CN102222007A - Installation method of application software - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for installing application software is applicable to a host. The host includes an internal storage device having a read-only file system. The method for installing application software includes the following steps. First, the host is connected to an external storage device. The external storage device has a read-write file system. Next, it is determined whether the external storage device has an identification data. When the external storage device has the identification data, the read-only file system and the read-write file system are merged into a virtual file system. Afterwards, according to an installation instruction, an application software is installed in the virtual file system.

Description

How to install the application software

technical field

The invention relates to a method for processing application software, and in particular to a method for installing application software.

Background technique

As we all know, an operating system is a program that manages computer hardware and software resources, and is also the core of a computer device. The operating system is responsible for basic tasks such as managing and configuring the network and managing the file system, and also provides an operation interface for the user to interact with the system. In order to meet the needs of daily work or entertainment, users often install various application software in the operating system, such as word processing software, games and so on. In addition, when a loophole or a bug is found in the system or application software, the user also needs to improve it by patching the file or installing a new version.

However, for security or other considerations, some operating systems use a read-only file system (file system), and do not allow users to install additional application software or update the system. In such an operating system, when a user wishes to update the system, the original operating system can only be overwritten by downloading an entire image file, which is quite inconvenient. In addition, although users can download some portable versions of application software to the flash drive for use, not all application software provide portable versions, so they cannot fully meet the needs of users.

Contents of the invention

The invention provides an installation method of application software, which can install the application software into the operating system of the read-only file system structure by a general installation method.

The invention proposes a method for installing application software, which is suitable for a host. The host includes an internal storage device with a read-only file system. A method for installing application software includes the following steps. First, connect the host computer to an external storage device. The external storage device has a readable and writable file system. Next, it is judged whether the external storage device has an identification data. When the external storage device has identification data, the read-only file system and the read-write file system are combined into a virtual file system. Afterwards, an application software is installed to the virtual file system according to an installation instruction.

In an embodiment of the present invention, before the step of merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into a virtual file system, the application software installation method further includes the following steps. According to a merging strategy, it is determined whether the internal storage device is preferentially read or the external storage device is preferentially read.

In an embodiment of the present invention, before the step of determining whether the internal storage device is preferentially read or the external storage device is preferentially read according to the merging strategy, the application software installation method further includes the following steps. Accepts a user command to specify a merge strategy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step of merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into a virtual file system includes the following steps. If it is determined that the internal storage device is read first, the directory is merged based on the read-only file system. If it is determined that the external storage device is read first, then the directory is merged based on the readable and writable file system. Afterwards, mount the merged directory to the root of the read-only filesystem.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method for installing application software further includes the following steps. Firstly, a read command is received to read a file in a designated directory. Next, it is judged whether the specified directory and the file exist in the read-only file system and the read-write file system at the same time. When the specified directory and file exist in both the read-only file system and the read-write file system, it is determined to read the file from the read-only file system or the read-write file system according to the merge strategy.

In an embodiment of the present invention, before the step of merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into a virtual file system, the installation method of the application software further includes the following steps. The root directories of the read-only file system and the read-write file system are respectively mounted to an original root directory and an extended root directory, so as to utilize the original root directory and the extended root directory for merging.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the identification data is a specific file or a specific tag name.

Based on the above, the present invention combines the read-only file system of the internal storage device and the readable and writable file system of the external storage device into a virtual file system, so that application software can be installed on a limited system, which is quite convenient.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a host connected to an external storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for installing application software applied to the host in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an application software installation method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of reading and writing a virtual file system extended from the application software installation method in FIG. 2 .

[Description of main component symbols]

50: external storage device

100: Host

110: internal storage device

S110～S140, S210～S280, S310～S400: steps

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a host connected to an external storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to FIG. 1 , the host 100 includes an internal storage device 110 adapted to be connected to an external storage device 50 . The internal storage device 110 has a read-only file system. The external storage device 50 has a readable and writable file system. In this embodiment, the internal storage device 110 is, for example, a hard disk, and can store an operating system, while the external storage device 50 can be a flash drive with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, but they are not limited thereto. .

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for installing application software applied to the host in FIG. 1 . Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. First, step S110 is performed to connect the host 100 to the external storage device 50. At this time, the host 100 receives a hotplug signal and completes the installation of the external storage device 50 . Next, step S120 is performed to determine whether the external storage device 50 has an identification data. The host 100 can determine whether to merge the external storage device 50 with the internal storage device 110 according to the identification data. In this embodiment, the identification data is a specific file or a specific label name (labelname). Taking the specific file as an example, the specific file can be stored in a preset directory. If the host 100 reads that the specific file exists in the preset directory, it judges that the external storage device 50 has identification data.

When the external storage device 50 has the identification data, proceed to step S130 to merge the read-only file system and the read-write file system into a virtual file system. At this time, for the user, only the file structure of the virtual file system can be seen. Afterwards, step S140 is performed to install an application software to the virtual file system according to an installation instruction. That is to say, the user can execute the installation command to install the downloaded application software into the virtual file system, which is no different from the general way of installing application software.

