Efficient web services application status self-control system on image-forming device

• US 8,239,876 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2007
• Issued: 08/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Tian, Lifen
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Andy
• Assistant Examiner(s): DORAIS, CRAIG C
• Application Number:
  US11/818,013
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,883 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 719/315
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/5087 for receiving image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/485 Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution G06F9/4881 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5016 the resource being the memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5022 Mechanisms to release resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00885 Power supply means, e.g. arrangements for the control of power supply to the apparatus or components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00896 using a low-power mode, e.g. standby
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0039 Connection via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0094 Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception

Abstract

Techniques and systems for controlling resources used by a device'"'"'s web services applications are disclosed. In one technique, web services applications release their allocated resources and enter a “sleep mode” after being inactive for a specified period of time. In one technique, a device maintains a shared pool of memory resources. The pool contains data structures that web services applications are likely to re-use. Before allocating a new instance of a needed data structure from free memory, a web services application first determines whether the shared pool already contains a currently unused but allocated instance of a data structure of the needed type, and, if the shared pool does, then the web service application uses that instance, overwriting existing data in the instance as needed. Web services applications return such data structures to the shared pool when those web services applications are finished using those data structures.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for managing a web services application, the method comprising:

a particular web services application determining that first data is cacheable data due to the first data being at least one of;

(a) a manufacturer of a device on which the particular web services application executes, (b) a model of said device, (c) a list of capabilities of said device, (d) a physical location of said device, (e) a default print ticket, or (f) a default scan ticket;

in response to determining that the first data is cacheable data, the particular web services application (1) requesting, from a memory pool manager resident on said device, a first data structure of a kind whose memory the memory pool manager does not free, (2) populating said first data structure with said first data, and (3) inserting the populated first data structure into a cache that is accessible by said particular web services application but no other web services application executing said device;

said particular web services application determining that second data is not cacheable due to the second data not being at least one of;

(a) the manufacturer of a device on which the particular web services application executes, (b) the model of said device, (c) the list of capabilities of said device, (d) the physical location of said device, (e) the default print ticket, or (f) the default scan ticket;

in response to determining that the second data is not cacheable data, the particular web services application requesting, from said memory pool manager, a second data structure that was returned to a memory pool after being used by another web services application executing on said device, and populating said second data structure with said second data without ever inserting said second data structure into said cache;

receiving, at the particular web services application, a request for particular data;

in response to receiving the request for the particular data, the particular web services application determining whether the particular data is contained in the cache of the particular web services application; and

in response to the particular web services application determining that the particular data is contained in the cache, the particular web services application responding to the request with the particular data that is contained in the cache;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular web services application executes on an image-forming device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether a specified amount of time has passed since a last time that the particular web services application has received a message;

in response to determining that the specified amount of time has passed since the last time, causing the particular web services application to free at least a portion of memory that is allocated to one or more data structures that the particular web services application uses that are not in the cache, thereby making the portion of memory available to one or more other web services applications;

in response to determining that the specified amount of time has passed since the last time, causing the particular web services application to enter a sleep mode in which the particular web services application remains idle until the particular web services application receives a signal.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining whether the particular web services application has received the signal; and

in response to determining that the particular web services application has received the signal, (a) causing the particular web services application to exit the sleep mode and (b) causing the particular web services application to allocate memory for one or more data structures.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether free memory resources of the device on which the particular web services application executes have fallen below a specified threshold; and

in response to determining that the free memory resources of the device have fallen below the specified threshold, freeing at least a portion of memory that is occupied by data structures that are used by the particular web services application at least in part by selecting data structures that are not in the cache rather than data structures that are in the cache.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of freeing the portion of memory comprises:

determining one or more data structures that have been assigned a lowest priority among priorities assigned to data structures that are used by the particular web services application; and

freeing memory that is occupied by the one or more data structures that have been assigned the lowest priority without freeing memory that is occupied by other data structures that are used by the particular web services application.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of freeing the portion of memory comprises:

selecting, from among a set of data structures that are being used by a plurality of web services applications, a particular data structure that is occupying a largest amount of memory among the set of data structures that are not in the cache;

determining which web services application of the plurality of web services applications is using the particular data structure; and

in response to determining that the particular web services application is using the particular data structure, asking the particular web services application to free at least a portion of memory that the particular data structure occupies.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the memory pool manager receiving, from the particular web services application, a request for a data structure of a particular type;

