JP2000148640A - Device and method for storing screen control file, medium with screen control file storage program recorded therein, and screen display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce connection time by enabling efficient connection to a prescribed host device, while simplifying the management system of a screen control file when obtaining and storing the screen control file such an HTML file or an image data file held in the host device. SOLUTION: A download tool 42d which is set as proxy by a browser 42c obtains a file from a file storage area 42d1, in response to a request for capturing data from the browser 42c and obtains the file from a Web server, only when the file is not present in the file storage area 42d1, and transfers it to the browser 42c. In this case, at preliminary downloading of files based on a desired URL in a batch at once from the Web server, and storing those files in the file storage area 42d1, the URL corresponding to the file read by the browser 42c is obtained, and when the file related with this URL is present in the cache area 42c1 of the browser 42c, the file is obtained preferentially from the same area.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a screen control file storage device, a screen control file storage method, a medium storing a screen control file storage program, and a screen display device. Screen control file storage device, a screen control file storage method, a medium recording a screen control file storage program, and a screen display device suitable for being applied to a screen display device that stores a screen control file read while storing in a predetermined cache area .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of the above-mentioned screen display device, there is a personal computer equipped with software called a browser. As is well known, the browser reads a file such as an HTML file or an image data file based on a URL input, and displays a character string or an image on a screen based on the read file. In many cases, the file to be read exists on a Web server on the Internet network, and in such a case, the browser reads the file via the Internet network. Here, usually, a general user concludes a contract with an Internet connection company called a provider, and connects to a server on the Internet network owned by the provider via a public line, thereby substantially connecting the Internet network to the user. It is designed to be connected to a personal computer. Therefore, the browser reads the above file via the public line, but the communication speed of the public line is significantly slower than the processing speed of the personal computer. It will be late.

[0003] As described above, a general user concludes a contract with a provider and connects to the Internet network. In many cases, such a user pays a predetermined connection fee to the provider per unit time. Because
If the screen display speed becomes slower, the connection time is obviously longer and the burden of the connection fee becomes larger. Therefore, in many browsers, the file once read is temporarily stored in a predetermined cache area, and when the file to be read exists in the cache area, the file existing in the cache area is read with priority. As a result, the screen display speed of the browser is improved as a whole. Of course, the files in the cache area are only stored temporarily, and are deleted by the browser at a certain timing. Only the display speed is improved.

[0004] In view of such a point, in recent years, software as a download tool has been developed. This download tool provides the URL
When the URL is input, the file corresponding to the URL and, if the page is hierarchically constructed, the files up to the specified level are collectively downloaded at a time, and when the URL is next inputted on the browser, the download is performed. This is to make the browser read the saved file. Therefore, the user instructed the download
Regarding the RL, the screen can be displayed by the browser even in the offline state, and the line connection time is also reduced.

This download tool stores a file that may be read by a browser in a personal computer, and reduces the line connection time by reading the file into the browser. This is the same as the method of storing a file in a file. However, in the case of the download tool, the file stored on the personal computer side is the U
Since it is based on RL, it is different from the technique of storing in the cache area in that the stored file is more likely to be read into the browser again. For this reason, the file downloaded by the download tool is not deleted until the user instructs.

[0006]

The above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. Normally, the user inputs a URL into a browser to display the screen, browses the screen display, and if necessary, instructs the download tool to download the corresponding file by instructing the URL. Therefore, at this point, the HTML for the URL is
The file or the image data file exists in the cache area. Even in such a case, the download tool uniformly uses the H corresponding to the specified URL.
Web that supports TML files and image data files
Obtained from the server. That is, the efficiency of the download is reduced due to the duplicate download, and it cannot be said that the connection time to the Internet network is always used effectively.

On the other hand, it is possible to separately manage files stored in a cache area of a browser for a predetermined period of time and files to be stored so as not to be deleted until a user instructs. It can be said that managing the files in such a cache area separately in one cache area is not advantageous because it causes management complexity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has been made in consideration of a problem that a screen control file such as an HTML file or an image data file held by a predetermined host device is acquired and stored. A screen control file storage device, a screen control file storage method, a medium recording a screen control file storage program, and a screen capable of reducing the connection time by efficiently connecting to the host device while simplifying the management system It is intended to provide a display device.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is capable of communicating with a host device having a predetermined screen control file via a network, and performing screen control from the host device. The screen control file read while the file is being read and displayed on the screen is stored in the cache area for a predetermined period, and the screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the cache area when the screen control file to be read is stored in the cache area. A screen control file storage device for a screen display device that preferentially reads a stored screen control file and displays a screen, wherein the host device communication means capable of communicating with the host device; A host device having a screen control file read by the screen display device upon request, and a screen control device therefor. Address information obtaining means for obtaining address information for identifying a file; and a corresponding screen control file from the host device via the host device communication means based on the address information obtained by the address information obtaining means. When the same screen control file is stored in the cache area, the screen control file is obtained and stored preferentially from the cache area.

[0010] In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, the screen display device reads the same screen control file from a host device having the predetermined screen control file via a predetermined network and displays the screen. The screen control file read from the host device is stored in the cache area for a predetermined period while the screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the cache area. Is read first and displayed on the screen. In this case, when the address obtaining means obtains the host device having the screen control file read by the same screen display device at the instruction of the user and the address information for identifying the screen control file, the screen control file obtaining storage means Before acquiring and storing the screen control file corresponding to the same address information from the host device via the host communication means, if the relevant screen control file is stored in the cache area, It is preferentially acquired and stored.

