JP2006268377A - Program start-up controller and program start-up control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a program start-up time, and to reduce a time to transfer to an operable state. <P>SOLUTION: When electronic equipment is started up, module relation dependency information of a module concerned with user operation is read from a ROM, and the module related to the module relation dependency information is preferentially started up. That is, start-up of a UI requirement reception part, an input device management part, and an output device management part is first started, and start-up of a UI management part is started when the start-up of all of the UI requirement reception part, the input device management part, and the output device management part is completed, because a UI control part has a dependency relation with the UI management part and the UI requirement reception part and because the UI management part has dependency relation with the input device management part and the output device management part, though a portion concerned with the user operation is preferentially started up. The start-up of the UI management part is started when the start-up of the UI management part is completed, and the user operation becomes possible when the start-up of the UI control part is completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a program start control device and a program start control method, and more particularly to a program start control device and a program start control method for reading and starting a program stored in a storage device such as a hard disk or a ROM.

  In a multi-function device having a plurality of functions such as a copy, a facsimile, and a printer, and other electronic devices, they are controlled in an integrated manner by a plurality of programs for controlling each unit constituting the electronic device. Such an electronic device is configured to read all the programs stored in a memory or the like when the power is turned on or restarted, and to execute necessary programs in accordance with user instructions.

  In such an electronic device, it is preferable that the time from when the power is turned on until it starts to move or the time from when the operation instruction is given to when the operation starts is short.

  Therefore, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is proposed that the programs are started in parallel as much as possible by starting the programs based on the dependency relationship information between the programs, thereby reducing the startup time of the entire system. Has been.

  On the other hand, a disk array configuration or the like is generally known as a technique for improving file input / output performance using a plurality of auxiliary storage devices. By configuring an auxiliary storage device with a disk array and performing input / output operations in parallel from a plurality of devices, file input / output performance can be improved. For example, the technique described in Patent Document 2 proposes a management method that does not deteriorate the input / output characteristics of a file by managing the characteristics of each apparatus when managing files that span multiple external storage devices. ing.

For the purpose of starting an OS (Operating System), a method of dividing and reading a compressed OS image is proposed in the technique described in Patent Document 3.
JP-A-5-250168 JP-A-5-197599 JP-A-4-205421

  However, although the technology described in Patent Document 1 can improve the throughput of the entire system, the startup speed for a specific function part (for example, a function part related to a user operation) does not necessarily improve. Conversely, it may decrease. In addition, it is necessary to store the dependency relationships of the entire system modules, and there is a problem that this information creation and management costs.

  In addition, since the technique described in Patent Document 2 has a configuration that can read and write general files, it has a somewhat complicated structure. This is thought to increase the difficulty and the overhead during use.

  In addition, the technique described in Patent Document 3 only includes a configuration in which reading and decompression operations are performed in parallel in one device. In particular, a specific functional part can be activated at high speed or a plurality of auxiliary storage devices can be used. When configured, it is not taken into account.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described facts, and has an object to shorten the time required to shift to an operable state while shortening the program start time.

  In order to achieve the above object, a program activation control device according to claim 1 is a program activation control device that includes a plurality of modules that control functions of an electronic device, and that activates a program of the plurality of modules. Of the dependency information representing the dependency relationship between modules, a storage unit for storing specific function dependency information indicating a dependency relationship between modules for operating a predetermined specific function, and the specific function stored in the storage unit Control means for controlling the program related to the dependency information so as to be started in advance.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the storage means includes, among the dependency information indicating the dependency relationship between the plurality of modules, the specific function dependency indicating the dependency relationship between the modules for operating the predetermined specific function. Information is stored.

  Then, the control means is controlled so that the program related to the specific function dependence information stored in the storage means is started in advance. For example, as in the invention described in claim 2, the operation function dependency information indicating dependency information between modules having a response function to an operation input is stored as the specific function dependency information, and the program related to the operation function dependency information It is possible to respond immediately to the operation input by activating in advance.

