JPH113266A - Data transfer system and data transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for recombining data elements by the state of a transmission line, distributing optimum information within a prescribed cost and easily selecting an optimum data combination on a server side for the request of data re-transmission and addition. SOLUTION: A cost required for data transfer from a server to a client is detected and transmission data are selected from document candidates set beforehand corresponding to the detected cost required for the data transfer. Transmission is executed based on a transmission candidate formula for discriminating whether or not they are already transmitted data for the respective data elements for constituting a requested document from a client device. In the client device, a requested document candidate formula is generated for defining the combination of the data elements provided with a flag for discriminating whether or not the data element is already obtained, and data transmission is requested to the server.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system and method for transferring data on a system in which a plurality of computers are connected by a network, and more particularly, to a data transfer request from a client device connected to a network to a server device. The present invention relates to a data transfer system and a data transfer method capable of executing transfer data construction in consideration of cost and transferring data constructed according to cost from a server to a client.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in data transfer between computers connected to a network, diversification of transfer data, that is, a case of transferring not only characters and numerical values but also data including image data, audio data, etc., has increased. However, on the other hand, there is a problem that data transfer takes too much time due to a problem of network traffic accompanying an increase in computers connected to the network. It is desired to solve these problems and efficiently transmit complicated data composed of documents, images, and the like in a form that meets the requirements of the client.

[0003] A user's request for an image differs depending on the type of image to be transmitted. For example, if the image to be transmitted is a moving image, real-time performance is required. On the other hand, if a high-definition still image is not required, real-time performance is required even if real-time performance is not required. That is, the user has a requirement that the transmitted image be as close to the original as possible.

Therefore, in order to handle various classes of traffic, the communication quality is changed depending on the application, that is, QoS (Quality of Service).
A technique for starting communication after guaranteeing a band, a delay, and the like by control by the program (ice) has been studied. For example, in a hierarchical network such as OSI, when upper layers of five or more layers use communication functions provided by a transport layer (fourth layer) or lower, the transport layer specifies QoS such as throughput and delay. This is realized by performing communication control so as to satisfy the required QoS.

However, as described above, communication traffic increases with an increase in the number of computers connected to the network, and in many cases, the QoS control cannot guarantee the transmission speed required by an application. In this case, if there is enough time, the connection is postponed or the data is transmitted little by little over time. If there is not enough time, the transmission contents are processed. For example, a still image is subjected to data processing such as color reduction or compression, and a moving image is subjected to data processing such as thinning out the number of frames and transmitted. However, since the user also has a request to obtain an image as soon as possible, it is important to answer the request.

When processing in a short time is considered, transfer data, for example, image data is processed, and in this case, it is difficult to expect an original image. In the case of a user request for understanding the contents, such processed data may be transmitted. In this case, if the communication cost is high, there is a demand for the user to reduce the cost as much as possible. However, if the priority of "processing in a short time" is given too much priority, the data sent to the user will be
The image becomes a low-quality image with a small size, and the user who receives the low-quality image takes a longer time to understand the transfer data. Therefore, considering the total of the data transfer time and the time required for the user to understand the data, the data transfer form is not always ideal.

In the information processing apparatus and the communication method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-152668, when a moving image is acquired from a server, a client selects in advance whether to give priority to quality or time, and if the priority is quality, the image is processed. If the transmission is performed by the server without prioritization and time is given priority, the number of frames can be reduced according to the congestion state of the network, or the image can be compressed and transmitted by the server.

[0008] According to the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, even if the network is in a congested state, the requested image can be obtained within a time even though the network is being processed. In other words, although it is possible to satisfy the user's request, there is a problem that the communication cost of image transmission is not taken into consideration, and transmission that is necessarily advantageous to the user cannot be performed.

Incidentally, as an idea for judging whether or not there is a merit for the user, there is a judgment method using a loss function (Taguchi: "Quality Engineering Casebook Japan, General", Quality Engineering Course 5, Japanese Standards Association). This is a measure that cannot be compared in the same way, such as time and material quality, is converted into cost using appropriate conversion parameters.
This is to determine whether the action to be selected is appropriate. However, until now, the loss function has been used to select actions before creating the system, and it has not been dynamically reflected in the selection of actions by the loss function after the system starts operating. Was.

Further, as a prior art relating to a data search device, there is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-49878. The data search device described in this publication reduces the cost required for transferring the linked information in advance. If the cost is smaller than a preset threshold, the link destination information is searched, transferred or displayed at the request of the user. Cost
If the value is larger than the preset threshold value, the user must confirm whether to search, transfer, or display the link destination information before searching, transferring, or displaying the information. This is done, or the digest information indicating the outline of the information of the link destination prepared in advance is displayed.

[0011]

However, in any of the above-described prior arts, the data configuration is changed in accordance with the cost threshold value, and the combination of data components determined to be optimal from the viewpoint of cost is transferred. No configuration is shown. The data retrieval apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H7-49878, which shows a data transfer method corresponding to cost among the above-mentioned known techniques, only branches the processing into two according to a predetermined threshold value set for cost. , And other fine-grained controls: select the documents and images that make up the data,
It does not disclose reconstructing data and sending documents. Further, in this conventional technique, it is necessary to exchange information with a user for confirming whether or not to execute data transfer before performing the data transfer process. You will be joining again. Therefore, according to this method, there is a problem that the operation steps of the user are further complicated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-49, which has the theme closest to the problem to be solved by the present invention, among the documents described in the above-mentioned prior art.
According to the technology described in Japanese Patent No. 878, (1) since the cost information is described in the upper file in which the link is described, the cost information cannot be changed after transferring the upper file. (2) Since two types of processing are switched according to the threshold value, fine control cannot be performed. (3) Since the user needs to select the link destination in order to obtain the link destination information, the link destination information cannot be displayed at the same time as displaying the upper file. And the like.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a data transfer system and a data transfer method having the following configurations. (1) The cost information is not described in the upper file in which the link is described, but is determined when the server transfers information or receives a request for information. After the upper file is transferred, the speed and load of the communication path (network Even if the degree of congestion changes, it is possible to perform transfer according to the change. (2) The content to be transferred, that is, the data configuration is changed according to the total cost of information transfer, instead of changing the data transfer mode with a single threshold value related to cost, thereby enabling more detailed processing. .
(3) The amount of information to be transferred is controlled in consideration of the degree of congestion of the network or the like, and the most detailed information that can be transferred within a certain time can be automatically transferred.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a data transfer system according to the present invention transfers data based on a data transfer request to a server device from a client device connected to a network connecting a plurality of computers. In a data transfer system for transferring request data from a server device to a client device via a network, the server device defines a memory for storing data to be transferred and a plurality of document candidates in which elements constituting the data are combined in a plurality of modes. Candidate data defining means, a cost detecting means for detecting a cost required for data transfer to the client device, and data constituting data requested to be transferred according to the cost required for data transfer detected by the cost detecting means. Information selection means for selecting a combination of elements; And a communication means for transferring the combination of data elements constituting the data selected by the selection means to the client device, the client device,
Request document selecting means for specifying data to be requested to the server, document element selecting means for selecting a combination of data elements including the requested data, and data element constituting data selected by the document element selecting means. Communication means for transferring the identification data indicating the combination to the server device, a memory for storing the data transferred from the server device, and reconfiguring the data transferred from the server device as a combination of the data elements containing the requested data. Document reconstruction means.

