JP2008176789A - Embedded device, request distribution method, and request distribution program - Google Patents

Abstract

A WWW server function capable of preventing a decrease in performance by reducing a load on a server program by associating a URL and a processing function, and performing various controls based on information other than the URL The purpose is to provide an embedded device or the like having
In an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function, means for distributing processing to a corresponding Web application according to an URL application path included in an HTTP request, and the URL in the Web application And a built-in device having a WWW server function provided with means for distributing processing to a corresponding processing function according to the URL path.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an embedded device such as an image forming apparatus having a WWW server function, an HTTP request distribution method, an HTTP request distribution program, and a Web system.

  In a general WWW server, a Web page is realized by a file, and URL management is performed in file units. Similarly, CGI is managed in file units, and dynamic values are processed by passing parameters to the file.

  However, in the case of a WWW server operating on an embedded device such as an image forming device (a device in which an OS or an application is installed in addition to an information processing device such as a PC or server), a Web page is filed to save resources. It is generally implemented as a processing function rather than as Therefore, it is necessary to manage the URL and the processing function included in the HTTP request sent from the HTTP client (browser) in association with each other in the server program.

On the other hand, a facsimile apparatus capable of operating a facsimile transmission function by giving an instruction from an external personal computer or the like via a browser as an implementation of a WWW server on an embedded device is disclosed (for example, a patent) Reference 1).
JP-A-10-173890

  As described above, in a WWW server operating on an embedded device such as an image forming apparatus, it is necessary to manage URLs and processing functions in association with each other in the server program. However, there is a problem that the burden on the WWW server increases and the performance decreases.

  On the other hand, when a URL is managed in file units as in a general WWW server, only the URL is a criterion for determining a Web page. However, in a WWW server that operates on an embedded device such as an image forming apparatus, Web page display processing is finally performed by a processing function, so there is room for various controls based on information other than the URL. is there. For example, Web page access restrictions are set based on information other than URL, such as displaying a Web page when requesting with HTTPS (HTTP with security function added based on SSL) but not displaying when requesting with HTTP. It is assumed that However, no mechanism has been devised for doing this.

  In Patent Document 1 described above, there is no description about these problems and solution techniques.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and the object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the server program by associating URLs with processing functions to prevent performance degradation. It is in. In addition, another object is to enable various controls based on information other than the URL.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function according to an application path of a URL included in an HTTP request. Means for distributing the process to the corresponding Web application and means for distributing the process to the corresponding processing function in accordance with the URL path of the URL in the Web application are provided.

  As a result, the server program only needs to perform distribution based on the application path as the first stage, so that the burden can be reduced and performance degradation can be prevented.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 2, the HTTP daemon can perform the process of distributing the process to the corresponding Web application according to the application path.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 3, a library in the Web application can perform a process of distributing a process to a corresponding processing function according to the URL path.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the process of allocating the process to the corresponding processing function according to the URL path is performed based on the URL table in which the URL path is associated with the processing function. Distributors can do it.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 5, the process of allocating the process according to the service specified by the HTTP request is performed based on a service table in which a port identifier for identifying the service is associated with the URL distributor. This can be done by a service distributor in the library.

  Thereby, various controls can be performed based on the port identifier which is information other than the URL.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 6, the process distributing the processes in accordance with the method included in the HTTP request is performed based on a method table in which the method and the service distributor are associated with each other. Can be done.

  Thereby, various controls can be performed based on a method that is information other than the URL.

  Further, according to the present invention, as described in claim 7, the HTTP daemon can generate a port identifier that specifies a service specified by the HTTP request.

  Further, according to the present invention, the port identifier specified by the HTTP request is acquired from the port identifier / port number correspondence table that manages the port identifier and the port number in association with each other. Can do.