  On the other hand, when the program is started in parallel as much as possible as in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the startup time becomes long when viewed in units of modules that are running in parallel. However, in the invention described in claim 2, since only the program related to the operation function dependency information is activated in advance, the activation time in units of modules is shortened. Time can be shortened.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to store the dependency relationships of all the modules, it is possible to reduce dependency creation and management costs.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 3, in the case where the module is combined with the customization, the module is updated by updating the specific function dependency information when there is a change such as replacement, addition or deletion of the module. Can be freely replaced. This update may be performed in either direction, and the update timing may be performed when the module is changed, periodically, or when the program is started.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program start control device comprising: a plurality of storage units that store the same program; a reading unit that reads the program from the plurality of storage units in parallel; Control means for controlling to start the program.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the same program is stored in the plurality of storage means, and the programs stored in the respective storage means are read in parallel by the reading means.

  Further, the control means is controlled to start the program that has been read out earliest by the reading means.

  In other words, even if the same storage means is used, the reading speed differs depending on the usage situation, etc., so that the same program is stored in a plurality of storage means, and the program that has been read out earliest is started, Can be shortened.

  Therefore, since the program read time is shortened in this way, the program can be started at a high speed, so that the program start time can be shortened and the time required to shift to the operable state can be shortened. It becomes possible.

  6. The program start control device according to claim 5, wherein two storage means storing the same program, a program stored in one of the storage means from the head, and a program stored in the other storage means are terminated. And a control means for controlling to generate and start the program by synthesizing the respective programs read by the reading means.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the same program is stored in the two storage means, and the program stored in each storage means is read by the reading means. At this time, the program read by the reading means is read in parallel from the head of the program stored in one storage means and from the end of the program stored in the other storage means.

  Then, the control unit is controlled to generate and start the program by synthesizing the programs read by the reading unit.

  That is, the same program is stored in two storage means, and the program reading time can be reduced by dividing and reading from each storage means.

  Therefore, since the program read time is shortened in this way, the program can be started at a high speed, so that the program start time can be shortened and the time required to shift to the operable state can be shortened. It becomes possible.

  The program start control method according to claim 6 is a program start control method including a plurality of modules for controlling a plurality of functions and starting a program of the plurality of modules, wherein the dependency represents a dependency relationship between the plurality of modules. Among the information, specific function dependency information representing a dependency relationship between modules for operating a predetermined specific function is stored in advance, the specific function dependency information is read, and a program related to the specific function dependency information is read It is characterized by starting in advance.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the specific function dependency information indicating the dependency relationship between the modules for operating the predetermined specific function among the dependency information indicating the dependency relationship between the plurality of modules is stored in advance. The program related to the stored specific function dependency information is controlled to be started in advance. For example, as in the invention described in claim 7, as specific function dependency information, operation function dependency information representing dependency information between modules having a response function to an operation input is stored, and a program related to the operation function dependency information It is possible to respond immediately to the operation input by activating in advance.

  On the other hand, when the program is started in parallel as much as possible as in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the startup time becomes long when viewed in units of modules that are running in parallel. However, in the invention described in claim 6, since only the program related to the operation function dependency information is activated in advance, the activation time in module units is shortened. Time can be shortened.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to store the dependency relationships of all the modules, it is possible to reduce dependency creation and management costs. Further, for example, as in the invention described in claim 8, in the method of updating the specific function dependency information when there is a change such as replacement, addition, or deletion of the module, It can be freely replaced. This update may be performed in either direction, and the update timing may be performed when the module is changed, periodically, or when the program is started.

  The program activation control method according to claim 9, wherein the program activation control method reads and activates the program from a plurality of storage units in which the same program is stored, and the program is controlled in parallel from the plurality of storage units. And a control step for controlling to start the program that has been read out earliest in the reading step.

  According to the program activation control method of claim 9, the same program is stored in the plurality of storage means, and the same program stored in the plurality of storage means is read in parallel in the reading step, and is read in the control step. Control is performed to start the program that has been read out earliest in a step.

  In other words, even if the same storage means is used, the reading speed differs depending on the usage situation, etc., so that the same program is stored in a plurality of storage means, and the program that has been read out earliest is started, Can be shortened.

  Therefore, since the program read time is shortened in this way, the program can be started at a high speed, so that the program start time can be shortened and the time required to shift to the operable state can be shortened. It becomes possible.