Further, the server device in the data transfer system of the present invention is characterized in that a profile list in which a data capacity of each data element constituting data is recorded is stored in a memory.

The document candidate definition means in the data transfer system of the present invention has a document definition formula in which identifiers of data elements constituting data to be transferred are associated with each other by an operator. A candidate document list indicating a combination of data elements defined by

Further, the server device in the data transfer system of the present invention holds a preset threshold value relating to the data transfer cost in the memory, and selects a combination of data elements not exceeding the set threshold value from the candidate document list. It has an information selecting means for selecting, and the information selecting means sends a combination of the selected data elements to the client device.

In the data transfer system according to the present invention, the requested document selection means and the document element selection means in the client device and the document element selection means in the client device are executed by selecting data elements displayed by the display means in the client device. It is characterized by being performed.

Further, in the information selection by the information selection means of the server device in the data transfer system of the present invention, it is determined whether or not each of the data elements constituting the requested document from the client device is data transmitted to the client device. The process is executed based on a sending candidate expression having a flag for distinguishing a sent data element from an unsent data element.

Further, the document element selection means of the client device in the data transfer system of the present invention generates a definition expression defining a combination of data elements including request data, and the definition expression includes an identification tag indicating the data element. It is an expression related by an operator, and each data element has a flag for distinguishing between already acquired and unacquired.

Further, the server device in the data transfer system of the present invention comprises a memory for storing data to be transferred, a profile list for storing the capacity of each data element constituting the data, and a request document from the client device. Means for detecting, for each data element, whether the data is transmitted data to the client device, generating a transmission candidate expression having a flag for distinguishing the transmitted data element from the untransmitted data element, and data based on the transmission candidate expression Communication means for sending the combination of elements to the client device.

Further, the server device of the present invention further comprises, as a definition expression for defining a plurality of document candidates in which data elements are combined in a plurality of modes, a document definition expression in which data elements are related by an operator and a document definition expression. And a candidate document list indicating the combination of the selected data elements.

Further, according to the data transfer method of the present invention, based on a data transfer request to a server device from a client device connected to a network connecting a plurality of computers, the transfer request data is transmitted from the server device to the client device via the network. Detecting a cost per unit data required for data transfer to a client device, and determining a transfer cost for each of a plurality of document candidates obtained by combining data elements constituting data in a plurality of modes. Calculating, a document candidate selecting step of selecting, from among the document candidates, a combination of data elements having a transfer cost that does not exceed a preset threshold value for the data transfer cost held in the server, Document candidates via communication means A step of sending to the client device, the client device which has received the document candidate selected, characterized in that a step of reconfiguring the received document candidate as a combination of data elements, including a transfer request data.

Further, in the data transfer method of the present invention, the step of calculating the transfer cost for each of the plurality of document candidates includes: a) a cost per unit data;
b) the method is executed based on the data capacity of each of a plurality of document candidates which are a plurality of combinations of data elements constituting data determined by a document definition formula defined in advance in the server device. .

Further, in the document candidate selection step in the data transfer method of the present invention, the data element constituting the requested document from the client device is detected as to whether or not the data element has been sent to the client device. Generating a sending candidate expression having a flag that distinguishes the element from the unsent data element.

Further, the client device of the present invention comprises a request document selecting means for selecting request data to the server, a document element selecting means for selecting a combination of data elements including the request data selected by the request document selecting means,
Communication means for transmitting identification data indicating the combination of data elements selected by the document element selection means to the server device and receiving data transmitted from the server device based on the identification data; A memory for storing, document reconstructing means for reconstructing data sent from the server device stored in the memory as a combination of data elements including request data, and data reconstructed by the document reconstructing means are displayed. Information display means.

Further, the document element selecting means in the client device of the present invention generates a definition expression defining a combination of data elements including request data, and the definition expression relates an identification tag indicating the data element by an operator. And each data element has a flag for distinguishing between already acquired and unacquired data elements.

Further, the document element selection means in the client device of the present invention is characterized in that a document definition formula to which data indicating the acquisition date and time is added is generated for a data element which has already been acquired.

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

<Explanation of Concept> Prior to the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the concept of cost in data transfer using a network will be explained. When a certain data request is made to a server from one user terminal connected to the network, a predetermined transfer time is required to transfer the requested data to the user terminal via the network. . The transfer time varies depending on the type of data to be transferred, for example, only text, an image, or even an image including 256 colors or 16 colors. Further, it differs depending on the selection of the transfer route of the network, and also differs depending on the usage status of other terminals of the network, that is, the network traffic. The time required for these data communications, ie, the transfer time, is converted as one cost.

Further, cost conversion is also performed on the quality of data transferred from the server to the user terminal as a client. For example, assume that the original full-color image data is on the server side, and a transfer request for the original full-color image data is made from the user terminal. The server that receives the request sends the full-color image data to the user as it is, and the user who receives the image data displays the full-color image on a display or prints out the image, and immediately displays the image data It is possible to know exactly what to do. That is, the time required for data transfer is increased, but the time required for the user to understand the data is reduced.

On the other hand, when the server transfers the image data as 16-color data, the time required for the data transfer is short because the data amount is small. But,
The image received by the user has a smaller amount of information than the full-color data, and when displaying 16-color image data on a display or outputting to a printer, the time required for the user to correctly understand the image is longer. Become. Further, in some cases, a part where image data cannot be accurately understood may occur. in this way,
The difference in data quality causes a change in the time required for the user to understand the data and the degree of accurate data understanding. Therefore, it may be necessary to consider the time required for the user to understand the data as well as the time required for the data transfer, as well as to the cost conversion. Based on the cost.

As a specific example of cost conversion, a case of transfer in each form of a full-color image will be described. The original original image is stored on the server side as full-color image data, but the image sent to the client is not limited to the full-color image data, and the image is transmitted according to the transmission speed determined by the QoS negotiation function. It is assumed that the image data is converted into 256 colors, 16 colors, and black and white and transmitted. Here, the cost is defined and calculated as follows.

