Interchangeable storage medium containing program for processing data files thereupon to match a data file format to a computer system

• US 5,870,756 A
• Filed: 11/12/1996
• Issued: 02/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Nakata, Masahiro, Ogawa, Kouichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Homere, Jean R.
• Application Number:
  US08/747,924
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/200, 707/4, 711/111, 711/155, 711/115, 711/154, 711/170
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2003/0697 device management, e.g. handlers, drivers, I/O schedulers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0601 Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

The following items are recorded on an interchangeable storage medium used for input/output in a computer system: (1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) a program for subjecting the data file to processing that makes it possible for the data file to be utilized by a computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, the name of a program for applying the processing to the data file specified by the file name and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating the corresponding relationship between a program name and a program location. When a data file is to be read from an interchangeable storage medium, the data file is subjected to predetermined processing by a program which corresponds to the data file so as to be converted to data capable of being utilized by a computer system. When a data file is written, the data file is subjected to predetermined processing by a program which corresponds to the data file and then written to an interchangeable storage medium.

Claims

1. An interchangeable storage medium used for input/output of data in a computer system, comprising the following recorded on said medium:

a data file specified by a file name;

at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system;

data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying said processing to the data file specified by the file name, and the location of the data file; and

program control information indicating a corresponding relationship between the program name and a program location.

2. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program control information includes, in addition to the corresponding relationship between the program name and the program location, information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used.

3. The storage medium according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of items of program control information for different operating systems are recorded on said interchangeable storage medium in association with a single program name.

4. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program control information includes, in addition to the corresponding relationship between the program name and the program location, information specifying an operating system in which the program is capable of being used, and information specifying whether a data file is capable of being read/written by said operating system, or specifying read- and write-enable conditions.

5. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said data control information includes, in addition to the corresponding relationship among the file name, the program name and the location of the data file, a retrieval keyword used to retrieve a data file.

6. The storage medium according to claim 5, wherein a retrieval program for retrieving a data file having an entered retrieval keyword is recorded on said interchangeable storage medium.

7. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein when a data file is recorded in units of predetermined data sizes, said data control information includes, in addition to a corresponding relationship among a file name, a program name and the location of the data file, data layout information indicating data positions at which data in units of respective data sizes are recorded.

8. A method of reading data in a computer system in which a prescribed data file is read from an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) a program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying said processing to the data file specified by the file name, and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship between the program name and a program location;

when a read command has been issued, obtaining a data file location and the name of the program for subjecting this data file to predetermined processing from the data control information based upon a file name specified by the read command, and obtaining program location information of the program having the program name from the program control information;

reading the data file from the interchangeable storage medium based upon data file location information and reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information; and

subjecting the data file that has been read to predetermined processing by said program to convert the data file to data that the computer system is capable of utilizing.

9. A method of writing data in a computer system in which a data file is written to an intechangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying said processing to the data file specified by the file name, and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship between the program name and a program location;

when a data file write command has been issued, obtaining program location information of the program having the program name specified by the write command from the program control information;

reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information;

subjecting the data file to predetermined processing by said program and then writing the data file to the interchangeable storage medium; and

producing data control information indicating the corresponding relationship among the file name of said data file, the program name of said program and a position at which the data file is written, and writing this data control information to the interchangeable storage medium.

10. A method of reading data in a computer system in which a prescribed data file is read from an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying said processing to the data file specified by the file name, and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship among the program name, a program location and information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used;

recording the data file on the interchangeable storage medium in a predetermined format that is independent of the operating system;

when a read command has been issued, obtaining data file location information and the name of a program for subjecting this data file to predetermined processing from the data control information based upon a file name specified by the read command, and obtaining location of the program which has the program name and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system from the program control information;

reading the data file from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the data file location information obtained and reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information obtained; and

subjecting the data file that has been read to predetermined processing by said program to convert the data file to the format that matches the format utilizable by the computer system.