  The program start control method according to claim 10 is a program start control method for reading and starting the program from two storage means storing the same program, wherein one of the two storage means is stored. The program stored in the means is started from the head, the program stored in the other storage means is read in parallel from the end, and the programs read in the reading step are combined to generate the program and start And a control step for performing control.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the same program is stored in the two storage means, and in the reading step, the program stored in one storage means from the top and the program stored in the other storage means is Each of the programs is read in parallel from the end, and in the control step, the programs read in the reading step are combined to generate and start a program.

  That is, the same program is stored in two storage means, and the program reading time can be reduced by dividing and reading from each storage means.

  Therefore, since the program read time is shortened in this way, the program can be started at a high speed, so that the program start time can be shortened and the time required to shift to the operable state can be shortened. It becomes possible.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to reduce the program start time and the time required to shift to the operable state.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an electronic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the electronic device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the entire electronic device 10 is controlled by the system control unit 12 including the CPU 12A, the ROM 12B, and the RAM 12C.

  The system control unit 12 is connected to a UI (User Interface) device 14, a storage device 16, an output device 18, and an input device 20 via a bus 22.

  The UI device 14 includes, for example, a display and has a function of displaying various information of the electronic device 10. The storage device 16 includes a storage device such as a hard disk and is input from the input device 20. Stores data and applications.

  The output device 18 includes, for example, an image forming device that forms an image based on data stored in a hard disk or the like. The input device 20 includes an interface that inputs various data, and can input various information. ing.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration including software and hardware of the electronic device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the system control unit 12 includes a UI control unit 24, a UI management unit 26, a UI request reception unit 28, a job control unit 30, an external job reception unit 32, an input request control unit 34, and a data control unit 36. , Including an output job control unit 38, an input device management unit 40, a storage device management unit 42, and an output device management unit 44, and other software modules (hereinafter simply referred to as modules). Each module executes a function of each module by starting a program of each module.

  The UI control unit 24 is connected to the UI device 14 to control the UI device 14, and the input device management unit 40 is connected to the input device 20 to manage various information input from the input device 20 and store it. The device management unit 42 is connected to the storage device 16 to manage data writing and reading to the storage device 16, and the output device management unit 44 is connected to the output device 18 to manage data output to the output device 18. .

  The UI control unit 24 presents the state of the input device 20 and the output device 18 acquired by the UI management unit 26 from the input device management unit 40 and the output device management unit 44 to the UI device 14, etc. The request is sent to the UI request receiving unit 28.

  When the job control unit 30 becomes able to start a job, the UI request accepting unit 28 starts the job and starts the input device management unit 40 and the input request control unit 34 to input from the input device 20. At the same time, the output device management unit 42 and the output job control unit 38 are driven to enable data output to the output device 18, and the storage device management unit 42 and the data control unit 36 are activated to store temporary data. The data is accumulated via the device management unit 42 and the data control unit 36.

  Further, the external job receiving unit 32 receives a job request by a remote operation or the like other than the direct operation from the user, and similarly executes the job when the job control unit 30 can start the job.

  The entire device is centrally controlled by the CPU 12A of the system control unit 12.

  FIG. 3A shows module relationship dependency information when each module included in the system control unit 12 is activated.

  In the present embodiment, module relationship dependency information for only modules related to a specific function is stored in advance in the ROM 12B or the like.

  In the present embodiment, only the module relationship dependency information of the module related to the user operation is stored, and the portion related to the module relationship dependency information is activated in advance. Specifically, since the UI control unit 24 is connected to the UI management unit 26 and the UI request reception unit 28, the UI control unit 24 includes the UI management unit 26 and the UI request as shown in FIG. Since the UI management unit 26 is connected to the input device management unit 40 and the output device management unit 44 and has a dependency relationship with the reception unit 28, the UI management unit 26 includes the input device management unit 40 and the output device management unit 44. Depends on. Therefore, in the present embodiment, only the dependency relationship information is stored in the ROM 12B in advance.

  Next, processing at the time of starting up the electronic device 10 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing flow when the electronic device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is activated.

  First, in step 100, the module relationship dependency information is read from the ROM 12B by the CPU 12A, and the process proceeds to step 102.

  In step 102, the module related to the module relationship dependency information is activated. That is, the module related to the user operation is activated in advance.

  Next, in step 104, it is determined by the CPU 12A whether or not the activation of the module related to the module relationship dependency information has been completed, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 106.

