KR101969828B1 - A method and apparatus for providing a list of Apps related to an external interface - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for providing an app list associated with an external interface of a mobile terminal in an app server is disclosed. The method includes: receiving external device connection event information indicating that an external device is connected to an external interface from a mobile terminal; extracting apps related to the external interface; And transmitting the list of apps to the mobile terminal.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing an external interface-related application list,

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing an external interface-related application list, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing an external interface-related application list when an external device is connected to an external interface of a mobile terminal.

As smartphones become popular recently, various apps have been developed and distributed and widely used by smartphone users. These apps are designed to run on operating systems installed in mobile terminals such as smart phones and are developed in a development environment suitable for the operating system. In particular, since the operating system such as Android is open to the public, anyone skilled in the art can install the development environment and develop their own apps.

As such, access to development of an app running on a mobile terminal becomes easier, and an app developer can register an app server to develop an app and distribute the developed app. Such an app server is operated by a communication service provider, a portal, or a manufacturer of a mobile terminal, and anyone can subscribe and use it after being authenticated.

However, the average user has to spend a lot of time and effort to access the app server to search for and download the required apps, and it takes a lot of time to check and try out the trendy apps. In particular, when using an external device such as an earphone to use contents installed in a mobile terminal, it is difficult to determine which app is most efficient and well-made.

In addition, in the case of an app developer, when registering an app in an app server, it is difficult to judge a registration category because of a large number of registration categories, and it can take a lot of time. In particular, when registering apps that involve external devices, such as earphones, it is not easy to find registered categories to register their apps with for external devices. In addition, even if you register a good app, it is also not easy to promote it to your users.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a list of apps related to an external interface when an external device is connected to an external interface of a mobile terminal. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to automatically provide an app list recommended by an app server when an external device is connected to an external interface.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a recommended application list based on statistical information of an execution history and / or download history of apps related to an external interface in an app server.

Another object of the present invention is to confirm whether an application supports a specific external interface through source verification when registering an application in an app server.

Another object of the present invention is to automatically provide a registration category related to an external interface of an app server based on a source verification result when registering an app in an app server.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Lt; / RTI >

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a list of apps related to an external interface when an external device is connected to an external interface of a mobile terminal.

As a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing an application list related to an external interface of a mobile terminal in an app server, the method comprising: Receiving device connection event information, extracting apps related to the external interface, generating an app list using information on the extracted apps, and transmitting the app list to the mobile terminal .

In the method of providing an app list, the app list may be generated based on statistical information on execution history and / or download history of apps related to the external interface.

The method of providing an app list includes receiving information on an execution history and / or a download history of apps related to an external interface from a mobile terminal, a step of receiving information related to an external interface based on the received execution history and / And updating the statistical information about the apps.

In the method of providing an application list, the external device connection event information includes information on external interfaces related to the applications installed in the mobile terminal, and the application list includes apps installed in the mobile terminal among the extracted applications .

In the method of providing an app list, the app list may include information on an app newly registered in the app server in association with an external interface.

In the method of providing an application list, the external interface may include at least one of an earphone terminal, a headset terminal, Bluetooth, USB, and HDMI.

As a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of verifying a source code of an application to be registered in a source verification server, the source verification method comprising: a step of obtaining source code information including function information included in source code and an application binary code A step of verifying whether or not an application program interface (API) function related to an external interface of the mobile terminal is used in the source code using the source code information, And transmitting the source verification result including the source verification result.

In the source verification method, the verifying step verifies whether or not at least one API function among the earphone terminal related API function, the USB interface related API function, the Bluetooth interface related API function, and the HDMI interface related API function is used in the source code ≪ / RTI >

As a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for registering an application in an app server, the method comprising: receiving a source verification result including information on whether an external interface is used; Determining a registration category associated with the external interface of the app based on the information about the registered category, and providing and exposing a link to the determined registration category.

As a fourth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a list of apps related to an external interface of a mobile terminal from a mobile terminal, the method comprising: recognizing that an external device is connected to an external interface Transmitting external device connection event information to an app server, receiving application list information related to an external interface from an app server, displaying information on the apps included in the app list information on the mobile terminal, . ≪ / RTI >

In the method of providing an app list, the app list may be generated based on statistical information on execution history and / or download history of apps related to the external interface.