The primary role of the screen display device here is to read the screen display file on the host device and display it on the screen. The configuration of the screen display device and the screen control file read by the screen display device is described below. Are various and are not particularly limited. For example, when browsing a home page on the Internet, an HTML file or an image data file on a Web server can be read and displayed on a screen using a personal computer equipped with a program called a browser. A personal computer provided with a browser serves as a screen display device, and an HTML file and an image data file serve as screen control files.

[0012] In many browsers, the screen control file once read is stored in a cache area for a predetermined period, and when the screen control file is read again, the screen control file is preferentially read from the cache area. By reading, the screen display speed is improved as a whole. The area for temporarily storing the screen control file for the purpose of improving the screen display speed in the screen display device as described above is widely called a cache area, and is actually a predetermined memory area or a hard disk area. It can be formed on various storage media such as an area.

The address information is information for identifying the host device having the screen control file read by the screen display device and the screen control file, and various forms can be applied. The above-mentioned information on the Internet corresponds to this. In other words, the URL is HTML read by the browser
The file includes a file name, an image data file name, and identification information of a host device provided with these screen control files, and the browser reads the corresponding screen control file based on the URL. In such a case, the address information acquisition means may transmit the URL as the address information from the browser in response to a request from the user.
Should be configured to acquire

Here, the meaning of the screen control file acquisition and storage means acquiring the screen control file is that the screen control file is stored in a storage area different from the cache area described above, so that the screen control file is separately obtained from the screen control file in the cache. The purpose of the present invention is to simplify the management system by performing management, and to appropriately use this screen control file on a screen display device or the like. For example, when the screen display device reads a desired screen control file from the host device and attempts to display the screen, when the screen control file is stored in the screen control file acquisition storage unit, the stored screen control file is stored. Just read the file.

When the screen control file acquisition and storage means preferentially acquires the screen control file from the cache area, the processing first acquires the corresponding screen control file from the cache area. When a file cannot be obtained, a two-step processing procedure of executing processing for obtaining a corresponding screen control file via the host device communication means is performed. Of course,
Here, as long as the order of performing the latter process after the former process is followed, at what timing the two processes are interlocked is limited because various aspects can be applied. Never. As an example, when the corresponding screen control file cannot be acquired from the cache area by the former processing, the latter processing may be immediately executed to acquire the same screen control file from the host device.

As another example, the invention according to a second aspect is the screen control file storage device according to the first aspect, wherein the screen control file acquisition storage means includes an address acquired by the address information acquisition means. A cache file acquisition storage unit that acquires a screen control file based on information from the cache area when the screen control file is stored in the cache area; and an address when the screen control file cannot be acquired by the cache file acquisition unit. Address information storage means for storing the address information acquired by the information acquisition means; and the host device communication means based on the address information according to a request from a user after storing the address information in the address information storage means. The corresponding screen control file from the host device via A configuration equipped with a host file delay acquisition memory means for storing.

In the invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, when the address information acquisition means acquires the address information, the in-cache file acquisition and storage means stores the screen control file based on the address information in the cache memory. If it is stored in the area, it is obtained and stored from the same cache area, but if the screen control file cannot be obtained from the same cache area, the address information storage means stores the same address information. afterwards,
The host file delay acquisition storage means waits until there is a request from the user, and if there is actually a request from the user,
A corresponding screen control file is acquired from the host device via the host device communication means based on the address information stored by the address information storage means. That is, even if the screen control file cannot be acquired from the cache area by the cached file acquisition storage unit,
The host file delay acquisition storage unit does not immediately acquire the screen control file from the host device via the host device communication unit.

The case where the screen control file acquisition and storage means acquires the screen control file based on the address information does not necessarily mean that only the screen control file corresponding to the address information is acquired. As an example, the invention according to claim 3 is the screen control file storage device according to claim 1, wherein the screen control file acquisition storage means acquires a screen control file corresponding to the address information, and A host device including another screen control file related to the screen control file included in the control file, and link information for identifying the screen control file, and other related screen control based on the link information It is configured to acquire a file.

In the invention according to claim 3 configured as described above, the screen control file acquisition and storage unit acquires and stores a screen control file corresponding to the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit. Further, a host device having another related screen control file included in the screen control file and link information for identifying the screen control file are detected, and other related screen control files are detected based on the detected link information. Obtain and store the file. For example, in the HTML file described above, this H
Image data file name referenced from TML file,
The URL of another hypertext linked HTML file may be described, and the case where the corresponding file is acquired from the image data file name or the URL is included.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the screen control file storage device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the screen control file obtaining and storing means includes: When acquiring the screen control file corresponding to the address information and another screen control file related to the screen control file, the screen control file stored in the cache area is acquired from the cache area, and the screens that are insufficient are acquired. The control file is obtained from the host device via the host device communication means.

In the invention according to claim 4 configured as described above, the screen control file acquisition and storage means includes a screen control file corresponding to the address information acquired by the address information acquisition means, and a screen control file associated with the screen control file. To obtain another screen control file, first obtain the screen control file stored in the cache area of the screen display device from the same cache area, and then, if there is a missing screen control file, It is obtained from the host device via the device communication means and stored. Of course, in the case of applying to the invention of claim 2 described above, address information and link information about the screen control file that could not be obtained from the cache area by the in-cache file obtaining storage means are stored by the address information storage means, In response to a request from the user, the corresponding screen control file may be acquired by the host file delay acquisition storage unit based on the same address information and link information.

