WO2000058809A1

WO2000058809A1 - Rental ware system

Info

Publication number: WO2000058809A1
Application number: PCT/JP2000/002020
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kouki Hara; Shiro Otani; Motoshi Kimura
Original assignee: Vertex Software Co.
Priority date: 1999-03-31
Filing date: 2000-03-30
Publication date: 2000-10-05
Also published as: AU3456200A

Abstract

A rental ware system comprising a rental ware management server which is connected to a predetermined network and provides a specific service and clients each having at least a browser being a piece of software for displaying information and data retrieved through the network on a display and a virtual machine capable of executing a piece of software independently of the operating system, wherein the rental ware management server accumulates therein software executable on the virtual machine, and when download requests are issued from the multiple clients specified in advance, the rental ware management server sends the desired pieces of software to the clients, and the clients execute the downloaded pieces of software on their virtual machines.

Description

Description Rental wear system Technical field

The present invention relates to a rental wear system, and more particularly, to a rental wear system that can use required software without affecting an execution environment on a client side. Background art

In the conventional software distribution system, as shown in Fig. 11, the developed software is transported from a software house 10 to a personal computer shop 30 via a wholesaler 20 by truck or the like. The conveyed software was sold to software users 40, and when trouble occurred, the software purchaser contacted the bath computer shop 30 or software house 10. On the other hand, the purchase price was paid by the software purchaser to the PC shop 30 and remitted to the software house 10 via the wholesaler 20.

As shown in Figure 12, accounting software 50, salary and personnel software 60, sales / purchasing software 70, and sales support software 80 exist as shown in Fig. 12. The accounting data 51, salary 'personnel data 61', sales' purchase data 71 ', and sales support data 81' obtained by processing these software 50-80 are used independently. In order to share these data 51 to 81, common data is created by work using original software or manually.

However, in the conventional system described above, (1) the software goes through a large number of distribution mechanisms before it reaches the end user, so the cost is high. It takes a lot of time, and the end user often pays for functions that are not used depending on the usage status because the software is packaged and sold as an actual medium, and ③ program mistakes Even if new software is required due to reasons such as changes in economic institutions, etc., it takes a lot of time and money to obtain it from the logistics relationship. Therefore, even if it is used only for a specific period, there is no response such as discounting at all, so the cost per hour rises significantly. Many problems have occurred, such as pirated damage. In addition, since data created by each software can be used only by that software, there is also a problem that it is difficult to operate in cooperation with other software I / O. Therefore, there is a problem to be solved in making necessary software available when needed. Disclosure of the invention

In order to solve the above problems, the rental wear system according to the present invention has the following configuration.

(1) A rental wear management server that provides a specific service by connecting to a predetermined network, and a browser and operating system that is software that displays information and data retrieved on the network on a display A rental machine having at least a virtual machine capable of executing software independently of the system, wherein the rentalware management server stores software executable by the virtual machine. At the same time, when there is a down-load request from a plurality of clients specified in advance, the client that has transmitted the desired software to the client that has requested the download is downloaded. The downloaded software can be executed on a virtual machine Rental wear system characterized by doing so. (2) The rental wear system according to the above (1), wherein the rental pair management server is provided with a data storage unit for storing data generated by software executed on the virtual machine on the client side. Rental wear system.

(3) In the rental wear system according to the above (1) or (2), the rental wear management server can transmit software to the client side and data related to the transmitted software. Rental wear system characterized by doing so.

(4) In the rental wear system according to the above (1), the specified client is a client for which the use time and / or the use period and / or the number of uses have been previously determined with the server. Rental rental system.

(5) In the rental wear system according to the above (1), the software that can be executed by the virtual machine is mainly packaged software distributed on the market. .

(6) In the rental ware system according to (1), the virtual machine is a JaVa virtual machine, and software executable by the virtual machine is created in the JaVa language. Characterized rental wear system.

(7) The rental wear system according to the above (1), wherein the network is an internet.

