File management apparatus, file management method, and program

• US 20070250544A1
• Filed: 04/19/2007
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Shibata, Yoshiaki, Kawamura, Takayoshi, Tanaka, Hisao
• Granted Patent: US 7,636,738 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/164 File meta data generation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a file management apparatus including, a table management section, a file name display control section, a file access control section, and a mode switching section.

Claims

1. A file management apparatus configured to enable a file system capable of treating only a file with a standard file name following the existing file denomination rule to allow for use of an arbitrary file name separately assigned to the file, the file name management apparatus comprising:

a table management section that manages a file name correspondence table in which correspondence between standard file names assigned to one or more files stored in a storage medium and arbitrary file names separately assigned to the files is described;

a file name display control section that determines, when an external application displays a file name of a file stored in a storage medium, whether an arbitrary file name is assigned to the file based on the file name correspondence table, converts, when it is determined that an arbitrary file name is assigned to the file, a standard file name acquired from the file system to the arbitrary file name based on the file name correspondence table and displays the arbitrary file name, or displays the standard file name acquired from the file system as it is when it is determined that an arbitrary file name is not assigned to the file;

a file access control section that gives an instruction for accessing to an access target file to the file system by using, when an external application accesses a file store in a storage medium and specifies an access target file with an arbitrary file name, a standard file name converted from the arbitrary file name based on the file name correspondence table, or by using, when the access target file is specified with a standard file name, the standard file name as it is; and

a mode switching section that switches an operating mode between the arbitrary file name mode in which an arbitrary file name is acknowledged and the standard file name mode in which an arbitrary file name is not acknowledged by turning ON or OFF functions of the file name display control section and the file access control section.

2. The file management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a correspondence between the standard files and the arbitrary file names assigned to files stored in the storage medium and file identifiers uniquely assigned to the files is described in the file name correspondence table, and

the table management section determines whether a file corresponding to an arbitrary file name described in the file name correspondence table is present in the storage medium or not based on the file identifier described in the file name correspondence table as well as on a file identifier assigned to the filed stored in the storage medium.

3. The file management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the file name display control section notifies presence of the file name correspondence table to the external application in the arbitrary file name mode, but does not notify presence of the file name correspondence table to the external application, and

the external application determines, based on presence or absence of the file name correspondence table, whether the operating mode is set in the arbitrary file name mode or in the standard file name mode.

4. The file management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when assignment of a new arbitrary file name to a file with a standard file name already assigned thereto is requested, the table management section correlates the standard file name and the arbitrary file name to each other and describes the correspondence in the file name correspondence table, and

updates, when change of an arbitrary file name already assigned to a file is requested, the arbitrary file name described in the file name correspondence table, and

deletes, when it is detected that a file having a standard file name or a file identifier described in the file name correspondence table is not present in the storage medium, descriptions relating to the file from the file name correspondence table.

5. The file management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the file name correspondence table can be accessed from the external application.

6. The file management apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the file name correspondence table is stored together with the file in the same storage medium.

7. The file management apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the storage medium is a detachable removable storage medium on the file management apparatus.

8. A file management method enabling a file system capable of treating only a file with standard file name following the existing file denomination rule to allow for use of an arbitrary file name separately assigned to the file, and the file management method comprising the steps of:

managing a file name correspondence table between standard file names assigned to one or more files stored in a storage medium and arbitrary file names separately assigned to the files is described;

switching between an arbitrary file name mode allowing for use of an arbitrary file name and a standard file name mode not allowing for use of an arbitrary file name;

determining, when an external application displays a file name of a file stored in a storage medium in the arbitrary file name mode, whether an arbitrary file name has been assigned to the file or not based on the file name correspondence table, converting a standard file name acquired from the file system to the arbitrary file name based on the file name correspondence table and displaying the arbitrary file name, or displaying the standard file name acquired from the file system as it is when any arbitrary file name has been assigned to the file; and

giving an instruction for accessing an access target file to the file system, when an external application accesses a file stored in the storage medium in the arbitrary file name mode, by using, when the access target file is specified with an arbitrary file name, a standard file name generated by converting the arbitrary file name based on the file name correspondence table, and by using, when the access target file is specified with a standard file name, the standard file name as it is.

9. A program enabling a file system capable of treating only a file with standard file name following the existing file denomination rule to allow for use of an arbitrary file name separately assigned to the file, and the program enables a computer to function as:

a table management section that manages a file name correspondence table in which correspondence between standard file names assigned to one or more files stored in a storage medium and arbitrary file names separately assigned to the files is described;

a file name display control section that determines, when an external application displays a file name of a file stored in a storage medium, whether an arbitrary file name is assigned to the file based on the file name correspondence table, converts, when it is determined that an arbitrary file name is assigned to the file, a standard file name acquired from the file system to the arbitrary file name based on the file name correspondence table and displays the arbitrary file name, or displays the standard file name acquired from the file system as it is when it is determined that an arbitrary file name is not assigned to the file;

a file access control section that gives an instruction for access to an access target file to the file system by using, when an external application accesses a file store in a storage medium and specifies an access target file with an arbitrary file name, a standard file name converted from the arbitrary file name based on the file name correspondence table, or by using, when the access target file is specified with a standard file name, the standard file name as it is; and

a mode switching section that switches an operating mode between the arbitrary file name mode in which an arbitrary file name is acknowledged and the standard file name mode in which an arbitrary file name is not acknowledged by turning ON or OFF functions of the file name display control section and the file access control section.