In the method of providing an app list, the mobile terminal may further include transmitting information on an execution history and / or download history of apps related to the external interface to the app server, wherein the statistical information includes a received execution history and / And may be updated based on information on the download history.

In the method of providing an application list, the external device connection event information may include information on external interfaces related to the applications installed in the mobile terminal, and the application list may include applications related to the external interface installed in the mobile terminal May not be included.

In the method of providing an app list, the app list may include information on an app newly registered in an app server in association with an external interface, and the displaying step may include displaying the app to include a newly registered app.

In the method of providing an application list, the external interface may include at least one of an earphone terminal, a headset terminal, Bluetooth, USB, and HDMI.

In the method of providing an app list, the displaying may include popping up icons of apps related to an external interface in an indicator area of the display area of the mobile terminal.

In the method of providing an app list, the displaying step may include displaying an explanation of icons and apps related to an external interface through an app server graphical user interface (GUI).

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for providing a list of apps related to an external interface when an external device is connected to an external interface of a mobile terminal.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an application server including a processor, a memory, and a network interface module, wherein the processor of the application server is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal from a mobile terminal through a network interface module , Extracts apps related to the external interface, generates an app list using information on the extracted apps, and transmits the app list to the mobile terminal through the network interface module Lt; / RTI >

As a sixth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a source validation server including a processor, a memory, and a network interface module, wherein the processor of the source validation server communicates function information included in the source code, And verifies whether or not an application program interface (API) function related to the external interface of the mobile terminal is used in the source code using the source code information, and determines whether or not the API function is used And to transmit a source verification result that includes information about the source verification result.

As a seventh embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an application server including a processor, a memory, and a network interface module, wherein the processor of the application server includes a source verification result Determine a registration category associated with the external interface of the app based on information about whether to use the external interface, and provide and expose a link to the determined registration category.

As a eighth embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a mobile terminal including a processor, a memory, a network interface module, and a display unit, wherein the processor of the mobile terminal recognizes that an external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal, Transmits the external device connection event information to the app server through the interface module, receives the app list information related to the external interface from the app server through the network interface module, and displays information on the apps included in the app list on the display unit Lt; / RTI >

The technical solutions obtained by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned solutions, and other solutions not mentioned are clearly described to those skilled in the art from the following description. It can be understood.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the following effects are obtained.

First, when the external device is connected to the external interface of the mobile terminal through the embodiments of the present invention, the convenience of the user can be improved by automatically providing the apps related to the external interface.

Second, by providing recommended apps based on the execution history and / or download history of the apps related to the external interface, it is possible to recommend and provide the apps verified through the statistical information, thereby improving convenience for the user.

Third, it confirms whether the external interface of the app is supported through source verification when registering the application, so it can alleviate the inconvenience that the app developer has to check and check separately in the registration procedure.

Fourth, it is possible to provide the convenience of the registration procedure by automatically providing a link to the registration category related to the external interface based on the result of source verification at the time of application registration.

The effects obtained in the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be found in the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, Can be clearly derived and understood by those skilled in the art. That is, undesirable effects of implementing the present invention can also be derived from those of ordinary skill in the art from the embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the technical features of the present invention are not limited to the specific drawings, and the features disclosed in the drawings may be combined with each other to constitute a new embodiment.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate examples in which app information related to an external interface is provided to a user when an external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal, according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate examples in which app information related to an external interface is provided to a user when an external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal, according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method for providing a user with application information related to an external interface at a mobile terminal when an external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal according to embodiments of the present invention.
4 illustrates a method of providing an app list based on app usage statistical information of mobile terminal users according to embodiments of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing an app list based on app usage statistics information of mobile terminal users in an app server according to embodiments of the present invention.
6A and 6B illustrate a method of confirming whether an external interface function is used through source verification when an application is registered in an app server and exposing the application server to a registered category corresponding to an external interface according to embodiments of the present invention .
FIG. 7A shows an example of an application server registration category exposed to an application developer, and FIG. 7B shows a part of a source verification result indicating whether an external interface is used or not by way of example.
8 is a flow chart of a method for verifying whether or not the external interface related functions are used through source verification at the source verification server in the application registration according to the embodiments of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a link to a category related to an external interface in an app server when an application is registered according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates a structure of a mobile terminal, an application server, and a source verification server that can operate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to providing an external interface-related application list, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing an external interface-related application list when an external device is connected to an external interface of a mobile terminal.

