KR100842084B1 - Application of mobile device and method for executing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An application mounted on a mobile terminal in hierarchical structure and an execution method in the mobile terminal are provided to configure an application within the mobile terminal in up/down hierarchical structure, so that lower applications can be executed and managed by an upper application which is being executed on a platform. An upper application is carried out(S1), and a program code of a lower application is loaded on a memory of the upper application(S2). A relative address recorded in a program code area of the lower application is converted into an absolute address of a terminal to change the address into an address value accessible from the inside of the terminal(S3). A start function position designated when the lower application is linked is searched(S4). The current mode is converted into an ARM mode or a Thumb mode according to a state of a code where the lower application is compiled(S5). A program counter is moved, and a start function of the lower application is called(S6).

Description

Application of mobile device and method for executing the same}

1 is a system diagram of a platform and an application mounted in a conventional mobile communication terminal,

2 is an execution state diagram of an application mounted on a conventional mobile communication terminal.

3 is a schematic diagram of an application according to the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram showing an execution state of an application according to the present invention;

5 is a schematic diagram showing an event processing procedure for driving an application according to the present invention;

6 is a flow chart illustrating in more detail the process until the lower application is executed in the present invention;

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

100: mobile terminal 110: platform

121 to 123: Upper application 131 to 136: Lower application

141: sub-application

The present invention relates to an application mounted on a mobile terminal in a hierarchical structure and a method of executing the same in a mobile terminal. More specifically, the application in the mobile terminal is configured in a hierarchical structure up and down by a higher application running on a platform. The present invention relates to an application of a mobile terminal and a method of executing the same, wherein the lower application is executed and managed.

As services provided through mobile communication terminals have increased in quality and quantity, mobile platforms have been introduced to provide an execution environment for applications independently from the hardware (H / W) and operating system (O / S) of the terminal.

Recently, due to the development of mobile communication terminal and wireless internet related technology, various applications and services based on mobile platform have been developed, and a large number of applications and services are competitively produced by various manufacturers in accordance with various needs and preferences of users. Is being provided.

Mobile platform-based applications and services are applications or wireless Internet services that can be executed on a mobile platform, and are typically downloaded from a download server through a wireless Internet network and installed in a terminal.

Examples of applications and services that can be executed on the current mobile platform include various entertainment programs such as games, and various applications such as various mobile contents such as movies, music, cartoons, advertisements, related programs, video programs, and e-book programs. Increasingly, the trend is not limited to any particular type, but more diverse.

The mobile platform refers to a middleware program embedded in a terminal to use a wireless Internet service. The mobile platform directly affects the type and range of applications that can be downloaded to the wireless Internet and run on the terminal, and directly affects the user interface or application download and execution speed. In this respect, the quality of wireless Internet service is directly related to the quality.

Examples of mobile platforms currently used in mobile communication terminals are WIPI (Wireless Internet), developed jointly by BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) developed by Cullcom, Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Ministry of Information and Communication, and Korea Wireless Internet Standardization Forum. Platform for Interoperability (WITOP) and Wireless Internet Terminal Open Platform (WITOP) are being used.

As is known, all applications running in the mobile communication terminal should be manufactured to be linked to the mobile platform as described above, and should be produced in different ways according to the type of the mobile platform.

That is, all current mobile applications are made to operate on the mobile platform provided by the mobile carrier, and the production company makes various applications such as games to operate using various APIs (Application Programming Interface) provided by the platform. have.

An API is a set of subroutines or functions that a program or an application can call to an operating system (OS) for processing. It is a set of functions that define functions such as an operating system and how to use the functions.

For example, the Windows API consists of more than 1000 functions, and the application author can use various functions by calling a function simply by describing the function in the program. This set of functions is called an API.

In the mobile platform, API is to promote various application development by providing standardized platform compatibility. It is usually provided in the form of a dynamic linking library (DLL), and a DLL is used to add an API. To add API, DLL must be loaded into memory and used.

