Clean-up of files in a network system

• US 6,418,456 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1998
• Issued: 07/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mastie, Scott David, Tong, Hongliang
• Primary Examiner(s): Homere, Jean R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wassum, Luke S
• Application Number:
  US09/198,652
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 707/203, 707/206, 707/10, 358/1.1, 358/1.15, 358/1.13
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/10 File systems; File servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2216/09 Obsolescence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/325 Modified version of the image, e.g. part of the image, image reduced in size or resolution, thumbnail or screennail
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3295 Deletion of stored data; Preventing such deletion
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for managing files in a network system and, in particular, a network printing system. A processing unit, such as a printer manager detects an update to a file, such as a print file, maintained in a storage unit. At least one network device, such as a printer controller, maintains a copy of the file to update that is a previous version of the file to update maintained at the storage unit. The processing unit processes a data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the file and determines the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file. The processing unit then transmits a message to the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file to delete the previous versions of the file.

Claims

1. A method for managing files in a network system, comprising:

detecting an update to a file maintained in a storage unit, wherein at least one network device maintains a copy of the file to update that is a previous version of the file to update maintained at the storage unit;

in response to detecting the update to the file in the storage unit, performing;

(i) processing a data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the file;

(ii) determining, from processing the data structure, the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file; and

(iii) transmitting a message to the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file wherein the message to modify the previous version of the file comprises a request to delete the previous version of the file, wherein after the deletion, tie previous version of the file is not available at the network devices receiving the message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein after determining the network devices that include previous versions of the file, further performing the steps of:

determining whether the previous version is being processed at the network device, wherein the step of transmitting the message to the network device to delete the previous version occurs after determining that the previous version is not being processed at the network device; and

queuing a request to transmit the message to the network device including the previous version after determining that the previous version is being processed at the network device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a message from the network device indicating that the previous version of the file has been deleted; and

updating the data structure to indicate the deletion of the file maintained at the network device providing the message indicating that the previous version of the file has been deleted.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to process the file after an update to the file has been detected;

determining whether the previous version of the file subject to the process request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

retrieving the file to process from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on at least one of the network devices; and

queuing the request to process the file after determining that the previous version is maintained on at least one of the network devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the file to update is a component of an object file associated with at least one component file, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the file is a first data structure, wherein the step of determining network devices that include the previous version comprises the step of processing a second data structure indicating object files and the component files of the object files to determine object files including the previous version, wherein the step of determining the network devices that include the previous version is determined for each determined object file.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

querying the determined network devices that include the previous version to determine the status of the previous version at the determined network devices; and

updating the data structure to indicate the determined status of the previous version at the determined network devices.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of determining the status of the previous version comprises determining whether the previous version is maintained at the network devices and whether the previous version is unavailable at the network device, wherein the step of updating the data structure comprises indicating whether the previous version is maintained at the network device and available.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include the previous version is a first data structure, further comprising the steps of:

generating a second data structure including instances of the previous version at network devices; and

removing an instance of the previous version from the second data structure after determining that the previous version of the file was deleted at the network device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to perform an operation on the file after an update to the file was detected;

processing the second data structure to determine whether the previous version of the file subject to the request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

retrieving the file subject to the request from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on the network devices; and

queuing the request to perform the operation on the file after determining that the previous version is maintained on the network devices.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the file to update is a print file, and wherein the network devices include at least one printer controller to process the print file and at least one printer to print the processed print file.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the print file is a component of a print job, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the print file is a first data structure indicating network devices that include print files for particular print jobs, wherein the step of determining network devices that include the previous version comprises the step of processing a second data structure indicating print jobs and the component print files of the print jobs to determine print jobs including the previous version of the print file, wherein the step of determining the network devices that include previous versions of the print file is determined by processing the first data structure to determine for each print job including the previous version of the file the network device that includes such previous version.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