  Further, according to the present invention, an initialization function for generating each table and registering a value when the system is started can be provided.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a notFound handler that returns an error when a corresponding Web page cannot be displayed.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an HTTP request distribution method in an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function, and an URL application included in the HTTP request It can be configured as an HTTP request distribution method including a process of distributing a process to a corresponding Web application according to a path and a process of distributing a process to a corresponding processing function according to the URL path of the URL in the Web application.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an HTTP request distribution program in an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function, and a URL application included in the HTTP request It can be configured as an HTTP request distribution program that causes a computer to realize a function of distributing processing to a corresponding Web application according to a path and a function of distributing processing to a corresponding processing function according to the URL path of the URL in the Web application.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a Web system in which an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function and a plurality of clients are connected to a network. Means for distributing processing to a corresponding Web application in accordance with the URL application path included in the HTTP request sent to the embedded device, and means for distributing processing to a corresponding processing function in accordance with the URL path of the URL in the Web application. Web system can be configured.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load on the server program by associating the URL with the processing function to prevent performance degradation, and to perform various controls based on information other than the URL. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention configured by using an image forming apparatus called a multifunction peripheral or a multifunction peripheral in which functions of apparatuses such as a printer, a copy machine, a facsimile machine, and a scanner are housed in a single housing as an embedded device. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing system concerning.

  In FIG. 1, in the image processing system, a plurality of HTTP clients 9 and the like are connected to an image forming apparatus 1 via a network 10 such as a LAN (Local Area Network), an intranet, or the Internet.

  The image forming apparatus 1 executes processing such as printing of document data and fax transmission in response to a request from the HTTP client 9. Further, in response to the HTTP request from the HTTP client 9, the image forming apparatus 1 transmits a Web page that displays information requested in the HTTP request to the HTTP client 9. For example, when the user of the HTTP client 9 requests status information of the image forming apparatus 1 from the Web browser, the image forming apparatus 1 transmits HTML (HyperText Markup Language) data storing the status information to the HTTP client 9. The HTTP client 9 is a terminal such as a PC (Personal Computer), a PDA (Personal Digital (Data) Assistants), or a mobile phone that is directly used by the user, and displays a Web page transmitted from the image forming apparatus 1. A web browser is provided.

  FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an application layer 2, a platform layer 4, and an engine unit 8. The interface 3 is an interface (API) provided by the platform layer 4 to the application layer 2, and the interface 7 is an interface (engine I / F) between the platform layer 4 and the engine unit 8.

  The application layer 2 is a software group that performs individual processing in the image forming apparatus 1, and includes a copy application 2a that is a copy application, a fax application 2b that is a fax application, and a printer application 2c that is a printer application. And a net file application 2d, which is a net file application for exchanging files via the network. The web application 20 is a group of applications that perform web services based on the HTTP protocol. The web application 20 can be used to view the state of the device using the browser and to set the device network, and the net file application. Web application (webdocbox) 20b that uses 2d functions to retrieve and manage documents using a browser, web application (GPS-web) 20c that displays printer job history (spool status), and fax And a web application (Fax-web) 20d that can view a fax communication management report (communication history) in a tabular format.

  On the other hand, the platform layer 4 is a software group that provides a common service function to the application of the application layer 2 via the interface 3, and is divided into a service layer 5 and an OS layer 6. The service layer 5 includes an SCS 5a having a plurality of functions such as application management, operation unit control, system screen display, LED display, resource management, and interrupt control, an FCS 5b that provides an API for a fax function, and engine unit control Can be used in common for applications that require network I / O, ECS 5c for performing memory control, MCS 5d for performing memory control, OCS 5e for controlling an operation unit (operation panel) serving as an interface with an operator (operator) NCS 5f providing the service is included. The OS layer 6 includes an OS (LPUX) 61.

  On the other hand, the engine unit 8 includes engines such as a plotter 81, a scanner 82, and other hardware resources 83, and an engine control board 84 that controls these engines.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured by connecting an operation panel 113, a fax control unit 114, a plotter 81, a scanner 82, and other hardware resources 83 to a controller 101 that performs a main control operation in the image forming apparatus. Yes.