It is worth mentioning that even if the file system of the internal storage device 110 is read-only, the user can also install it through the general software installation method, and there is no need to bother to find a portable version, which is quite convenient. In addition, when you do not want to use the newly installed application software, you only need to remove the external storage device 50, and the system will restore to its original state, and then connect the external storage device 50 when you want to use the newly installed application software.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an application software installation method according to another embodiment of the present invention. For convenience of description, the flow chart of FIG. 3 will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 1 . First, step S210 is performed to connect the host 100 to the external storage device 50 . Next, step S220 is performed to determine whether the external storage device 50 has identification data. When the external storage device 50 does not have identification data, proceed to step S230 to mount the readable and writable file system as a normal file system. When the external storage device 50 has the identification data, proceed to step S240 to mount the root directories of the read-only file system and the read-write file system to an original root directory and an extended root directory respectively.

Then proceed to step S250, accepting a user instruction to designate a merging strategy. Then proceed to step S260 , according to the merging strategy, it is determined whether the internal storage device 110 is preferentially read or the external storage device 50 is preferentially read. Although the merging strategy in this embodiment is specified by the user, in another unillustrated embodiment, the merging strategy can also be pre-set to give priority to the internal storage device 110 or the external storage device 50 to read first. Take, not limited to this.

Then proceed to step S270, merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into a virtual file system. In this embodiment, step S270 may include sub-steps S272-S278. First, step S272 is performed to determine whether the inline storage device 110 is preferentially read. If it is judged that the external storage device 50 is read first, proceed to step S274, and merge the directories based on the readable and writable file system. However, if it is judged that the inline storage device 110 reads preferentially, proceed to step S276, and merge directories based on the read-only file system. Then proceed to step S278, mount the merged directory to the root directory of the read-only file system. After step 270 is completed, step S280 can be performed to install an application software to the virtual file system according to an installation command.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of reading and writing a virtual file system extended from the application software installation method in FIG. 2 . Please refer to FIG. 4 , step S310 is firstly performed to read/write the virtual file system. Then proceed to step S320, to determine whether to read a file. If not, go to step S330 to receive a write command to write the file into the readable and writable file system. If yes, proceed to step S340 to receive a read command to read a file in a designated directory. Then proceed to step S350 to determine whether the specified directory and file exist in both the read-only file system and the read-write file system. If not, go to step S360, and read the file from the read-only file system or the read-write file system according to the location of the file. If yes, go to step S370, and decide to read the file from the read-only file system or the read-write file system according to the merge strategy. Then proceed to step S380 , according to the merge strategy, it is determined whether to read the inline storage device 110 preferentially. If not, go to step S390 to read the file from the readable and writable file system. If yes, go to step S400 to read the file from the read-only file system.

Furthermore, through the selection of the merging strategy, the reading order of the internal storage device 110 and the external storage device 50 can be changed to produce different effects. If the internal storage device 110 is set to be read first, the original system will not be affected, making the system more stable and safe. In contrast, the files existing in the internal storage device 110 cannot be upgraded; but if the external storage device 50 is set to be read preferentially, the system can be more flexible, so that the user can overwrite the internal storage device 110 document. For example, software in the system connected to the storage device 110 can be upgraded. Relatively, overwriting the files of the internal storage device 110 may also cause the system to be unstable.

In this way, the user can decide the merging strategy according to the usage situation, so that the system can have both program installation flexibility and system stability.

To sum up, the present invention combines the read-only file system of the internal storage device and the readable and writable file system of the external storage device into a virtual file system, so that application software can be installed on a limited system. In this way, the user not only does not need to download a special version of application software, but also does not need to update the system by overwriting the system with an image file, which is very convenient.

Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, so the protection of the present invention The scope is to be determined as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. A method for installing application software is suitable for a host, the host includes an internal storage device with a read-only file system, and the method for installing application software includes: connecting the host to an external storage device, wherein the external storage device has a readable and writable file system; judging whether the external storage device has an identification data; When the external storage device has the identification data, merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into a virtual file system; and According to an installation instruction, an application software is installed to the virtual file system. 2. The installation method of application software as claimed in claim 1, wherein before the step of merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into the virtual file system, further comprising: According to a merging strategy, it is determined whether the internal storage device is preferentially read or the external storage device is preferentially read. 3. The method for installing application software as claimed in claim 2, wherein before the step of determining the priority reading of the internal storage device or the priority reading of the external storage device according to the merging strategy, further comprising: Accept a user command to specify the merge strategy. 4. The installation method of application software as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into the virtual file system comprises: If it is determined that the internal storage device is read first, the directory is merged based on the read-only file system; If it is determined that the external storage device is read first, the directory is merged based on the readable and writable file system; and Mount the merged directory to the root of the read-only filesystem. 5. The installation method of application software as claimed in claim 2, further comprising: receiving a read command to read a file in a designated directory; judging whether the specified directory and the file exist in the read-only file system and the read-write file system; and When the specified directory and the file exist in both the read-only file system and the read-write file system, it is determined to read the file from the read-only file system or the read-write file system according to the merge policy. 6. The installation method of application software as claimed in claim 1, wherein before the step of merging the read-only file system and the read-write file system into the virtual file system, further comprising: Mount the root directories of the read-only file system and the read-write file system to an original root directory and an extended root directory respectively, so as to merge the original root directory and the extended root directory. 7. The method for installing application software as claimed in claim 1, wherein the identification data is a specific file or a specific tag name.

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