The following embodiments are a combination of elements and features of the present invention in a predetermined form. Each component or characteristic may be considered optional unless otherwise expressly stated. Each component or feature may be implemented in a form that is not combined with other components or features. In addition, some of the elements and / or features may be combined to form an embodiment of the present invention. The order of the operations described in the embodiments of the present invention may be changed. Some configurations or features of certain embodiments may be included in other embodiments, or may be replaced with corresponding configurations or features of other embodiments.

In the description of the drawings, there is no description of procedures or steps that may obscure the gist of the present invention, nor is any description of steps or steps that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

As used herein, an app refers to an application program that can be executed on a mobile terminal, for example, a smart phone, and may also be referred to as an application, an application, a software application, an application program, and the like.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate examples in which app information related to an external interface is provided to a user when an external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal, according to embodiments of the present invention.

In this specification, for convenience of explanation, a mobile terminal equipped with an Android operating system will be mainly described. However, the Android operating system is for illustrative purposes only, and the technical features of the present invention are not limited to the Android operating system. For example, the technical features of the present invention can be applied to a mobile terminal equipped with an iOS operating system.

For example, FIG. 1A shows an example in which an app server automatically searches for apps that support an earphone when an earphone is connected to a mobile terminal, and provides a list of recommended apps that are searched for in a pop-up form in an indicator area 120 of a display area of the mobile terminal It is.

When the user connects the earphone 112 to the mobile terminal 110, the mobile terminal 110 receives the application list information related to the earphone 112 from the application server as described with reference to FIG. 3, The icons 122 of the included apps are displayed in the indicator area 120 of the mobile terminal 110. The icons 122 of the apps included in the app list are provided as a pop-up in the indicator area 120, and the user can select the displayed icons 122 through the input device and directly execute the app.

For example, the user may select one of the displayed icons 122 via the touch screen of the mobile terminal 110. [ Of course, it is also possible to use other input devices. The icons shown in FIG. 1A are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention to specific applications.

In FIG. 1A, the display area is an area where various information is provided to the user through the display part (1017 of FIG. 10) of the mobile terminal in the form of icons, images, and characters, and the indicator area is displayed at the top of the display area of the mobile terminal A status bar, and can expand the status bar by dragging a specific icon or clicking on a specific icon, and displays information such as the current status of a mobile terminal, a call volume, a notification message, and the like.

The indicator area can be extended to the entire display area by a user's operation (dragging or clicking an icon), or can be extended only to a predetermined area of the display area. Provided as a pop-up means that the indicator area is extended without user's operation and is set to display various information. 1A, the popped-up indicator area may display icons 122 in the notification area and display setting modes such as WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, sound mode, automatic rotation, and the like. Further, the indicator region may display information different from that shown, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example.

As another example, FIG. 1B shows an example of automatically searching the app server for apps related to the Bluetooth interface when Bluetooth is turned on in the mobile terminal and providing a searched recommended app list as a pop-up in the indicator area of the display area of the mobile terminal FIG.

When the user turns on the Bluetooth function of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal 110 receives the list of apps related to the Bluetooth interface from the app server and moves the icons 124 of the apps included in the received app list And displays it in the indicator area 120 of the terminal 110. Similarly, the icons 124 of the apps included in the app list are provided as pop-ups in the indicator area 120, and the user can select the displayed icons 124 through the input device and directly execute the app. The icons shown in FIG. 1B are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention to specific applications.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an example of providing app information related to an external interface to a user when an external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal, according to embodiments of the present invention.

2A and 2B, there is a difference in the method of displaying the icons 222 of the apps included in the app list through the app server graphical user interface (GUI) as compared with those in Figs. 1A and 1B The rest is similar to the case of Figs. 1A and 1B. 2A and 2B, the mobile terminal 101 accesses the app server through the app server connection program, and the app server connection process is sequentially displayed in the display area of the mobile terminal.

The app server connection program can have various GUIs according to the app server, and can display information such as login information, announcements, recommended apps of the mobile terminal user through the app server GUI, for example. In this embodiment, the mobile terminal 101 displays icons 222 and 226 of the apps included in the app list received from the app server and brief descriptions 224 and 228 of the apps via the app server GUI 220 Can be displayed. The icons 222 and 226 of the apps shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B and the brief descriptions 224 and 228 of the apps are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention to specific apps.