  In the controller 101, a CPU 106, which is a general control IC, is connected to an ASIC 102, which is an IC for image processing applications, via an NB 105 as a bridge, and a peripheral device or the like is connected to the bus (PCI BUS) of the NB 105. The SB 108 that is a bridge, the NIC 109 that controls network communication, the USB 110 that provides a USB interface, the IEEE 1394 111 that provides an IEEE 1394 interface, and the Centronics 112 that provides a Centronics interface are connected to the ASIC 102 as a MEM− as a storage device. The C 103 and the HDD 104 are connected, and the NB 105 is configured by connecting a MEM-P 107 as a storage device.

  FIG. 4 shows a module configuration diagram of the Web application.

  In FIG. 4, a Web application 21 distributes HTTP requests received from an HTTP client 9 such as a browser via the network 10 and returns processing results (HTML, XML, TEXT) in the Web application (FIG. 4). 2 of the NCS5f), and inside the Web application library 22 and the Web page library 23, which are Web application development frameworks that provide various common functions, and the operation of the Web page A web page handler 24 that performs the above and a web page function 25 that performs specific processing related to the display of the web page. Here, the web page handler 24 and the web page function 25 constitute a processing function for realizing a web page. Further, the Web page function 25 communicates with the SCS 5a, NCS 5f, UCS 5g, etc. via the interface 3 when executing the processing.

  FIG. 5 is a functional configuration diagram relating to the distribution of processing in the HTTP daemon and the Web application.

  In FIG. 5, the HTTP daemon 51 distributes the processing to the corresponding Web application based on the application path included in the HTTP request given from the HTTP client 9 and also indicates a service (HTTP, HTTPS,...) To be used. A request processing unit 52 for generating an identifier is provided. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the “application path” is an HTTP request, for example, “http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/web/user/ja/websys/webArch/mainFrame.cgi”. In this case, it means the “web” portion for one layer following the host “xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx”. Further, “URL path” described later means a “web / user / ja / websys / webArch / mainFrame.cgi” portion including an application path.

  On the other hand, in the Web application library 22 of the Web application 21, a method distributor 221 that distributes processing according to an HTTP request method (GET, POST,...) Given from the HTTP client 9, and a port generated by the HTTP daemon 51. Based on the identifier, a service distributor 222 that distributes processing according to the service (HTTP, HTTPS,...) To be used and a URL distributor 223 that distributes processing according to the URL path of the HTTP request are provided.

  In addition, an initialization function 26 for performing initialization processing (table creation or the like) for the method distributor 221, the service distributor 222, the URL distributor 223, and the like is provided. Others are the same as those shown in FIG. The other web applications have the same configuration.

  FIG. 7 is a functional configuration diagram showing details of the Web application in FIG.

  In FIG. 7, the method distributor 221 of the Web application library 22 is provided with a method table T1 in which an HTTP request method is associated with a distribution service distributor. In addition, the service distributor 222 is provided with a service table T2 in which a service to be used and a URL distributor to be distributed are associated with each other. The same applies to other service distributors provided for each service. Further, the URL distributor 223 is provided with a URL table T3 in which the URL path is associated with the Web page handler 24 that distributes the URL path. The same applies to other URL distributors provided for each service and URL path.

  On the other hand, a notFound handler 224 is provided for returning display information indicating that the corresponding page does not exist (notFound). Others are the same as those shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows a functional block diagram for obtaining a port identifier in the HTTP daemon.

  In FIG. 8, the HTTP daemon 51 includes an application ID / application path correspondence table 53 that associates application IDs with application paths, and an application ID / port identifier correspondence table 54 that associates application IDs with port identifiers. The request processing unit 52 obtains a port identifier from a port identifier / port number correspondence table T0 in which a port identifier and a port number are associated with each other, and also includes an application ID / application path correspondence table 53 and an application ID / port identifier correspondence table 54. The port identifier obtained from can be verified. The request processing unit 52 assigns the acquired (generated) port identifier to the HTTP request and passes it to the Web application to be distributed.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of distributing processes in the HTTP daemon and the Web application, and FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram corresponding to FIG.