  In step 106, the CPU 12A determines whether or not an operation input has been performed. That is, it is determined whether or not an operation input has been performed via the input device 20. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 108, and the input from the input device 20 is accepted and to step 110. Transition. That is, input information is input to the UI control unit 24 via the input device 20 and the UI management unit 26, and display control on the UI device 14 is controlled by the UI control unit 24, and input to the UI control unit 24 via the UI request reception unit 28. Processing is performed.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 106 is negative, the process proceeds to step 110 as it is.

  In step 110, other modules, that is, modules not included in the module relationship dependency information are activated, and the process proceeds to step 112.

  In step 112, it is determined by the CPU 12A whether or not the activation of the module not included in the module relationship dependency information is completed, and the process waits until the determination is affirmed, and the process proceeds to step 114.

  In step 114, it is determined whether or not there is the input accepted in step 108. If the determination is negative, a series of processes for starting up the electronic device 10 is ended as it is.

  If the determination in step 114 is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 116, a process corresponding to the accepted input is executed, and a series of processes for starting up the electronic device 10 is terminated.

  Here, the flow of processing when the electronic device 10 is started will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  When the activation of the electronic device 10 is started, the system control unit 12 reads the above-described module relationship dependency information from the ROM 12B, preferentially activates the module related to the module relationship dependency information, and starts activation of each module. .

  That is, in the present embodiment, the portion related to the user operation is activated preferentially, but the UI control unit 24 has a dependency relationship with the UI management unit 26 and the UI reception unit 28, and the UI management unit 26 is the input device management unit. 40 and the output device management unit 44. Therefore, in the present embodiment, first, activation of the UI request receiving unit 28, the input device management unit 40, and the output device management unit 44 is started, and the UI request receiving unit 28, the input device management unit 40, and the output device management unit are started. When all the activations of 44 are completed (in FIG. 5A, since the most time is required for activation of the output device management unit 44, the output device management unit 44 has completed activation), UI management The start of the unit 26 is started. In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the output device management unit 44 takes the longest to start, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Then, when activation of the UI management unit 26 is completed, activation of the UI control unit 24 is started, and when the activation of the UI control unit 24 is completed, user operation becomes possible.

  Subsequently, other modules in the module relationship dependency information are activated in the order of the storage device management unit 42, the input request control unit 28, the data control unit 36, the output job control unit 38, and the external job reception unit 32. The external job can be accepted when the activation of the unit 32 is completed, and all functions can be accepted when the activation of the job control unit 24 is completed after the activation of the job control unit 24 is finally started.

  On the other hand, when the electronic device 10 according to the present embodiment is activated by applying the conventional activation method described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. The dependency relationship information is stored in advance, and is started in parallel as much as possible. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the UI request reception unit 28, the input device management unit 40, the output device management unit 44, and the storage device management The unit 42 and the external job reception unit 32 are activated in parallel. In the example shown in FIG. 5B, first, the external job can be received when the activation of the external job receiving unit 32 is completed.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5B, the input request control unit 34 starts when the input device management unit 40 is started, and the data control unit 36 starts when the storage device management unit 42 is started. When the input device management unit 40 and the output device management unit 44 are started, the output job control unit 38 is started and the UI management unit 26 is started.

  Then, the UI control unit 24 starts to be started when the UI management unit 26 is started, and the user operation is enabled when the UI control unit 24 is started.

  On the other hand, the start of the job control unit 30 is started when the output job control unit 38, the input request control unit 34, and the data control unit 36 are started, and all functions can be accepted when the start is completed. .

  As described above, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, activation of a plurality of modules is started as much as possible, so that activation time can be shortened. However, since the activation of a plurality of modules is performed in parallel as much as possible, when viewed in units of each module, the activation time of each module becomes longer than that of this embodiment, and user operation is given priority. Since it is not considered, the time until the user can operate becomes longer than that in the present embodiment of FIG. That is, it is possible to shorten the time until the user operation is possible in the present embodiment. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten the time required to shift to the operable state.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the amount of information of the dependency relationship with respect to the activation order between modules can be minimized, it is possible to respond quickly to a user operation with a small management cost.