[0033]

(Equation 1) Where C: unit communication cost (yen / min), D: labor cost (yen / sec), S: image size (bit), V: transmission speed (b)
it / s), Q: Quality cost (yen)

The transmitted image data is full color, 256 colors,
A description will be given of a specific example of the calculation regarding the cost generated in the case of 16 colors and black and white with reference to FIG. First, the number of pixels of the image requested by the client is obtained from the image data storage unit (step s901). Here, the number of pixels is P.
Based on the number of pixels, the data amount for full color, 256 colors, 16 colors, and black and white is calculated (step s902). When each pixel is full color, a total of 24 for each of the three primary colors 8 bits
8 bits for 256 colors, 4 bi for 16 colors
Assuming that t and black and white are made of 1 bit, the data amount is as follows.

[0035]

[Table 1] For full color: 24P (bit) For 256 colors: 8P (bit) For 16 colors: 4P (bit) For monochrome: 1P (bit) Assuming that the unit communication cost is the same at any speed, personnel costs Then, the communication cost is calculated (step s903).

Next, the quality cost is calculated (step s9).
04). If the amount of information is the same, the time to understand the information by looking at the image is assumed to decrease in inverse proportion to the logarithmic value of the ratio of the amount of transmission to the case of black and white. That is, it is assumed that it is inversely proportional to 1 + log (transmission amount / transmission amount in the case of monochrome).

Assuming that the time required to understand the information by looking at the full-color image is T seconds, for 256 colors, 16 colors, and black and white, 1.2 T seconds, 1.5 T seconds, and 2.4 T seconds It takes. The quality cost Q is calculated by the following formula.

[0038]

[Table 2] For full color: Q = T × D = TD (circle) For 256 colors: Q = 1.2T × D = 1.2TD (circle) For 16 colors: Q = 1.5T × D = 1.5 TD (yen) In the case of black and white: Q = 2.4 T × D = 2.4 TD (yen)

The total cost is calculated together with the communication cost (step s905), and the result is transmitted to the data processing control unit (step s906). A graph of the total cost can be drawn as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows the cost on the vertical axis and the transmission speed on the horizontal axis.
It shows a change in cost corresponding to a change in transmission speed when data is transferred in four types of data, color and black and white.

The above-mentioned example is an example of the transfer of color image data. However, an appropriate calculation formula as a basis of cost calculation according to various data forms such as a case including text data, a case including voice data, and the like. Is set. The present invention sets a threshold value regarding cost, and generates a combination of data according to the set threshold value for a user data request,
The transfer of data from the server to the client is performed without causing a significant decrease in data quality and taking the data transfer time into consideration.

Embodiment 1 <Description of System Configuration> Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system configuration of the present invention. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
And the client device 12 are connected by a network 11. The server device 10 connects the computer bus 103 to C
It has a configuration in which a PU 101, a communication unit 102, and memories 104 and 105 are connected. The client device 12 is connectable to the server device 10 via the network 11, and the client device 12
It has a configuration in which a PU 121, a communication unit 122, a console 124, and a memory 125 are connected. The memory 125 includes an information storage unit 1251, an information display unit 1252, a requested document selection unit 1253, and a document element selection unit 1254.
And a document reconstructing unit 1255. Server device 1
The zero memories 104 and 105 may have a configuration divided into two or more as shown in FIG. 3, or may have a single memory configuration.

<Description of Console 124> Console 1
Reference numeral 24 is provided with a device for inputting characters and the like to a computer such as a keyboard and a handwritten character recognition device, and a display device for displaying a response from the computer such as a CRT. The console 124 may include a pointing device for designating a position on a display such as a mouse, a trackball, a light pen, or a touch panel.

<Description of Memory 104, 105, 125>
The memories 104, 105, and 125 are memories (mainly RAM) necessary for calculation and memories (mainly secondary storage devices such as hard disks) for storing files and the like.

<Explanation of Network 11> The network 11 is a LAN using an electrical or optical medium. As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. Wired LANs, wireless LANs using radio waves or optical signals as communication media, optical wireless LANs, wired telephone lines used as public lines, telephone lines such as mobile phones and PHSs using radio waves as media, and LAN and LAN Internet to which is connected
And so on.

<Description of Connection Examples in FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8> FIG. 4 shows a plurality of clients connected to the wired LAN 1, servers and clients connected to another wired LAN 2, In addition, wireless LAN or optical LAN
This is an example in which another client connected by is connected via a network. FIG. 5 shows a configuration example in which a server and a client are directly connected by a wired LAN. FIG. 6 shows a configuration example in which a client communicates with a server and a node connected to a wired LAN by a wireless LAN and an optical LAN. FIG. 7 shows a configuration example in which a client communicates with a server on a wired LAN via a network and a wired public line. FIG. 8 shows a network, a mobile phone, and a PHS for a server connected to the wired LAN. 2 illustrates a configuration for performing communication via the communication interface. FIG. 4 shows a configuration in which the server and the client communicate.
Many other communication environments can be considered in addition to those shown in FIG.
The transmission capacity is defined by the communication network used in each communication environment, and the amount of data that can be transmitted in a predetermined time differs in each case.

<Description of Detecting Means> The detecting means 1041 in the memory 104 of FIG. Detecting the state of the network 11, inquiring about the access rights of the user, detecting parameters for considering the line speed for considering the network 11 usage time and the line usage price for considering the network 11 usage fee, etc. It has the function of

<Explanation of Information to be Distributed> Server 1
0 to the client device 12 are multimedia documents 1, 106 to multimedia documents 2,
107 is stored in the memory 105. The multimedia documents 1 and 106 are still image data files,
A plurality of types such as a moving image data file, audio data, and text data, that is, a text data file 1,
1064, text data files 2 and 1065, text data files 3 and 1066, image data files 1 and 1067, and image data files 2 and 1068. The multimedia document has a profile list 1 in which the file name, file type, file size, and the like of the data file are described in addition to the plural types of data or the single type of plural document components.
063, a document definition expression 1061 indicating the dependency of the data file, and a candidate document list 1062.

<Explanation of Profile List> FIG. 9 shows an example of the profile list 1063, which is a specific document stored in the memory 105, in this case, a multimedia document 1,
For 106, a file name such as a text data file or an image data file included in the document, a capacity of each file, and a file type are described. For example, the first line in FIG. 9 has a data capacity of “40 KB”, has a file name of “title.txt”, and indicates that the file type is data of “text / plain”. This document includes 11 types of data from the 40 KB data in the first row to the 800 KB data in the 11th row in FIG.

<Supplementary Explanation of Items in Profile List> In FIG. 9, the sizes of the above-mentioned components are expressed in kilobytes (K
Although it is handled in B), a unit of handling may be a byte unit or a megabyte unit, or a format expressing both the data size and the unit display. Still image data, moving image data, audio data, and text data according to the present invention may be in a compressed format.