A method of acquiring address information from a screen display device according to a user's request, and preferentially acquiring from a cache area of the screen display device when acquiring and storing a screen control file based on the address information. Is not necessarily limited to a substantial device. As an example, the invention according to claim 5 can communicate with a host device having a predetermined screen control file via a network, and While reading the screen control file and displaying the screen, the read screen control file is stored in the cache area for a predetermined period, and if the screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the cache area, the cache control file is stored in the cache area. Screen to display and display the screen control file stored in the area with priority A screen control file storage method for a display device, comprising: a host device having a screen control file read by the screen display device according to a user's request; and address information for identifying the screen control file. Address information obtaining means for obtaining, and upon obtaining a corresponding screen control file from the host device based on the address information obtained by the address information obtaining means and storing it in a predetermined storage area, the screen control file When stored in the cache area, the information is preferentially acquired from the cache area and stored.

That is, there is no difference in that the present invention is not necessarily limited to a substantial device and is also effective as a method.

Incidentally, the above-mentioned screen control file storage device may exist alone or may be used in a state of being incorporated in a certain device. It is a thing. In addition, it may be realized by hardware or software, and may be changed as appropriate. When the means for storing the screen control file is substantially controlled by software as an embodiment of the idea of the present invention, it naturally exists on a recording medium on which such software is recorded and is used. Absent.

As an example, the invention according to claim 6 is capable of communicating with a host device having a predetermined screen control file via a network, reading the screen control file from the host device, and reading while displaying the screen. When the screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the same cache area, the screen control file stored in the same cache area is prioritized. A host device comprising a screen control file storage program for a screen display device for reading and displaying a screen, and a screen control file read by the screen display device according to a user's request; and Address information for acquiring address information for identifying the screen control file Acquiring means for acquiring a corresponding screen control file from the host device based on the address information acquired by the address information acquiring means and storing the screen control file in a predetermined storage area, wherein the screen control file is stored in the cache area; In such a case, the data is preferentially acquired from the cache area and stored.

Of course, the recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future. Also, the duplication stages of the primary duplicated product, the secondary duplicated product, and the like are equivalent without any question. In addition, the present invention is still used even when a supply method is performed using a communication line, and the same applies to a case where the information is written on a semiconductor chip.

By the way, the cache screen control file stored in the cache area of the browser for a predetermined period of time and the screen control file for storage which is not erased until specifically instructed by the user are separately managed. Then, as described above, the management may be complicated. However, the browser itself has two types of storage areas, a cache area and a storage area for storage.
If the cache screen control file and the storage screen control file are separately managed in each case, the management complexity can be reduced.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a host device communication means capable of communicating with a host device having a predetermined screen control file via a network, and a screen display from the host device via the host device communication means. While reading the control file and displaying the screen, the read screen control file is stored in the cache area for a predetermined period of time, and when the screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the same cache area, the same cache area is used. Screen display means for reading the screen control file stored in the cache area with priority and displaying the screen, and a screen control file for copying and storing the screen control file stored in the cache area in a storage area different from the cache area And a copy storage means.

That is, the screen display device itself copies and manages the screen control file stored in the cache area to a separate storage area. For example, the screen control file read by the browser is stored in the cache area for a predetermined period, but the screen control file that the user wants to save is copied from the cache area to another storage area by the function of the browser itself. And memorize it. Of course, the use form of the screen control file stored in the storage area is arbitrary, and may be a form that is read by the browser when necessary as described above, or may be used from another program or the like. It doesn't matter.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the screen control file for saving is stored in a storage area separate from the cache area of the screen display device, if the file management system only becomes simple, In obtaining and storing the screen control file, predetermined address information corresponding to a request from the user is obtained from the screen display device, and the screen control file based on the address information is stored in the cache area of the screen display device. In the case of being stored in the cache control area, a screen control file storage device capable of efficiently connecting to the host device and shortening the connection time as a whole is obtained by preferentially acquiring and storing the same from the cache area. Can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even when the screen control file based on the acquired address information does not exist in the cache area, the screen control file only stores the address information and waits for the user's request. Since the corresponding screen control file is acquired from the host device based on the stored address information, the screen control files can be acquired all at once, which is efficient.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, another related screen control file is acquired in addition to the screen control file corresponding to the acquired address information. It is not necessary to connect to the host device even when the screen control file is used, and according to the invention according to claim 4, in such a case, the screen control file stored in the cache area is stored by making the best use of the screen control file. This is efficient.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5,
Similarly, it is possible to provide a screen control file storage method capable of simplifying the management system of the screen control file for storage and efficiently connecting to the host device to reduce the connection time as a whole, According to the invention according to claim 6, it is possible to provide a medium in which a screen control file storage program is recorded.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7,
Since the screen display device itself copies and manages the screen control file from the cache area to a separate storage area, a screen control file for cache with a simple configuration,
It is possible to provide a screen display device capable of managing a screen control file for storage while separating the screen control file.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a network connection form between a PC to which a screen control file storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied and a predetermined Web server. In the figure, Web server 1
Reference numerals 0 and 20 are respectively connected to the Internet network 30 via dedicated lines, while the PCs 40 and 50 are connectable to the Internet network 30 via the public line 60 and the provider 70.

The Web servers 10 and 20 have substantially the same configuration as each other.
It is configured as shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, a server main body 11 includes a main board 11a on which electronic components such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown) are mounted, and a predetermined operating system is executed on the main board 11a to execute a network operation. It communicates with the Internet via the interface 11b and accesses the hard disk 12. The hard disk 12 includes a plurality of HTMs.
An L file and a resource data file such as an image data file are recorded, and the file management system is as shown in FIG.

In the figure, a root directory (/)
“/ Home (home directory)” is created immediately below “/ home”, and “/ home” is subordinate to “/ home”.
"whatsnew", "/ corportr", "/ p
subdirectories such as "products" have been created. Then, immediately below “/ home”, an HTML file having a file name “index.htm” and this H
A resource data file such as a plurality of image data files referenced from the TML file is stored. On the other hand, subdirectories "/ whatsnew" and "/ c
file name "whatsnew.ht" just below "orprintr" and "/ products".
m ”and the file name“ corpin
tr. .htm "and the file name" p
products. “htm” is stored.