1 is a schematic diagram of a platform and an application mounted in a conventional mobile communication terminal, and FIG. 2 is an execution state diagram of an application mounted in a conventional mobile communication terminal, and can be executed on the mobile platform 110 and the mobile platform 110. When an application 1 121 and an application 2, 3 (122, 123) are mounted on a specific terminal 100, the application 1 121 and the application 2, 3 (122, 123) are both mobile platforms 110. Is directly executed, controlled and managed by the mobile platform 110, and the application 2 needs to be executed because the mobile platform 110 does not provide an API for executing the application 2 122 under the situation in which the application 1 121 operates. In this case, the procedure to terminate application 1 and execute application 2 is followed.

In such a conventional configuration, all existing mobile terminal applications can be implemented only in a limited environment provided by the platform. That is, since a specific application calls an API to be used for implementing a function and the platform generates and processes an event according to the called API information to communicate with the application, the existing application cannot implement a function not provided by the platform. If the function is not provided by the platform, the service cannot be provided using the platform.

As such, the conventional mobile application (mobile content) uses an API provided by the mobile platform, and therefore, must be able to be executed, controlled, and managed by the mobile platform, and thus can be implemented only in the limited environment provided by the platforms.

Therefore, manufacturers that develop and provide each mobile application should basically produce and deliver a mobile application that can be executed on the platform provided by the mobile carrier. There is this.

In other words, when a manufacturer wants to develop and provide a specific application, it must be delivered for a predetermined period of time and prepared for a service so that users can download and execute the application through wireless data communication.

Moreover, if the publisher found that there was a bug after servicing the application, the user could use the newly modified application after fixing the bug and preparing the service again.

As a result, even if a mobile content producer has made a patch of a program such as an online game or has finished producing a new version of content, it is impossible to quickly respond to and update a bug in terms of an actual user.

Accordingly, the present invention has been invented to solve the above problems, by configuring the application in the mobile terminal in the upper and lower hierarchical structure, the lower application is executed and managed by the upper application running on the platform, the user terminal in The present invention provides a mobile terminal application and a method of executing the patch or update of the lower application using the upper application by itself, enabling rapid bug response and update of the lower application.

In addition, the present invention enables the execution of other applications in one application, it is possible to additionally execute and control other contents in one content without functional restrictions, a mobile terminal for improving the efficiency in the development and operation of the application Provides an application and a method of executing the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, an upper application that is produced to be linked to the platform of the mobile terminal to run and manage the application of the lower layer while running on the platform; A lower level application which is downloaded from the download server to the mobile terminal by the upper level application and is executed and managed independently of the platform by the upper level application.

In a preferred embodiment, it characterized in that it comprises a plurality of upper applications running on the platform, and a plurality of lower applications that are downloaded, executed and managed by a specific upper application of the plurality of upper applications.

In addition, in a preferred embodiment, a particular application is characterized in that it comprises a plurality of sub-applications in a multi-layered hierarchical structure that is downloaded, executed and managed by another application.

On the other hand, the present invention, the mobile terminal is a high-end application that is produced to be linked to the platform to run and manage the application of the lower layer while running on the platform, and a lower application that is executed and managed independently of the platform by the upper application Providing to; Executing an upper application on the platform; In the state where the program code of the lower application is loaded in the memory of the upper application, the relative address recorded in the program code area of the lower application is converted into an absolute address of the terminal and changed into an address value accessible within the terminal. Steps; Thereafter searching for a starting function position of the subapplication, and switching the mode according to the state of the compiled code; Moving the current execution position running in the upper application to the starting function of the lower application, and when the starting function of the lower application is called, connecting the wrapping function of the platform API delivered from the upper application; The upper application delivers events generated in the platform to the lower application, and the lower application responds to the execution of the application and the implementation of the function. The method provides an execution method of the application mounted in a hierarchical structure.

In a preferred embodiment, the lower application is provided to the mobile terminal in a state in which the program code is compressed, and the program code of the lower application extracted after the decompression in the state of executing the upper application is loaded into the memory of the upper application. It is done.

In a preferred embodiment, the lower application is characterized in that the download is provided to the mobile terminal from the manufacturer's own download server by the execution of the upper application provided preferentially.

In a preferred embodiment, the sub-application is characterized in that the patch or update program for modifying or versioning up the pre-app provided to the mobile terminal.

