JP5020121B2 - Information processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and information processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an information processing method.

  Conventionally, it is required to appropriately manage resources used when a program is executed in an image forming apparatus. If resources are not properly managed, resources such as memory areas and network sockets may be insufficient during printing processing, and processing may end in error.

  Recently, in addition to the basic functions of the image forming apparatus, it has been proposed to add various applications for expanding the functions, and the resource usage tends to increase. Importance is increasing.

  Image forming apparatuses that perform such resource management have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Furthermore, there has been proposed an image forming apparatus provided with a virtual machine that operates on an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) and capable of executing an application on the virtual machine (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, a resource management unit that manages the amount of resources used in a virtual machine is provided on the OS. That is, the resource management unit limits the amount of resources used on the virtual machine to a certain amount or less.

JP 2003-330732 A JP 2006-209735 A

  In the above apparatus, since the resource management unit operates on the OS, in order to manage the used resource amount in the virtual machine, it is necessary to notify the used resource amount from the virtual machine. For this reason, it is necessary to customize the virtual machine, and it is difficult to use a general-purpose virtual machine as it is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and information capable of managing the amount of resources used on a virtual machine without customizing the virtual machine. The object is to obtain a processing method.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a virtual machine that operates on an arithmetic processing unit, a resource management unit that manages the amount of resources used by an application that operates on the virtual machine and operates on the virtual machine, and a virtual machine The resource operation library that includes the resource operation function that is executed above, and the object of the class that operates on the virtual machine and is used in the application is expanded in the memory, and the class data is analyzed and described in the object. A class loader that replaces the resource operation function in the resource operation library with a custom function . When the custom function is executed, the resource management unit is notified of the amount of change in the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function.

Thereby, since the resource management unit operates on the virtual machine, the general-purpose virtual machine can be used as the virtual machine itself. Therefore, the amount of resources used on the virtual machine can be managed without customizing the virtual machine. As a result, the development scale required for resource management can be reduced. In addition, since the library function that increases or decreases the resource amount when executed is replaced with a function that notifies the change amount of the resource usage, the resource management unit uses the resource that is used / released by the library function used by the application. The amount of resources can be managed in consideration of the amount.

In addition to the information processing apparatus described above, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be configured as follows. In this case, the class loader notifies the resource management unit of the memory usage amount of the object developed in the memory.

  As a result, the resource management unit can manage the memory area as a resource based on the memory usage by the class loading.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, the class loader prohibits the object expansion when the usable memory area is smaller than the memory area necessary for the object expansion.

  As a result, when the memory area is used by class loading, it is possible to prevent the amount of memory used on the virtual machine from exceeding the upper limit of the capacity of the memory area.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, when the object is released, the resource management unit is notified of a decrease in the resource usage due to the release of the object.

  Thereby, the resource management unit can manage the memory area as the resource in consideration of the object release.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, when the custom function is executed, the resource management unit is notified of the amount of change in the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function, and the resource operation function replaced with the custom function is called and executed.

  This makes it easy to develop a custom function because only the process for notifying the amount of change in resource usage needs to be executed for the custom function itself.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, when the custom function is executed, the execution of the resource operation function is prohibited if the amount of available resources is smaller than the amount of resources used by the custom function.

  Thereby, when the library function is executed, the resource amount used on the virtual machine can be prevented from exceeding the upper limit value of the resource amount.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, the resource management unit holds information on the used resource amount or the available resource amount at each time point in response to the notification of the change amount of the resource usage amount.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, the resource includes at least one of a predetermined amount of memory area, a predetermined number of network sockets, and a predetermined number of threads.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, the virtual machine is a Java virtual machine.

  Thereby, since a general-purpose Java virtual machine can be used as a virtual machine, the development scale required for resource management can be reduced.

  An information processing apparatus according to the present invention may be as follows in addition to any of the information processing apparatuses described above. In this case, the virtual machine operates on an operating system that operates on the arithmetic processing unit.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming processing unit that performs image forming processing, a virtual machine that operates on an arithmetic processing device, an application that operates on the virtual machine and uses the image forming processing unit, and a virtual machine A resource management unit that manages the usage of resources that operate and are used by applications , a resource operation library that includes resource operation functions that are executed on virtual machines, and classes that operate on virtual machines and are used in applications And a class loader that analyzes the class data and replaces the resource operation function in the resource operation library described in the object with a custom function . When the custom function is executed, the resource management unit is notified of the amount of change in the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function.

