Apparatus and method for multi-profile managing and recording medium storing multi-profile managing program

• US 6,685,090 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2001
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Takada, Yuji, Fukuta, Shigeki, Nishigaya, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US09/769,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20010048026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 235/382, 235/382.5, 705/10, 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 709/213, 709/219, 709/221
• US Class Current: 235/382
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A multi-profile managing apparatus for unifying a plurality of profilers includes an unified access unit, a name managing unit, and a profile access unit. The unified access unit accepts an access request to a profiler from any of services in accordance with an access protocol determined for the service, via an unified access interface corresponding to the protocol. The name managing unit converts a data element name designated in the access request to information in relation to a real storage location within the profiler. The profile access unit accesses the profiler on the basis of the information in relation to the storage location obtained through the conversion, via a corresponding profile access interface.

Claims

1. A multi-profile managing apparatus being connected a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the apparatus comprising:

a unified access unit accepting an access request originating from a user to any of the plurality of profilers according to an access protocol determined for each of a plurality of services, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

a name managing unit converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating a real storage location corresponding to the data element name;

a profile access unit accessing the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained by the name managing unit; and

a data-element correspondence table holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

wherein the name managing unit specifies the real storage location corresponding to the data element name designated in the access request on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the data-element correspondence table by using the data element name, and

wherein the user accesses different profilers through the multi-profile managing apparatus by issuing different access requests, each of which includes a different data element name, to the multi-profile managing apparatus.

2. A multi-profile managing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the profile access unit comprises a plurality of profile access interfaces to access the plurality of profilers, and is configured such that a new profile access interface can be added to cope with connection of a profiler of a new type.

3. A multi-profile managing apparatus being connected a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the apparatus comprising:

a unified access unit accepting an access request originating from a user to any of the plurality of profilers according to an access protocol determined for each of a plurality of services, the access request designatinq a data element name that is associated with the user;

a name managing unit converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating a real storage location corresponding to the data element name;

a profile access unit accessing the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained by the name managing unit; and

a data-element correspondence table holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

wherein the name managing unit specifies the real storage location corresponding to the data element name designated in the access request on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the data-element correspondence table by using the data element name, and

wherein the data-element correspondence data storage unit is configured such that a single data element name of a profiler used by services is made to correspond to a plurality of paired data sets each composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of the data element within the profiler; and

wherein, when an update request that designates the single data element name is generated, the name managing unit and the profile access unit update the plurality of corresponding data elements in a synchronized manner.

4. A multi-profile managing apparatus being connected a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the apparatus comprising:

a unified access unit accepting an access request originating from a user to any of the plurality of profilers according to an access protocol determined for each of a plurality of services, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

a name managing unit converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating a real storage location corresponding to the data element name;

a profile access unit accessing the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained by the name managing unit; and

a data-element correspondence table holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

wherein the name managing unit specifies the real storage location corresponding to the data element name designated in the access request on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the data-element correspondence table by using the data element name, and

wherein the data-element correspondence data storage unit stores a common table and specific tables, the common table storing correspondence data to be commonly applied to all users, and the specific tables storing correspondence data sets to be applied independently to at least respective users or respective services; and

wherein the name managing unit uses the specific tables in preference to the common table.

5. A multi-profile managing apparatus being connected a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the apparatus comprising:

a unified access unit accepting an access request originating from a user to any of the plurality of profilers according to an access protocol determined for each of a plurality of services, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

a name managing unit converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating a real storage location corresponding to the data element name;

a profile access unit accessing the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained by the name managing unit;

a data-element correspondence table holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element; and

a data-element correspondence table generating unit generating correspondence data to be stored in the data-element correspondence data storage unit in accordance with a correspondence data generation rule previously input, whenever a new profiler is connected or a new data element is added to an existing profiler,

wherein the name managing unit specifies the real storage location corresponding to the data element name designated in the access request on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the data-element correspondence table by using the data element name.

6. A multi-profile managing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a correspondence-table generation rule generating the data-element corresponding table.

7. A multi-profile managing method for managing a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the method comprising:

accepting an access request to a profiler originating from a user of any of services by a unified access interface corresponding to an access protocol determined for the services, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating the real storage location on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the correspondence data by using the data element name; and

accessing the corresponding profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained through the conversion, by use of an profile access interface corresponding to the access protocol to the profiler,

wherein the user accesses different profilers through the multi-profile managing apparatus by issuing different access requests, each of which includes a different data element name, to the multi-profile managing apparatus.

