted. This is because the deleted "HostA.DomainA / doc"
This is because the copy destination document copied before deletion can be used for access to the document of “/ text”.

On the other hand, if there is no corresponding identification information,
Subsequently, "H" is added to the moving destination identification information or the name change destination identification information.
ostA. Search for the identification information having “DomainA / doc / text”. The corresponding identification information N2 is deleted.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the history information deletion processing. In step S21, the history information deleting unit 7
Searches the history table 6 for an item whose processing type is deletion.

In step S22, it is determined whether there is a corresponding deletion process. If there is a deletion process, the process proceeds to step S23, and if there is no deletion process, the process ends.

In step S23, history information having document data indicated by the deletion destination identification information of the deletion processing as copy source identification information is searched. In step S24, it is determined whether there is a corresponding copy process. If there is a copy process, the process proceeds to step S25, and if there is no copy process, the process returns to step S21.

In step S25, the history information having the identification information is stored in the history table 6 at the moving destination or the name change destination.
Search from. In step S26, it is determined whether there is history information of the corresponding process. If there is history information of the corresponding process, the process proceeds to step S27. If there is no history information, the process returns to step S21.

In step S27, the corresponding history information is deleted from the history table 6. In addition, the domain history information deletion means 7 processes deletion of unnecessary history information in the domain history table 12 in the same manner.

[0074]

As described above, even when the storage information of the document data is updated, the history manager or the domain manager can be inquired without modifying the link information in the compound document. The updated new identification information can be obtained from the identification information of the corresponding document data, and the updated document data can be extracted. Further, by providing a processing means for automatically searching and deleting unnecessary information in the table storing the history information, an increase in the amount of data stored in the history table is suppressed, and a decrease in the efficiency of the search processing is prevented. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process type and target identification information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a history table.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating movement of document data.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a search process.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a domain and a host.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a history table.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process type and target identification information.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining movement of document data between hosts.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating movement of a host.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process of deleting history information in a history table.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a history information deletion process.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of document data distributed and arranged on a network.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a domain, a host, and a file system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Host 2 File system 3 Document processing application 4 File management application 5 History manager 6 History table 7 History information deletion means 9 Network 11 Domain manager 12 Domain history table 13 Domain history information deletion means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FIG06F 15/401 340A 15/419 320

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A distributed document management system for managing documents consisting of document data individually stored on a host computer and linked by a link, including moving or renaming the document data. History information storage means for storing history information of processing on document data; and searching the history information storage means in response to a request designating identification information of the document data. When the specified identification information exists in the history information, History information management means for notifying new identification information corresponding to the identification information, wherein the access request source for the document data, when the retrieval of the document data fails, transmits the identification information of the document data to the history information management means. A distributed document management system characterized in that the document data is obtained by notifying the user of the information and obtaining new identification information. 2. The distributed document management system according to claim 1, wherein logically unnecessary information is automatically extracted and removed from the history information relating to the processing of the document data stored in said history information storage means. 1. A distributed document management system, comprising: 3. A distributed document management system for managing documents composed of document data distributed and stored on a plurality of host computers connected by a network, the documents being connected by links. A domain history information storage unit for storing history information of domain change information relating to a domain in which host computers storing document data are grouped, and a search for the domain history information storage unit in response to a request specifying domain identification information. ,
Domain history information management means for notifying the identification information of a new domain corresponding to the identification information when the identification information of the specified domain exists in the history information; When the retrieval of the document fails, the identification information of the domain having the document data is notified to the domain history information management means, the identification information of the new domain is obtained, and the document data is retrieved. Distributed document management system. 4. The distributed document management system according to claim 3, wherein logically unnecessary information is automatically extracted and removed from the history information on the domain change information stored in the domain history information storage means. 1. A distributed document management system, comprising: 5. A program storage medium storing a program used in a distributed document management system that manages documents that are individually stored and that are linked by a link, the document data comprising: The process of collecting and storing the history information of the processing on the document data including the movement or renaming of the document data, and the request specifying the identification information of the document data from the access request source for the document data for which the retrieval of the document data failed. A program for causing a computer to execute a process of searching stored history information and notifying new identification information corresponding to the specified identification information when the specified identification information exists in the history information. Storage medium that implements a distributed document management system. 6. A distributed document management system for managing documents composed of document data which are distributed and stored on a plurality of host computers connected by a network and which are connected by a link. A program storage medium storing a program to be used, a process for collecting and storing history information of domain change information relating to a domain in which host computers storing document data are grouped, and a document data for which retrieval of the document data has failed. The stored domain history information is searched in response to a request specifying domain identification information from a request source for access to the server, and when the identification information of the specified domain exists in the history information, a new corresponding to the identification information is retrieved. A program that causes a computer to execute the process of notifying domain identification information is stored. Storage medium for realizing a distributed document management system.