JPH0214325A - Contract distributing system for program products - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent unfair distribution by keeping a table to control the identifier of a terminal, whose usage is allowed, in a computer in the distributing side of a program concerning the program to need use contract. CONSTITUTION:When a program sending request is received, the program control table is read from a storing file 6 and whether the designated program exists or not is checked in a first column 11 and a second column 12 of the program control table. When there is no designated program, such a condition is announced to a requesting person. On the other hand, when there is the designated program, the third column of the program control table is checked and it is checked whether a forwarding start date is reached or not. When the forwarding start date is reached, the contract terminal control table of a name, which is designated in the fourth column, is read from the file 6 and the first column is checked. Then, it is investigated whether there is the terminal name of a requesting source or not. After that, when there is the name, the designated program is sent.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a distribution method for programs that require a usage contract, in which a program is distributed only to the terminals of users who are permitted to use the program. This invention relates to a program product contract distribution method suitable for.

[Conventional technology]

Programs used in terminals were obtained from the manufacturer on a medium such as a floppy disk or magnetic tape after a usage contract was concluded between the user and the manufacturer, and the program was installed in the terminal.

Furthermore, in terms of simply distributing programs, there is a method of distributing programs online between a computer and a terminal via a network. Regarding this, for example, rFA
cOM3800 remote maintenance system J (
FUJITSU, 36°6, PP, 593-600 (
1985)).

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, such conventional methods have the following problems.

That is, installing a program using a floppy disk or magnetic tape requires a lot of effort to operate, and at the same time, it is troublesome to manage the media.

Furthermore, when online distribution of programs is applied to the distribution of programs for which usage contracts have been signed, control is required so that the programs can be distributed only to user terminals with which usage contracts have been signed. In addition, if a program is simultaneously distributed to user terminals with which a usage contract has been signed, the control of whether or not to send the program will be controlled depending on the power on/off state of the user terminal and the usage status. Since this has to be done on a unit-by-unit basis, the processing on the program distribution side becomes complicated.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems, and to distribute a program for which a usage contract has been signed between a manufacturer and a user only to the user's terminal, and prevent the program from being distributed to other terminals. The objective is to provide a suitable method for

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention saves the names of programs that require a usage contract in a management table, and stores, for each program, the identifier of the user terminal that has signed a usage contract for that program in the management table, and connects online. When a request for program distribution is received from a user terminal that has been registered, the program management table and the contracted terminal list management table are checked, and after confirming that the user has a usage contract in advance, the user terminal is The program will be sent to.

[Effect]

By storing the identifiers of user terminals that have signed a program use contract in a management table (contract terminal list management table), when a request for program distribution is received from a user terminal connected online, contract terminal list management is possible. By checking the table, it is possible to determine whether or not the user terminal has entered into a contract to use the program, thereby making it possible to prevent the program from being distributed to user terminals other than those with which the contract has been made. In addition, since processing is performed based on the user's request for delivery, there is no need for the sender to check the status of the requester, such as the power on/off status, reducing the number of retries for distribution depending on the reception status of the user terminal. This simplifies processing on the sending computer.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a system according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a management table for programs that require permission to use according to the present invention, and Figure 3 is a terminal that has a usage contract according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the processing procedure of the present invention.

In Figure 1, 1 is a computer that manages programs that require usage contracts and distributes programs to user terminals; In addition to requesting the sending of the program that has been exchanged, it also processes the reception of the program. Reference numeral 4 denotes a network connecting the computer 1 and the terminal devices 2 and 3, such as a specific line or an extra line.

5 is a program library for storing and managing programs that require usage contracts; 66 is a file that stores a table that manages a list of programs that require usage contracts. Reference numeral 7 is a file that stores a table that manages the identifiers of terminals with which usage contracts have been concluded for each program. Reference numerals 68 and 9 are files that store programs received from the computer 1 in each terminal device.

In FIG. 2, the first column stores the name of the program that requires a usage contract. The second column stores the program version. The third column stores the program shipping start date. The fourth column corresponds to each program.
Saves the name of the table that stores the identifiers of terminals that have signed a contract to use the program.

In FIG. 3, the first column stores the terminal name of the user who has signed a usage contract. The second column stores the contract start date. The third column stores an identifier indicating whether the program has been distributed. For example, 1 means distributed, and 0 means undistributed.