  9 and 10, the HTTP daemon (httpd) 51 that has received the HTTP request from the HTTP client 9 searches the registration table for a Web application corresponding to the application path that is a part of the URL included in the HTTP request (step). S1).

  If the corresponding Web application is not registered (No in step S2), the notFound handler 224 is activated, an error response (NotFound) is returned to the HTTP client 9 (step S3), and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the corresponding Web application is registered (Yes in Step S2), the HTTP request is transferred to the acquired Web application 21 and the process is transferred (Step S4). This is the first distribution by the HTTP daemon 51.

  Next, the Web application 21 (App) to which the process has been delegated searches the registration table for a processing function (Web page handler) corresponding to the URL path (step S5).

  If the corresponding processing function is not registered (No in step S6), the notFound handler 224 is activated, an error response (NotFound) is returned to the HTTP client 9 (step S7), and the process is terminated.

  Next, when the corresponding processing function is registered (Yes in step S6), the processing function is executed (step S8), and the processing is terminated. This is the second distribution by the Web application.

  As described above, the HTTP daemon 51 only needs to be distributed to the corresponding Web application as the first step, and the second distribution to the processing function is performed within the Web application. It is possible to prevent the problem that the processing load of the HTTP daemon 51, which is a server program, becomes heavy due to the association and the performance is lowered.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing in more detail the operation of the process distribution (second distribution) in the Web application, and FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram corresponding to FIG.

  11 and 12, the method distributor 221 acquires and activates the service distributor 222 corresponding to the HTTP method acquired from the HTTP header of the received HTTP request (step S11). That is, the service distributor is acquired from the method table T1 (FIG. 7) using the method as a key and activated.

  The activated service distributor 222 searches for the corresponding URL distributor based on the request information service (the service indicated by the port identifier) (step S12). That is, the URL distributor is searched from the service table T2 (FIG. 7) using the service (port identifier) as a key.

  If the corresponding URL distributor is not registered (No in step S13), the notFound handler 224 is activated, an error response is returned to the HTTP client 9 (step S14), and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the corresponding URL distributor is registered (Yes in step S13), the acquired URL distributor 223 is activated (step S15).

  The activated URL distributor 223 searches for a corresponding Web page handler (processing function) based on the URL path of the request information (step S16). That is, the Web page handler is searched from the URL table T3 (FIG. 7) using the URL path as a key.

  If the corresponding Web page handler is not registered (No in step S17), the notFound handler 224 is activated, an error response is returned to the HTTP client 9 (step S18), and the process is terminated.

  If the corresponding web page handler is registered (Yes in step S17), the acquired web page handler 24 is activated (step S19), and the process ends.

  As described above, since the processing function (Web page handler) is distributed as the second stage based on the method, service (port identifier), and URL path in the Web application 21, the URL and processing function in the WWW server on the embedded device Can be properly associated, and various page access can be controlled. For example, it is possible to easily display a page when requested by HTTPS but not display when requested by HTTP.

  In the above embodiment, a method, a service (port identifier), and a URL path are used as distribution indexes. However, a content type, a language, a user agent, and the like can also be used.

  Next, the distribution information initialization process performed when the system is started will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the initialization function. Here, HTTPS and HTTP are targets of the registration service.

  In FIG. 13, the initialization function 26 of the Web application 21 creates an HTTPS URL table T3 when the initialization process is started (step S21), and corresponds to the URL path of the Web page that is displayed when an HTTPS request is made. A processing function (Web page handler) is associated and registered (step S22, step S23).

  Similarly, a URL table T3 for HTTP is created (step S24), and the URL path of the web page to be displayed at the time of HTTP request is registered in association with the corresponding processing function (web page handler) (step S25, step S26). .

  Next, a service table T2 is created (step S27), and the service and URL distributor are registered in association with each other (step S28, step S29).