(8) A rental wear management server that provides a specific service by connecting to a predetermined network, and a browser and operating system that is software that displays information and data retrieved on the network on a display And a client having at least a virtual machine capable of executing software without dependence on the virtual machine. In addition to accumulating software that can be re-executed, a client that requests download of the desired software when a plurality of previously specified clients receive a down-login request. And the client that downloads the software is a rentalware system that executes the downloaded software on a virtual machine, and the rentalware management server acts as a proxy for the client. A rental ware system comprising agent software that integrates and automatically performs transmission, acquisition, and processing of various data obtained by executing the software transmitted to the client side. .

(9) In the rental wear system according to the above (8), the agent software acts on behalf of the client, and can use the data processed by the software transmitted to the client side with other software. A rental wear system having a function of automatically converting data to data.

(10) In the rental wear system according to (8) or (9), the rental wear management server includes a data storage unit that stores data generated by software executed on the client-side virtual machine. Rental wear system characterized by being provided.

(11) In the rental wear system according to the above (8), (9) or (10), the rental wear management server transmits software to the client side and relates to the software to be transmitted. A rental wear system that can transmit data.

(12) In the rental wear system according to the above (8), the specified client is a client for which the use time and / or the use period and / or the number of uses are previously determined with the server. And rental wear system.

(13) In the rental wear system according to (8), the virtual machine A rental wear system characterized in that the software that can be executed by the company is mainly packaged software distributed in the market.

(14) In the rental wear system according to the above (8), the virtual machine is a Java virtual machine, and software executable by the virtual machine is created in a Java language. And rental wear system.

(15) The rental wear system according to the above (8), wherein the network is the Internet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an operation principle of a server and a client constituting a rental wear system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a first specific example of the rental wear system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the “I” specific example of the rental wear system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a second specific example of the rental wear system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a third specific example of the rental wear system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing an operation of a third specific example of the rental door system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of a rental air system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of agent software of the rental wear system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a configuration of a rental wear system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing functions of agent software of the rental wear system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of use of software in the prior art. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a data processing form of software according to the related art. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of a rental wear system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The rental wear system of the first embodiment has a configuration in which software created in Java language is stored on the server side, and the client side deploys this software on a virtual machine and uses it. The following items, [1] The principle of the rental wear system (Fig. 1), [2] The rental wear system of the first embodiment (Fig. 2), [3] The first Operation of the rental wear system of the third embodiment (Fig. 3), [4] Rental wear system of the second embodiment (Fig. 4), [5] Rental pair system of the third embodiment (Fig. 5) , Fig. 6).

[1] Rental wear system principle (Fig. 1)

As shown in FIG. 1, the rental software system of the present invention is a system in which an unspecified number of clients can download desired software from a server and use it. Build an application service provider (ASP) The basic hardware and software is a rentalware management system that has access to the network 300 and stores software AZ created by programming in the Java language. On the server 100 and the network 300 A client 200 that has a browser that is software that displays searched information and data on a display — and a Java VM (Java virtual machine) that can execute software independently of the operating system. It is composed of

The computer on the client 200 side is a virtual machine whose execution environment for executing software does not depend on the operating system (OS) of the client side computer, for example, an operating system such as Windows 95, 98, UNIX, Linux, etc. An environment that can be executed must be established. In other words, the client 200 has a small number of browsers, which are software that displays information and data retrieved on the network 300 on a display, and a virtual machine that can execute software independently of the operating system. It is necessary to have both. When a program consisting of the JaVa language is converted, a bytecode JaVa program is created. The JaVa program of this bytecode is not understood by the operating system of the computer on the client 200 side, but is understood by the JaVa execution environment on the computer. In other words, since the software is executed via the JaVa execution environment, the bytecode JaVa program becomes an image like a machine language that can be understood by a computer without going through the operating system. This is what is called a virtual computer.

Further, the client 200 may have a configuration in which a JaVa plug-in (JavaPlug-In) is provided in addition to the browser and the JaVaVM. Java Bragin is a software that replaces the Java runtime environment of the browser with the latest version. When a file is downloaded to the browser, the Java VM installed in the browser It is a mechanism to start Java VM of plug-in version instead, and it does not depend on the version of Java.

