Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Patent
1994-11-21
1998-05-12
Black, Thomas G.
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
707203, G06F 1730
Patent
active
057520399
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an executable file difference extraction/update system and method for generating a new executable file from an old executable file and an update file which is obtained by extracting the difference between the new executable file and the old executable file when an executable file is updated to delete a bug or partially extend capacities.
BACKGROUND ART
When a user is provided with an executable file (hereinafter referred to as an EXE file) which presents the user with a specific service, the executable file provided for the user may possibly be updated from an old EXE file to a new EXE file as shown in FIG. 1A so that a bug existing in the executable file can be deleted or the function realized by the executable file can be partially extended.
Lately, since the capabilities of computer systems have been strikingly developed, and the program size of an executable file can be some hundred kilobytes through some megabytes, or as much as some tens of megabytes. Therefore, providing a new EXE file for use in updating the above described executable file requires an uneconomically large data capacity of its media.
For example, if the provided media are incorporated into the network as shown in FIG. 2, the host computer HOST of a center TC transmits a new EXE file to the host computer HOST through communications circuits. When the new EXE file is a large size file as described above, a large amount of communications circuit fee is charged to the system.
Conventionally, to solve the problem, an old EXE file is compared with a new EXE file as shown in FIG. 1B instead of providing the new EXE file as is, and then an update file is generated by extracting the difference between the new EXE file and the old EXE file. Thus, the update file is provided for a user. In this case, the user generates a new EXE file from the new EXE file and the old EXE file through the update process according to a predetermined update program as shown in FIG. 1B. Since the new and old EXE files share a good many of the same program codes, the size of the update file, that is, the difference between the old and new EXE files, is normally smaller than the size of the new EXE file. Accordingly, providing the update file to the user requires a smaller capacity of media.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, the host computer HOST of the center TC transmits the update file to the host computer HOST of the office TC through communications circuits. The host computer HOST of the office TC has its central communications unit receive the update file and activate the update program to generate a new EXE file from the old EXE file and the update file. The new EXE file is stored in a first disk and a second disk through a file manipulating unit. Then, the host computer HOST of the office TC has its communications management unit transmit the new EXE file from its intra-office communications unit to a client server CSV through a LAN (local area network). The client server CSV has its intra-office communications unit receive the new EXE file. The received new EXE file is stored in the first and second files through the file manipulating unit.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
However, in the conventional difference extraction method, it is determined whether or not data match in byte units between the new and old EXE files from beginning to end. Then, non-coincident data are extracted as difference data. If, for example, a single byte of data is added to or deleted from the new EXE file, then all the data preceded by the added or deleted byte do not match between the old and new EXE files. As a result, the size of the update file becomes undesirably large. Therefore, the communications circuits cannot be utilized more efficiently when the update file is transmitted over a network as shown in the example in FIG. 2 than when the new EXE file is transmitted as is.
The present invention aims to reduce the size of the update file.
The executable file difference extraction device of the present invention is structured as
REFERENCES:
patent: 3711863 (1973-01-01), Bloom
patent: 5191646 (1993-03-01), Naito et al.
patent: 5479654 (1995-12-01), Squibb
Brown, A., "DeltaFile: easy upgrades.", DBMS, v4, n9, pp. 36-37, Aug. 1991.
Coffee, P., "Two Approaches to managing file differences:PocketSoft's RTPatch delivers reliable file upgrades", PC Week, v8, n32, p. 51, Aug. 1991.
Black Thomas G.
Choules Jack M.
NTT Data Communications Systems Corp.
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