In a preferred embodiment, further comprising the step of providing to the mobile terminal another sub-application independently executed and managed by the sub-application while the sub-application is preferentially provided; And executing execution and function implementation of the another sub-application additionally provided by the sub-application provided preferentially.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention configures all applications in a mobile terminal in a hierarchical structure, and allows an upper application running on a mobile platform such as WIPI, BREW, and WITOP to execute and manage another lower application, and to provide an API provided in a platform. The main focus is on enabling lower-level applications to be executed and managed by higher-level applications without using them.

In the present invention, the execution of the lower application does not use the terminal platform, so that the lower application is executed by the upper application even without providing a corresponding function in the existing platform, so that the development of the lower application is not restricted by the platform. . Here, the upper application is an application that must be delivered by the mobile content producer according to the delivery process of the mobile carrier, which is directly executed and managed by the platform, and can run and control another application of the lower layer. It will act as middleware.

According to the present invention, if a mobile content producer has made a patch for a sub-application or a new version is completed and uploaded to its own server, the patch version and the updated version are applied to the parent application without platform limitations. As a result, it is possible to quickly patch or version up the lower application by the upper application in the user terminal.

In other words, if only the patch version or the update version can be downloaded from the mobile terminal by the mobile terminal, the user terminal can execute the patch or update of the lower application by the upper application. As a result, in the case of the lower application, the manufacturer can quickly respond to and update bugs in the user terminal.

Of course, the parent application that needs to be executed directly by the mobile platform (the highest application if the entire application system has been extended in several stages to run another child application by the child application) must go through the delivery process of the mobile carrier to It can be used and is designed to implement all operations and functions within the environment provided by the platform.

In this way, the existing mobile applications were difficult to execute if the platform does not support in the mobile, but in the present invention, the upper application executes the lower application independently of the platform, so that the execution of the lower application is not limited to the platform. You will not receive.

In addition, the existing mobile application can not be modified or limited modification of the function once downloaded to the terminal, the terminal to which the present invention is applied as if applying a patch version in the online game without the limitation of the platform from the mobile content producer It's easier and faster to modify, patch, or install additional early applications. In the past, in the case of a bug in the program, it was possible for consumers to download the modified program after a long time through the delivery process of the mobile carrier to receive the modified version. This becomes possible. Although these processes were functions that were not possible with the conventional platform, the present invention was made possible by using a higher application of the MAOS (Mobile Application Operating System) concept, and additionally, the service process schedule can be very fast and fast. .

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

3 is a schematic diagram of an application according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an execution state of an application according to the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an event processing process for driving an application according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process up to execution of a lower application in the present invention in more detail.

As shown, the mobile terminal 100 is equipped with a mobile platform 110 that provides an execution environment of the application independently from the hardware (H / W) and the operating system (O / S), the same as the conventional mobile platform Therefore, further description will be omitted.

In addition, the terminal 100 is equipped with a plurality of applications (121 to 123, 131 to 136, 141) that are executed in a hierarchical manner, and these applications are various entertainment programs such as games, and various contents such as movies, music, cartoons, advertisements, and the like. It may be various applications such as a program, a video program, an e-book program, etc., which are various types of mobile applications that may be provided from a corresponding manufacturer in a mobile environment and may be driven in the terminal 100. Do not.

In the illustrated example, applications 1 to 3 (121 to 123) are higher-level applications provided to the user terminal 100, which are manufactured to be linked to the mobile platform 110, and are different depending on the type of the mobile platform. Produced and provided.

The upper applications 121 to 123 are applications that are made to operate on the terminal platform 110 provided by the mobile communication company, which executes and manages the lower applications 131 to 136 described below while being executed on the terminal platform. In addition, the production company that produces mobile content is produced to operate using a number of API (Application Programming Interface) provided by the platform.

In this case, when the upper application 121 to 123 calls an API of the platform 110 to be used for implementing the function, the platform generates and processes an event according to the called API information to communicate with the upper application. Implementing features not provided by the platform is impossible.

The upper applications (121 ~ 123) may be a program that allows users to run after downloading through wireless data communication if the mobile content producer to prepare the service provided after the delivery process according to the carrier's delivery, such a In the aspect, the upper application is not different from the existing application running on the platform of the user terminal.