3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 300 of providing a user with app information related to an external interface at a mobile terminal when the external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

In step S301, when the user connects the external device to the external interface of the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal can recognize that the external device is connected to the external interface.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B, the external device may be an earphone and the external interface may be an earphone terminal, or the external device may be a Bluetooth device and the external interface may be a Bluetooth interface. In addition, the external interface may be a headset terminal, USB, HDMI, or a combination thereof. These external interfaces are exemplary only, and embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

As another example, in step S301, the mobile terminal may recognize that a plurality of external devices are connected through one external interface, or may recognize that a plurality of external devices are connected through a plurality of external interfaces.

It is not described in this specification because it is known in the related art that a mobile terminal equipped with an Android operating system recognizes that an external device is connected through such an external interface.

In step S302, the mobile terminal recognizes the external device connection, and then transmits the external device connection event information to the application server. The external device connection event information may include an identifier that uniquely identifies an external interface to which the external device is connected.

As another example, in step S302, the external device connection event information may include an identifier that uniquely identifies the connected external device, not the external interface. For example, the external device connection event information may include an identifier for a Bluetooth headset connected through a Bluetooth interface, not an identifier for identifying the Bluetooth interface. Alternatively, the external device connection event information may include an identifier for a display device such as a digital TV, a monitor, or the like, which is connected via an HDMI interface, rather than an identifier that identifies the HDMI interface.

As another example, in step S302, after recognizing the connection of the external device, the mobile terminal can confirm whether the related applications are installed in the mobile terminal. If no related apps are installed in the mobile terminal, external device connection event information can be transmitted to the app server. If apps related to an external interface or an external device are installed, information about the apps may be displayed, and external device connection event information may not be transmitted to the app server.

As another example, in step S302, the mobile terminal may transmit external device connection event information to the app server even if the external interface or the app relating to the external device is installed. In this case, the external device connection event information may include information about the applications installed in the mobile terminal. Using the information about the apps installed in the mobile terminal, the app server can generate an app list so as not to include the apps installed in the mobile terminal when generating the list of apps related to the external interface.

As another example, in step S302, when a plurality of external devices are connected, the external device connection event information may include unique identifiers for each of a plurality of external interfaces to which a plurality of external devices are connected. Alternatively, the external device connection event information may include unique identifiers for each of a plurality of connected external devices.

In the example where a plurality of external devices are connected, the priority for the unique identifiers may be the order of recognizing each device connection. Alternatively, the priorities for the unique identifiers may follow a predetermined set order. For example, if the earphone jack, Bluetooth, and HDMI are recognized as connected simultaneously, you can follow the priority order of HDMI, earphone jack, and Bluetooth.

The external device connection event information can be transmitted to the app server through the network interface module of the mobile terminal. The network interface module is a module in which a mobile terminal receives a radio frequency (RF) signal such as 2G, 3G, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), and World Interoperability for Microwave Access ) Module, which allows it to communicate with the app server over any wireless network, or it can communicate with the app server via any wired network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

The app server is a server that registers the apps developed by the app developer and provides the registered users with the free or free of charge to the user of the mobile terminal. The app server can provide not only apps for the Android operating system, but also apps for other operating systems.

As an example, the app server may be a U + App Market (U + AppMarket) of LG U +. As another example, the app server may be a T-store of SK Telecom, and as another example, the app server may be an olleh market of KT. These app servers are exemplary only, and app servers referred to by other names may be considered in the present invention. The app server can communicate wirelessly or wirelessly with the mobile terminal, transmit / receive information to / from the mobile terminal, and provide various applications to the mobile terminal.

When the app server receives the external device connection event information from the mobile terminal, the app server can extract recommended apps related to the external interface using the external interface identifier included in the external device connection event information. A method of extracting the apps related to the external interface will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The app server can generate an app list using information on the extracted apps and transmit the app list generated through the network interface module of the app server. The list of apps may include information about the icons of the apps, a brief description of the apps, the popularity (or star rating) of the apps, the recommendation rank of the apps, the download ranking of the apps, the ranking frequency of the apps, and newly registered apps. In addition, the app list may include an app executable file executable on the mobile terminal.