As is well known, an HTML file is a "tag"
The file is marked with a, and a predetermined character string is displayed on the screen by the “tag”,
An image related to an image data file outside the TML file can be displayed on the screen. Specifically, using a program called "browser", HT
The ML file is read, the description content is analyzed, and the screen is displayed. The above-mentioned resource data file is a data file of an image data file and an audio data file referred to from an HTML file, and these are collectively referred to as a resource data file, and these resource data files are included in the HTML file. Is referred to as a resource data reference tag for convenience.

Further, another HTML file is included in the HTML file.
If the URL of the file is described using a predetermined tag, the file can be displayed on the display screen of the browser as a predetermined character string so that a click input can be performed with a pointing device such as a mouse. Then, when the click input is actually performed, the browser detects the click event and detects the click event in the corresponding HTML file.
The HTML file is newly read based on the RL, the description content is analyzed, and the display content is updated. Hereinafter, for convenience, such a tag is referred to as a link display tag.

In this embodiment, “whatsne” is stored in “index.htm” immediately below “/ home”.
w. htm ”,“ corpintr.htm ”,“ pr
products. htm ”is described. When“ index.htm ”is read by a browser,“ whatsnew.h ”is read as shown in FIG.
tm ”,“ corpintr.htm ”,“ produ ”
cts. "htm" and the like are displayed in a character string such as "new arrival information", "company information", and "product information" so as to be clickable. Then, the corresponding HTML file is newly read in response to the click input from the user, and the display screen is updated.

On the other hand, the PCs 40 and 50 have substantially the same configuration as each other, and when paying attention to the PC 40, they are configured as schematically shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, a PC main body 41 includes a main board 41a on which electronic components such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown) are mounted. By executing a predetermined operating system on the main board 41a, a modem board 41b is provided. , The hard disk 42 is accessed, and various applications are executed on the operating system. A keyboard 43a and a mouse 43b as input devices are provided on the main board 41a.
A display 44 as an output system device is connected, and similarly receives input from a keyboard 43a and a mouse 43b via an operating system, and displays an execution result of an application on the display 44.

Referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the hard disk 42 stores various software such as an operating system 42a, a dial-up tool 42b, a browser 42c, and a download tool 42d. Here, the operating system 42a is executed by the main board 41a to realize various functions as described above, and is actually read onto the main board 41a when the PC 40 is started. The dial-up tool 42b is connected to the provider 70 via the modem board 41b and the public line 60.
The PC 40 is substantially connected to the Internet network 30 by calling the PC.

The browser 42c uses the HTM as described above.
It reads the L file etc. and displays it on the screen,
Actually, by inputting a predetermined URL on the display screen of the browser 42c, a corresponding HTML file or the like is acquired and read. That is, in short, the URL indicates the location of the HTML file to be read. Of course, the HTML file or the like to be read exists on the Internet network 30 in many cases.
The above Web servers 10 and 20, and the like, and the URL often includes an address for identifying the Web server. In the present embodiment, the Web server 10
“Www.abc.com” is assigned as the address of the “inde
x. The URL for reading “http” is “http:
// www. abc. com / home / index.
htm ". In addition, when reading the HTML file from the Web server on the Internet network 30 as described above, it goes without saying that it is necessary to activate the above-described dial-up tool 42b and substantially connect the PC 40 to the Internet network 30.

The download tool 42d is software that operates in association with the browser 42c.
Next, details of the browser 42c and the download tool 42d will be described with reference to FIG. Although not described above, the browser 42c receives the URL from the user.
Is received, a request to acquire data corresponding to the URL is transmitted to a Web server that holds the data. This acquisition request is appropriately routed on the Internet network 30 according to a predetermined protocol, and reaches the target Web server. Then, the corresponding HTML file and resource data file are transferred from the Web server, and the browser 42c receives these files, reads the HTML file, and executes the screen display. As described above, the PC 40 is connected to the public line 6.
0 is connected to the Internet network 30 via
Since the communication speed of the public line 60 is much lower than the processing speed of the PC 40, it is not an exaggeration to say that the screen display speed of the browser 42c generally depends on the communication speed of the line. Therefore, when the amount of data transferred from the Web server is large, it takes a considerable time to complete the screen display of the browser 42c.

Therefore, in many browsers, the HTML file and the resource data file once read are stored in a predetermined cache area.
As described above, when a URL is input, it is first determined whether or not a corresponding HTML file or resource data file exists in such a cache area. Is read. More specifically, the browser 42c in the present embodiment uses the once read HTM
The L file and the resource data file are stored in the cache area 42c1.
A predetermined index definition file as shown in FIG. 6 is created in c1. In the index definition file, the file names of the files existing in the cache area 42c1 and the URLs corresponding to the respective file names are recorded in association with each other, and the browser 42c refers to the index definition file and records the desired URL. It is determined whether an HTML file or a resource data file exists in the cache area 42c1.

Of course, as described above, the cache area 42c
If the target file exists in step 1, the browser 42c displays the screen using the HTML file and the resource data file in the cache area 42c1, and as a result, no data acquisition request corresponding to the URL is issued. By doing so, the cache area 42c once displayed on the browser 42c
As for those remaining in 1, the screen display speed of the browser 42c can be dramatically improved. In many cases, the PC user contracts with the provider 70 to pay a predetermined connection fee or the like per unit time and also bears the line usage fee of the public line 60 in order to connect to the Internet network. However, if the screen display speed is improved in this way, the connection time is reduced as a whole, and the user's financial burden is also reduced.

