JPH0578851B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a display device for a terminal device connected to a host computer, and in particular to a screen display for communication with the host computer and internal processing of the terminal, and a display device for business programs. Concerning a terminal state control method for execution.

[Conventional technology]

Many modern computer terminals have fairly sophisticated functionality, and so-called intelligent terminals are capable of independently performing fairly sophisticated data processing. Even among terminal devices that are relatively simple enough to be called intelligent terminals, there are few that have a certain degree of data processing function (for example, for pre-processing and post-processing of data sent and received) in addition to communication functions. do not have. Such a program for a data processing function different from a communication function in a terminal device is referred to as an intra-terminal business program in this specification.

In the above type of display terminal device, communication with a host computer and data processing using a business program within the terminal are often performed in parallel. In such a case, it is necessary to switch or divide the display screen and automatically start the business program. As prior art related to the above-mentioned display screen control in such a terminal device, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-180628, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-218545,
A technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 168142/1983 is known. However, the conventional technologies described in these publications are limited to display screen control in terminal devices,
Execution of business programs is performed manually by an operator, and no consideration has been given to automatic execution.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The above-mentioned conventional technology manually controls the switching of display screens and selects and starts business programs within the terminal, which not only makes the operator feel tedious, but also makes it difficult to quickly respond to changes in the situation. There was a problem in that the work efficiency was reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-use terminal device that automatically controls the display screen according to changes in communication processing and business processing conditions, and can also automatically execute a target business program. An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal state control method that can efficiently perform state transition in a communication terminal device.

[Means for solving problems]

A display control device to which the present invention is applied includes a detection circuit that detects the status of a host-to-host communication circuit and a terminal business program (status control data from the host computer), and controls the screen display according to the status detected by the detection circuit. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a screen control circuit that executes a program specified by state control data, and a business program control circuit that executes a program specified by state control data.

[Effect]

This detection circuit automatically changes the screen assignment according to changes in the status of the communication circuit and the internal business program, and also controls the status of the terminal set in the data received from the host computer. The screen is switched from the communication screen memory to the business program memory, and the program corresponding to the business program name present in the state control data is executed. As a result, the entire screen is allocated to the business program in the terminal while waiting for a response from the host computer, and then, when data has been received from the host computer, the entire screen is allocated to communication processing. When input to the internal business program begins, the screen is divided so that both communication with the host computer and the internal business program are partially displayed. Also, save the contents of the communication screen memory that is being displayed, then display the contents of the business program screen memory, select the passed business program name from the file device or business program storage memory, move it to the business program memory, and program it. Start execution.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the display terminal device of the present invention. In FIG. 1, this display terminal device communicates with a host computer via a communication line 1. In FIG. This communication is controlled by the communication control circuit 2, and the information received from the host computer and the information to be sent there are edited by the communication screen editing circuit 3 and then stored in the communication screen memory 4. The business program screen memory 9 functions as an interface between the terminal business program 11 executed within the business program memory 10 and the operator;
Via this business program screen memory 9, input/output, dialogue, etc. are performed between the operator and the terminal business program 10. The communication screen memory 4 and the business program screen memory 9 are logical screens for the communication function and the in-terminal business program 11, respectively. The screen control circuit 6 includes an access mechanism to the communication screen memory 4, business program screen memory 9, and display screen memory 5, and screen control in each display mode, that is, which area of the display screen memory 5 is assigned to the communication screen memory in each display mode. 4 or a screen control mechanism for instructing which area of the business program screen memory 9 corresponds, and according to the screen control corresponding to the specified display mode,
Data is transferred from the communication screen memory 4 or the business program screen memory 9 to the display screen memory 5.
This screen control circuit 6 itself may be essentially the same as a conventional one. The contents of the display screen memory 5 are displayed on a display device (CRT) 8.

Examples of display modes include a communication mode in which the entire contents of the communication screen memory 4 occupy the screen, a business mode in which the entire contents of the business program screen memory 9 occupy the screen, and a screen in which a portion of the contents of each memory is divided into two. It is possible to adopt a split mode in which each part of the image is displayed separately. The split mode is also
It includes several sub-modes, such as specifying the splitting ratio when splitting the screen and the area to be displayed in each memory. Further, the screen can also be controlled by a switching signal input from the keyboard 15 via the input control circuit 14.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing switching between communication mode and business mode. Business program screen memory 9 that occupied the entire area of display screen memory 5
This switching is realized by replacing the entire contents of the communication screen memory 4 with the entire contents of the communication screen memory 4, or vice versa.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing split mode display. Display in the split mode is performed by dividing the display screen memory 5 vertically or horizontally at an appropriate ratio.
This is realized by transferring a part of the contents of the communication screen memory 4 to one of them and a part of the contents of the business program screen memory 9 to the other.