Or, as described above, when the external device connection event information includes an external device identifier, the application server can extract recommended applications related to the external device. A method of extracting apps related to an external device will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In step S303, the mobile terminal can receive an app list related to the external interface from the app server through the network interface module. Alternatively, in another example, the mobile terminal may receive an app list associated with an external device.

In step S304, the mobile terminal can display information on the apps included in the app list. When displaying, the information about the apps can be displayed pop-up through the indicator area of the display area as in Fig. 1, or displayed through the app server GUI throughout the display area as in Fig.

Information about the displayed apps can be displayed only with the icons of the apps as shown in Fig. 1, or a brief description of the apps with the icons of the apps as shown in Fig. 2 can additionally be displayed .

The apps can be displayed in order according to the popularity included in the app list, or they can be displayed in order according to the recommended ranking included in the app list, or can be displayed in order according to the download ranking included in the app list , Or an execution frequency ranking included in the app list. The apps can be displayed in the order of the most recently registered apps based on the information on newly registered apps included in the app list.

As another example, in step S304, the mobile terminal may display an external interface or external device-related apps installed in the mobile terminal together with the received app list. In this case, the internally installed apps can be displayed differently from the apps included in the received app list.

As another example, in step S304, the mobile terminal can display the apps included in the received app list, excluding the apps installed in the mobile terminal.

The app server extracts information on the apps related to the external interface based on the app usage statistics information of the mobile terminal users, and a method of providing the app list based on the usage statistics information will now be described.

4 illustrates a method of providing an app list based on app usage statistical information of mobile terminal users according to embodiments of the present invention.

4, a plurality of mobile terminals including the mobile terminal A 410, the mobile terminal B 420 and the mobile terminal C 430 and the application server 440 may be included in the embodiments of the present invention. have.

In step 411, when the external device is connected to the external interface of the mobile terminal A 410 and receives the external device connection event information from the mobile terminal A 410 as described in FIG. 3, And transmits the list of the applications related to the interface to the mobile terminal A 410. Alternatively, the application server 440 may transmit an application list related to the external interface to the mobile terminal A 410 when the mobile terminal A 410 requests, irrespective of an external device connection event. Alternatively, the application server 440 may transmit the list of apps related to the external interface to the mobile terminal A 410 at regular intervals regardless of the external device connection event.

In operation 412, the mobile terminal A 410 may transmit to the application server 440 an execution history and / or download history of apps related to the external interface included in the app list received in operation 411. Alternatively, the mobile terminal A 410 transmits only the execution history of the apps related to the external interface to the app server 440, and the download history can be managed and updated in the app server 440. The execution history may include information such as the frequency of execution, the number of executions, the date of last execution, and the like for the applications related to the external interface. Alternatively, the execution history may include information such as the frequency of execution, the number of executions, and the date of last execution, as well as the applications related to the external interface.

The app server 440 may perform the operations described in connection with steps 411 and 412 with the mobile terminal B 420 in steps 421 and 422. Although two mobile terminals are illustrated herein, the app server 440 may perform operations to send an app list with more or fewer terminals and to receive execution history and / or download history.

In step 441, each time the app server 440 receives the execution history and / or the download history from each mobile terminal, the app server 440 updates statistical information about each external interface managed in the app server 440. The updated statistical information may include information such as the frequency of execution, the number of executions, the last execution date, and the like, and may be stored in a database in the application server 440. As another example, the statistical information updated in step 441 may be statistical information about the apps related to the external device.

In step 431, the application server 440 receives external device connection event information from the mobile terminal C 430, and based on the updated statistical information about the external interfaces, And transmits the application list information including the information to the mobile terminal. As described above, the app list information includes not only the recommendation rank but also the icons of the apps, a brief description of the apps, the popularity (or star rating) of the apps, the recommendation rank of the apps, the download rank of the apps, And the like.

The mobile terminal having received the list information can display information on the apps included in the app list in the display area of the mobile terminal as described above and also can download the execution history and / ). ≪ / RTI >

In another example, the statistical information managed in the app server 440 may be for an external device connected to an external interface rather than for an external interface. That is, the application server 440 receives the external device identifier through the external device connection event information, extracts the recommended applications related to the external device, provides a list of the applications related to the external device to the mobile terminals, Receive execution history and / or download history for related apps, and update statistical information.