  Thereby, since the resource management unit operates on the virtual machine, the general-purpose virtual machine can be used as the virtual machine itself. Therefore, the amount of resources used on the virtual machine can be managed without customizing the virtual machine.

An information processing method according to the present invention operates a virtual machine on an arithmetic processing unit, operates a resource management unit that manages the amount of resources used by an application operating on the virtual machine on the virtual machine, In the class loader that operates in, the object of the class used in the application is expanded in the memory, the class data is analyzed, and the resource operation in the resource operation library executed in the virtual machine described in the object When the function is replaced with a custom function and the custom function is executed, the resource management unit is notified of the amount of change in the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function .

  Thereby, since the resource management unit operates on the virtual machine, the general-purpose virtual machine can be used as the virtual machine itself. Therefore, the amount of resources used on the virtual machine can be managed without customizing the virtual machine.

  According to the present invention, the amount of resources used on a virtual machine can be managed without customizing the virtual machine.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example of an information processing apparatus.

  In FIG. 1, a CPU 11 is an arithmetic processing unit that executes a program and executes a process described in the program. The ROM 12 is a nonvolatile memory that stores programs and data in advance. The RAM 13 is a memory that temporarily stores the program and data when the program is executed.

  The HDD 14 is a hard disk drive as a recording medium that stores various programs, data, and the like. The HDD 14 stores an OS program 31, a VM program 32, a basic resource operation library 33, a custom resource operation library 34, an application management program 35, a resource management program 36, a basic function program 37, and an application program 38.

  The OS program 31 is an operating system program. As the operating system, Linux (registered trademark), VxWorks, or the like is used.

  The VM program 32 is a virtual machine program. In this embodiment, a Java (registered trademark) virtual machine is used as the virtual machine. In a Java (registered trademark) virtual machine environment, a program described in an intermediate code called a bytecode is interpreted and executed by a virtual machine.

  The basic resource operation library 33 is a program having a library function (hereinafter referred to as a resource operation function) in which processing for using and releasing resources is described. The resource may be a predetermined amount of memory area, a predetermined number of network sockets, a predetermined number of threads, or the like.

  The custom resource operation library 34 is a program having a library function (hereinafter referred to as a custom function) corresponding to each resource operation function of the basic resource operation library 33. In the custom function, a process for calling a corresponding resource operation function and a process for notifying the amount of resources used or released by the custom function (including the resource operation function to be called) (that is, the amount of change in free resources) are described. .

  The application management program 35 is a program in which processing for loading the application program 38 and starting the application is described. The application management program 35 includes a class loader program.

  The resource management program 36 is a program in which processing for managing the amount of resources used on the virtual machine is described.

  The basic function program 37 is a program in which image forming processing such as printing, copying, facsimile transmission, and facsimile reception is described.

  The application program 38 is an application program that uses image forming processing by a basic function program.

  The libraries 33 and 34 and the programs 35 to 38 are programs that operate on the virtual machine.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram hierarchically showing processing units realized by the libraries 33 and 34 and the programs 35 to 38 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, an OS 51 is a processing unit that is realized when the OS program 31 is executed by the CPU 11.

  The VM 52 is a processing unit that is realized by the CPU 11 executing the VM program 32. The VM 52 is a virtual machine that operates on the OS 51.

  The basic resource operation processing unit 53 is a processing unit realized by the CPU 11 executing one or more library functions (that is, resource operation functions) of the basic resource operation library 33.

  The custom resource operation processing unit 54 is a processing unit realized by the CPU 11 executing one or more library functions (that is, custom operation functions) of the custom resource operation library 34. When the custom function is executed, the resource management unit 56 is notified of the change amount of the resource amount due to the execution of the custom function. When the custom function is executed, if the amount of resources that can be used is smaller than the amount of resources that the custom function uses, the execution of the resource operation function is prohibited. That is, the custom resource operation processing unit 54 prohibits the execution of the resource operation function when the available resource amount is smaller than the resource amount used by the custom function, and determines the amount of change in the resource amount due to the execution of the custom function. The resource management unit 56 is notified. When the execution of the resource operation function is prohibited, the resource management unit 56 is not notified because the used resource amount does not increase or decrease.