<Supplementary explanation when the items in the profile list are in the compressed format> In the case of the compressed format, it is sufficient to indicate that the corresponding data in the component data format is in the compressed format. FIG. 10 shows an example of one record of the profile list 1063. In FIG.
"te" indicates the capacity of the file, and "data nam"
"e" indicates a file name, and "data type" indicates a file type.

<Supplement to Profile List> In the present invention, the profile list is configured as a separate file from each component, but the profile list itself may be in the same file as the file containing other components. Alternatively, it may be in another management file or another management database. FIG. 11 shows profile list 1
The example shown in FIG. 9 is the same as the example shown in FIG. 9 except that each record includes a tag (tag1, tag2, tag3...) For distinguishing the records.

<Description of Document Structure> In the present invention, the multimedia documents 1 and 106 have a specific document structure. Elements forming this document structure are structural elements. A combination of a plurality of structural elements forms a set of several different data components. By combining some structural elements constituting the multimedia document, a set of a plurality of data components having different sizes of component parts, data formats of the component parts, and the like is set.
The set of data components is set in advance by the data creator, and each set is prepared as a substitute for data transfer.

<Explanation of Document Definition Formula> These plural data are described in a document definition formula 1061 as shown in the following formula 1.

[0054]

Tag1 and (((tag2 or tag3 or tag4) and tag5) or (tag6 or (tag7 and tag8))) <Expression 1> The above expression is an example, and all the documents are the same expression as the above. Is not represented by

In the above <Equation 1>, tag1, tag2,
tag3, tag4, tag5, tag6, tag7,
tag8 is a tag for expressing each document part,
This corresponds to the tag on the profile list shown in FIG. The tag name may use the above component name, or may be a name that is associated with the above component name via another table. Also, the tag may be an alias of an expression indicating another document structure.

In the above formula, “and”, “or” and “()” are operation symbols, and “and” expresses that both data indicated by tags before and after it are necessary in the document. "Or" represents alternative data indicating that only one of the data indicated by the preceding and following tags is required. The part surrounded by “()” is a symbol for setting the priority of the above judgment.

[0057]

## EQU3 ## For example, tag9 and tag10 or
The expression tag11 is (tag9 and ta
g10) or tag11, if tag
9 and tag10 take precedence, and tag9 and tag9
(Tag10 or tag11),
It indicates that tag10 or tag11 has priority.

In the present invention, "and" or "or" is used as an operation symbol in each of the above expressions. However, a logical operator or a mathematical operator generally used in C language, which is a computer programming language, is used. , Or another predetermined symbol may be used for that purpose.

The above <Equation 1> will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the entire structure of the multimedia document data stored in the server of the multimedia document expressed by the <Equation 1> is tag as shown in FIG.
It is data composed of 11 components from 1 to tag11. However, when transferring this data to the client via a network or the like, in consideration of the cost, only specific data is selected from tag 1-11 to generate a combination of data elements. As a combination of the data elements, tag1, tag2, and tag5 may be selected to generate a set of data elements constituted by them, or tag1, tag3, and tag5 may be selected to generate data constituted by these. A set of elements may be generated, or tag1, tag4, and tag5 may be selected to generate a set of data elements constituted by them. Alternatively, tag1, tag7, and tag8 may be selected, and A set of data elements configured may be generated, or tag1 and tag6 may be selected to generate a set of data elements configured by them.

The above <Equation 1> expresses that there are candidates for combinations of the components of the plurality of data. That is, instead of transferring the entire data from tag1 to tag11 over a long period of time via a communication network such as a network, one of the data element combination candidates is selected and transferred to the client. Enables data transfer in a short time. This means that each set of the above data elements is a necessary data set for grasping the data. Extraction of these data, that is, selection of a combination of data elements is performed in advance by a data creator or a data manager,
It is held in the document definition formula 1061 in the memory 105 shown in FIG.

<Description of Document Structure and Operation Using Document Example>
The generation of a combination of data elements will be described using a specific document example. FIG. 12 shows the structure of the data elements constituting the document. As shown in FIG. 12A, the multimedia document has components such as sentence 1 and FIG. The case shown in FIG. 12 is composed of the components of sentence 1-sentence 9, FIG. 1-FIG. 5, moving image 1, still image 1, and table 1. For each of these elements, a set of data components selected and configured at the time of the data transfer described above is defined in advance. The defining equation is the equation described in FIG. This equation is as follows.

[0062]

<Expression 5> Sentence 1 and (FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 or Sentence 2 or Sentence 3) and (Movie 1 or Still image 1) and (Sentence 4 or Sentence 5 or Sentence 6 or ((Sentence 7 or statement 8) and (FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 or table 1))) and statement 9

FIG. 12A shows the contents of the above equation <Equation 5> in an easy-to-understand manner. Each data element is grouped by a frame. Elements enclosed in one frame, for example, FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, sentence 2, and sentence 3 are all connected by “or” in the above <Equation 5>, and any one of these is One is selectable. Also, the combination of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, sentence 2, and sentence 3 is connected to, for example, sentence 1 by “and”, indicating that sentence 1 is always selected. From <Equation 5>, several combinations of data components are possible, but an example of a combination of one of the data components is represented by the following formula.

[0064]

(Equation 5)

FIG. 12B shows the state of the data element extraction represented by <Equation 6>. The document component represented by <Equation 6> is extracted from the multimedia document including a large number of components, and a combination of data elements as illustrated in FIG. 12C is configured. This FIG.
The data set (c) is transferred from the server to the client via a communication network or the like.

FIG. 13 shows an example in which another combination of data elements is selected. FIG. 13 shows a multimedia document having components similar to those shown in FIG.
7 shows that the document represented by Expression 7> is selected.

[0067]

(Equation 6)

FIG. 13B shows the state of the data element extraction represented by <Equation 7>. A document component represented by <Equation 7> is extracted from a multimedia document including many components, and a combination of data elements as illustrated in FIG. 13C is configured. This FIG.
The data set (c) is transferred from the server to the client via a communication network or the like.

When a combination of data elements based on the document definition formula described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 is expressed using a data element tree, it is shown in FIGS. 14, 15, and 16. FIG. 14 shows the state shown in FIG.
FIG. 3A shows the constituent data elements of the multimedia document shown in FIG. In this data element tree, a branching part of the tree, that is, a part in which a plurality of parallel branches are present above and below, is combined with the upper and lower data elements by “or” in the document definition formula, and the branch is one.
The book portion indicates that the left and right data elements of the tree are joined by "and".

FIG. 15 shows, in a data element tree, the extraction of the data element selected by the above <Equation 6>, where the selected data element is 1 in the tree.
The books are connected by thick lines.