The detection circuit 7 is a part of a state control mechanism that controls the mutual relationship between the states of the communication control circuit 2 and the in-terminal business program 11. Monitors the status (start, stop, execution, input/output, etc.) of the business program 10 in the terminal, and when the status changes, selects a predetermined display mode corresponding to the new combination of status, Instruct the screen control circuit 6.

Note that mode switching is also selected by the detection circuit 7 via the input control circuit 14 in response to a switching signal input from the keyboard 15.

Here, an example of a transition diagram of display modes is shown in FIG. First, an explanation of each mode will be shown below.

Communication mode 61 is when the operator uses the entire screen to send and receive data to and from the host computer, and is usually when no business program is being executed.

The business mode 62 is a time when the business program uses the entire screen for data input/output with the operator, and data transmission/reception with the host computer is not required.

The split mode 63 is an operation in which data transmission/reception with the host computer and data input/output with the business program occur simultaneously.

These display modes undergo mode transitions by switching screens, starting screen division, and canceling screen division as shown in 64 to 69 during data transmission/reception with the host computer or business program status. In this way, the screen control circuit 6 changes the contents of the display screen memory 5 according to the instructed display mode, thereby realizing switching of the display mode.

The correspondence between various combinations of states and display modes, as well as the details of the split mode and its sub-modes (split ratio, display area, etc.) may be fixedly set, or the operator may Alternatively, only the basic parts may be fixedly set, and the rest may be set and canceled as desired by the operator. Alternatively, the operator may be able to specify at any time what should be executed or prohibited within fixed settings. Regarding the division mode, a basic sub-mode may be predetermined, and the operator may change the division ratio and display portion by switching to another sub-mode or changing settings as necessary. The detection circuit 7 measures and compares the access frequency of the communication control circuit 2 and the terminal business program 10 to the communication screen memory 4 and the business program screen memory 9, and selects the communication mode or the business mode depending on which access frequency is higher. It may be determined as the base display mode.

Furthermore, it would be even more convenient if a conventional mechanism for directly switching the display mode at any time by keyboard operation is also provided. By allowing the operator to set or change the mode switching conditions and screen division conditions as described above, it is possible to easily adapt the screen management of the terminal device to any system operation mode.

FIG. 4 shows an example of display switching from communication mode to business mode. During the display period in the communication mode, the in-terminal business program 11 gives a command to the detection circuit 7 indicating that it should switch to the business mode once reception from the host computer has started. Eventually, when reception from the host computer starts, the detection circuit 7 detects the communication control circuit 2.
detects that the state of has changed to the receiving state, and instructs the screen control circuit 6 to switch to the business mode,
In accordance with this instruction, the screen control circuit 6 transfers the entire contents of the display screen memory 7 to the business program screen memory 9.
, thereby realizing a switch to business mode.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of switching from business mode to division mode. During the display period in the business mode, the in-terminal business program 11 gives a command to the detection circuit 7 indicating that it should switch to the split mode once reception from the host computer has started. Eventually, when the detection circuit 7 detects that the communication control circuit 2 has entered the receiving state, it notifies the screen control circuit 6 of switching to the split mode, and upon receiving this, the screen control circuit 6 stores the business program screen memory. The content of the left half area of 9 is copied to the right half area of the display screen memory 5, and the content of the left half area of the communication screen memory 4 is copied to the left half of the display screen memory 5, thereby switching to split mode. Realize the switch to Note that this example describes a case where the above-mentioned division format is predetermined as a basic submode in the division mode.

Further, in the basic mode, it is also possible to set the following events in advance.

(1) Set the display mode in advance according to date and time.

(2) Prioritize screen display by giving priority to the communication screen;
Alternatively, set business program screen priority and no priority.

(3) While displaying the business program screen, set up several lines of communication screen to display data from the host computer.

(4) If there is a change in screen data for a screen that is not being displayed, set it to notify the operator (for example, by sounding an alarm or displaying a message).

(5) Set the display mode so that it can be prohibited to change based on instructions from the operator.

Some examples of display mode switching other than those described above are shown below.

(1) When the terminal business program 11 is started,
Depending on the state of the communication control circuit 2, the business mode or the division mode is selected. For example, if the communication control circuit 2 is at rest or waiting for a response, it is in the business mode, and in other cases, it is in the division mode.