11. A method of writing data in a computer system in which a data file is written to an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying said processing to the data file specified by the file name, and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship among the program name, a program location and information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used;

when a data file write command has been issued, obtaining the location of the program which has the program name specified by the write command and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system from the program control information;

reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information; and

subjecting the data file to predetermined processing by said program to convert the data file to data having a format that is independent of the operating system, and writing the data to the interchangeable storage medium; and

producing data control information indicating the corresponding relationship among the file name of said data file, the program name of said program and location of the data file, and writing this data control information to the interchangeable storage medium.

12. A method of reading data in a computer system in which a prescribed data file is read from an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying predetermined processing to the data file specified by the file name, and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship among the program name, a program location, information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used, and an access condition for accessing the data file;

recording the data file on the interchangeable storage medium in a predetermined format that is independent of the operating system;

when a read command has been issued, obtaining a data file location and the name of the program for subjecting this data file to predetermined processing from the data control information based upon a file name specified by the read command, and obtaining the location of the program which is specified by the program name and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system, as well as the access condition, from the program control information;

determining whether a read access condition has been satisfied;

if the read access condition has been satisfied, reading the data file from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the data file location information obtained, reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information obtained, and subjecting the data file that has been read to predetermined processing by said program to convert the data file to data that the computer system is capable of utilizing; and

if the read access condition has not been satisfied, disabling reading of the data file.

13. A method of writing data in a computer system in which a data file is written to an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an intechangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying predetermined processing to the data file specified by the file name, and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship among the program name, a program location, information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used, and an access condition for accessing the data file;

when a data file write command has been issued, obtaining the location of the program which has the program name specified by the write command and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system, as well as the access condition, from the program control information;

determining whether a write access condition has been satisfied;

if the write access condition has been satisfied, reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information;

subjecting the data file to predetermined processing by said program to convert the data file to data having a format that is independent of the operating system, and writing the data to the interchangeable storage medium;

producing data control information indicating the corresponding relationship among the file name of said data file, the program name of said program and write location of the data file, and writing this data control information to the interchangeable storage medium; and

if the write access condition has not been satisfied, disabling writing of the data file.

14. A method of reading data in a computer system in which a prescribed data file is read from an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) a program for determining an access condition of the data file, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among the file name of the data file, the name of the program for determining the access condition of said data file and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating, for each program, a corresponding relationship among a program name, program location and information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used;

when a read command has been issued, obtaining a data file location and the name of a program from the data control information based upon a file name specified by the read command, and obtaining location information of the program which is specified by the program name and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system from the program control information;

reading a program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location obtained, executing this program and determining whether a read access condition has been satisfied;

if the read access condition has been satisfied, reading the data file from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the data file location information obtained; and

if the read access condition has not been satisfied, disabling reading of the data file.

15. A method of writing a data file to an interchangeable storage medium data in a computer system, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) a program for determining an access condition of the data file, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among the file name of the data file, the name of the program for determining the access condition of said data file and the location of the data file, and (4) program control information indicating, for each program, a corresponding relationship among the program name, program location and information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used;

when a data file write command has been issued, obtaining the location of a program which has a program name specified by the write command and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system from the program control information;

reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information obtained, executing this program and determining whether a write access condition has been satisfied;

if the write access condition has been satisfied, writing the data file to the interchangeable storage medium, producing data control information indicating the corresponding relationship among the file name of said data file, the program name of said program and write location of the data file, and writing this data control information to the interchangeable storage medium; and

if the write access condition has not been satisfied, disabling writing of the data file.

16. A method of reading data in a computer system in which a prescribed data file is read from an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by the file name, (2) at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying said processing to the data file specified by the file name, the location of the data file and a retrieval keyword used to retrieve the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship among the program name, a program location and information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used;

recording the data file on the interchangeable storage medium in a predetermined format that is independent of the operating system;

when a read command has been issued, obtaining data control information having a retrieval keyword specified by the read command;

obtaining data file location information and the name of the program for processing the data file from said data control information, and obtaining location information of the program which is specified by the program name and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system from the program control information;

reading the data file from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the data file location information obtained and reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information obtained; and

subjecting the data file that has been read from said program to predetermined processing by said program for processing the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system.