5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 of providing an app list based on app usage statistics information of mobile terminal users in an app server according to embodiments of the present invention.

In step S501, the app server may receive external device connection event information from the mobile terminal.

In step S502, the app server can determine the recommendation rank of the apps related to the external interface based on the statistical information of the apps related to the external interface, and extract the apps to generate an app list.

In step S503, the app server can transmit the generated list of apps to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal receiving the list of apps can transmit the execution history and / or the download history of the apps included in the app list to the app server. Alternatively, as described above, the mobile terminal can transmit the execution history and / or the download history of the other apps as well as the apps included in the app list to the app server.

In step S504, the app server may receive execution history and / or download history from the mobile terminal.

In step S505, the app server may update the statistical information of the apps related to the external interface based on the received execution history and / or download history.

The app server may update the statistical information and then return to step S501 and wait for receiving another external device connection event information from the mobile terminal.

As described above, the method 500 may be performed based on an external device rather than on an external interface.

6A and 6B illustrate a method of confirming whether an external interface function is used through source verification when an application is registered in an app server and exposing the application server to a registered category corresponding to an external interface according to embodiments of the present invention .

6A and 6B, an app development environment 610 is shown. As an example of the application development environment 610, Eclipse may be used. In step S614, the application developer creates the application source code in the application development environment 610 and builds the source code verification tool 612 installed as a plug-in in the application development environment 610 when building the application, . In this example, the source code verification tool 612 is illustrated as LGU + Android Verification, but this example is for illustrative purposes only, and embodiments of the present invention can be applied to other source code verification tools.

When the application developer executes the source code verification tool 612, the source code verification tool 612 can build the application source code and generate the binary code of the application. In addition, the source code verification tool 612 of the application development environment 610 can extract information on functions included in the source code. The information about the extracted functions and the binary code of the app can be sent to the source validation server 620.

In step S622, the source validation server 620 may verify whether the extracted functions are actually called and used in the source code of the app. In this process, the source verification server 620 can verify whether an external interface function is used, and can separately include information on whether or not the external interface function is used in the source verification result.

The source validation server 620 may verify whether the Bluetooth interface related API function is used to confirm whether the Bluetooth interface is used. For example, the source validation server 620 can verify whether the API function of the BluetoothSocket class 624 is used as an example of an API function related to the Bluetooth interface.

Alternatively, the source verification server 620 may verify whether the earphone terminal related API function is used to determine whether the earphone terminal is used. For example, the source validation server 620 may verify the use of the setWiredHeadsetOn function 626 as an example of an earphone terminal related API function.

Alternatively, the source verification server 620 may verify whether the USB interface-related API function is used to confirm whether the USB interface is used. For example, the source validation server 620 can verify whether the API function of the android.hardware.usb class 628 is used as an example of a USB interface-related API function.

If the source verification result confirms that the corresponding external interface function is being used, it may mean that the app being verified is associated with that external interface. The source validation server 620 may send the app binary code along with the source validation result directly to the app server 630. Alternatively, the source validation server 620 may send the completed source validation result back to the app development environment and the source validation result and app binary code may be sent to the app server 630 by the developer or app development environment.

In step S632, the app server 630 provides a link to the app server registration category of the app to be registered based on the source verification result received from the source verification server 620, and automatically exposes the app server registration category of the app to be registered .

FIG. 7A shows an example of an application server registration category exposed to an application developer, and FIG. 7B shows a part of a source verification result indicating whether an external interface is used or not by way of example.

In the source verification result of the exemplary application illustrated in FIG. 7B, it is indicated that the Bluetooth interface related function is used in the source code for the Android smartphone, the Android smart pad, the Windows PC / laptop, and the IPTV, Android Smartphone and Android SmartPad are marked for use in the source code, and the functions related to the earphone terminal are displayed on the Android smartphone, Android smart pad, and Windows PC / notebook. If an external interface-related function is marked as being used, it may mean that the app is associated with that external interface and supports that external interface. Accordingly, the support of each external interface can be displayed so as to correspond to the exemplary application registration category shown in FIG. 7A.

In step S634, the app server 630 provides a link to a sub-category corresponding to each external interface based on whether or not the external interface function included in the source verification result is used, and automatically registers the registered category corresponding to the external interface Exposed.

