WO2002003210A1

WO2002003210A1 - Information processing system and method, and recording medium recorded with information processing programs running on computers

Info

Publication number: WO2002003210A1
Application number: PCT/JP2001/005768
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nobuyuki Tanabe; Kiyotaka Sasai
Original assignee: Ifusion Technologies, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-07-03
Filing date: 2001-07-03
Publication date: 2002-01-10
Also published as: JP2004246395A; AU2001267919A1

Abstract

A technique for converting contents properly according to the information contained therein. An information processing system for converting first document information described in a first structured tag language into second document information described in a second structured tag language usable at a terminal device. The information processing system comprises conversion means for extracting part of the first document information in response to a demand from the terminal device and converting the extracted information individually into the second document information. When information of a table structure is contained in the first document information, the conversion means makes conversion into the second document information based on the table constructing elements of information individually. When information of a tree structure is contained in the first document information, on the other hand, the conversion means makes conversion into the second document information based on elements of information corresponding to the nodes individually.

Description

Specification

Information processing system and its method,

And a recording medium on which an information processing program operating on a computer is recorded.

The present invention relates to an information processing technology for outputting document information described in a structured tag language to a terminal device, and particularly to a terminal device having a certain limitation in a hard disk such as a small display screen. The present invention relates to a technique suitable for outputting document information by using a computer. Background art

In recent years, with the development of communication networks such as the Internet intranet, reference to document information (content) including various information such as still images (GIF files, etc.), moving images, and audio, as well as characters. The use of the World Wide Web (WWW) is rapidly spreading.

In the WWW, a structured tag language is used to describe content. A structured tag language is a language that can specify the document format and structure, such as character layout, size, and font used, using control codes called tags described in the content. It is a typical example of the structure hardness grayed language, HTML has been known (HyperText Markup Language) force ^s.

In the past, WWW was generally accessed using a personal computer, etc., but recently, there are also usage modes and services accessed by terminal devices other than personal computers, such as iMode and other mobile phones and PDAs. It is increasing rapidly. In such a small portable terminal device, the information processing function and display function are also limited to those that are relatively simple compared to a computer, and are described in HTML, which presupposes the functions of a personal computer. The content cannot be displayed as it is. Therefore, various structured tag languages for terminal devices have been developed, and typical ones are C-HTML (Compact-Hyper Text Markup Language), MML (Mobile Markup Language), and HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language) You. Since these structured tag languages have been independently developed by manufacturers and telecommunication companies, the languages that can be used (supported) differ depending on the terminal device.

In order to provide content to terminal devices that do not support HTML, it is necessary to rewrite the content in a language that can be used by the terminal device. However, if the content must be created in a language other than HTML separately from the HTML content, it is difficult to respond quickly to the provision and maintenance of the content, which is extremely burdensome for the content provider. . Therefore, there is a need for a technology that automatically converts HTML content into content in a language that can be used on a terminal device.

Here, since C-HTML and MML are developed linguistically as a subset of HTML, their tag and grammar are similar in many respects to HTML. For this reason, tags that can be handled are automatically replaced, and tags that cannot be handled are ignored, so that they can be converted automatically.

However, in such a conversion method based on simple tag replacement, conversion is performed without considering the limitations of the memory capacity and display functions of the terminal device. Then, there was a problem that a major problem occurred in terms of operability and visibility.

For example, one HTML content is converted to one C-HTML content or one MML content as it is, so if the capacity of the content is large, the screen will exceed the capacity that can be displayed, A situation may occur where some are not displayed. In particular, if the HTML content contains table-structured information, the terminal device has a limited display area, so for tables with a large number of rows and columns, the column width may be reduced or only partially. There was a problem of not being displayed. Here, in HDML, one content can be composed of multiple cards, so even large content can be displayed for each card, allowing for operability and easy-to-view content. .

However, tags and grammar are very different between HTML and HDML, so it is difficult to convert automatically by simple tag replacement. For example, HDML is tabular Since HTML content does not support the display (the corresponding tag is not defined), if the HTML content contains table-structured information, it cannot be converted by replacing the tag.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a technology for appropriately performing conversion processing according to information included in content so that a terminal device having a limited memory capacity and display function can easily view the content with good operability. The purpose is to provide. Disclosure of the invention

The information processing method of the present invention converts the first document information described in the first structured tag language into the second document information described in the second structured tag language usable in the terminal device. An information processing method for outputting to the terminal device, wherein a part of the first document information is extracted in response to a request from the terminal device, and the extracted information is individually converted into second document information. It is characterized by having a conversion step. The second structured tag language is desirably at least one of C-HTML (Compact-Hyper Text Markup Language), MMi (Mobile Markup Language), and HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language).