The cache area 42c here
Reference numeral 1 denotes a directory created on the hard disk 42, the theoretical capacity of which is variable within the free space of the file system. Therefore, the cache area 42
If as many HTML files and resource data files as possible are stored in c1, the probability that the target file exists in the cache area 42c1, that is, the hit rate, is improved on the surface. However, since a file once read is not always used again, storing more files in the cache area 42c1 may cause the above hits to be larger than the amount of files stored in the cache area 42c1. The rate must be redundant, and overall inefficient. Therefore, a predetermined upper limit is set, and the browser 42c deletes an old file at a certain timing so as not to exceed the upper limit. For example, a file deleted a predetermined number of days before the system date is deleted.

Further, the browser 42c can set a proxy server. When the proxy server is set, when the browser 42c issues a data acquisition request corresponding to the URL, the browser 42c does not issue the acquisition request directly to the target Web server, but sets the data. Sends the acquisition request to the proxy server. And the proxy server
Upon receiving this acquisition request, a file is acquired from the target Web server on behalf of the browser 42c,
Pass the file to 2c. Such a proxy server
In many cases, when an in-house LAN is built,
It is arranged on the LAN and receives an acquisition request from a PC on the LAN to perform the above operation.

In this embodiment, the download tool 42d plays a role of a proxy server. That is, the browser 42c can set the download tool 42d as a proxy server, and the UR from the user can be set.
If the corresponding HTML file or resource data file does not exist in the cache area 42c1 in response to the input of L, a request to acquire the data corresponding to the URL is issued to the download tool 42d. Then, the download tool 42d acquires the corresponding HTML file or resource data file based on the acquisition request issued from the browser 42c and passes it to the browser 42c, and the browser 42c reads the received file and displays it on the screen.

As described above, the HTML file and the resource data file stored in the cache area 42c1 are deleted at a certain timing by the browser 42c. Therefore, although a certain hit rate can be obtained, the hit rate cannot always be said to be high. Therefore, it often takes a considerable time from the input of the URL in the browser 42c to the completion of the screen display. Therefore, the HTML file and the resource data file corresponding to the desired URL and the file up to the designated layer are downloaded at once to the PC side when the page is hierarchically constructed, and then the URL is opened by the browser 42c. Is input, if the downloaded file can be read by the browser 42c, the screen display by the browser 42c can be performed even in an offline state in which the browser 42c is not connected to the Internet 30 via the public line 60 and the provider 70. It becomes possible and the line connection time is reduced.

The download tool 42d stores the desired UR
L, the HTML file and the resource data file related to the registered URL are collectively downloaded at a time as described above, and the file storage area 42d1 different from the cache area 42c1 is downloaded. To be stored. And the registered UR
When a request to acquire data corresponding to L is received from the browser 42c, the file storage area 42d1 is searched and if a corresponding file exists, the file storage area 42d1 is searched.
Obtained from d1 and passed to the browser 42c. That is, the point that the screen display speed of the browser 42c is improved by storing the HTML file and the resource data file in advance is similar to the case where the file is stored in the cache area 42c1 described above. The file stored in the file storage area 42d1 is based on the registered URL, and differs in that the file is likely to be used again.

Next, a description will be given of a URL registration process in the download tool 42d and a process of storing a file related to the registered URL. FIG. 7 shows a URL registration process in the download tool 42d and the U
The flowchart of the process flow of the file pre-storage process performed accompanying the RL registration process is shown. For example, in the browser 42c, "http: //www.ab.
c. com / home / index. htm ”
Entering L and displaying it on the screen as shown in FIG. 4, and then selecting and browsing each item of "New Arrival Information" and "Company Information", if you want to register the above URL,
Return to the screen display shown in FIG.
Start the 2d registration utility. Then, in step S110, a window different from the browser 42c as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

As can be seen from the figure, the item of "URL to be added" on this window includes the URL "http://www.abc.
com / home / index. “htm” is already displayed. This is because the registration utility of the download tool 42d acquires and displays the URL referred to by the browser 42c via the operating system 42a at the time of activation. Therefore, it is preferable that the user does not need to perform an operation such as inputting a URL by himself / herself. Of course, when registering a URL different from the displayed URL, the displayed URL can be deleted and a desired URL can be input. Also,
Under the item "URL to be added", a category list is displayed under the item "Select a category to add a URL", and the user includes a URL to be registered from the category list. Select a category and click the "Next" button. Then, in step S120, the information such as the URL and the category thus input is added to the registration information file 42d2.

Originally, the above steps S110, S110
The registration process is completed in the process of 120, but in the present embodiment, the pre-process of the file storage process described later is started subsequently. First, in step S130, the cache area 42c1 is searched to detect whether a file corresponding to the registered URL exists in the cache area 42c1. Then, the corresponding file is stored in the cache area 42c.
If the file exists in the file storage area 42, the corresponding file is acquired in step S140, and is copied to the file storage area 42d1 in the next step S150. Then, in step S160, it is detected whether or not the acquired file is an HTML file. If the file is an HTML file, the resource storage processing routine is executed in step S170.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the resource storage processing routine. In this resource storage processing routine, the HTML file detected in step S160 is input, and first, in step S210, the HTML file is searched from the head direction and a resource URL is extracted. This resource URL is
This is the URL of the resource data file referenced by the resource data reference tag in the input HTML file or the URL of another HTML file linked by the link display tag.
In 210, the resource data reference tag and the link display tag are searched from the head of the input HTML file, and when the tag is actually detected, the resource URL is taken out and the process proceeds to the next step. Also, the input HT
If such a tag cannot be detected in the ML file, the process directly proceeds to the next step.