FIG. 16 shows the extraction of the data element selected by <Equation 7> in the data element tree, as in FIG. 15, and the data element selected by <Equation 7> as in FIG. Are connected by one thick line. As described above, the document candidates defined by the document definition formula are configured to be always connected by one line in the data element tree.

As described above, in a multimedia document including a plurality of constituent elements, a combination of a plurality of types of data elements can be generated, and the server determines an optimal combination of the plurality of data elements. The combination of the data elements is selected and transferred to the client. The method of selecting the optimum combination of data elements will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, a combination of two types of candidate documents enables a plurality of combinations from one multimedia document. FIG. 17 shows, as a candidate document list, a combination of data sets derived from the document definition formula defined by <Equation 1> for the multimedia document composed of the data shown in FIG. FIG. 17 shows the tag of FIG.
A document formed by combining elements selected from the respective configuration data indicated by 1 to tag 11 is shown as a candidate document list. For example, the first line in FIG. 17 is tag1: title.title in FIG. txt, tag2: au
thor. txt and tag6: index. t
xt, and the total data amount is 140 KB
Is shown.

The candidate documents are 230 KB, 200
A combination of KB, 80 KB, and 540 KB is prepared as a candidate document. These candidate document lists are shown in FIG.
Are stored in the candidate document list 1062 of the multimedia documents 1 and 106 in the memory 105 of the server device 10.

The candidate document list shown in FIG. 17 is configured in a format in which the total data amount of the document candidate represented by the above-described document definition formula <Formula 1> and the document parts included in the document candidate is one pair. However, the configuration may be such that the management number indicating the document candidate and the total data amount of the document parts included in the document candidate are paired. Further, the data pairs may be arranged in the order of the total data amount, or may not be arranged in the order of the total data amount.

The contents in the memory 105 in the server shown in FIG. 3 are arranged as follows. As shown in FIG. 3, in the multimedia document stored in the server, in addition to a text data file, an image data file, and the like, which are each component data, a profile list 1063 (including a type, a capacity, and the like of each document) is recorded. For example, FIG. 9 or FIG. 11), a document definition formula 1 for defining a combination of predetermined selected components from components in a multimedia document.
061 (for example, <Formula 1> described above) and a candidate document list 1063 (for example, FIG. 17) defined by this document definition formula are stored and held in the memory 105.

The processing flow of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23. First, FIGS.
Symbols in the flow centering on flows 3 and 20: B → E → F
A description will be given of the flow of the data transfer process when the first transmission request for one multimedia document is executed from the client according to the route of → D and B → G → H → D.

First, the client device 12 that has requested the information requests the server device 10 to send the multimedia documents 1 and 106, for example. Client device 12
However, when the client device 12 first requests the multimedia documents 1 and 106, the client device 12 first describes the “requested document candidate expression of the multimedia documents 1 and 106” and the “address of the client device 12” (hereinafter referred to as “request source address”). ) Is sent to the server device 10, and the server device 10 receives the requested document candidate expression and the request source address from the client device 12 (step S191). At this time, the client device 12 may add the time limit until the requested information is distributed to the server device 10 and send it to the request message. If the time limit until the requested information is distributed is not sent, the server device sets the processing time threshold 1 set in advance on the server device 10 side.
043, and performs processing according to the threshold value.

The delivery of the “requested document candidate expression for the multimedia documents 1 and 106” can be realized as the delivery of variables to a CGI script used in the HTTP server. That is, for example, the URL of the server device 10 is changed to “http://svrname.domain.ar”.
ea "and the name of the CGI script as" select
t. multimedia documents 1, 10 requested as "cgi"
6 is “mmtext1”, then “http
p /// svrname. domain. area / s
select. cgi? docname = mmtext
1 ".

When the time limit until the requested information is distributed is added to the request message from the client device 12, the format of the request message is, for example, 30 seconds when the requested information is distributed. Is specified as "http://svrname.do"
main. area / select. cgi? docn
ame = mmtext1 & limit = 30 ". “Docname” is a variable name for passing the document name of the multimedia document. "Limi
"t" is a variable name for passing a time limit until the requested information is distributed. “&” Is a symbol for separating variables.

The above “request source address” is transferred by C
When a request is sent to the GI script, the request can be realized by passing an IP address or the name of the host that issued the request as a CGI script variable (step S2 in FIG. 21).
11).

HTTP is Internet RFC1945.
It is described in. HTTP is a client (clie
nt) specifies a communication protocol when operating in a client-server model in which a server responds to a request from the server.

The delivery of a message by HTTP is as simple as a server returning a response to a request from a client. FIG. 24 shows the flow of messages according to HTTP.

The detecting means 1041 in the server device 10 uses the pi normally used in UNIX OS or the like for the “request source address” sent from the client device 12.
The measurement of the arrival time of the packet to the “request source address” is started by the ng command or similar means (FIG. 2).
1 step S212).

At the same time as the start of measurement by the ping command or similar means, time measurement by a timer or the like is started (step S 213). A response from the request source address is sent (step S 214). The response time of the original address is obtained (step S215). The measured packet arrival time is passed to the information selection unit 1042. Since the size of the packet used for the measurement is set in advance, the response time obtained above for transferring the information of the size of the packet takes a long time. The size of data that can be transferred can be calculated (step S
216) The information selecting means 1042 in the server device 10 determines whether or not there is a description designating a component part in the above-mentioned "requested document candidate expression for the multimedia documents 1 and 106" sent from the client device 12 to the server device 10. (Step S192 in FIG. 19) The corresponding candidate document list 1062 is selected from the "requested document candidate expression for multimedia documents 1 and 106" (Step S2 in FIG. 23).
31). This is the case where the client device 12 requests the multimedia documents 1 and 106 for the first time. Although the selection process may be performed after the acquisition of the response time, performing the selection process when measuring the response time can shorten the entire processing time.

[0086] The information selecting means 1042 selects the candidate document list 1
For each of the data sizes of the candidate documents described in 062, the size of the data that can be transferred in the time within the processing time threshold value 1043 calculated in (step S216) of FIG. 21 is compared. (Step S20 in FIG. 20)
2). The information selection unit 1042 is a candidate document list 1062
(Step S203 in FIG. 20) The information selecting means selects the one having the largest data amount among the sets of data components described in (1) which does not exceed the transferable data amount within the processing time threshold value 1043. Reference numeral 1042 selects a document part described in the set of data components in the candidate document list 1062 selected in step S203 by using the document definition expression 1061 (step S20 in FIG. 20).
4).

The selected document is added with a header and the like necessary for transfer (step S205 in FIG. 20) and transferred to the request source address (step S206 in FIG. 20). Less than,
Wait for the transfer to be completed (step S207 in FIG. 20). When the transfer is completed, the processing on the server side is ended and the processing returns to the processing on the client side.