Preferably, in the conversion step, when the first document information includes information of a table structure, the first document information is individually converted into the second document information for each information of the table component. It is desirable that the table component be at least one of a row element and a column element.

Preferably, in the conversion step, when the first document information includes information of a tree structure, the first document information is individually converted into second document information for each information corresponding to a node.

Further preferably, the method further includes a determining step of determining a type of a second structured tag language usable in the terminal device based on communication contents with the terminal device.

The information processing method of the present invention can be implemented by a computer, and a computer program for that can be installed or loaded into the computer through various media such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, and a semiconductor memory. . The information processing system according to the present invention converts the first document information described in the first structured tag language into the second document information described in a second structured tag language usable in a terminal device. An information processing system for outputting to the terminal device, wherein a part of the first document information is extracted in response to a request from the terminal device, and each extracted information is individually converted to second document information. It is characterized by comprising conversion means. Preferably, the second structured tag language is at least one of C-HTML, MML, and HDML.

Preferably, when the first document information includes information of a table structure, the conversion means individually converts the information of the table components into the second document information. It is desirable that the table component be at least one of a row element and a column element.

More preferably, when the first document information includes tree-structured information, the conversion means individually converts the information corresponding to the node into the second document information.

More preferably, the apparatus further comprises a judging means for judging a type of a second structured tag language usable in the terminal device based on communication contents with the terminal device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a document type definition body of a table class.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of table structure information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the document type definition body of the allied class.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of the information of the grid structure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the conversion process for table-structured information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of the second content converted from the information having the table structure.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the conversion process for the information of the ll structure. It is.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of the second content converted from the tree-structured information. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(First Embodiment)

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 according to the present invention includes an IF (interface) unit 11, a content storage unit 12, a determination unit 13, and a conversion unit 14. Here, it is sufficient for the information processing system 1 to include each of the above means, and it may be a physically dedicated system or a general-purpose information processing device. For example, in an information processing device having a general configuration including a processing device, an input unit, a storage unit, and an output unit, by starting software that defines each process in the information processing method of the present invention, the present invention is implemented. Can be realized.

The IF means 11 is configured to be able to input and output information to and from the terminal device 5 via the internet network 2, the gateway 3, and the wireless communication network 4, and includes a PPP driver, a TC PZ IP driver, and the like. It has a communication module.

The terminal device 5 is configured to receive input from a user and output information to the user. As the terminal device 5, in general mobile phones and PDAs owned by each user, Ne1; Front of Access, Palmscape of Xilinx, SHARP PDA Rowers of Sharp, Phone A browser module, such as UPB Rowers, manufactured by com Inc., can be used. Note that the terminal device 5 may be configured to be included in the information processing system 1 or may be configured as an external information processing device.

As the gateway 3, for example, an i-mode center of NTT DoCoMo, a wireless application protocol (WAP) gateway server of IDO, or the like can be used. 'The storage means 12 stores contents described in the first structured tag language (hereinafter, referred to as “first contents”). As the first structured tag language, any language that can describe a table structure and / or a tree structure may be used. For example, XML (extensible Markup Language) defining a base class described below can be used as the first structured tag language.

XML used as the first structured tag language conforms to the W3CXML specification, and at least a table class and a tree class are defined as base classes. The document type definition of each class is shown below. The W3CXML specification is a specification well known to those skilled in the art of developing systems related to the structured tag language. Therefore, those skilled in the art can clearly and fully understand the document structure of each class based on each document type definition body conforming to the following W3CXML specifications.

The table class is a class used when describing information of a table structure. Figure 2 shows the document type definition of such a class.

There are two table classes, a table selection class (SLTABLE) and a table layout class (TABLE). The former is used when the user is required to select a part of the table structure (row or column). Figure 3 shows an example of XML content described using a table class. For the table shown in Fig. 3 (a), the XML content is described as shown in Fig. 3 (b).

The tree class is a class used to describe the information of the tree structure (a structure that selects values and selects a link destination by narrowing down in a tree format). Figure 4 shows the document type definition of such a class.

The tree class is defined as a table structure with rows for the number of terminal nodes and columns for the number of tree layers. Figure 5 shows an example of XML content described using a tree class. The information of the tree structure shown in Fig. 5 (a) can be conceptually grasped as a table as shown in Fig. 5 (b), and the XML content is described as shown in Fig. 5 (c). You.

The judging means 13 receives information input from the terminal device 5 via the IF means 11, judges a structured tag language usable in the terminal device based on the information, and uses a second tag used for conversion. Determine the structured tag language of. And the second decided The type of the structured tag language is output to the conversion means 14.