  Next, a method table T1 is created, and a method and a service distributor are associated and registered (step S30). The method table T1 and the method distributor 221 are under the management of a system (HTTP connection manager) that controls communication.

  As described above, since the method table T1, the service table T2, and the URL table T3 for distribution are generated in the initialization process at the time of startup or the like, processing functions that cannot be used at that time are not registered.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a module block diagram of a Web application. It is a function block diagram concerning distribution of the process in an HTTP daemon and a Web application. Illustration of application path and URL path FIG. 6 is a functional configuration diagram illustrating details of the Web application in FIG. 5. It is a functional block diagram concerning acquisition of the port identifier in an HTTP daemon. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of distribution of the process in an HTTP daemon and a Web application. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram corresponding to FIG. 9. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the distribution of a process in a Web application. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram corresponding to FIG. 11. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of an initialization function.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Application layer 21 Web application 22 Web application library 221 Method distributor 222 Service distributor 223 URL distributor 224 NotFound handler T1 Method table T2 Service table T3 URL table 23 Web page library 24 Web page handler 25 Web page function 26 Initialization Function 3 Interface 4 Platform layer 5 Service layer 51 HTTP daemon 52 Request processing unit 53 Application ID / application path correspondence table 54 Application ID / port identifier correspondence table T0 Port identifier / port number correspondence table 7 Interface 8 Engine unit 9 HTTP client 10 The network

Claims (13)

In an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function,
Means for distributing the processing to the corresponding Web application according to the application path of the URL included in the HTTP request;
An embedded device having a WWW server function, comprising: means for distributing processing to a corresponding processing function in accordance with the URL path of the URL in the Web application.   The embedded device having a WWW server function according to claim 1, wherein an HTTP daemon performs processing for distributing processing to a corresponding Web application according to the application path.   The embedded device having a WWW server function according to claim 1, wherein a library in the Web application performs processing for distributing processing to corresponding processing functions according to the URL path.   4. The embedded device having the WWW server function according to claim 3, wherein the process of allocating the process to the corresponding processing function according to the URL path is performed by the URL distributor in the library based on a URL table in which the URL path and the processing function are associated with each other. .   5. The WWW server function according to claim 4, wherein the service distributor in the library performs the process of allocating processes according to the service specified by the HTTP request based on a service table in which a port identifier for identifying a service is associated with the URL distributor. Built-in equipment with.   The embedded device having a WWW server function according to claim 5, wherein the method distributor in the library performs processing for distributing processing according to a method included in the HTTP request, based on a method table in which the method and the service distributor are associated with each other.   The embedded device having a WWW server function according to claim 5, wherein an HTTP daemon generates a port identifier that specifies a service specified by the HTTP request.   8. The embedded device having the WWW server function according to claim 7, wherein a port identifier specified by an HTTP request is acquired from a port identifier / port number correspondence table that manages a port identifier and a port number in association with each other.   The embedded device having a WWW server function according to any one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising an initialization function for generating each table and registering a value when the system is activated.   The embedded device having a WWW server function according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a notFound handler that returns an error when a corresponding Web page cannot be displayed. An HTTP request distribution method in an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function,
Distributing the process to the corresponding Web application according to the application path of the URL included in the HTTP request;
An HTTP request distribution method including a step of distributing processing to a corresponding processing function in accordance with a URL path of the URL in the Web application. An HTTP request distribution program in an embedded device having a WWW server function in which a Web page is realized as a processing function,
A function of distributing processing to the corresponding Web application according to the application path of the URL included in the HTTP request;
An HTTP request distribution program for causing a computer to realize a function of distributing a process to a corresponding processing function according to a URL path of the URL in the Web application. In a Web system in which an embedded device having a WWW server function that realizes a Web page as a processing function and a plurality of clients are connected to a network,
Means for distributing processing to a corresponding Web application in accordance with an application path of a URL included in an HTTP request sent from the client to the embedded device;
A Web system comprising means for distributing processing to a corresponding processing function in accordance with the URL path of the URL in the Web application.

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