In this way, while creating software by Java language program, The software compiled into the Java language program is downloaded by a browser and executed by the execution environment of the Java VM. Because the software is executed on the Java VM, the downloaded software is simply expanded on the memory and executed using a recording medium other than the memory as a temporary area when memory is insufficient. Is done. Therefore, the downloaded software does not need to be installed on the computer, so that copying and the like can be prevented.

[2] Rental wear system of the first embodiment (Fig. 2)

The configuration of the rental wear system according to the first embodiment for renting or distributing software under certain conditions by constructing a JaVa language program and an execution environment is shown in FIG. , Software developers A, B, C, ... that create and develop programs exclusively for the software, and registration of software delivered by the software house 400 under a paid contract from the software house 400 A rental management server 100 that rents or distributes software to an unspecified number of clients 200 via the network 300 under various conditions. Various payment means 500 for performing various paid payments between the management server 100 and the client 200 side, and various communication means capable of performing communication including networks such as the Internet (hereinafter, referred to as network Say) 3 0 0, and a network Bok workpiece 3 0 0 can be used to download software over an unspecified number of clients 2 0 0 Prefecture.

The rental key management server 100 acquires software, such as accounting services, spreadsheets, and word processing software, that are commonly used from the software house 400, and converts it into a Java language program, or from the beginning. A software database 110 that stores software created in the JaVa language program and a software warehouse 400: Stores software developer side information Database 130, means 130 for making payments with the client 200, and software It has means 140 for transmitting software to the client side, and means 150 for transmitting support information for software developers.

[3] Operation of the rental wear system of the first embodiment (Fig. 3)

Next, the operation of the rental air system of the first embodiment having the configuration described with reference to FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

First, between the rental Hardware Management server one 1 0 0 and the client 2 0 0 side, Rentaruuwea management server one 1 0 becomes the _c membership registration is required register to become a member for renting software mainly On the 0 side, it is registered in the customer database and the user ID and passcode are issued (step ST10 :). Next, when the client 200 accesses the rentalware management server 100, the entered user ID and password are authenticated, and only members can use the service. This authentication is performed by searching the customer database in the server using the existing operating system or commercially available software (step ST11).

If the client 200 uses the existing browser, select the desired software to be downloaded from the list screen of the homepage (Site) provided by the rental software management server 100 (step ST 13).

For the selected software, a downloader (not shown) is activated, and downloading of the software is started (step ST14).

The downloaded software is re-plugged in by the Java plug-in software, and the software X is started by the latest Java execution environment (step ST16).

The software that can be started in this way executes a program using various digital data such as video, images, and music (step ST17). When the execution of the software is completed and the computer is turned off, J a The software deployed on the va VM disappears automatically. Therefore, the next time the power is turned on and used, a series of operations for downloading again is necessary.

In step ST12, if a dedicated program having a browsing function is used instead of using an existing browser, the plug-in is immediately activated (step ST18).

When the plug-in starts, a list screen that replaces the homepage (Site) is displayed, and the software to be downloaded can be selected (step ST19).

For the selected software, a downloader (not shown) is activated, and downloading of software data is started (step ST20).

The downloaded software sequentially executes the software programs using the Java execution environment in the Java VM (step ST21).

The software that can be activated in this way can execute programs using various digital data such as video, images, music, and the like (step ST22). When the execution of the software is completed and the computer is turned off, the software deployed on the Java VM is automatically deleted. Therefore, the next time the printer is turned on and used, a series of operations for downloading again are required.

[4] Rental wear system of the second embodiment (Fig. 4)

As shown in FIG. 4, the specific configuration of the rental wear system according to the second embodiment is as follows. As shown in FIG. 4, the clients 200 A, 200 A that can be connected to the Internet 310, B, 20 OC, and a client 20 OA that can be connected to the Internet 310 is a constantly connected user, and a client 200 B that is connected to a public line 32 ◦ is a dial-up user. Client 200 C that connects to Cable TV 3 30 is Cable TV-The. Each of these users, always-on users, dialers Business start means 210 to instruct the rental wear management server 100A to start business, and download software from the server side in response to such business start. Software starting means 220, which starts by running, data receiving means 230, which receives data from the server side, various processing means 240, which performs various kinds of processing such as printing, data received by various processing means 240, etc. And data updating means 250 for updating the data.