However, in the present invention, the lower applications 131 to 136 to be described later can be executed without using the platform 110 of the terminal 100, while the upper applications 121 to 123 are executed on the platform 110. Independently from the platform, the lower applications 131 to 136 are executed and controlled, and in this aspect, the upper application serves as a middleware capable of driving and controlling a separate application. That is, in the present invention, the upper application includes a platform element for executing the lower application on the platform of the terminal, and the mobile application operating system (MAOS) that can execute and manage the lower application independently of the platform. This can be called.

Meanwhile, in FIG. 3, the application 1-1 to 3 (131 to 133) and the application 3-1 to 3 (134 to 136) are lower applications that are executed by the upper application 121 to 123. Unlike the upper applications 121 to 123, which are manufactured according to the platform 110 of 100 and undergo the delivery process of the mobile communication company, the manufacturer uses the upper application 121 to 123 by the manufacturer server itself. As an application to be provided, the application is executed and managed independently of the platform by the upper applications 121 to 123 running on the platform 110.

Accordingly, when the manufacturer produces the lower applications 131 to 136 and then independently uploads them through its own server, the user terminal 100 preferentially uses the upper applications 121 to 123 provided from the lower application server from the production server. After downloading options 131 to 136, the sub-application can be used.

3 illustrates a terminal application system including only the platform 110, upper applications (MAOS) 121 to 123, and lower applications 131 to 136 that are executed by the upper application. Sub-applications can be infinitely extended.

In other words, the applications 1-1 to 3 (131 to 133) and / or applications 3-1 to 3 (134 to 136), which are the lower applications, perform the same role as the upper applications 121 to 123, and this application is performed. One or more sub-applications (not shown) that can be executed and managed by the 1-1 to 3 (131 to 133) and / or the applications 3-1 to 3 (134 to 136) may be respectively provided. The hierarchical structure of the application is infinitely expandable.

Of course, in the case of multiple stages, the top-level application that runs directly on the platform is the MAOS, and one sub-application in the multi-tier sub-application layer runs and manages the sub-application immediately below it while it is running. It will play the role of MAOS.

5, the terminal platform 110 provided by the mobile communication company, the upper application (MAOS) 121 driven on the platform, and the lower application 1-1 131 executed by the upper application. And an event processing process in a hierarchical structure of a mobile application composed of sub-applications 1-1-141 executed by the sub-applications 1-1, generating and processing events in the platform 110. In order to transmit the data to the MAOS 121, the MAOS 121 delivers or directly processes an event to the lower application 1-1 131, and the lower application 1-131 receiving the event receives the lower application 1-1. -1 (141) forwards the event or processes it directly, eventually from sub-application 1-1-1 (141) to sub-application 1-1 (131), and sub-application 1-1 (131) to MAOS 121 , And platform (110) on MAOS (121) As a response is made, the function of the application desired by the user is realized.

In this way, in the present invention, the separate applications 131 to 136 are executed and managed independently of the terminal platform by the applications 121 to 123 that are directly executed on the terminal platform 110, thereby enabling mobile in a mobile environment. Application management of the user terminal is possible by the content producer itself. In addition, since one application can execute another application, it is possible to additionally execute and control other contents in one content without any functional restrictions.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is an additional advantage that memory management is more efficient in a terminal environment having a limited capacity. As is well known, the program code can be executed only when it is loaded into memory at the time of initial execution. When the present invention is used, only the necessary parts can be loaded at the time of initial execution, thereby maximizing execution speed and memory saving. In addition, since the program code can be downloaded as a separate resource or download, the compression technology can be used. In the conventional case, since the program code could not be compressed depending on the platform, the capacity could not be used as much as the present invention. Does not cover any platform environment, so you can use program code compression in any environment.

In the present invention, in order to execute a subordinate application, a memory area in which a program code of each subordinate application can be loaded is selected from a memory, and a newly downloaded or previously inserted program code is loaded therein, and the upper application mounted as a MAOS. In this way, the sub-application executes by loading the program itself into a memory area and executing the sub-application. Also, the sub-application is not an application directly running on the platform. This disappears.