In the next step S220, step S2
At 10, it is detected whether or not the resource URL can be taken out, and if the resource URL cannot be taken out, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the resource URL can be extracted, the cache area 4
2c1 is searched to detect whether a resource data file or an HTML file corresponding to the resource URL exists in the cache area 42c1. Here, if the corresponding file does not exist in the cache area 42c1, the process returns to step S210 to start the process of retrieving the next resource URL. On the other hand, the cache area 42c1
If the corresponding file exists in step S240
The corresponding file is acquired from the cache area 42c1 and copied to the file storage area 42d1 in step S250, and the process returns to step S210 to start the same processing.

In this example, "h
http: // www. abc. com / home / in
dex. The user inputs the URL "htm" to display the screen as shown in FIG. 4, and then selects the items "new arrival information" and "company information" to browse the screen. Therefore,
At least when the registration utility of the download tool 42d is activated, the cache area 42c1
"Index.htm" and "whatsnew.h"
tm ”and“ corpintr.htm ”HTML
Since files and resource data files referred to from these HTML files are stored, these files are copied to the file storage area 42d1.

Of course, the HTML files may be linked in a deeper hierarchical structure. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a link display tag is further described in “whatsnew.htm” and “news1.htm”.
It is assumed that the HTML files “m” to “news3.htm” are linked. Therefore, assuming such a case, the resource URL is detected based on the resource data reference tag and the link display tag in the HTML file copied in step S250 in the same manner as described above, and the corresponding file is acquired and stored in the file. The copy may be made in the area 42d1.

By the way, the files stored in the file storage area 42d1 can be edited and browsed by a predetermined editing utility. When the editing utility is started, a window as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. Is done. Referring to FIG.
It can be seen that the HTML file names corresponding to “new arrival information”, “company information”, and “product information” are displayed in a tree below the TML file “index.htm”. This tree display is performed based on the hierarchical structure of the resource URLs extracted as described above, and has nothing to do with whether or not the corresponding file actually exists in the file storage area 42d1.

However, referring to FIG. 11, a file mark is displayed in front of the item “abc” at the top and “new arrival information” and “company information” thereunder. A circular mark is displayed in front of the item of "product information". These marks indicate whether a file corresponding to the item exists in the file storage area 42d1. That is, in the case of the file mark, it means that the corresponding file exists in the file storage area 42d1, and in the case of the circular mark, it means that the corresponding file does not exist. The correspondence is apparent from the figure. Specifically, although not shown, the registration information file 42d
2, the hierarchical structure of the resource URLs and the resource URLs
Is stored, and information on the presence or absence of the file name is stored in the registration information file 42d.
2, the tree display as described above is performed.

As described above, the download tool 4
When the user instructs the download tool 42d to download a file after the 2d URL registration process and the accompanying file pre-storage process are completed, the download tool 42d executes the above-described registration information file. By referring to 42d2, the insufficiency files which could not be stored in the file storage area 42d1 in the above-described file storage preprocessing are collectively downloaded from the Web server and stored in the file storage area 42d1. Therefore, in the file storage pre-processing, the cache area 42c1 and the file storage area 42d1
It is not necessary to download the file copied to the Web server from the Web server, so that the efficiency is high and the time required for the download is short. In addition, with respect to the URL for which the file storage processing has been completed, the screen can be browsed even in an offline state without dial-up connection, and the financial burden on the user is reduced.

In the present embodiment, the download tool 42 has a configuration in which files corresponding to the registered URLs are collectively downloaded in response to a download instruction from the user, but it is needless to say that the configuration is limited to such a configuration. It is not changed and can be changed as appropriate. For example, after the URL registration process and the file pre-storage process described above are completed, the file storage process may be immediately executed by the download tool 42d according to the flowchart of FIG. Referring to FIG.
At 10, it is determined whether or not communication with the Internet network 30 is possible. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the dial-up tool 42b is activated and connected to the provider 70, and if connected, it is determined in the next step S320 whether or not the browser 42c is communicating. Here, if it is determined that the browser 42c is not communicating, in the next step S330, the corresponding missing files that could not be stored in the file storage area 42d1 in the file pre-storage process described above are sequentially stored in the corresponding W
It is acquired from the web server and stored in the file storage area 42d1 in step S340.

That is, for example, while the screen display by the browser 42c is completed and the user is browsing the display screen, the W
Despite not communicating with the eb server,
Since the line is often connected, the file storage processing as described above is executed using this period. Such a method can also substantially reduce the line connection time, and any of the above-described method and the above-described method of downloading all at once based on an instruction from the user may be adopted. .

Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. After activating the dial-up tool 42b and connecting the PC 40 to the Internet 30 via the public line 60 and the provider 70,
Activate the browser 42c and execute “http: //www.a.
bc. com / home / index. htm "
It is assumed that RL has been input. Then, the browser 42c
Refers to the index definition file stored in the predetermined cache area 42c1 and stores the corresponding HTML file or resource data file in the cache area 42c1.
1 is detected.

Assuming that the corresponding file does not exist in the cache area 42c1, the browser 42c issues a data acquisition request corresponding to the input URL. Here, since the download tool 42d is set as a proxy server in the browser 42c, the acquisition request is actually issued to the download tool 42d. Then, the download tool 42d that has received the acquisition request searches the predetermined file storage area 42d1 and determines whether a file corresponding to the acquisition request exists. Here, assuming that the corresponding file does not exist, the download tool 42d sends the acquisition request to the Internet network 30 via the public line 60 and the provider 70.