The rental wear management server 100 A side is a franchise server 160 that can connect to a regular connection user who accesses the Internet, and a franchise server that connects to a dial-up user and a cable TV user. 178, a software that is a JaVa program and a core server 180 that controls the backup of this software, and a data server 190 that stores and backs up data. The franchise server 160 is a data requesting means 161 for receiving a business start signal from a client 20 OA user, and software written in the Java language. Transmission means 162 for sending software, data storage 163 for storing data created on the client 20 OA side, and data transmission for transmitting data from the data storage 163 to one user Means 1 6 4 and data update processing means 1 for processing data update

6 and 5. The franchise server 170 is a client 2 A data requesting unit 171 for receiving a signal from the user on the OOB side to start work, and a program transmitting unit for transmitting software written in Java language. 1

7 2, a data storage unit 1 7 3 for storing data created on the client 200 B side, a data transmission unit 1 7 4 for transmitting data from the data storage unit 1 73 to the user side, and data updating And data update processing means 175 for processing the data. The core server 180 consists of a program storage section 181, which stores software mainly composed of programs written in the Java language, and a backup storage section 182 for storing the stored programs. It is configured. Data server Reference numeral 190 denotes a memory for storing data obtained by executing the software on the client 200A, 200B, 200C side. And a backup storage unit 192 for the stored data.

In such a configuration, for example, when the client 200A requests a franchise server 160 for an application to start a business, software composed of a desired Java program is called from the core server 180, and The data is sent to the client 20 OA via the program means 162, and the data generated by executing the software is also read from the data storage unit 163, and the client 20 OA is sent via the data transmitting means 164. Sent to The received software is deployed to the Java VM on the client 200A side. At this time, the client 20 OA has all the necessary software to perform the work and the necessary data.

The client 200A uses the downloaded software to perform various processes, calls the franchise server 160 to update the data created as a result, and activates the data update processing means 165. The data in the data storage unit 163 is updated via the data storage unit. In this way, the client 200A can download necessary software when necessary, and also download data generated by using this software, execute various processes, and execute the created data. Can be uploaded and updated in the data storage section 163 of the Franzies server 160, so that the client 200A does not need to maintain data and software. Moreover, the software to be downloaded is installed on the computer as described above! It is a structure that can be executed by the Java VM instead of processing it all at once, so it does not involve the basic OS (operating system) of the computer at all. As a result, the downloaded software cannot basically be copied to other computers. With this configuration, not only can unauthorized use be prevented, but downloaded software will automatically disappear if power off or other measures are taken at the end of use.

[5] Rental wear system of the third embodiment (Figs. 5 and 6)

In the rental wear system according to the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, Company A on the client 200D side builds a client / server system, and the client 200D side has a client / server system. Company B has a dial-up connection configuration, and the rental gateway management server- 1 OOB has an Internet server- 16 OA and a backup server- 19 OA. Client 200 Client A's client Z server system on the D side is composed of a plurality of client PCs (personal computers) 210 and a proxy server 220 connected to the client PC 210. server 2 2 0 Inta one net 3 1 0 Rental Clothing management server 1 0 0 client PC 2 1 0 in which _c in the plurality is configured to be able to connect to B via through at least J a It has a V a VM and is configured to execute software downloaded from the rental wear management server 100B. Company B, which has a client 200 E side dial-up connection configuration, can connect to the rental key management server 1 OOB via the public line 320, and it has a stand-alone configuration with the modem 230. It is configured to have a personal computer 210a. This stand-alone personal computer 210 is provided with a JaVaVM and has an environment in which software can be executed.