For example, a telephone number assigned to the terminal device may be used as the information input from the terminal device 5. In this case, the language types (C-HTML, MML, HDML, etc.) that can be used on the terminal device are stored in advance in correspondence with the telephone number of the terminal device. It is desirable to configure such a table so that a user who uses the terminal device can register via the communication network. When the terminal device is connected to the information processing system 1, the judging means 13 refers to the table based on the telephone number notified by the gateway 3 and extracts the language type of the terminal device. Note that, as the information input from the terminal device 5, a user ID or the like used in an authentication procedure when connecting to the information processing system 1 may be used. The conversion means 14 receives the type of the second structured tag language from the judgment means 13. Also, a request for content is received from the terminal device 5 via the IF unit 11. Then, the first content to be requested is read out with reference to the content storage means 12. If the read first content includes table structure or tree structure information, the conversion means 14 extracts a part of the table structure or tree structure information, and converts the second information based on the extracted information. A content (hereinafter, referred to as “second content J”) described in the structured tag language described above is created and output to the terminal device 5 that has received the content request via the IF unit 11.

On the other hand, if the read first content includes information other than the table structure and the tree structure, the second content is created in the same manner as in the related art, and the content request is accepted via IF. The output is sent to the terminal device 5.

Hereinafter, a specific conversion process when the first content includes information of a table structure and a tree structure will be described.

(Conversion of table structure information)

When the first content includes information of a table structure, the conversion means 14 analyzes the table structure, extracts information in units of rows (or columns), and converts the information based on the extracted information. 2 Create content. Hereinafter, the conversion process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 by taking, as an example, a case where the first content includes the information of the table structure shown in FIG. The conversion means 14 determines whether or not the request from the user is the first request for the information of the table structure (step S 101>. The first request is a request other than the table operation described later). Request.

If the user's request is the first request, select the line that is set as the default (for example, the first line). Further, the column name (COLUMNHEADER) of each column is extracted (step S102). In the example of Fig. 3, account name, bank name, branch name, subject, account number, and name are extracted.

When the request from the user is a request to proceed to the next data (when “next data” described later is selected), and when the line number information is received from the terminal device, the received line number information Select the row below the row specified by. Further, the column name of each column is extracted (step S103).

If the request from the user is to proceed to the next data, and if column name information is received from the terminal device, select the column to the right of the column specified by the received column name information. I do. Further, the column name of the selected column is extracted (step S104).

If the request from the user is a request to switch from row to column (or from column to row) (when “display switching” described later is selected), select the first column (or first row) . Further, the column name of the first column (or each column) is extracted (step S105).

If the request from the user is a request to end the browsing of the information of the table structure (when “go” described later is selected), the conversion processing of the information of the table structure is ended. In this case, the conversion means 1'4 extracts information to be converted next to the table-structured information from the first content, and executes a conversion process according to the extracted information.

Next, each element value of the selected row (or each element value of the selected column when a column is selected) is extracted (step S106). If the first row is selected in the example of Fig. 3, the element values of the first row, Account A, 〇 △ Bank, Shinjuku Branch, Normal, 1 1 1 1, and Yamada Taro will be extracted. Become.

Then, by associating each extracted element value with the extracted column name, a description of a data portion in row units (or column units) is created (step S107).

Next, a description of a portion related to the table operation is created (step S108). When converting to C-HTML or MML, “next data” indicating a request to go to the next data, and “request to switch display from row to column (or column to row)” as a part related to table operation Create a description of the submit button that indicates a request to switch to "display switching" and table structure information, and to move to the next information. In addition, when the user selects each of the above buttons and sends a request, the information processing device 1 uses the line number (or column name) force S displayed on the terminal device as the line number information (or column name information). Set to be sent to.

When converting to HDML, create a description of the CHOICE card that displays the options of “next data”, “switch display”, and “forward” as the part related to table operation. Also, the line number (or column name) displayed on the terminal device is set as the line number information (or column name information) in the parameter transmitted to the information processing system 1 when the action is selected. .

Note that the row number information and the column name information need not necessarily be the row numbers and the column names as long as the information can uniquely specify the row or the column.

Then, the description of the data portion and the description of the table operation are combined to create a second content (step S109), and output to the terminal device 5 via the IF means 11 (step S111). 0).

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the first row is extracted and the second content is created in the example of FIG. Figure 7 (a) shows the case where the second structured tag language is C-HTML or MML, and (b) shows the case where HDML is used. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 100 denotes a description of a data part, and reference numeral 101 denotes a description of a part relating to a table operation. The description of VALUE '1 "indicated by the symbol 102 and CONTROL = l indicated by the symbol 103 is a portion where the line number information is set as the information transmitted to the information processing system 1.

