Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-10
2001-01-30
Amsbury, Wayne (Department: 2771)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182077
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for confirming matching of data in a distributed processing system, which are suitable for use of a CAD (computer aided design) system made up of a server and plural clients.
2. Description of Related Art
A CAD system employing a distributed system as shown in
FIG. 20
has widely spread in these years at a job site where products are designed or manufactured. Such CAD system is configured with a server
1
and plural clients (terminal equipments such as workstations)
2
and
3
connected to each other through a local area network (referred simply as a LAN, hereinafter) laid in a compound or an office.
Referring to
FIG. 20
, reference numeral
4
denotes a gateway machine (a GW machine),
51
denotes a basic LAN,
52
denotes a sectional LAN,
53
a transceiver, and
54
denotes a terminal resistor.
The server
1
stores or manages a product database such as drawings of parts of products, three-dimensional data, etc., which is connected to the basic LAN
51
through the transceiver
53
. The basic LAN
51
is a basic network, which is connected to the sectional LAN
52
provided for each section (for example, a designing section, a manufacturing section, etc.) through the gateway machine
4
.
The sectional LAN
52
is connected to plural clients (only clients
2
and
3
are shown in
FIG. 20
) through the transceiver
53
. The clients
2
,
3
can make a request for information in the database from the server
1
to refer to or update the database.
In an operation of the CAD system in a distributed processing system configured around the server
1
of this sort, to maintain matching of the data of a product made through the CAD system is sometimes a big problem.
If plural design groups design, in cooperation, one product, or if a manufacturing section and a designing section examine or alter a design of a product in parallel, the work of the design is carried out in the clients
2
,
3
dispersed in each group or section. As a result, each designer manages the design data in a different way so that it is difficult to manage the CAD data uniformly.
For instance, if a designer calls out the data base from the server
1
through the client
2
for a design work and stores the CAD data after the design work as sub-database in the client
2
, the database in the server
1
is not updated and the old data before the design work remains in the server
1
. Under such situation, if another designer takes out the database from the server
1
to do a design work through the client
3
, the designer cannot confirm matching of the CAD data.
SUMMERY OF THE INVENTION
An object of this invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for confirming matching of data in a distributed processing system, which allow easy confirmation of matching of data and an efficient parallel design work in a distributed processing system.
This invention therefore provides a method for confirming matching of data in a distributed processing system in which a server having a database and plural clients using data in said database in said server being connected to each other through a network, comprising the steps of storing distributed data's destination information of data stored in said database on the side of said server, receiving editorial history information of said data at a distributed data's destination client on the side of said server to store said editorial history information of said data at said distributed data's destination client on the side of said server, and confirming, after that, matching of the data on the side of a client on the basis of one of the distributed data's destination information and the editorial history information stored in said server.
According to the method for confirming matching of data in a distributed processing system of this invention, the server stores distributed data's destination information and receives editorial history information from a distributed data's destination client to store the editorial history information of the data at the distributed data's destination client. The client demands the distributed data's destination information or the editorial history information of the data stored in the server so that the user can confirm matching of the data certainly on the side of the client.
This invention also provides an apparatus for confirming matching of data in a distributed processing system in which a server having a database and plural clients using data in said database in said server being connected to each other through a network, said server comprising said database, a distributed data's destination storing unit for storing therein distributed data's destination information of data in said database, an editorial history storing unit for storing therein editorial history information of the data at a distributed data's destination client, a data communication function unit for transmitting and receiving the data to and from said clients, said client comprising a data communication function unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from said server or another client, a sub-database for storing the data in said database in said server, a data edit function unit for editing the data, an editorial history storing unit for storing editorial history information depending on a result of edition performed in said data edit function unit, a display unit, a distributed data's destination information demanding unit for demanding the distributed data's destination information stored in said server from said distributed data's destination storing unit of said server through said data communication function unit, an editorial history information demanding unit for demanding the editorial history information from said editorial history storing unit of a distributed data's destination client or said server on the basis of said distributed data's destination information obtained by said distributed data's destination information demanding unit, and an editorial history information display control unit for displaying the editorial history information obtained by said editorial history information demanding unit on said display unit.
With the above structure, the image information demanding unit demands image information of a final state of an editorial history of data at the distributed data's destination client on the basis of distributed data's destination information obtained by the distributed data's destination information demanding unit. This image information is displayed as an image on the display unit under a control of the image information display control unit. The user can, thereby, confirm matching of the data easily on the side of the client. If another client edits the same data, the user can grasp concretely a content of the edition since the content is displayed as the image information on the screen on the side of the client so that it is possible to keep matching of the CAD data in a distributed processing system.
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Allen et al., “Distributed Methodology Management for Design-in-the-Large”, Computer Aided Design, 1990, International Conference, p:346-49.
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Tokumine Shinichi
Ujiie Kazuyuki
Amsbury Wayne
Fujitsu Limited
Pardo Thuy
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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