Rental wear management server 100 B B side internet server 16 OA is software consisting of accounting programs for finance and management, software consisting of salary and personnel programs, and sales and purchase programs It has integrated software 162 A consisting of software consisting of: these softwares are written in the Java language. It also has a data storage section 16A for storing the data created on the client 200D side, and cooperates with the backup data storage section 19A of the backup server 19A to cooperate with the backup data storage section 19A. It is configured to perform heavy accumulation I have.

In a rental wear system having such a configuration, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, one client PC 210 of Company A on the D side of client 2 0 0 sends a start request to the proxy server 220 ( The request is accessed via the rentalware management server 100B's Internet server 160A, and the business screen and data are displayed. In this case, accounting (finance, management) software, salary ■ personnel software, sales ■ purchase software 162 A are listed. When the client selects the desired software, for example, payroll / HR software, the client downloads the payroll / HR software to the client PC 210 of client 200D, and pays for the HR business. Also send the created data. The client PC 210 receiving the salary HR software and the data executes the salary 事 HR software X deployed on the Java VM to perform the salary ■ HR work, and the data created as appropriate Activate and send an update request to the Internet server 16 OA. In this way, as if the client PC 210 of Company A can work in an environment with its own software and data. The software deployed on the JavaVM disappears from the JavaVM when the work is completed. Also, copying to other computers is not possible because it has not been installed. Furthermore, the rentalware management server 100B is a dedicated Internet server 16OA that actually receives software distribution and data, and a dedicated backup server 19OA that backs up accumulated data. By sharing tasks in such a way, it is possible to accumulate data more quickly and in large quantities.

Next, a rental wear system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 7, the rental wear system according to the second embodiment includes a rental server management server 1 (see FIG. 2) described in the first example of the first embodiment. Rental wear management server 100C that provides a specific service by connecting to a predetermined network 300, and software that displays information and data retrieved on the network 300 on a display Clients 200F and 200G having at least a browser and a virtual machine (Java VM) capable of executing software without depending on the operating system. The rentalware management server 100C stores software 110 that can be executed by the Java VM, and also receives download requests from a plurality of clients 200F and 200G specified in advance. At that time, the desired software can be sent to the client 200F or 20OG) who requested the download. Also, the rentalware management server 10 OC has a data storage unit 163A for storing data generated by executing the software on the client side, and transmits the data to the client side on behalf of the client. Agent software 500 that integrates and automatically transmits, acquires, and processes various data obtained by executing the implemented software.

In the rental wear system having such a configuration, the agent software 500 can perform, for example, an order reception between clients and an order placement agent. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when there is a client 200F on the ordering side and a client 20OG on the receiving side, the client 200F performs inventory management software:! : Download the software from the rental wear management server 100C and download the accompanying data. In this state, if the inventory management software is executed to check inventory, the agent software 500 of the rental agent management server 100C is called, and the inventory is sent to the client 200G of the other party. Request a confirmation operation. Then, the client 20 OG checks the stock status, and returns the status to the agent software 500. Agent software 500 is available from this client 200G Report the warehouse status to Client 20 OF. In this way, software created in a specific Java language is downloaded from the rentalware management server 100C, and in addition to accumulating data associated with the execution of the software, various types of information can be downloaded. Can be transmitted to a desired partner, and the client 200F can execute other ancillary matters in addition to the deployed software. In addition, transaction requests, order requests, and order confirmations can be performed by using Agent Soft 500.

Next, a rental wear system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 9, the rental wear system according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as the rental agent management server 1 (see FIG. 2) described in the first example of the first embodiment. A rental wear management server 1 OOD that provides a specific service by connecting to a predetermined network 300, and a browser 1 that is software that displays information and data retrieved on the network 300 on a display. It is composed of clients 200H and 200J having at least a virtual machine (Java VM) that can execute software without depending on the rating system. The rental key management server 100D stores software 110 that can be executed by the Java VM, and downloads from a plurality of clients 200H and 200J specified in advance. At the time of the request, the desired software can be transmitted to the client 200H or 200J) which has requested the download. In addition, the rental ゥ: Lor management server 10 OD includes a data storage unit 163 A for storing data generated by executing software of the client 200 H and 200 J, and a client 200 H, An agent that has the function of automatically converting data processed by the software sent to the clients 200H and 200J into common data that can be used by other software on behalf of 200J: r Software with 50 OA I have.