Then, the acquisition request is appropriately routed on the Internet network 30 and reaches the Web server 10, and the corresponding HTML file and resource data file are transferred from the Web server 10, so that the download tool 42d transmits the file. Is received and passed to the browser 42c. Then, the browser 42c stores the transferred HTML file and resource data file in the cache area 42c1, and displays the screen as shown in FIG. 4 while reading the HTML file and appropriately using the resource data file. Referring to the figure, it can be seen that on this display screen, the character strings of “new arrival information”, “company information” and “product information” are displayed, and the user clicks and inputs these character strings. You can do it.

Therefore, it is assumed that the user selects each item of "new arrival information" and "company information" and similarly displays them on the screen. Then, “whatsne” corresponding to each item
w. htm ”and“ corpintr.htm ”HTM
The L file is similarly stored in the cache area 42c1. Therefore, at this point, the cache area 4
2c1 contains at least the HT of “index.htm”
An ML file, a resource data file referenced from the HTML file, and “whatsnew.ht”
m ”and the HTML file of“ corpintr.htm ”.

When the user browses the screens so far, he / she wants to register the above URL.
It is assumed that the registration utility of the download tool 42d is started after returning the display screen 2c to the state shown in FIG. Then, the registration utility acquires the URL specified by the browser 42c at the time of startup via the operating system 42a, and acquires the acquired U.S.
A new window as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed using the RL. In the figure, since the URL acquired by the registration utility is displayed for the item of “URL to be added”, the user selects the category to which the URL to be added belongs in the item of “Select category to add URL”. And click the “Next” button (step S
110). The download tool 42d adds the information such as the URL and the category input here to the registration information file 42d2, ends the URL registration processing (step S120), and then starts the file pre-storage processing.

The download tool 42d determines whether a file corresponding to the registered URL exists in the cache area 42c1 (step S130). In this example, since the corresponding file (“index.htm”) exists in the cache area 42c1, the download tool 42d acquires the corresponding file (Step S140) and copies it to the file storage area 42d1 (Step S150). . Then, the corresponding file is H
It is detected that the file is a TML file (step S16).
0), the resource storage processing routine is executed by using the HTML file as an input (step S170).

In this resource storage processing routine, the resource data reference tag and the link display tag are searched from the head of the input HTML file, and when the tag is actually detected, the resource URL is taken out (step S2).
10). Here, if the resource URL can be extracted (step S220), it is detected whether or not a file corresponding to the resource URL exists in the cache area 42c1 (step S230). Then, when it is detected that the corresponding file exists, the file is acquired (step S240) and stored in the file storage area 42d1. Thereafter, the HT input in the same manner
All resource URLs in the ML file are extracted, and if a file corresponding to the resource URL exists in the cache area 42c1, the file is stored in the file storage area 42d1. Therefore, in the file storage area 42d1, the HTML file of “index.htm”, the resource data file referenced from this HTML file, “whatsnew.htm” and “c
orpintr. ".htm" is stored.

Thereafter, the user sets the download tool 42
When download command 42d is instructed to download the file, the download tool 42d
By referring to 2d2, the missing files that could not be stored in the file storage area 42d1 in the above-described file storage pre-processing are collectively downloaded from the Web server 10 at a time and downloaded to the file storage area 42d.
1 is stored. On the other hand, the download tool 42d
When acquiring the file according to the flowchart of 2, the download tool 42d is connected to the provider 70 by the activation of the dial-up tool 42b,
And when the browser 42c is not communicating,
Insufficient HTML files and resource data files are sequentially acquired from the Web server 10 and the file storage area 4
It is stored in 2d1 (steps S310 to S340).

Thus, the download tool 42
All the HTML files and resource data files related to the URL where d is registered are stored in the file storage area 42d1.
After that, the user can browse the homepage for the URL even in an offline state in which the user is not connected to the Internet network 30 via the public line 60 and the provider 70. Of course, the HTML file and the resource data file related to the registered URL remain in the cache area 42c1 for a while, but at a certain timing, these files are deleted by the browser 42c.

As described above, the download tool 42d set as a proxy by the browser 42c is
If the file is present in the file storage area 42d1 in response to the data acquisition request from the file storage area 42d1, the file is acquired from the area, and if not present, the file is acquired from the Web server 10 or the like and passed to the browser 42c. Files based on a desired URL are collectively downloaded from the Web server 10 or the like at one time, and the file storage area 42
In storing the file in d1, the URL for the file read by the browser 42c is obtained, and the URL
If a file related to is present in the cache area 42c1 of the browser 42c, the file is preferentially acquired from the same area. Therefore, the file existing in the cache area 42c1 may be acquired redundantly from the Web server 10 or the like. Internet network 3
0, and the connection time can be reduced as a whole.

In this embodiment, the browser 4
Although the configuration is such that communication is performed with the Web server via the download tool 42d using the proxy server setting of 2c, it is needless to say that the configuration is not limited to this configuration.
As an example, the configuration shown in FIG. 13 can be adopted. In the figure, the proxy server is not set in the browser 42e, and the browser 42e communicates directly with the Web server. on the other hand,
When the download tool 42f stores the file in the file storage area 42f1 for the URL registered in the registration information file 42f2 in the same manner as described above, the cache area 42e1 of the browser 42e
File in the file storage area 42f
1 and download the shortage from the Web server.

At this time, each file in the file storage area 42f1 is managed by the same file management system as that on the Web server, and information indicating the location of the file is recorded in the index definition file of the cache area 42e1. . As described above, the browser 42e
First, in order to search whether or not the corresponding file exists on the PC side by referring to the index definition information, as a result, the cache area 42e1 or the file storage area 42f
That is, it is searched whether or not the corresponding file exists in 1. If the browser 42e detects that the file exists in the file storage area 42f1, the browser 42e reads the file from the file storage area 42f1 and displays the screen. Even with such a configuration,
The same effects as those described above can be obtained and can be changed as appropriate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a network connection form between a PC to which a screen control file storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied and a predetermined Web server.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the Web server.