Next, focusing on the flows of FIGS. 18, 19, 20, and 23, the client has already received the transmission of the multimedia document and makes a request for retransmission of the transmitted document, or for changing the data set. The flow of processing when data is newly sent from the server will be described.

When the request for the multimedia documents 1 and 106 from the client device 12 is for the second time or later, the client device 12 has already provided the multimedia document 1 and 106 component tree represented by <Expression 1> and the candidate document A plurality of components included in one of the sets of data components described in the list 1062 have been transmitted at the time of the first data transmission.

First, the user who is on the client side is as shown in FIG.
The user specifies the requested document part node from the component tree through the user interface as shown in FIGS. 5 to 26 (FIG. 18, S181). In the user interface shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, the display of the component tree (a) and the information content display portion (b) are expressed in a divided form. These display portions are displayed by a single display, or A form for selectively displaying may be used.
FIGS. 25 and 26 show a state in which the hatched portion of the tree display (a) is selected and the selected content is displayed as the content (b). FIG. 25 (a) to FIG. 26
In (a), the display of the component tree is described using an expression using a graphical user interface, but a text-based interface may be used. These interface portions correspond to the requested document selecting unit 1253 in the client device 12 in FIG.

FIGS. 25 (a) through 26 (a) show how a user on the client side specifies a document part node.
May be selected with a mouse or the like, or the information display part of the information shown in FIGS. 25B to 26B may be selected with a mouse or the like.
Alternatively, the name of the requested document part node may be input as text or the like.

The document element selecting means 1254 selects a data set in the component tree including the node of the document component specified by the request document selecting means 1253 (FIG. 18, step S182). Document element selection means 1254
Creates a request document candidate formula for requesting the further selected data set (step S183).

To explain with a specific example, the component tree of a multimedia document that has already been sent is:

[0094]

In the case of tag1 and (tag2 or tag3) and tag4 and (tag5 or (tag6 and (tag7 or tag8))), the data of tag1 and tag3 and tag4 and tag4 and tag4 and tag4 are sent.

[0095]

## EQU8 ## At this time, if the information of tag6 is designated as the request node, the required document candidate expression is tag1 and (tag2 or tag3) and tag4 and tag6 and (tag7 or tag8)).

It is determined whether or not the component parts included in the above equation have already been sent (step S18).
4) If it has already been sent, the acquisition date and time of the component part is added to the request document candidate formula (step S1).
85) If it is an unacquired object, a flag indicating that it is an unacquired object is added to the requested document candidate expression (step S18).
6) This process is performed for each of the component parts (step S187), and a document request is made by sending the completed required document candidate formula to the server after the series of processes is completed (step 188).

The date of the component part is temporarily set to "date", and a flag indicating that the component has not been acquired is temporarily set to "null".
l ", the required document candidate expression after adding a flag or the like is:

[0098]

[Mathematical formula-see original document] tag1 (date) and (tag2 (null) or tag3 (null)) and tag4 (date) and tag6 (null) and (tag7 (null) or tag8 (null)))

As a format for sending a document request in a format in which such a flag is added to the server, for example, the URL of the server device 10 is set to “http: // svrna”.
me. domain. area ", the name of the CGI script is" select.cgi ", and the name of the requested multimedia document 1, 106 is" mmtext1 ".
, "Http: //svrname.d
omain. area / select. cgi? doc
name = mmtext1 & RQL = “tag1 (da
te) and (tag2 (null) or ta
g3 (null)) and tag4 (date)
and tag6 (null) and (tag7 (n
(ull) or tag8 (null)))) "”.

From the transfer of the “request source address” (step S211 in FIG. 21), the size of data that can be transferred within the processing time threshold value 1043 is calculated (step S2).
The processing up to 216) is the same as the case where the multimedia documents 1 and 106 are requested for the first time from the client device 12 described above, and the description is omitted.

Information selecting means 104 in server device 10
No. 2 determines whether or not there is a description designating a component part in the “requested document candidate expression of the multimedia documents 1 and 106” sent from the client device 12 to the server device 10 (step S192 in FIG. 19).

If the request document candidate expression includes a description of a component part, it is determined whether or not there is an acquisition date and time of the component part in the request document candidate expression (step 193). A sending flag indicating that the component is a component to be sent (step 19)
5).

If there is a description regarding a component part in the request document candidate expression, and the request document candidate expression includes the acquisition date of the component part, the acquisition of the component element described in the request document candidate expression It is checked whether the date and time is the same as the creation date and time of the corresponding component in the server device 10 (step 194). If the date is the same, it means that the information of the component parts in the server device 10 has not been updated since the component parts in the server device 10 were sent to the client device 12, and it is necessary to newly send them. Therefore, a non-transmission flag indicating that the component is not a component to be transmitted is set (step 196).

The above processing is performed for each of the component parts described in the request document candidate formula (step 19).
7), a sending candidate expression is generated (step 198).

[0105]

As an example, the required document candidate expressions are tag1 (date) and (tag2 (null) or tag3 (null)) and tag4 (date) and tag6 (null) and (tag7 (null) or tag8 (ul)). )) When,

Of the corresponding component parts on the server side, tag1 is not updated, tag2, tag6, tag
If g7 and tag8 have not been sent, and tag3 and tag4 have been updated, and the sending candidate formula at this time is to write the sending flag as "S" and the non-sending flag as "N",

[0107]

[Mathematical formula-see original document] tag1 (N) and (tag2 (S) or tag3 (S)) and tag4 (S) and tag6 (S) and (tag7 (S) or tag8 (S))).

The sum of the sizes of the component parts having the transmission flag attached to the component parts in the transmission candidate expression is calculated for each combination of the expressions (step S20 in FIG. 20).
1).

[0109]

[Table 3] When the sending candidate expression is the above, tag2, tag
Sum of 4, tag6, and tag7, or ta
The sum of combinations of g2, tag4, tag6, and tag8 or the sum of combinations of tag3, tag4, tag6, and tag7, or tag3, tag4, tag6
It suffices to calculate the sum of the tag8 combinations.

This corresponds to the case where the client device 12 requests the multimedia documents 1 and 106 for the second and subsequent times. Although the selection process may be performed after the acquisition of the response time, performing the selection process when measuring the response time can shorten the entire processing time.

From the comparison between the size of these component parts and the size of the data that can be transferred within the processing time threshold value 1043 (step S202 in FIG. 20), the transfer from the server device 10 to the client device 12 is completed. Is the same as that described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

From the server device 10 to the client device 1
Whether the transfer to client device 2 has been completed is determined by client device 10.
However, it is detected (step S221 in FIG. 22). If the transfer is not completed within a predetermined time due to an abnormality in the transmission path or sudden network congestion, this is determined ( (Step S222) The process ends with an error.