In order to apply the present invention, the subordinate application must write a program code that can be loaded into a memory and executed.

Basically, writing executable program code means that it must have a certain standard and can operate normally in the terminal platform environment. To do this, it is necessary to relocate the function that is the entry point of the program to a certain position in the program code. In addition, it must be able to send and receive data that wraps the platform API so that the API of the platform can be used.

However, even if you have data wrapping platform API, if the compiled environment is different, a collision may occur when a call between the newly executed program and the platform API occurs, which may cause the terminal to stop.

Therefore, when compiling the program code, the terminal platform should be executed in accordance with the compiled environment, and at the same time, the process must be compatible.

The executable file created through the compilation and linking process can be run as it is on a machine with a good operating system, but in a mobile terminal environment where there is no OS and a performance-limited environment, the executable file can be loaded and executed directly in memory. Dump and extract to object code.

After this process, a program file that can be executed in the terminal is created, and further optimization is performed through a process such as compression.

Referring to each step of the process of producing the application in the present invention as follows.

1. Compile-Generate object code

Compile by supporting various modes according to the platform environment.

E.g. Thumb, Thumb-interworking mode, etc.

Since the above environment is compiled properly and the link library may not be distributed depending on the platform, you should prepare ANSI-C header and library according to each compilation mode and customize the environment accordingly.

2. Link-Relocation

You will need to link the compiled object code to create an executable. However, it should be noted that the process of relocating the entry point of the program to the desired area should be added. At this time, the content to be rearranged includes not only an entry function but also a global variable located in a code area. When the program is executed later, all the contents must be able to be converted to fit the runtime environment. Therefore, all the contents must be rearranged to a certain specification so as to meet the specified specification.

In addition, when linking, an executable file must be included including platform API and standard libraries, and platform link libraries and other libraries may not be distributed depending on circumstances. For this situation, you must build and link the ANSI-C standard library for the compiled environment manually so that no problem occurs in the future.If you do not link in the platform API, you cannot create an executable file. In order to execute the platform API even when the library is not distributed, the data wrapped with the platform API should be used during development.

3. Dump

The executable created as a result of the linking process can be used as long as the OS is present. However, the terminal generally does not provide a situation in which the executable file can be driven as it is. Therefore, the executable file should be dumped and loaded into memory and made ready to run.

4. Compression

Finally, when the dump file is created, it is compressed so that it can be downloaded or archived. In the general case, the platform does not support the compression function, but in the case of the present invention, since the program file is created and used by itself, it is possible to apply the additional effect. Therefore, the compression function can be used to significantly reduce the capacity to about 50%.

Sub-applications created through the above four processes are downloaded and executed by the higher-level applications loaded as MAOS. At this time, according to the environment in which the executed sub-application is compiled and linked, the process of converting the address values of variables used internally in the sub-application to be operated in the runtime environment of the upper application must be performed.

Through the above process, the sub-application can be executed in the upper application (MAOS in FIG. 5), and the sub-application (sub-application 1 in FIG. 5) undergoes the same process as another sub-application (sub-application in FIG. 5). You can also run 1-1-1).

Above all, these processes do not use the platform API installed in the terminal, so the program is developed according to the environment in which the terminal is developed, so that the functions can be used independently of the platform.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 6, the process of executing the sub-application in the mobile terminal to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail for each step.

First, an upper application mounted as a MAOS on a mobile platform such as WIPI, BREW, and WITOP must be executed (S1).

Next, the program code of the lower application is extracted by decompressing data existing in the memory or file system.

Subsequently, the program code of the lower application may be loaded into the memory of the upper application (S2), and the relative addresses such as variables and functions recorded in the program code area of the lower application may be converted into absolute addresses of the terminal and accessed within the terminal. Change to the address value (S3).

Thereafter, the start function position designated at linking of the lower application is searched (S4), and the lower application is switched to ARM mode or THUMB mode according to the state of compiled code (S5).

Then, the current execution position running in the upper application is moved to the start function of the lower application (move the program counter), and when the start function of the lower application is called (S6), the lapping function of the platform API delivered from the upper application is connected. .