  The application management unit 55 is a processing unit that is realized by the CPU 11 executing the application management program 35. The application management unit 55 has a custom class loader 61.

  The custom class loader 61 is a processing unit that expands an object of a class used in the application 58 in the RAM 13. Further, the custom class loader 61 notifies the resource management unit 56 of the memory usage of the object. Further, the custom class loader 61 prohibits the object expansion when the usable memory area is smaller than the memory area necessary for the object expansion. Note that when the expansion of the object is prohibited, the memory usage does not increase, and thus the resource management unit 56 is not notified.

  Further, the custom class loader 61 acquires and analyzes class data of a class used in the application 58, and replaces the resource operation function in the resource operation library described in the object with a custom function.

  The resource management unit 56 is a processing unit realized by the CPU 11 executing the resource management program 36. The resource management unit 56 is a processing unit that manages the usage amount of resources used by the application 58 operating on the VM 52. The resource management unit 56 measures the remaining amount of resources and a resource monitoring unit that holds information on the amount of used resources or the amount of resources that can be used at each time point in response to a notification of the amount of change in the amount of resources used And a resource measuring unit that responds to an inquiry about the remaining amount of resources.

  The basic function processing unit 57 is a processing unit realized by the CPU 11 executing the basic function program 37. The basic function processing unit 57 does not depend on the VM 52, operates on the OS 51, executes data processing necessary for image forming processing, and controls the communication device 16, the printing device 17, and the reading device 18.

  The application 58 is a processing unit realized by the application program 38 being executed by the CPU 11. The application 58 executes complex application processing using the function of the basic function processing unit 57.

  The processing units 53, 54, and 57, the management units 55 and 56, and the application 58 operate on the VM 52, respectively. When the VM 52 is a Java (registered trademark) virtual machine, the programs of the processing units 53, 54, 57, the management units 55, 56, and the application 58 are respectively described in byte codes and interpreted by the Java virtual machine. It is executed by the CPU 11.

  In FIG. 1, the operation panel 15 has an input device and a display device. The input device is a device that detects an operation by a user and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the operation. As the input device, for example, a touch panel, a key, or the like is used. The display device is a device that generates and displays an image signal corresponding to image data. As the display device, a liquid crystal display or the like is used.

  The communication device 16 is connected to a computer network and / or a telephone line and is controlled by the basic function processing unit 57 to receive a job such as printing or facsimile transmission from the outside, or to perform facsimile transmission to the outside. It is a device to do. As the communication device 16, a network interface card, a modem or the like is used.

  The printing device 17 is a device that is controlled by the basic function processing unit 57 and performs printing on a predetermined medium based on print data.

  The reading device 18 is a device that is controlled by the basic function processing unit 57 to optically read an image from a predetermined medium and output it as image data.

  These devices 16, 17, and 18 realize image forming processing such as printing, copying, facsimile transmission, and facsimile reception.

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

  When the VM 52 is a Java (registered trademark) virtual machine, a program executed by the VM 52 is defined in units of classes. When the program is executed, an object that is an instance of a class is expanded in the RAM 13. Objects are described in bytecode. Then, the contents of the object are sequentially interpreted by the VM 52, and the processes described in the program are executed in order. At this time, depending on the processing, resources may be secured or released.

  Hereinafter, resource management in this embodiment will be described in the order of (a) class loading, (b) object execution, and (c) object release.

  First, resource management processing in class loading will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the custom class loader 61 in FIG.

  The class loader 61 acquires target class data from the application program 38, the library 33, and the like (step S1). The application program 38, the library 33, and the like may be stored as files in the HDD 14, or may be stored in an external server. When acquiring class data from an external server, the class loader 61 accesses the external server via the communication device 16 and downloads the class data.

  When the class loader 61 obtains the class data, it reads the code line by line in order from the top of the class data (step S2), and whether or not a call to the resource operation function of the basic resource operation library 33 exists in the code. Is determined (step S3).

  If a call to a resource operation function exists in the code, the class loader 61 replaces the call to the resource operation function with a call to a custom function corresponding to the resource operation function (step S4), and then interprets the code. (Step S5).

  On the other hand, if there is no call for a resource operation function in the code, the class loader 61 interprets the code as it is (step S5).