17. A method of writing data in a computer system in which a data file is written to an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) at least one program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of the at least one program for applying said processing to a data file specified by the file name, the location of the data file and a retrieval keyword used to retrieve the data file, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship among a program name, a program location and information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being used;

when a data file write command has been issued, obtaining the location of the program which has the program name specified by the write command and which is capable of being used by the operating system of the computer system from the program control information;

reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information, subjecting the data file to predetermined processing by said program and then writing the data file to the interchangeable storage medium; and

subsequently creating a retrieval keyword of said data file, producing data control information indicating a corresponding relationship among a file name, a program name, data file location and retrieval keyword, and writing this data control information to the interchangeable storage medium.

18. A method of reading data in a computer system in which a prescribed data file is read from an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) a program which, in a case where a data file is recorded in units of predetermined data sizes, determining the data size units and data layout, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of a program for deciding said data size units and data layout of the data file specified by the file name, starting position of the data file and data layout information indicating data positions at which data in units of respective data sizes are recorded, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship between the program name and program location;

when a read command has been issued, obtaining starting position of a data file, data layout information and name of the program from the data control information based upon the file name specified by the read command, and obtaining location of the program having the program name from the program control information;

reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon the program location information and reading the data file from the interchangeable storage medium in accordance with said program based upon the obtained data file starting position and data layout information thereby placing the data file in a format which matches a format which is utilizable by the computer system.

19. A method of writing data in a computer system in which a data file is written to an interchangeable storage medium, comprising the steps of:

providing an interchangeable storage medium on which the following are recorded;

(1) a data file specified by a file name, (2) a program which, in a case where a data file is recorded in units of a predetermined data sizes, determines the data size units and data layout, (3) data control information indicating, for each data file, a corresponding relationship among a file name of the data file, a program name of a program for deciding said data size units and data layout of the data file specified by the file name, starting position of the data file and data layout information indicating data positions at which data in units of respective data sizes are recorded, and (4) program control information indicating a corresponding relationship between the program name and program location;

when a data file write command has been issued, obtaining the location of the program having the program name specified by the write command from the program control information, and reading the program from the interchangeable storage medium based upon location information of the program;

in a case where a data file is written to the interchangeable storage medium in units of predetermined data sizes, deciding said data size units and data layout by said program and writing the data file to the interchangeable storage medium;

subsequently producing data control information indicating a corresponding relationship among the file name of said data file, the program name of said program, starting position of the data file and data layout information, and writing this data control information to the interchangeable storage medium.

20. A computer system for reading in a data file that has been stored on an interchangeable storage medium, executing predetermined processing and writing a created data file to an interchangeable storage medium, comprising:

a drive unit for reading in a data file and program from an interchangeable storage medium and writing a data file to an interchangeable storage medium; and

a processing unit which, at writing of a data file, writes, to an interchangeable storage medium in a form correlated with the data file, a program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, and at reading of a data file, subjects the data file to said processing, by a program corresponding to said data file.

21. A computer system for reading in a data file that has been stored on an interchangeable storage medium, executing processing and writing a created data file to an interchangeable storage medium, comprising:

a drive unit for reading in a data file and program from an interchangeable storage medium and writing a data file to an interchangeable storage medium; and

a processing unit which, at writing of a data file, writes, to an interchangeable storage medium in a form correlated with said data file, a program for processing the data file to match a format of the data file to a format which is utilizable by the computer system, and information specifying an operating system in which said program is capable of being executed, and at reading of a data file, subjects said data file to said processing, by a program which corresponds to said data file and which is capable of being executed by the computer system.