6A and 6B can be equally applied to registering an application related to an external device instead of an external interface. For example, the source validation tool extracts functions related to external devices and sends them to the source validation server. The source validation server verifies whether the functions related to the external device are used, generates the source validation result, sends it to the app server, The category corresponding to the external device can be automatically exposed.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 800 of verifying whether or not an external interface related function is used through source verification at a source verification server in an application registration according to embodiments of the present invention.

In step S801, the source validation server may receive information on the source code of the application to be registered from the application development environment. Information about the app source code can include information about the functions used in the source code and app binary code.

In step S802, the source validation server can use information on the received source code to verify whether API functions related to the external interface are actually used in the source code.

In step S802, the source verification server can verify whether or not the other functions included in the source code are actually used. As described above, the source validation server uses API functions related to the earphone terminal (e.g., setWiredHeadsetOn function), USB interface-related API functions (e.g., android.hardware) to check whether the earphone terminal, USB interface, API functions of the .usb class), and API functions related to the Bluetooth interface (e.g. API functions of the BluetoothSocket class).

In step S803, the source validation server may indicate whether API functions related to the external interface are actually used in the source validation result, and may transmit the displayed source validation result to the app server.

As described above, the method 800 is equally applicable to embodiments based on external device API functions.

9 illustrates a flowchart of a method 900 of providing a link to a category associated with an external interface at an app server when registering an app according to embodiments of the present invention.

In step S901, the app server may receive a source validation result including information on whether to use the external interface from the source validation server.

In step S902, the application server can determine the registration category of the application to be registered based on whether or not the external interface is used.

In step S903, the app server may provide a link to the determined registration category and expose a category corresponding to the external interface. The app server can set whether the app to be registered supports each external interface based on the source verification result, for example, on the registration web page.

As described above, the method 900 can be equally applied to embodiments based on whether external devices are used or not.

Figure 10 illustrates the structure of a mobile terminal 1010, an app server 1020, and a source validation server 1030 that may operate in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In this specification, a mobile terminal may be a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular phone, a Personal Communication Service (PCS) phone, a Global System for Mobile (GSM) phone, a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) A mobile phone, a mobile broadband system phone, a hand-held PC, a notebook PC, a tablet PC, a smart phone or a multi-mode multi-band (MM) terminal.

Specifically, a smart phone is a terminal that combines advantages of a mobile communication terminal and a personal portable terminal, and refers to a terminal that integrates data communication functions such as calendar management, fax transmission / reception, and Internet access, which are functions of a personal portable terminal .

In addition, the multimode multiband terminal can operate both in a portable Internet system and other mobile communication systems (for example, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 system, WCDMA (Wideband CDMA) system, etc.) Quot; terminal "

10, a mobile terminal 1010 may include a processor 1011, a memory 1013, a network interface module (NIM) 1015, and a display unit 1017. The processor 1011 may be configured to implement procedures and / or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The memory 1013 may store various information, such as program instructions, which may be coupled to the processor 1011 and executed by the processor 1011. [ The network interface module 1015 is coupled to the processor 1011 and can transmit and / or receive signals via a wired or wireless network. The display unit 1017 can display various information processed by the processor 1011. [ The display unit 1017 may be a liquid crystal display, a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, a flexible display, a three-dimensional display 3D display), and may be used as an input device capable of inputting information by a touch of a user, such as a touch screen.

App server 1020 may include a processor 1021, memory 1023, and network interface module 1025. The processor 1021 may be configured to implement procedures and / or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The memory 1023 may store various information, such as program instructions, which may be coupled to the processor 1021 and executed by the processor 1021. [ The network interface module 1025 is coupled to the processor 1021 and can transmit and / or receive signals over a wired or wireless network. Also, the app server 1020 may include a display unit 1027, and the display unit 1027 may display various information related to the app server 1020 to the app server administrator. As shown, the source validation server 1030 may have the same configuration as the app server 1020. [

The embodiments described above are those in which the elements and features of the present invention are combined in a predetermined form. Each component or feature shall be considered optional unless otherwise expressly stated. Each component or feature may be implemented in a form that is not combined with other components or features. It is also possible to construct embodiments of the present invention by combining some of the elements and / or features. The order of the operations described in the embodiments of the present invention may be changed. Some configurations or features of certain embodiments may be included in other embodiments, or may be replaced with corresponding configurations or features of other embodiments. It is clear that the claims that are not expressly cited in the claims may be combined to form an embodiment or be included in a new claim by an amendment after the application.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may be implemented by various means, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. In the case of hardware implementation, an embodiment of the present invention may include one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) field programmable gate arrays, processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, and the like.