Next, processing related to program distribution will be explained based on the flowchart of FIG.

This process is started in response to a program distribution request from the terminal devices 2 and 3.

First, a program sending request is received (step 101).
). Next, the program management table (Figure 2) is read from the program management table storage file (6) (
102), the first column (11) of the program management table (Figure 2) indicates whether the specified program exists or not.
Check in the second column (12) (103). If the specified program does not exist, the requester is notified of this fact and 104) this process ends. If the specified program exists, 3 in the program management table (Figure 2)
The column number (13) is checked to see if the shipping start date has been reached (105). If the shipping start date has not yet been reached, the requester is notified of this fact and 106) this process is ended. If the shipping start date has been reached, the contract terminal management table (Fig. 3) with the name specified in the fourth column (14) of the program management table (Fig. 2) is saved in the contract terminal management table storage file (6 ) (107). The first column of the contract terminal management table (FIG. 3) is checked to see if the name of the requesting terminal is present (108).

If the name of the requesting terminal is not found in the contract terminal management table (FIG. 3), the requesting terminal is notified that there is no contract for the use of the program (109), and the process ends. If the requester's terminal name is in the contract terminal management table (Figure 3), check the second column of the table to find out whether the contract start date has been reached (110)
. If the contract start date has not yet been reached, the requester is notified to that effect (111), and this process ends. If the contract start date has been reached, copy the specified program from the program library (5) and send it to the requesting terminal (
112). Next, write a 1 indicating distributed in the third column of the contract terminal management table (Fig. 3), and store this contract terminal management table (Fig. 3) in the contract terminal management table storage file. Finish the process.

According to this embodiment, the program can be distributed only to terminals with which a usage contract has been signed among the terminals for which the program has been requested, thereby preventing the program from being distributed to terminals other than the user terminals with which the contract has been signed. be able to. In addition, since the program is sent only to the device in question when a program is requested, there is no need for the program distribution side to control the device's power on/off status or usage status, making the process easier. Become.

The above embodiment assumes that a usage contract is entered into between the program distributor and its users, but it may also be possible, for example, to grant permission to use a specific program to different departments within the same company. Applicable.

In addition, in Figure 1, the relay subcomputer (1
0) will be installed. Furthermore, this subcomputer (10
) has a program library (11) for storing programs that require usage contracts, a program management table storage file (12), and a contract terminal management table storage file (13). This subcomputer is installed in each district, and programs are sent in batches from the computer (1) to the subcomputers installed in each district, and stored in a program library (11).

A list of program names stored in the program library (11) is saved in the program management table storage file (12) of the subcomputer (10). Additionally, information regarding only user terminals under the jurisdiction of the subcomputer (10) is stored in the contract terminal management table storage file. At this time, each user terminal (2, 3) requests the subcomputer (10) to distribute the program.

The subcomputer checks the program management table stored in the program management table storage file (12) and the contract terminal management table stored in the contract terminal management table storage file (13), and determines whether the user is a user who has a usage contract in advance. After confirming that the program exists, the program is sent to the user's terminal. As a result, especially when user terminals are installed over a wide geographical area or when there are a large number of user terminals, it is possible to use multiple subcomputers without placing a processing load on only computer (1). It is expected that the response performance will be improved by being distributed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, for a program that requires a usage contract, a table that manages the identifiers of terminals that are permitted to use the program is stored in a computer on the program distribution side, and when a request for program distribution is received from a user's terminal. At the time,
These can be checked and the program can be distributed only to user terminals with which a usage contract has been concluded in advance, so it is possible to prevent the program from being distributed to terminals other than those with which a usage contract has been concluded, and the requester is able to receive it. Since the program can be sent on the assumption that it is, processing on the program distribution side becomes easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of a management table for programs that require permission to use according to the present invention, Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of a management table for the identifiers of terminals that have signed a usage contract according to the present invention, and Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of a management table for programs that require usage permission according to the present invention. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure. 1... Computer. 2...Terminal.・Terminal. network. First explanation? National map No. 4Z

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A management table that stores the names of programs that require a usage contract and a management table that stores the identifiers of terminals that are permitted to use each program are stored on the computer of the program distribution side, and Contract distribution of program products characterized in that, in accordance with a program distribution request, the program is distributed only to the user terminal after checking these tables and confirming that the user terminal has a usage contract in advance. method.