(Conversion of information in a file structure)

When the first content includes the information of the tree structure, the converting unit 14 analyzes the tree structure, extracts the information of each node as a part of the information included in the first content, and extracts the extracted information. Create secondary content based on the information. As described above, the tree structure information is grasped as a table where (the number of rows and the number of columns) = (the number of terminal nodes and the number of layers in the tree). It is. Hereinafter, the conversion process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8 by taking, as an example, a case where the first content includes the information of the tree structure illustrated in FIG.

The conversion means 14 determines whether the request from the user is the first request for the information of the tree structure (step S201). Note that the first request is a request other than an operation to go down (or up) the tree.

If the user request is the first request, select the first column. Also, the extraction start line is set as the top line (step S202).

When the request from the user is a request for moving down the tree, the terminal receives start line information, display column information, and selected line information from the terminal device. Then, the column to the right of the column specified by the display column information is selected. In addition, it is set as the line specified by the extraction start line-selected line information (step S203).

When the request from the user is a request to return to the upper level of the tree, start line information, display column information, and selected line information are received from the terminal device. Then, the column to the left of the column specified by the display column information is selected. In addition, the extraction start line is set as the line specified by the start line information (step S204).

If the request from the user is a request to end browsing the tree structure information, the conversion processing of the tree structure information ends. In this case, the conversion means 14 extracts information to be converted next to the tree-structured information from the first content, and executes a conversion process according to the extracted information.

Next, a column name is extracted for the selected column (step S205).

If the selected column is the first column, the last line is set as the extraction end line. For columns other than the first column, check the element values in order from the extraction start row for the column to the left of the selected column, detect the last row with the same element value, and set it as the extraction end row (Step S206).

Next, for the selected column, element values are extracted in order from the extraction start row to the extraction end row. At this time, only the element values that appear for the first time are extracted. When an element value is extracted, the corresponding line number is stored (step S207).

The process in step S206 will be described by taking as an example a case where the first column is selected in FIG. 5 (b). Extraction start line = 1st line, Extraction end line = 5th line And First, the element value "Asia J" on the first line is checked. "Asian J is an element value that appears for the first time, so extract it and store the line number 1. Next, the element value on the second and third lines," Asia " Is checked, but it is not extracted because it is not the first element value. Then check the element value "Europe" on the fourth line. "Europe" is an element value that appears for the first time, so it is extracted and line number 4 is stored. Finally, check the element value “「口口口 ”on the fifth line, but it ends without extracting because it is not the first element value. Next, a second content is created based on the extracted column names, element values, and the stored row numbers (step S208).

When converting to C-HTML or MML, create a description that displays the extracted column names. Next, create a submit button description so that the extracted element value becomes the button display content. At this time, a setting is made so that the stored line number is transmitted as selected line information for each button. Next, create a description of the submit button so that “return”, which indicates a request to return to the upper level of the tree, is displayed as a button. When the user selects each of the above buttons and sends a request, the smallest (younger) line number among the stored line numbers is used as start line information, and the column name displayed on the terminal device is the display column. It is set to be transmitted to the information processing device 1 as information. The description of the submit button and the like becomes a part extracted from the first content, that is, the second content of the node information having the ll structure.

When converting to HDML, the extracted column names are displayed, and a description of the CHOICE card is created so that the extracted element values are options. At this time, a setting is made so that the stored line number is transmitted as selected line information for each option. In addition, a parameter transmitted to the information processing system 1 when an option is selected includes a column name displayed on the terminal device with the smallest (younger) row number among the stored row numbers as start row information. Is set as display column information. The description of these CHOICE cards is a part extracted from the first content, that is, the second content of the tree structure node information.

Note that the start row information, display column information, and selected row information need not necessarily be row numbers or column names as long as the information can uniquely specify a row or column.

Finally, the second content is output to the terminal device 5 via the IF means 11 (step Step S209).

Fig. 9 shows an example of the second content when the first column (top node) is extracted and created in the example of Fig. 5. Figure 9 (a) shows the case where the second structured tag language is C-HTML or MML, and (b) shows the case where it is HDML. Also, VALUE = "1, AREA" indicated by the symbol 200, CONTROL = l, AREA indicated by the symbol 201 sets the display start line and display column name as information transmitted to the information processing system 1. It is the part that is being done.

(Other)

As another embodiment of the present invention, a recording medium on which an information processing program is recorded can be considered. As a recording medium, a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory and other recording media can be used.