FIG. 3 shows H in a hard disk of the Web server.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a file management system of a TML file and a resource data file.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of screen display by a predetermined browser.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing a hardware and software configuration of the PC.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing data transmission / reception by a browser and a download tool in the PC.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of URL registration processing and file storage pre-processing by the download tool.

FIG. 8 is an example of a screen display displayed when URL registration is performed by the download tool.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a resource storage processing routine executed in a file storage pre-processing of the download tool.

FIG. 10 is a tree diagram conceptually showing a state in which HTML files are hierarchically linked.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display when browsing a resource URL obtained by the download tool.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a file storage process according to a modification.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing data transmission / reception by a browser and a download tool according to a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 20 Web server 30 Internet network 40, 50 PC 41 PC main body 41a Main board 41b Modem board 42 Hard disk 42a Operating system 42b Dial-up tool 42c Browser 42c1 Cache area 42d Download tool 42d1 File storage area 42d2 Registration information file 43a Keyboard 43b Mouse 44 Display 60 Public line 70 Provider

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Kumagai 2-1-2-7 Chuo, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano Within Aisoft Co., Ltd. (72) Atsushi Noritake 2-1-2-7 Chuo, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano Within AI Software Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akihiro Sato 2-1-27-1 Chuo, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano F-term within AI Software Co., Ltd. 5B082 FA12 5B089 GA11 GA21 GB04 HA01 JA22 JA31 JB02 KA04 KA05 KA07 KA16 KB03 KB07 KC27 KC53 KE02 KE03 LA10 LA14 LB04 LB07 LB14

Claims (7)

[Claims] A host computer having a predetermined screen control file can communicate with the host apparatus via a network. The screen control file is read from the host apparatus and displayed on a screen. And a screen display device for reading the screen control file stored in the cache area with priority and displaying the screen when a screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the cache area. A screen control file storage device for a host device, comprising: a host device communication means capable of communicating with the host device; and a host having a screen control file read by the screen display device according to a user's request. Address information acquisition for acquiring address information for identifying the device and its screen control file Means for obtaining and storing a corresponding screen control file from the host device via the host device communication means based on the address information obtained by the address information obtaining means, wherein the screen control file is stored in the cache area And a screen control file acquisition storage unit for preferentially acquiring and storing from the same cache area when stored in the storage area. 2. The screen control file storage device according to claim 1, wherein said screen control file acquisition storage means stores a screen control file based on the address information acquired by said address information acquisition means in said cache area. A cache file acquisition storage unit that acquires from the cache area if the screen control file is acquired, and stores the address information acquired by the address information acquisition unit when the screen control file cannot be acquired by the cache file acquisition unit. Address information storage means, and after storing the address information in the address information storage means, in response to a request from a user, a corresponding screen control file from the host device via the host device communication means based on the address information. File delay acquisition storage means for acquiring and storing a file Screen control file storage apparatus characterized by comprising a. 3. The screen control file storage device according to claim 1, wherein the screen control file acquisition storage means acquires a screen control file corresponding to the address information, and acquires the screen control file. A host device including another screen control file related to the screen control file included in the screen control file, and link information for identifying the screen control file, and other related screens based on the link information A screen control file storage device for acquiring a control file. 4. The screen control file storage device according to claim 3, wherein said screen control file acquisition storage means includes: a screen control file corresponding to the address information;
In acquiring another screen control file related to the screen control file, the screen control file stored in the cache area is acquired from the cache area, and the insufficient screen control file is acquired via the host device communication unit. And a screen control file storage device obtained from the host device. 5. A screen control file that can communicate with a host device having a predetermined screen control file via a network, reads the screen control file from the host device, displays the screen, and stores the read screen control file for a predetermined period in a cache area. And a screen display device for reading the screen control file stored in the cache area with priority and displaying the screen when a screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the cache area. For storing a screen control file read by the screen display device according to a user's request and address information for identifying the screen control file. Address information obtaining means, and the address obtained by the address information obtaining means When the corresponding screen control file is obtained from the host device based on the information and stored in the predetermined storage area, if the screen control file is stored in the cache area, the screen control file is preferentially obtained from the cache area. A screen control file storage method characterized by storing the screen control file. 6. A screen control file that can communicate with a host device having a predetermined screen control file via a network, reads the screen control file from the host device, displays the screen, and stores the read screen control file for a predetermined period in a cache area. And a screen display device that, when a screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the same cache area, preferentially reads the screen control file stored in the same cache area and displays the screen. A storage medium storing a screen control file storage program for a host device, comprising a screen control file read by the screen display device according to a user's request, and an address for identifying the screen control file Address information obtaining means for obtaining information; and address information obtaining means. In acquiring the corresponding screen control file from the host device based on the address information acquired in the above and storing the same in a predetermined storage area, if the screen control file is stored in the cache area, the same is preferentially performed. A medium recording a screen control file storage program, which is obtained from a cache area and stored. 7. A host device communication means capable of communicating with a host device having a predetermined screen control file via a network, and reading the screen control file from the host device via the host device communication means to display the screen. The screen control file read from the host device is stored in the cache area for a predetermined period while the screen control file to be read from the host device is stored in the cache area. Screen display means for reading and displaying the screen by giving priority to the screen control file, and screen control file copy storage means for copying and storing the screen control file stored in the cache area in a storage area different from the cache area. A screen display device characterized by the above-mentioned.