As a result, all events (key input, call reception, start, end, etc.) generated in the platform are transmitted to the lower application, and the lower application responds to the execution and function implementation of the lower application.

As described above, according to the present invention, general mobile contents can also execute and control sub-programs. Therefore, a separate program can be downloaded and executed using wireless data communication, and it is also possible to delete the currently running program and download and re-execute a new program. This has the same effect as when a patch of a program is released in an online game, the program is automatically updated without the user's hassle.

In addition, in the related art, if there is a bug in the corresponding content after serving the content in the mobile content developer, the user is newly modified only after the bug is corrected and delivered for about two weeks according to the delivery process of the mobile carrier and the service is prepared. The content was available.

However, in the present invention, if there is a bug in the content or a situation in which a new version of the content is to be provided by planning modifications, the user simply downloads the modified content on the server, and the terminal immediately downloads the corresponding content to the modified version. It can be replaced. That is, if the mobile content developer can download only the patch version or the update version through the own server, the user terminal can execute the patch or update of the lower application by the upper application.

As a result, in the case of the lower application, the manufacturer can quickly respond to and update bugs in the user terminal. In addition, since one application can execute another application, it is possible to additionally execute and control other contents in one content without any functional restrictions.

This makes it very easy for users to provide fast feedback, providing hundreds of times the efficiency of traditional service delivery. In addition, it is possible to provide high efficiency in the development and operation of the lower application executed by the upper application. In the past, the functionality of the platform was impossible, but in the present invention, it was possible to use a higher level application of the MAOS concept, and additionally, the service process schedule can be very fast and quick.

In addition, the contents according to the present invention may have many advantages in terms of capacity.

Due to the limited memory and file system, mobile contents can only be limited in size depending on the size of the program. However, since the lower applications driven by the upper application according to the present invention can directly call each other's functions, and can be downloaded after compression, additional functions can be implemented and used in a smaller capacity if necessary. .

This, in turn, has the effect of reducing the size of the program and can reduce the burden on users of data calls. And, if you add all the programs together, it will be a large amount of content, but since each program can be very small, the amount of memory used by the platform to run the MAOS will be less, which will be used at runtime. The available memory area is increased.

In addition, if the program code is divided into several pieces, each program file can be compressed and downloaded, so even if the platform does not support the compression function, it is possible to download smaller programs through self-compression.

In addition, the downloaded sub-applications can be run on the memory only without being stored in the file system of the terminal. Therefore, it is possible to run the downloaded data on the memory without using the file system. You can make it unaffected.

Claims (8)

delete delete delete Providing a mobile terminal with an upper application that is interlocked with a platform and executes and manages an application of a lower layer while executing on a platform, and a lower application that is executed and managed independently of the platform by the upper application; Executing an upper application on the platform; In the state where the program code of the lower application is loaded in the memory of the upper application, the relative address recorded in the program code area of the lower application is converted into an absolute address of the terminal and changed into an address value accessible within the terminal. Steps; Thereafter searching for a starting function position of the subapplication, and switching the mode according to the state of the compiled code; Moving the current execution position operating in the upper application to the starting function of the lower application, and when the starting function of the lower application is called, connecting the wrapping function of the platform API delivered from the upper application; Transmitting, by the upper application, the event generated in the platform to the lower application, and responding to the lower application to execute an application and implement a function; The execution method of the application mounted in a hierarchical structure in a mobile terminal comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein the lower application is provided to the mobile terminal in a state in which the program code is compressed, and loads the program code of the lower application extracted after decompression while the upper application is executed to the memory of the upper application. An execution method of an application mounted in a hierarchical structure in a mobile terminal. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the lower application is downloaded and provided from the manufacturer's own download server to the mobile terminal by a higher application executed first and executed. How to run. The method of claim 6, wherein the sub-application is a patch or update program for correcting or upgrading the sub-application previously provided to the mobile terminal. The method of claim 4, further comprising: providing to the mobile terminal another sub-application that is independently executed and managed by the sub-application while the sub-application is preferentially provided; Executing the execution and function implementation of the another sub-application further provided by the sub-application provided preferentially; Execution method of the application that is mounted in a hierarchical structure to the mobile terminal further comprising.

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