Information processing apparatus, method, and computer program

• US 20070115492A1
• Filed: 11/16/2006
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kikuyama, Tatsuya
• Granted Patent: US 8,111,411 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.130
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1228 Printing driverless or using generic drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1246 by handling markup languages, e.g. XSL, XML, HTML
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1248 by printer language recognition, e.g. PDL, PCL, PDF
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/126 Job scheduling, e.g. queuing, determine appropriate device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1284 Local printer device

Abstract

This invention allows to print without installing a driver program for every printer and easily coping with a change in printer control command specifications. To accomplish this, an information processing apparatus for generating a printer command to control a printer generates a command by using a command configuration XML file representing a printer command configuration in which a part that changes due to an external factor such as a user interface is described by a reserved word, thereby coping with a printer model and user environment.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for generating a command to control a printer, comprising:

a unit adapted to prepare a command configuration XML file representing a command configuration;

an analyzing unit adapted to analyze the command configuration XML file; and

a command generation unit adapted to generate a printer control command on the basis of the command configuration XML file.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a part in the command configuration XML file where a command value changes due to an external factor has a specific character string marked as a reserved word, and the printer control command is generated from the command configuration XML file from which all reserved words are eliminated, by comprising a unit adapted to search for the reserved word, a unit adapted to replace the reserved word part with an actual command attribute value by referring to the external factor, and a unit adapted to refer to the external factor.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in replacing the reserved word part, a lookup table to be compared with an attribute name obtained by referring to the external factor and a default attribute value are described.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if a command configuration of the command configuration XML file changes depending on a model and a user environment, a different command configuration XML file is input.

5. An information processing method of generating a command to control a printer, comprising the steps of:

analyzing a command configuration XML file representing a command configuration to be generated in command generation; and

generating a printer control command on the basis of the command configuration XML file.

6. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which causes a computer to execute steps of an information processing method of claim 5.