the memory pool manager determining whether a memory pool currently contains an allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application; and

in response to determining that the memory pool currently contains a particular allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application, the memory pool manager returning the particular allocated data structure to the particular web services application.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the memory pool manager receiving, from the particular web services application, a request for a data structure of a particular type;

the memory pool manager determining whether a memory pool currently contains an allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application; and

in response to determining that the memory pool does not currently contain an allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application, the memory pool manager allocating, from free memory, a particular data structure that is of the particular type and returning the particular data structure to the particular web services application.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

a particular web services application determining that first data is cacheable data due to the first data being inserting, into a cache of a particular web services application, metadata indicating at least one of;

(a) a manufacturer of a device on which the particular web services application executes, (b) a model of said device, (c) a list of capabilities of said device, (d) a physical location of said device, (e) a default print ticket, or (f) a default scan ticket;

in response to determining that the first data is cacheable data, the particular web services application (1) requesting, from a memory pool manager resident on said device, a first data structure of a kind whose memory the memory pool manager does not free, (2) populating said first data structure with said first data, and (3) inserting the populated first data structure into a cache that is accessible by said particular web services application but no other web services application executing said device;

said particular web services application determining that second data is not cacheable due to the second data not being at least one of;

(a) the manufacturer of a device on which the particular web services application executes, (b) the model of said device, (c) the list of capabilities of said device, (d) the physical location of said device, (e) the default print ticket, or (f) the default scan ticket;

in response to determining that the second data is not cacheable data, the particular web services application requesting, from said memory pool manager, a second data structure that was returned to a memory pool after being used by another web services application executing on said device, and populating said second data structure with said second data without ever inserting said second data structure into said cache;

receiving, at the particular web services application, a request for particular data;

in response to receiving the request for particular data, the particular web services application determining whether the particular data is contained in the cache of the particular web services application; and

in response to the particular web services application determining that the particular data is contained in the cache, the particular web services application responding to the request with the particular data that is contained in the cache.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the particular web services application executes on an image-forming device.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the steps further comprise:

determining whether a specified amount of time has passed since a last time that the particular web services application has received a message;

in response to determining that the specified amount of time has passed since the last time, causing the particular web services application to free at least a portion of memory that is allocated to one or more data structures that the particular web services application uses, thereby making the portion of memory available to one or more other web services applications;

in response to determining that the specified amount of time has passed since the last time, causing the particular web services application to enter a sleep mode in which the particular web services application remains idle until the particular web services application receives a signal.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the steps further comprise:

determining whether the particular web services application has received the signal; and

in response to determining that the particular web services application has received the signal, (a) causing the particular web services application to exit the sleep mode and (b) causing the particular web services application to allocate memory for one or more data structures.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the steps further comprise:

determining whether free memory resources of a device on which the particular web services application executes have fallen below a specified threshold; and

in response to determining that the free memory resources of the device have fallen below the specified threshold, freeing at least a portion of memory that is occupied by data structures that are used by the particular web services application.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the step of freeing the portion of memory comprises:

determining one or more data structures that have been assigned a lowest priority among priorities assigned to data structures that are used by the particular web services application; and

freeing memory that is occupied by the one or more data structures that have been assigned the lowest priority without freeing memory that is occupied by other data structures that are used by the particular web services application.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the step of freeing the portion of memory comprises:

selecting, from among a set of data structures that are being used by a plurality of web services applications, a particular data structure that is occupying a largest amount of memory among the set of data structures;

determining which web services application of the plurality of web services applications is using the particular data structure; and

in response to determining that the particular web services application is using the particular data structure, asking the particular web services application to free at least a portion of memory that the particular data structure occupies.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the steps further comprise:

the memory pool manager receiving, from the particular web services application, a request for a data structure of a particular type;

the memory pool manager determining whether a memory pool currently contains an allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application; and

in response to determining that the memory pool currently contains a particular allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application, the memory pool manager returning the particular allocated data structure to the particular web services application.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the steps further comprise:

the memory pool manager receiving, from the particular web services application, a request for a data structure of a particular type;

the memory pool manager determining whether a memory pool currently contains an allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application; and

in response to determining that the memory pool does not currently contain an allocated data structure that is (a) of the particular type and (b) not currently being used by any web services application, the memory pool manager allocating, from free memory, a particular data structure that is of the particular type and returning the particular data structure to the particular web services application.