From the server device 10 to the client device 1
In the case where the transfer to No. 2 has been completed normally, the transferred data has been stored by the information storage means 1251 (step S223). Since the information sent at the first time is also mixed in the memory 125, the document reconstructing unit 1255 reconstructs the document according to the composition instruction formula sent from the server device 10. (Step S224) The reconstructed data is displayed by the information display means 1252 (Step S225).

The client device 1 is sent from the server device 10
2 is information having a transferable time that does not exceed the standard transmission time defined by the processing time threshold value 1043 as described above, so that it is guaranteed that the information will pass through the transmission path within a fixed time. ing. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the usage of the transmission path.

Since the information transferred to the client device in this manner is included in the candidate document list selected according to the document structure expressed by <Equation 1>, the configuration of <Equation 1> By intentionally changing the setting, a transmission data configuration that reflects the intention of the information distribution side can be realized.

FIG. 27 shows (Step S203) and (Step S204) of FIG. 20 in relation to the candidate document list 1062 and the profile list 1063. FIG. 27 illustrates an example where the maximum transfer amount = 300 KB as the size of transferable data corresponding to the time threshold value defined as the processing time threshold value 1043. Since the maximum transfer amount of data determined by the threshold value is 300 KB, a candidate document list (left in FIG. 27)
Of the plurality of candidates, the one having a capacity of 230 KB is selected as the largest one having a capacity within 300 KB. This is Figure 2
0 (step S203).

The capacity 230 selected from the candidate document list
The corresponding file name is selected from the profile list on the right side of FIG. 27 based on the tag name described in the set of the data components of the KB, and the selected file is selected to be transferred. This is shown in FIG.
This corresponds to the processing of 4). When selecting a file, the header and the description format at the time of final transfer change based on the file format described in the profile list.

Since the example of the profile list in FIG. 27 is not the example of the profile list of FIG. 9, but the example of the profile list of FIG. 11, the candidate document list of FIG. 27 is described in the profile list of FIG. Is described as an element of the candidate document list.

When the format shown in FIG. 9 is used as the profile list, the candidate document list has the format shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 27, when the profile list of FIG. 11 is used, “the corresponding file name is selected from the profile list on the right side of FIG. 27 by the tag name”. If you use a list,
"The corresponding file name is selected from the profile list on the right side of FIG. 27 by the file name." Except for this change, the candidate document list creation procedure is common to both the case of using the profile list of FIG. 9 and the case of using the profile list of FIG.

FIG. 28 shows the relationship between the transfer time and the transfer amount in the network for a plurality of different transfer capacities. The horizontal axis indicates the transfer amount, and the vertical axis indicates the processing time. A, B, C, and D on the horizontal axis are the data capacities of the candidate documents selected from the multimedia document by the document definition formula. That is, it indicates that four types of data having the data amount are set as the candidate documents and are recorded in the candidate document list. The threshold values set in the server are indicated by dotted lines.

Here, when the transfer capacity of the network is sufficiently large, for example, in the case of the transfer capacity 4 in FIG. 28, the transfer amount D (the total amount D of the file) is smaller than the threshold value of the processing time including the transfer. Although the processing can be completed in a short time, if the transfer capacity of the network becomes small, for example, in the case of the transfer capacity 3 in FIG. It takes.
Therefore, when the transfer capacity is small (in the case of the transfer capacity 3 in FIG. 28), the transfer amount C (the total amount C of the file) is selected as the transfer data, and if the transfer is performed, the threshold value of the processing time including the transfer is selected. Processing can be completed in a shorter time.

For example, when the transfer capacity of the network is small, the data transferable capacity per unit time is small. For example, the relationship between the transfer amount and the processing time indicated by the straight line of “case of transfer capacity 1” in FIG. The amount of data that can be transferred in a given time increases in the order of transfer capacity 1 to transfer capacity 4.

Assuming that the threshold value is set as shown by the broken line in FIG. 28, if the position indicated by the left arrow in FIG. 28 is lower than the threshold value according to the state of each transfer capacity, Data transfer is possible, and if it is above the threshold value, the transfer of the corresponding data requires a time exceeding the threshold value.

In transferring data from the server to the client, a data transfer route in the network is first determined, the transfer capacity of the determined route is confirmed, and the relationship between the transfer amount and the processing time shown in FIG. Ask. This relationship is, for example, a straight line as shown in FIG. Next, a candidate document list of multimedia documents requested by the client is searched or calculated, and the capacity of each candidate document list is plotted on the obtained straight line, and the plot is set to a predetermined threshold value. Is determined whether it is on the upper side or on the lower side, and the one with the largest capacity is selected from the document candidate list on the lower side, and this selected document is transferred to the client side via the network.

By sending a multimedia document to a client by such a procedure, it is possible to send selected information within a predetermined time of the multimedia document, that is, within a time of a preset threshold value. It becomes possible.

[0126]

As described above, in the data transfer system of the present invention, when distributing information, the information to be distributed is rearranged in accordance with the document structure predetermined according to the state of the transmission path, and the transmission amount is controlled. Within the prescribed cost,
For example, there is an effect that optimal information can be distributed in a transfer time within a certain time.

Further, the data transfer system of the present invention
Since the structure of a document to be re-arranged for controlling the transmission amount is set in advance, a data structure that reflects the intention of the information distributor can be realized.

Further, the data transfer system of the present invention enables the server to flexibly respond to a request for additional information such as retransmission of information or transmission of detailed information from a client device. It is possible to easily select an optimum data combination according to the data traffic situation of the network and send it to the user.

Further, in the data transfer system of the present invention, when a user requests additional information such as retransmission of information from the client device or transmission of detailed information, the data element tree is sent to the client device side. So that the user can directly select the components.

Further, the data transfer system of the present invention can be used even when the user selects a single component when the user requests additional information such as retransmission of information from the client device or transmission of detailed information. In addition, it is possible to send a document including the selected components and reflecting the intention of the information distributor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a flow of cost calculation in data transfer in a network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a correlation between cost and transmission speed in data transfer in a network.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a data processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating a connection example between a server and a client;

FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating a connection example between a server and a client;

FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 3) illustrating a connection example between a server and a client;

FIG. 7 is a diagram (part 4) illustrating a connection example between a server and a client;

FIG. 8 is a diagram (part 5) illustrating a connection example between a server and a client;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a profile list.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a format example of one record of a profile list.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a profile list.

FIG. 12 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating selection of a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 13 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating selection of a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a document candidate of a multimedia document using a data element tree.

FIG. 15 is a diagram (part 1) for explaining selection of a document candidate of a multimedia document by using a data element tree.