In the above embodiment, when modules are combined by customization, the stored module relationship dependency information may be updated when there is a change such as replacement, addition or deletion of modules. Good. By updating in this way, modules can be freely replaced. This update may be performed in either direction, and the update timing may be performed when the module is changed, periodically, or whenever the program is started.
[Second Embodiment]
Subsequently, an electronic apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6A is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an electronic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the electronic device 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the entire electronic device 10 is controlled by a system control unit 52 including a CPU 52A, a ROM 52B, and a RAM 52C.

  The system control unit 52 is connected to a plurality of auxiliary storage devices (in this embodiment, two auxiliary storage devices) 54 via a bus 56, for example. A plurality of the same auxiliary storage devices may be connected to the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B, or different types of auxiliary storage devices may be connected to each other.

  The plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54 store the same program. In this embodiment, when the program is activated, the program is read out to the RAM 52C under the control of the CPU 52A and activated. Yes. When reading the program to the RAM 52C, reading of the same program is started in parallel from the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54.

  Here, a program starting method in the electronic device 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 6B is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration including hardware and software in the electronic device 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the same program is stored in the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54 as described above.

  Reading of the program from the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54 to the RAM 52C is performed by the program loading means 60. The program loading means 60 is composed of software such as an OS (operating system) loader, for example, and monitors the reading of the program from the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54 to the RAM 52C and the completion of the reading of the program to the RAM 52C. It has become.

  Then, when the program is completely read from the RAM 52C, the CPU 52A activates the program.

  Next, a flow of processing at the time of program startup performed in the electronic device 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing at the time of starting a program performed in the electronic device 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step 200, the CPU 52A controls the program loading means 60 to start reading the same program stored in the auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B into the RAM 52C.

  Next, in step 202, the program loading means 60 determines whether or not the reading of the program from any one of the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54 has been completed. If the determination is negative, the process waits until the determination is affirmed and proceeds to step 204. That is, even if a plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B use the same type of auxiliary storage device, the reading speed varies depending on the use state, the storage capacity, etc., so it is determined whether or not any reading is completed.

  In step 204, the CPU 52A is notified of the completion of reading the program from any one of the auxiliary storage devices 54, and the program is loaded so as to stop reading the program from other auxiliary storage devices 54 that have not been read. Controlled by means 60. At this time, the program read to the RAM 52C halfway is deleted.

  In step 206, the program read out to the RAM 52C by the CPU 52A is activated, and the series of processing ends.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the same program is started to be read in parallel from the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54, and the program that has been read out first is started, thereby shortening the time until the program can be started. The program can be started at high speed using a plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54 without using a complicated configuration such as a disk array device.

  In the present embodiment, even if one of the plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54 fails, the program can be read from the other auxiliary storage device 54 and started, so that the reliability of the electronic device 50 is improved. Can do.

Therefore, since the program can be started at a high speed in this way, the time required to shift to the operable state can be greatly shortened.
[Third Embodiment]
Next, an electronic apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration including hardware and software in an electronic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Since the hardware configuration is the same as that of the second embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted. In addition, regarding the functional configuration including hardware and software, the same configuration as in the second embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the auxiliary storage device 54 is connected to two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B. In the present embodiment, the same program is stored in the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B, as in the second embodiment.

  Reading of the program from the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B to the RAM 52C is performed by the program loading means 60 as in the second embodiment. The program loading means 60 is composed of software such as an OS loader, for example, and monitors the reading of programs from the two auxiliary storage devices 54 to the RAM 52C and the completion of reading of the programs to the RAM 52C.

  In the first embodiment, reading of the same program is started in parallel from a plurality of auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B, and the program that has been read first is started. The means 60 starts reading the program from the beginning of the program from one auxiliary storage device 54 of the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B, and starts reading the program from the end of the program for the other. The program loading means 60 of the present embodiment synthesizes the programs read from the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B, generates the original program, and then starts the program.

  Subsequently, a flow of processing at the time of starting a program performed in the electronic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing at the time of starting a program performed in the electronic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step 300, the program loading means 60 starts reading the program stored in one auxiliary storage device 54 of the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B from the head of the address to the RAM 52C, and the other auxiliary storage device 54A. The program stored in the storage device 54 starts to be read from the end of the address to the RAM 52C.