In the rental wear system having such a configuration, the agent software 500A is, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, the software 10000A transmitted to the client 200H (see FIG. 9). If 10 is payroll / HR software, the payroll / HR data created by executing this payroll / HR software will be used as accounting software and sales / purchase data that constitute other integrated software. Accounting data generated by software and sales support software 16 3 b, sales / purchase data 16 3 d, sales support data 16 3 e Linked to use as common data change. In this way, payroll personnel data can be created and converted into data that can be used by other software, so that business processing can be simplified and speeded up. Industrial applicability

In this way, the software that can be executed by the virtual machine is stored in the rental wear management server, and when a down-key request is received from a plurality of clients specified in advance. The client that sent the desired software to the down-loading request was sent to the client, and the client that downloaded this software executed the down-loaded software on the virtual machine. This software can be executed without installing the software itself on the client computer, and can be executed regardless of the installation effort and the type and function of the client computer.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A rental wear management server that provides a specific service by connecting to a predetermined network, and a browser and operating system that are software that displays information and data retrieved on the network on a display A client having at least a virtual machine capable of executing software without depending on the client,

The rental agent management server stores software that can be re-executed by the virtual machine, and, when a download request is issued from a plurality of clients specified in advance, a desired software A rental wear system, wherein the client sends a download request to a client who downloads the software, and the client that downloads the software can execute the downloaded software on a virtual machine.

2. The rental wear according to claim 1, wherein the rental wear management server includes a data storage unit that stores data generated by software executed on the client-side virtual machine. system.

3. The rental wear management server according to claim 1, wherein the rental wear management server is configured to transmit a software to the client side and to transmit data related to the software to be transmitted. The rental wear system described in paragraph 2.

4. The rental wear according to claim 1, wherein the specified client is a client for which the use time and / or the use period and / or the number of uses have been previously determined with the server. system.

5. The rental wear system according to claim 1, wherein the software executable on the virtual machine is mainly packaged software distributed in the market.

6. The rental wear according to claim 1, wherein the virtual machine is a Java virtual machine, and software executable by the virtual machine is written in a Java language. system.

7. The rental wear system according to claim 1, wherein the network is the Internet.

8. A rental wear management server that provides a specific service by connecting to a predetermined network, and a browser and operating software that displays information and data retrieved on the network on a display A client having at least a virtual machine capable of executing software without relying on a system; and the rental: the La management server is software that can be executed by the virtual machine. In addition to storing the software, when there is a download request from a plurality of clients specified in advance, the software is transmitted to the client that has requested the download, and the software is downloaded. Client executes the downloaded software in a virtual machine A down barrel hardware system,

The rental key management server acts on behalf of the client, and integrates and automatically performs transmission, acquisition and processing of various data obtained by executing the software transmitted to the client. A rental ware system comprising agent software.

9. The agent software has a function of acting on behalf of the client and automatically converting data processed by the software transmitted to the client side into common data that can be used by other software. The rental wear system according to claim 8, which is characterized in that:

10. The rental wear management server according to claim 8, wherein the rental wear management server is provided with a data storage unit for storing data generated by software executed on the virtual machine on the client side. Rental air system described in the section.

11. The rental ware management server 1 transmits software to the client side and can transmit data related to the software to be transmitted. Rental air system according to paragraph or paragraph 2.

12. The specified client according to claim 8, wherein the specified client is a client for which the use time and / or the use period and / or the number of uses have been previously determined with the server. Rental ゥ I-System.

13. The rental wear system according to claim 8, wherein the software executable on the virtual machine is mainly packaged software distributed on the market.

14. The virtual machine according to claim 8, wherein the virtual machine is a JaVa virtual machine, and software executable by the virtual machine is created in a JaVa language. Rental of I ゥ A system.

15. The rental wear system according to claim 8, wherein the network is the Internet.