8. A computer readable medium recording a program to realize a multi-profile managing apparatus being connected a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, wherein the program causes a computer to perform:

processing to accept an access request to a profiler originating from a user of any of services in accordance with an access protocol determined for the service, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

processing to hold correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

processing to convert the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating the real storage location on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the correspondence data by using the data element name; and

processing to access the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location,

wherein the user accesses different profilers through the multi-profile managing apparatus by issuing different access requests, each of which includes a different data element name, to the multi-profile managing apparatus.

9. A computer system comprising:

a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location;

a plurality of services; and

a multi-profile managing apparatus being provided between the plurality of profilers and the plurality of services;

wherein the multi-profile managing apparatus further comprises;

a unified access unit accepting an access request originating from a user to any of the plurality of profilers according to an access protocol determined for each of a plurality of services, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

a name managing unit converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating a real storage location within the profiler;

a profile access unit accessing the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained by the name managing unit; and

a data-element correspondence table holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

wherein the name managing unit specifies the real storage location corresponding to the data element name designated in the access request on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the data-element correspondence table by using the data element name, and

wherein the user accesses different profilers through the multi-profile managing apparatus by issuing different access requests, each of which includes a different data element name, to the multi-profile managing apparatus.

10. A method for accessing from a plurality of services to a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the method comprising:

generating an access request originating from a user to one of the plurality of profilers, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating the real storage location, on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the correspondence data by using the data element name, the access request being accepted by a unified access interface corresponding to an access protocol determined for the service; and

accessing the corresponding profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained through the conversion, by use of an profile access interface corresponding to the access protocol to the profiler,

wherein the user accesses different profilers through the multi-profile managing apparatus by issuing different access requests, each of which includes a different data element name, to the multi-profile managing apparatus.

11. A multi-profile managing apparatus being connected a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the apparatus comprising:

a unified access unit accepting an access request originating from a user to any of the plurality of profilers according to an access protocol determined for each of a plurality of services, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

a name managing unit converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating a real storage location corresponding to the data element name;

a profile access unit accessing the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained by the name managing unit; and

a data-element correspondence table holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

wherein the name managing unit specifies the real storage location corresponding to the data element name designated in the access request on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the data-element correspondence table by using the data element name,

wherein the data-element correspondence table includes at least a common table that stores correspondence data to be commonly applied to all users.

12. A multi-profile managing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the data element correspondence table includes a first specific tables, each of which stores the correspondence data set to be applied independently to respective users.

13. A multi-profile managing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the name managing unit uses the first specific tables in preference to the common table.

14. A multi-profile managing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the data-element correspondence table includes second specific tables, each of which stores the correspondence data set to be applied independently to respective services, and

wherein the name managing unit uses the first and second specific tables in preference to the common table, and the first specific tables in preference to the second specific tables.

15. A multi-profile managing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the data-element correspondence table includes second specific tables, each of which stores the correspondence data set to be applied independently to respective services.

16. A multi-profile managing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the name managing unit uses the second specific tables in preference to the common table.

17. A multi-profile managing apparatus being connected a plurality of profilers which are a different type from one another in terms of at least one of access protocol, data expression scheme, and data element names, each profiler including at least a real name of a data element existing in a real storage location, the apparatus comprising:

a unified access unit accepting an access request originating from a user to any of the plurality of profilers according to an access protocol determined for each of a plurality of services, the access request designating a data element name that is associated with the user;

a name managing unit converting the data element name designated in the access request to information indicating a real storage location corresponding to the data element name;

a profile access unit accessing the profiler on the basis of the information indicating the real storage location obtained by the name managing unit; and

a data-element correspondence table holding correspondence data representing the correspondence between each data element name used in the plurality of services, and at least one paired data composed of a physical address of a profiler and a real name of a data element;

wherein the name managing unit specifies the real storage location corresponding to the data element name designated in the access request on the basis of the physical address and the real name of the data element obtained from the data-element correspondence table by using the data element name, and

wherein the data-element correspondence table includes at least a common table which stores correspondence data to be commonly applied to all users, first specific tables, each of which stores the correspondence data set to be applied independently to respective users, and second specific tables, each of which stores the correspondence data set to be applied independently to respective services, and wherein the correspondence-table generation rule is provided for each of the common table, first specific tables and second specific tables.