Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-21
2001-09-04
Homere, Jean R. (Department: 2177)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C709S203000, C709S208000, C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286003
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a remote controlling method, and in particular to a method for controlling a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen at a remotely controlled machine on a network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, when controlling a GUI screen at a machine in a remote location, special remote controlling software must be installed in advance on both machines.
Many of the currently available remote controlling machines are designed for operation in a variety of machine and software environments. Some machines run under different Operating Systems. Therefore, a great expenditure of effort is required to develop remote controlling software and to install it on all these machines.
In addition, since the same software versions must be installed on remotely controlled machines and the machines that exercise the remote control, a great expenditure of effort is also required to manage these machines. For example, before installing an upgrade version, the versions on all the remote controlling machines must be examined.
If remote controlling software is developed for specific platforms, the use of the software is necessarily limited to those platforms for which it is developed, and the multi-platform operations that users demand can not be implemented.
When remote controlling software is routinely installed in remote controlling machines a certain amount of memory must be permanently allocated for its storage which constitutes a barrier to the downsizing of portable remote controlling machines.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-1624 and Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Hei 7-34188 are prior art related to the present invention. Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. Hei 8-1624 disclosed a technique whereby not only can a program run on different OSs, but also GUI sources are collectively displayed on a screen of a computer system at a remote location. Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. Hei 7-34188 discloses a computer system for supporting multi-graphics sessions comprising a central processor, a graphic terminal and a display controller processor at a remote area. These conventional techniques, however, do not resolve the above described problems because they involve the prior introduction of remote controlling software into remote controlling machines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, one objective of the present invention to provide a computer system wherein, even when no remote controlling software is currently available at a remote controlling terminal, remote controlling of a server can be effected simply by accessing it.
It is another objective of the present invention to simplify the upgrading operation, for remote controlling software held by a remote controlling terminal, that accompanies the upgrading of the version of the remote controlling software held by a server that is to be remotely controlled.
It is an additional objective of the present invention to eliminate the installation of remote controlling software that is conventionally required for a remote controlling terminal and to reduce the load imposed on a system manager.
It is a further objective of the present invention to eliminate the management of remote controlling software that is conventionally required for a remote controlling terminal and to reduce the load imposed on a system manager.
It is still another objective of the present invention to enable a remote control operation that is not dependent on the platform provided by a remote controlling terminal.
It is a still further objective of the present invention to reduce the use of resources by a remote controlling terminal and to reduce the requirements for the hardware that can be used for a remote controlling terminal.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a fast remote control system that reduces the quantity of data that is exchanged by a remote controlling machine and a remotely controlled machine during a remote control operation.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to reduce the memory area of a remote controlling terminal and the load on a resource, such as a CPU, by employing software used for one application as special download software for downloading remote controlling software.
Control of a GUI screen at a server in a remote location is obtained while the prior installment of special remote controlling software in a remote controlling machine is not required, and remote controlling is performed by using the obtained software.
According to the present invention, remote controlling software is linked with (described in) an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) file that is held by a server, and a remote controlling machine can easily provide remote control without using special software incorporated in an arbitrary web browser which supports JAVA applet
When the remote controlling software is downloaded to the remote controlling machine, it automatically activates and sends a request for the activation of remote controlled software that is present in a remotely controlled server. The remote controlling machine then activates an event monitor, an event sender, a drawing command receiver and a drawing command analyzer, which are functions of the remote controlling software.
In response to the request issued by the remote controlling machine, the remotely controlled server activates an event receiver, an event analyzer, a drawing command monitor and a drawing command sender, which are functions of the remote controller software. Thus, as is shown in
FIG. 2
, the same image (the slave server display area
220
) as that on a display screen
245
of a slave server
240
is drawn on a web browser screen
210
at a master controller
100
(See FIG.
1
), and the master controller
100
can remotely control the slave server
240
.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for controlling a GUI resource of a server connected to a network and having remote controlling software from a terminal connected to the network and having an input device, the method comprises the steps of: (a) accessing the server through the network according to a server access information specified at the terminal; (b) downloading the remote controlling software from the server to the terminal; (c) sending, from the terminal, input information that occurs at the input device of the terminal to the server according to the downloaded remote controlling software; (d) receiving, at the server, the step input information sent from the terminal, and ordering the GUI resource to generate a drawing command according to the sent input information; (e) sending the drawing command from the server to the terminal; and (f) receiving the drawing command at the terminal.
In this claim of the present invention, “server access information specified at the terminal” involves not only information input at a keyboard, but also the concept of the selection of a plurality of server access information sets that are input in advance. Further, in this claim, “input information” includes not only signals input by a pointing device, such as a mouse, but also keyboard input and voice input.
In the above claim, “ordering the GUI resource to generate a drawing command” includes all actions involved in issuing orders having a form that drawing associated software (a window system, a Graphics engine, etc.) present in a server understands. A window message may be provided for a journal playback hook, as will be explained in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, or an order may be converted into a serial port signal that the server understands, and that is generated by a mouse, and the serial port signal may be sent to a GUI resource at the server.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, provided is a remote controlling method of controlling a GUI resource of a server connected to a network and having remote controlling software from a terminal connected to the network and having an input device and a display device,
Clay A. Bruce
Homere Jean R.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Myers Bigel Sibley & Sajovec P.A.
Robinson Greta L.
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