The information processing program is read from the recording medium into the data processing device, and controls the operation of the data processing device. The data processing device executes the same processing as the processing by the IF unit 11, the content storage unit 12, the determination unit 13, and the conversion unit 14 in the embodiment of the present invention under the control of the information processing program.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be applied in various modifications. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which information is extracted in units of cells, rather than in units of rows or columns, and second contents are created individually for table-structured information.

If the information extracted from the table-structured information or the tree-structured information is information having a capacity that does not fit on one screen in the terminal device, the information is further extracted in a stepwise manner from the extracted information. The content may be created. For example, if the information of one column extracted from the information of the table structure is information of a capacity that does not fit on one screen, the information of a predetermined number of rows of the capacity that fits on one screen is further extracted from the information of one column. And create the second content individually.

In the above embodiment, the case where the first content includes table-structured information and tree-structured information has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the case where the first content includes table-structured information and the like. For example, if the first content includes a tag indicating a page break, information on a page basis (between tags indicating a page break) May be configured to be extracted and converted into the second content. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which the capacity to be extracted from the first content is controlled according to the memory capacity of the terminal device or the size of the display screen.

In the above embodiment, the first content is stored in advance. For example, the first content may be obtained from another web server via a communication network, or only the data may be obtained. The information processing system 1 may be configured to create the first content.

According to the configuration of the present invention, a part of the information included in the first content is extracted, and each of the extracted information is individually converted into the second content and output to the terminal device. Even if the capacity is large, the second content received by the terminal device can be set to an appropriate capacity, and the terminal device with limited memory capacity and display function can comfortably browse the second content. Become.

In addition, when the first content includes information of a table structure, information of each row and column is extracted from the information of the table structure, and the second content is individually created for the extracted portion. Even a terminal device with a small screen can provide the second content that is easy to view and easy to operate for information having a table structure.

In addition, when the first content includes information of a tree structure, information on a node basis is extracted from the information of the tree structure, and a second content is individually created for the extracted portion. Small! / It is possible to provide the second content that is easy to read and easy to operate for the information of the file structure even on a terminal device.

Claims

The scope of the claims

(1) Converts the first document information described in the first structured tag language into the second document information described in the second structured tag language usable in the terminal device, and outputs the second document information to the terminal device Information processing system,

An information processing system characterized by comprising a conversion unit that extracts a part of the first document information in response to a request from a terminal device and individually converts the extracted information into the second document information.

(2) The conversion means according to claim 1, wherein, when the first document information includes information of a table structure, the conversion means converts the information of each table component individually into the second document information. Information processing system.

(3) The information processing system according to claim 2, wherein the table constituent element is at least one of a row element, a column element, and a cell element.

(4) The conversion means according to claim 1, wherein when the first document information includes tree-structured information, the conversion means individually converts the information corresponding to the node into the second document information. Information processing system.

(5) The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the information corresponding to the node includes information of a child node having the node as a parent.

(6) The information according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a type of a second structured tag language usable in the terminal device based on communication contents with the terminal device. Processing system. .

(7) The first structured tag language is XML conforming to the W3CXML specification, and at least one of a table class and a tree class is defined as a base class. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein

(8) The second structured tag language is at least one of C-HTML (Compact-Hyper Text Markup Language) MML (Mobile Markup Language) HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language) 7. The information processing system according to any one of Items 1 to 6.

(9) The first document information described in the first structured tag language is An information processing method for converting into second document information described in a second structured tag language usable in a device and outputting the second document information to the terminal device,

An information processing method characterized by comprising a conversion step of extracting a part of the first document information in response to a request from a terminal device and individually converting the extracted information into second document information.

(10) In the conversion step, when the first document information includes information of a table structure, the information is individually converted to the second document information for each information of a table component. Information processing method.

(11) The information processing method according to claim 10, wherein the table constituent element is at least one of a row element, a column element, and a cell element.

(12) In the conversion step, when tree information is included in the first document information, the information is individually converted to second document information for each information corresponding to a node. The information processing method described.

(13) The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein the information corresponding to the node includes information of a child node having the node as a parent.

(14) The method according to claim 9, further comprising a determining step of determining a type of a second structured tag language usable in the terminal device based on communication contents with the terminal device. Information processing method.

(15) The first structured tag language is XML conforming to the W3CXML specification, and is characterized in that at least one of a table class and a tree class is defined as a base class. The information processing method according to any one of claims 9 to 14.

(16) The second structured tag language is at least one of C-HTML (Compact-Hyper Text Markup Language), MML (Mobile Markup Language) ^ HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language). The information processing method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein:

(17) A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 9.

(18) A program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 9 G.