  Then, the class loader 61 determines whether all the codes in the class data have been interpreted (step S6). If there is a code that has not been interpreted, the class loader 61 reads the next code (step S2), and similarly executes the processing from step S3 to step S5 for the code.

  When the interpretation of all codes in the class data is completed in this way, the class loader 61 calculates the size of the object developed in the RAM 13 based on the interpretation result of all the codes (step S7), and the resource management unit 56. (Step S8).

  Then, the class loader 61 expands the object corresponding to the class in the RAM 13 based on the interpretation results of all codes (step S9).

  Note that before notifying the resource management unit 56 of an increase in memory usage in step S8, the class loader 61 determines whether or not there is a free area more than the increase in the memory area as a resource secured in the RAM 13. The resource management unit 56 may be inquired, and only when there is a sufficient free area, the processing in steps S8 and S9 may be executed. If there is not enough free space, error processing is executed, and the processing in steps S8 and S9 is not executed.

  In this way, at the time of class loading, resource management is performed in consideration of the usage amount in a predetermined memory area by object expansion.

  Next, resource management processing during object execution will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of executing a custom function in the embodiment.

  When the custom function replaced by the class loader 61 is called during object execution, first, it is determined whether or not the resources used in the custom function can be secured by the amount used in the custom function (step). S21). At this time, the resource management unit 56 is inquired about the remaining amount of the resource, and a determination is made based on the response to the resource and the used resource amount described in the custom function.

  If it is determined that the resources used in the custom function can be secured by the amount used in the custom function, the resource management unit 56 is notified of the resource usage that is increased by the execution of the custom function (step S22). ) A resource operation function corresponding to the custom function is called (step S23).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the resources used in the custom function cannot be secured by the amount used in the custom function, the resource operation function is not called and error processing is executed (step S24).

  When a resource operation function that releases resources is called by a custom function, the resource management unit 56 is notified of the resource usage that is reduced by the execution of the custom function, and the resource operation function corresponding to the custom function is called. .

  In this way, at the time of object execution, resource management is performed in consideration of increase / decrease in resource usage due to calling a function that performs resource operations.

  Next, resource management processing at the time of object release will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing at the time of object release in the embodiment.

  An object expanded by class loading is released by calling a resource operation function for releasing the object or by garbage collection by a garbage collector. When an object is released, the resources used by that object are also released. Note that the call of the resource operation function for releasing the object is replaced by the call of the corresponding custom function by the class loader 61.

  When a custom function that releases an object or garbage collection occurs, the resource management unit 56 is notified of the amount of resources to be released, that is, a decrease in resource usage (step S41), and the resource operation function is called. Thus, the resource is released (step S42).

  In this way, when an object is released, resource management is performed in consideration of a decrease in resource usage based on the released resource amount.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the resource management unit 56 operates on the VM 52 and manages the amount of resources used by the application 58 operating on the VM 52. Accordingly, since the resource management unit 56 operates on the virtual machine, the virtual machine itself can use a general-purpose virtual machine. Therefore, the amount of resources used on the virtual machine can be managed without customizing the virtual machine. As a result, the development scale required for resource management can be reduced. Further, since the resource management unit 56 operates on the VM 52, it does not depend on the OS 51. That is, if the same type of VM 52 is installed, the same resource management unit 56 can be used regardless of the type of the OS 51.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the class loader 61 operates on the VM 52 and notifies the resource management unit 56 of the memory usage of the object developed in the RAM 13. Thereby, the resource management unit 56 can manage a memory area as a resource based on the memory usage amount by class loading. Further, the class loader 61 may prohibit the expansion of the object when the usable memory area is less than the memory area necessary for the expansion of the object. As a result, when the memory area is used by class loading, it is possible to prevent the amount of memory used on the virtual machine from exceeding the upper limit of the capacity of the memory area.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, when an object is released, the resource management unit 56 is notified of a decrease in resource usage due to the release of the object. Thereby, the resource management unit 56 can manage a memory area as a resource in consideration of object release.

  Further, according to the above embodiment, the class loader 61 analyzes the class data and replaces the resource operation function in the basic resource operation library 33 described in the object with a custom function. When the custom function is executed on the VM 52, the resource management unit 56 is notified of the amount of change in the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function. As a result, the library function that increases or decreases the resource amount when executed is replaced with a function that notifies the change amount of the resource amount, so that the resource management unit 56 is used / released by the library function used by the application. The resource amount can be managed in consideration of the resource amount.