querying the determined network devices that include the previous versions of the print file to determine whether the previous version of the print file is maintained at the network devices and whether the network devices are performing an operation that is a member of the set of operations comprising printing the print file and processing the print file; and

updating the data structure to indicate whether the previous version is maintained at the network device and whether the network devices are performing an operation that is a member of the set of operations comprising printing the print file and processing the print file.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the print files is a first data structure, further comprising the steps of:

generating a second data structure including instances of the previous version of the print file at network devices; and

removing an instance of the previous version from the second data structure after determining that the previous version of the print file was deleted at the network device;

receiving a request to perform an operation on the print file after an update to the print file has been detected;

processing the second data structure to determine whether the previous version of the file subject to the process request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

retrieving the print file to process from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on the network devices; and

queuing the request to perform the operation on the print file after determining that the previous version is maintained on the network devices.

14. A system for managing files in a network system and for communicating with network devices via a network communication line, comprising:

a processing unit;

a storage unit accessible to the processing unit, wherein the storage unit stores a file;

a memory area accessible to the processing unit including a data structure indicating the network devices that include a version of the file;

program logic executed by the processing unit, comprising;

(i) means for detecting an update to a file maintained in a storage unit;

(ii) means for processing the data structure to determine the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file in response to detecting the update to the file in the storage unit; and

(iii) means for transmitting a message to the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file to delete the previous version of the file, wherein after the deletion, the previous version of the file is not available at the network devices receiving the message.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the program logic further comprises:

means for determining whether the previous version of the file is being processed at the network device, wherein the message is not transmitted to the network device to delete the previous version until the determination is made that the previous version is not being processed at the network device; and

means for queuing a request to transmit the message to the network device including the previous version after determining that the previous version is being processed at the network device.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the program logic further comprises:

means for receiving a message from the network device indicating that the previous version of the file has been deleted; and

means for updating the data structure to indicate the deletion of the file maintained at the network device providing the message indicating that the previous version of the file has been deleted.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the program logic further comprises:

means for receiving a request to process the file after an update to the file has been detected;

means for determining whether the previous version of the file subject to the process request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

means for retrieving the file to process from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on at least one of the network devices; and

means for queuing the request to process the file after determining that the previous version is maintained on at least one of the network devices.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the file to update is a component of an object file associated with at least one component file, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the file is a first data structure, wherein the memory area further includes a second data structure indicating object files and the component files of the object files, wherein the step of determining network devices that include the previous version comprises the step of processing the second data structure to determine object files including the previous version, wherein the step of determining the network devices that include the previous version is determined for each determined object file.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the program logic further comprises:

means for querying the determined network devices that include the previous version to determine the status of the previous version at the determined network devices; and

means for updating the data structure to indicate the determined status of the previous version at the determined network devices.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the means for determining the status of the previous version comprises determining whether the previous version is maintained at the network devices and whether the previous version is unavailable at the network device, and wherein the means for updating the data structure comprises indicating whether the previous version is maintained at the network device and available.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include the previous version is a first data structure, and wherein the program logic further comprises:

means for generating a second data structure including instances of the previous version at network devices; and

means for removing an instance of the previous version from the second data structure after determining that the previous version of the print file was deleted at the network device.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the program logic further comprises:

means for receiving a request to perform an operation on the file after an update to the file was detected;

means for processing the second data structure to determine whether the previous version of the file subject to the request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

means for retrieving the file subject to the request from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on the network devices; and

means for queuing the request to perform the operation on the file after determining that the previous version is maintained on the network devices.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the file to update is a print file, and wherein the network devices include at least one printer controller to process the print file and at least one printer to print the processed print file.