FIG. 16 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining selection of a document candidate for a multimedia document by using a data element tree.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a candidate document list.

FIG. 18 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating the flow of selecting a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 19 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating the flow of selecting a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 20 is a diagram (part 3) illustrating the flow of selecting a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 21 is a diagram (part 4) illustrating the flow of selecting a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 22 is a diagram (No. 5) illustrating the flow of selecting a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 23 is a diagram (part 6) illustrating the flow of selecting a document candidate for a multimedia document.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing exchange of messages between a client and a server.

FIG. 25 is a display example (1) of a client device using a graphic user interface.

FIG. 26 is a display example (2) on the client device side using the graphic user interface.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing cooperation between operations of a candidate document list and a profile list.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a transfer amount and a transfer time depending on a transfer capacity of a communication path.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 server device 101 CPU 102 communication means 103 computer bus 104 memory 1041 detection means 1042 information selection means 1043 processing time threshold 105 memory 106 multimedia document 1 1061 document definition formula 1062 candidate document list 1063 profile list 1064 text data file 1 1065 Text data file 2 1066 Text data file 3 1067 Image data file 1 1068 Image data file 2 107 Multimedia document 2 11 Communication network 12 Client device 121 CPU 122 Communication means 123 Computer bus 124 Console 125 Memory 1251 Information storage means 1252 Information display means 1253 Request document selection means 1254 Document element selection means

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A data transfer system for transferring transfer request data from a server device to the client device via the network based on a data transfer request from a client device connected to a network connecting a plurality of computers to the server device. In the above, the server device may include a memory for storing data to be transferred, a document candidate defining unit for defining a plurality of document candidates in which elements constituting the data are combined in a plurality of modes, and a data transfer to the client device Cost detecting means for detecting a cost; information selecting means for selecting a combination of data elements constituting the data requested to be transferred, according to the cost required for data transfer detected by the cost detecting means; The data selected by the selection means; Communication means for transferring a combination of data elements constituting data to the client device, wherein the client device includes request document selecting means for designating data requested to the server; and Document element selecting means for selecting a combination of data elements to be selected, communication means for transferring identification data indicating a combination of data elements constituting the data selected by the document element selecting means to the server device, and the server device A memory for storing data to be transferred from the server device, and document reconstructing means for reconstructing the data transferred from the server device as a combination of data elements including the requested data. system. 2. The data transfer system according to claim 1, wherein said server device stores a profile list in which a data capacity of each of data elements constituting data is recorded in a memory. 3. The document candidate definition means has a document definition formula in which identifiers of data elements constituting data to be transferred are related by an operator, and the server device is configured to execute the document definition defined by the document definition formula. 2. The data transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising a candidate document list indicating a combination of data elements. 4. An information selection device according to claim 1, wherein said server device holds a preset threshold value for data transfer cost in a memory, and selects a combination of data elements not exceeding said set threshold value from said candidate document list. 4. The data transfer system according to claim 3, further comprising means for transmitting a combination of data elements selected by said information selecting means to said client device. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said requesting document selecting means and said document element selecting means in said client device select a document and a document element in said client device by selecting a data element displayed by a display means in said client device. The data transfer system according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The information selection by the information selection means in the server device includes detecting, for each data element constituting a request document from the client device, whether or not the data element has been sent to the client device.
2. The data transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the data transfer system is executed based on a sending candidate expression having a flag for distinguishing a sent data element from an unsent data element. 7. The document element selecting means in the client device generates a definition expression defining a combination of data elements including the request data, and the definition expression relates an identification tag indicating the data element by an operator. Expression
2. The data element according to claim 1, wherein each data element has a flag for distinguishing whether the data element has already been obtained or not yet obtained.
Data transfer system as described. 8. A server device for transferring transfer request data to a client device via a network based on a data transfer request from a client device connected to a network connecting a plurality of computers, and stores the data to be transferred. A memory, a profile list storing a capacity of each data element constituting the data, and detecting, for each data element constituting a request document from the client apparatus, whether or not the data element has been transmitted to the client apparatus. Means for generating a sending candidate expression having a flag that distinguishes a sent data element from an unsent data element, and communication means for sending a combination of data elements based on the sending candidate expression to the client device in the previous period. Characteristic server device. 9. The server device further includes: a document definition formula in which the data elements are related by an operator as a definition formula for defining a plurality of document candidates obtained by combining the data elements in a plurality of modes; 9. The server device according to claim 8, further comprising: a candidate document list indicating a combination of the data elements defined by: 10. A data transfer method for transferring, based on a data transfer request from a client device connected to a network connecting a plurality of computers to a server device, the transfer request data from the server device to the client device via the network. Detecting a cost per unit data required for data transfer to the client device; calculating a transfer cost for each of a plurality of document candidates obtained by combining data elements constituting the data in a plurality of modes; A document candidate selecting step of selecting, from among the document candidates, a combination of data elements having a transfer cost that does not exceed a preset threshold value for the data transfer cost held in the server; and communicating the selected document candidate. Means through the means Sending the selected document candidate to the client device, and reconstructing the received document candidate as a combination of data elements including the transfer request data in the client device that has received the selected document candidate. Data transfer method to use. 11. The step of calculating a transfer cost for each of the plurality of document candidates includes: a) a cost per unit data; and b) a document definition formula defined in advance in the server device. 11. The data transfer method according to claim 10, wherein the data transfer method is executed based on: a data capacity of each of a plurality of document candidates which is a plurality of combinations of data elements constituting the data. 12. The document candidate selecting step detects whether or not each of the data elements constituting the requested document from the client device is data that has been transmitted to the client device, and determines whether the data element has been transmitted and has not been transmitted. The data transfer method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of generating a sending candidate expression having a flag that distinguishes data elements. 13. A client device for requesting data transfer to a server device connected to a network connecting a plurality of computers and receiving transfer data from the server device via the network. Request document selecting means for selecting request data; document element selecting means for selecting a combination of data elements including the request data selected by the request document selecting means; combination of data elements selected by the document element selecting means Communication means for sending identification data indicating the following to the server device and receiving data sent from the server device based on the identification data; a memory for storing data sent from the server device; The data sent from the server device that has been Client device comprising a document reconstruction means for reconstructing a combination of data elements, further comprising an information display means for displaying the data reconstructed by the document reconstruction means including. 14. The document element selecting means in the client device generates a definition expression defining a combination of data elements including the request data, and the definition expression relates an identification tag indicating the data element by an operator. Expression
2. The data element according to claim 1, wherein each data element has a flag for distinguishing whether the data element has already been obtained or not yet obtained.
3. The client device according to 3. 15. The client device according to claim 14, wherein, for the data elements that have already been acquired, a document definition formula to which data indicating the acquisition date and time is added is generated. .