  Subsequently, in step 302, the program load means 60 determines whether or not the difference between the addresses read from the auxiliary storage means 54A and 54B has become one. That is, since the same program is stored in the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B, the read-out address of the program read from the head of the address and the read-out of the program read from the end of the address are completed. When it is determined whether the address difference is 1 or not, it is determined whether or not one program can be constituted by the programs read from the auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B. Waits and proceeds to step 304.

  In step 304, the program loading from the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B is terminated, and the read programs are synthesized by the program loading means 60. That is, by synthesizing the program read from the head address and the program read from the end address, the same program as the program stored in the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B can be generated.

  In step 306, the program loaded into the RAM 52C by the CPU 52A is activated, and the series of processing ends.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the same program is stored in the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54C, the program is read from the first address from one auxiliary storage device 54, and from the other auxiliary storage device 54. By reading the program from the end address and synthesizing the programs read from the auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B to generate the same program as the original program, the program read time can be shortened, and the disk array device The program can be started up at high speed using the two auxiliary storage devices 54 without using such a complicated configuration.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the second embodiment, even if one of the two auxiliary storage devices 54A and 54B fails, all programs can be read from the other to the RAM 52C and started. The reliability of the device can be improved.

  Therefore, since the program can be started at a high speed in this way, the time required to shift to the operable state can be greatly shortened.

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the electronic device concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function structure including the hardware and software of the electronic device concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the module relation dependence information concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention, (B) is a figure which shows the module relation dependence information of a prior art. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process at the time of starting of the electronic device concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the flow of each module starting of the electronic device concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention, (B) is a figure which shows the flow of each module starting of a prior art. (A) is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the electronic device concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (B) is the function containing the hardware and software in the electronic device concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows a structure. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process at the time of the program starting performed with the electronic device concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function structure containing the hardware and software in the electronic device concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process at the time of the program starting performed with the electronic device concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 50 Electronic device 12 System control unit 12A CPU
12B ROM
12C RAM
14 UI device 18 Output device 20 Input device 24 UI control unit 26 UI management unit 28 UI request reception unit 40 Input device management unit 44 Output device management unit 50 System control unit 52A CPU
52B ROM
52C RAM
54 Auxiliary storage device 60 Program loading means

Claims (10)

A program activation control device comprising a plurality of modules for controlling functions of an electronic device, and activating a plurality of programs of the modules,
Storage means for storing specific function dependency information representing dependency relations between modules for operating a predetermined specific function among dependency information representing dependency relations between a plurality of modules;
Control means for controlling to start the program related to the specific function dependence information stored in the storage means in advance;
A program start control device comprising:   The program activation control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores, as the specific function dependency information, operation function dependency information representing a dependency relationship between modules having a response function to an operation input.   The program activation control device according to claim 1, further comprising an update unit configured to update the specific function dependency information stored in the storage device when a module is changed. A plurality of storage means storing the same program;
Reading means for reading the program from the plurality of storage means in parallel;
Control means for controlling to start the program that has been read out earliest by the reading means;
A program start control device. Two storage means storing the same program;
A reading means for reading in parallel the program stored in one of the storage means from the beginning, and the program stored in the other storage means from the end, respectively;
Control means for controlling each program read by the reading means to synthesize and start the program;
A program start control device. A program start control method comprising a plurality of modules for controlling a plurality of functions and starting a plurality of programs of the modules,
Of the dependency information representing the dependency relationship between the plurality of modules, the specific function dependency information representing the dependency relationship between the modules for operating the predetermined specific function is stored in advance,
A program activation control method, wherein the specific function dependency information is read and a program related to the specific function dependency information is activated in advance.   The program activation control method according to claim 6, wherein the specific function dependency information is operation function dependency information representing a dependency relationship between modules having a response function to an operation input.   The program activation control method according to claim 6, wherein when the module is changed, the stored specific function dependence information is updated. A program start control method for reading and starting the program from a plurality of storage means storing the same program,
A reading step of reading the program from the plurality of storage means in parallel;
A control step for controlling to start the program that has been read out earliest in the reading step;
A program start control method. A program start control method for reading and starting the program from two storage means storing the same program,
A reading step of reading the program stored in one of the two storage means in parallel from the beginning, and reading the program stored in the other storage means in parallel from the end,
A control step for controlling to generate and start the program by combining the respective programs read in the reading step;
A program start control method.

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