24. An article of manufacture for use in programming a computer to manage files in a network system, the article of manufacture comprising computer readable storage media including at least one computer program embedded therein that causes the computer to perform:

detecting an update to a file maintained in a storage unit, wherein at least one network device maintains a copy of the file to update that is a previous version of the file to update maintained at the storage unit;

in response to detecting the update to the file in the storage unit, performing;

(i) processing a data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the file;

(ii) determining, from processing the data structure, the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file; and

(iii) transmitting a message to the network devices that include at least one previous version of the file to delete the previous version of the file, wherein after the deletion, the previous version of the file is not available at the network devices receiving the message.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 24, wherein after determining the network devices that include previous versions of the file, further performing the steps of:

determining whether the previous version is being processed at the network device, wherein the step of transmitting the message to the network device to delete the previous version occurs after determining that the previous version is not being processed at the network device; and

queuing a request to transmit the message to the network device including the previous version after determining that the previous version is being processed at the network device.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a message from the network device indicating that the previous version of the file has been deleted; and

updating the data structure to indicate the deletion of the file maintained at the network device providing the message indicating that the previous version of the file has been deleted.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to process the file after an update to the file has been detected;

determining whether the previous version of the file subject to the process request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

retrieving the file to process from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on at least one of the network devices; and

queuing the request to process the file after determining that the previous version is maintained on at least one of the network devices.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 24, wherein the file to update is a component of an object file associated with at least one component file, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the file is a first data structure, wherein the step of determining network devices that include the previous version comprises the step of processing a second data structure indicating object files and the component files of the object files to determine object files including the previous version, wherein the step of determining the network devices that include the previous version is determined for each determined object file.

29. The article of manufacture of claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

querying the determined network devices that include the previous version to determine the status of the previous version at the determined network devices; and

updating the data structure to indicate the determined status of the previous version at the determined network devices.

30. The article of manufacture of claim 29, wherein the step of determining the status of the previous version comprises determining whether the previous version is maintained at the network devices and whether the previous version is unavailable at the network device, wherein the step of updating the data structure comprises indicating whether the previous version is maintained at the network device and available.

31. The article of manufacture of claim 24, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include the previous version is a first data structure, further comprising the steps of:

generating a second data structure including instances of the previous version at network devices; and

removing an instance of the previous version from the second data structure after determining that the previous version of the print file was deleted at the network device.

32. The article of manufacture of claim 31, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a request to perform an operation on the file after an update to the file was detected;

processing the second data structure to determine whether the previous version of the file subject to the request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

retrieving the file subject to the request from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on the network devices; and

queuing the request to perform the operation on the file after determining that the previous version is maintained on the network devices.

33. The article of manufacture of claim 24, wherein the file to update is a print file, and wherein the network devices include at least one printer controller to process the print file and at least one printer to print the processed print file.

34. The article of manufacture of claim 33, wherein the print file is a component of a print job, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the print file is a first data structure indicating network devices that include print files for particular print jobs, wherein the step of determining network devices that include the previous version comprises the step of processing a second data structure indicating print jobs and the component print files of the print jobs to determine print jobs including the previous version of the print file, wherein the step of determining the network devices that include previous versions of the print file is determined by processing the first data structure to determine for each print job including the previous version of the file the network device that includes such previous version.

35. The article of manufacture of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

querying the determined network devices that include the previous versions of the print file to determine whether the previous version of the print file is maintained at the network devices and whether the network devices are performing an operation that is a member of the set of operations comprising printing the print file and processing the print file; and

updating the data structure to indicate whether the previous version is maintained at the network device and whether the network devices are performing an operation that is a member of the set of operations comprising printing the print file and processing the print file.

36. The article of manufacture of claim 33, wherein the data structure indicating network devices that include previous versions of the print files is a first data structure, further comprising the steps of:

generating a second data structure including instances of the previous version of the print file at network devices; and

removing an instance of the previous version from the second data structure after determining that the previous version of the print file was deleted at the network device;

receiving a request to perform an operation on the print file after an update to the print file has been detected;

processing the second data structure to determine whether the previous version of the file subject to the process request is maintained on at least one of the network devices;

retrieving the print file to process from the storage unit after determining that the previous version is not maintained on the network devices; and

queuing the request to perform the operation on the print file after determining that the previous version is maintained on the network devices.