  As described above, the processing units (resource management unit 56, custom resource operation processing unit 54, and class loader 61) related to resource management all operate on the VM 52, and thus do not depend on the OS 51. That is, if the same type of VM 52 is mounted, these can be used regardless of the type of the OS 51.

  The above-described embodiments are preferred examples of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there.

  For example, in the above embodiment, an image forming apparatus is cited as an example of an information processing apparatus, but the present invention can also be applied to an embedded apparatus other than the image forming apparatus.

  In the above embodiment, another virtual execution environment may be used as the VM 52 instead of the Java virtual machine.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although only one application program 38 and the application 58 are shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, they may be plural.

  In the above embodiment, the resource operation function is replaced with a custom function at the time of class loading by the class loader 61. However, a custom function is described in advance in the application program 38 instead of the resource operation function. Also good.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the upper limit value of the resource usage may be set to be different for each of a plurality of conditions such as for each function and for each application 58. Further, when a predetermined ratio with respect to the preset upper limit value of the resource usage amount is reached, a new resource may not be secured.

  The present invention can be applied to, for example, an embedded device including a virtual machine.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the process part implement | achieved by the library and program shown in FIG. 1 hierarchically. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the custom class loader in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the process at the time of custom function execution in embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the process at the time of object release in embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

11 CPU (arithmetic processing unit)
13 RAM (memory)
33 Basic resource operation library (resource operation library)
51 Operating system 52 VM (virtual machine)
56 Resource Management Unit 57 Basic Function Processing Unit (Image Formation Processing Unit)
58 Applications 61 Custom class loader (class loader)

Claims (12)

A virtual machine that runs on an arithmetic processing unit;
A resource management unit that operates on the virtual machine and manages the amount of resources used by an application that operates on the virtual machine;
A resource operation library including a resource operation function executed on the virtual machine;
An object of a class that operates on the virtual machine and is used in the application is expanded in a memory, class data is analyzed, and a resource operation function in the resource operation library described in the object is customized. A class loader that replaces functions,
When the custom function is executed, a change amount of the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function is notified to the resource management unit,
An information processing apparatus characterized by the above. The class loader notifies the resource management unit of memory usage of an object to be expanded in the memory;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the class loader prohibits expansion of the object when a usable memory area is smaller than a memory area necessary for expansion of the object.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the object is released, the resource management unit is notified of a decrease in resource usage due to the release of the object. When the custom function is executed, a change amount of the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function is notified to the resource management unit, and the resource operation function replaced with the custom function is called and executed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 . If the custom function is executed, the amount of available resources, wherein when less than the amount of resource custom function uses is as claimed in claim 1, wherein the execution of the resource operation function is inhibited Information processing device.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resource management unit holds information on a used resource amount or a usable resource amount at each time point in response to a notification of a change amount of a resource usage amount.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resource includes at least one of a predetermined amount of memory area, a predetermined number of network sockets, and a predetermined number of threads.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual machine is a Java virtual machine.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual machine operates on an operating system that operates on the arithmetic processing apparatus. An image formation processing unit for performing image formation processing;
A virtual machine that runs on an arithmetic processing unit;
An application that operates on the virtual machine and uses the image forming processing unit;
A resource management unit that operates on the virtual machine and manages the amount of resources used by the application;
A resource operation library including a resource operation function executed on the virtual machine;
An object of a class that operates on the virtual machine and is used in the application is expanded in a memory, class data is analyzed, and a resource operation function in the resource operation library described in the object is customized. A class loader that replaces functions,
When the custom function is executed, a change amount of the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function is notified to the resource management unit,
An image forming apparatus. Operate the virtual machine with the processing unit,
A resource management unit that manages the amount of resources used by an application that operates on the virtual machine is operated on the virtual machine ,
A class loader operating on the virtual machine, which expands an object of a class used in the application to a memory, analyzes class data, and is executed on the virtual machine described in the object Replace the resource operation function in the resource operation library with a custom function.
When the custom function is executed, the resource management unit is notified of a change amount of the resource usage due to the execution of the custom function.
An information processing method characterized by the above.

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