In the case of an implementation by firmware or software, an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a module, a procedure, a function, or the like which performs the functions or operations described above. The software code can be stored in a memory unit and driven by the processor. The memory unit may be located inside or outside the processor, and may exchange data with the processor by various well-known means.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the above description should not be construed in a limiting sense in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by rational interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the scope of equivalents of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, claims that do not have an explicit citation in the claims may be combined to form an embodiment or be included in a new claim by amendment after the filing.

Claims (21)

A method of providing, in an app server, an app list associated with an external interface of a mobile terminal,
Receiving external device connection event information indicating that an external device is connected to the external interface from the mobile terminal;
Extracting apps related to the external interface;
Generating an app list using information on the extracted apps;
Transmitting the list of applications to the mobile terminal;
Receiving information on an execution history and / or download history of apps related to the external interface from the mobile terminal; And
Updating statistical information about apps related to the external interface based on the received execution history and / or information on the download history,
The app list is generated based on the statistical information on the execution history and / or the download history of the apps related to the external interface
How to provide an app list. delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the external device connection event information includes information on apps related to the external interface among the applications installed in the mobile terminal,
The app list is generated so as not to include the apps installed in the mobile terminal from among the extracted apps
How to provide an app list. The method according to claim 1,
The app list is generated so as to include information on an app newly registered in the app server in association with the external interface
How to provide an app list. The method according to claim 1,
The external interface includes at least one of an earphone terminal, a headset terminal, Bluetooth, USB, and HDMI
How to provide an app list. delete delete delete A method of providing, in a mobile terminal, a list of apps related to an external interface of the mobile terminal,
Recognizing that an external device is connected to the external interface;
Transmitting the external device connection event information to an app server;
Receiving application list information related to the external interface from the application server;
Displaying information on the applications included in the application list information to the mobile terminal; And
And transmitting information on an execution history and / or a download history of apps related to the external interface to the app server in the mobile terminal,
The app list is generated based on statistical information on an execution history and / or a download history of apps related to the external interface,
The statistical information is updated based on the received execution history and / or information on the download history
How to provide an app list. delete delete 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the external device connection event information includes information on apps related to the external interface among the applications installed in the mobile terminal,
The application list is generated so as not to include the apps related to the external interface installed in the mobile terminal
How to provide an app list. 11. The method of claim 10,
The app list includes information on an app newly registered in the app server in association with the external interface,
Wherein the step of displaying includes displaying the newly registered app to include
How to provide an app list. 11. The method of claim 10,
The external interface includes at least one of an earphone terminal, a headset terminal, Bluetooth, USB, and HDMI
How to provide an app list. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the displaying includes pop-up displaying icons of apps related to the external interface in an indicator area of the display area of the mobile terminal
How to provide an app list. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the displaying includes displaying a description of icons and apps related to the external interface through a graphical user interface (GUI) of the app server
How to provide an app list. 1. An application server comprising a processor, a memory, and a network interface module,
The processor receives external device connection event information indicating that an external device is connected to the external interface of the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal through the network interface module, extracts the apps related to the external interface, Generates an app list using information on the network interface module, transmits the list of apps to the mobile terminal through the network interface module,
Receiving information on an execution history and / or a download history of apps related to the external interface from the mobile terminal, and receiving statistics on apps related to the external interface based on the received execution history and / Configured to update information
App Server. delete delete A mobile terminal including a processor, a memory, a network interface module, and a display unit,
The processor recognizes that an external device is connected to an external interface of the mobile terminal, transmits external device connection event information to the application server via the network interface module, And displays information on the apps included in the app list on the display unit,
And transmits information on an execution history and / or a download history of the apps related to the external interface to the app server,
The app list is generated based on statistical information on the execution history and / or the download history of the apps related to the external interface,
The statistical information is updated based on the received execution history and / or information on the download history
Mobile terminal.

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