(2) If the internal business program 11 in the terminal is in the input/output state, in principle it maintains at least the split mode. However, when the communication control circuit 2 completes reception, the following (4) takes priority.

(3) When the in-terminal business program 11 stops, switch to communication mode.

(4) When the communication control circuit 2 has finished receiving data from the host computer, it switches to communication mode. If the in-terminal business program 11 is using the business program screen memory 9 at that time, a message indicating that data has been received from the host computer is displayed on an appropriate part of the display screen.

(5) During the period from when the communication control circuit 2 finishes transmitting data to the host computer until it receives a response, the business mode is maintained as long as the internal business program 11 in the terminal is in an active state.

Furthermore, the display mode can also be changed by issuing the following commands directly from the business program 11 to the screen control circuit 6.

(1) Screen switching command: Instructs to switch screens.

(2) Screen splitting command: Instructs to split the screen.

(3) Division position setting command...Instructs the division position.

(4) Screen status command...Learn what status the screen is in.

The detection circuit 7 determines whether or not there is state control data in the received information received from the host computer, and if there is state control data, the screen control circuit 6
Instructs to switch screens. After this screen switching, the detection circuit 7 gives the business program name and execution parameters included in the state control data to the business program control circuit 12, and
instruct the execution of

Next, a flowchart showing the processing of the detection circuit 7 is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 9, display control is performed by detecting the following states, and the detected states and display control contents can be specified in advance by the business program and the operator.

Status control data is received from the host computer (steps 102 to 108).

Start the business program (step 109)
~113).

Finish the business program (step 114,
115).

Data is transmitted to the host computer (steps 116 and 117).

Data is received from the host computer (steps 118-121).

The business program is in a key-in waiting state (steps 122 to 125).

The business program control circuit 12 loads the designated business program 11 stored in the business program storage memory 13 into the business program memory 10 based on the given business program name and execution parameters, and changes the execution parameters to the business program memory 10. The information is given to the program 11 to cause the business program 11 to be executed. The business program 11 loaded into the business program memory 10 inputs and outputs data to and from the business program screen memory 9 and interfaces with the operator to execute the business program.

The business program storage memory 13 is a memory device that stores a business program to be executed within the terminal device, and is composed of a magnetic disk device, a read-only memory, and the like. As shown in FIG. 6, the business programs in the business program storage memory 13 are stored separately in a header section that stores information about the business programs and a main body section that stores the business programs themselves. The header section is made up of the name of the business program existing in the main body section, a pointer indicating the location thereof, and information indicating the size of the business program. The information in these header sections is used by the business program control circuit 12 to transfer the business program instructed by the host computer to the business program memory 1.
Used to load to 0.

The operation of loading the aforementioned business program into the business program memory in the business program control circuit 12 is shown in the flowchart of FIG.
Next, an example of the operation of the business program control circuit 12 will be explained according to this flowchart.

The business program control circuit 12 obtains the business program name and execution parameters from the detection circuit 7, then reads the header section of the business program storage memory 13, and enters the business program name given from the detection circuit 7 into the business program name in the header section. Check whether there is a match with the program name (step 81~
83).

If there is no matching business program, the business program name and execution parameters given from the detection circuit 7 are discarded without doing anything. If there is a match. Obtain the pointer and size information of the main body section in which the business program is stored based on the information in the header section, and load the main body section of the specified business program from the business program storage memory 13 into the business program memory 10 ( step 84,
85).

Thereafter, the business program control device executes the business program 1 loaded into the business program memory 10.
1 and passes execution parameters to the business program 11 to start execution of the business program 11 (steps 86 and 87).

In the state control in the terminal device mentioned above,
FIG. 9 shows the format of state control data sent from the host computer to the terminal device for switching the display screen and starting the business program in the terminal device. The state control data includes an id part indicating that this data is state control data, an ll part (length part) indicating the length of the entire state control data below the id part, and a screen switching instruction part following this. ,
It consists of a business program name part and an execution parameter part. The screen switching instruction section indicates how to switch the display screen, and the instruction is "0" to do nothing, "1" to switch from communication screen memory to business program screen memory 9, and "1" to switch from communication screen memory to business program screen memory 9. 2"
instructs switching from the business program screen memory 9 to the communication screen memory 4, respectively. The business program name part is the name of the business program, e.g. A, B.
A fixed-length block that stores things such as ``...'', etc., and spaces are added to the remaining portions. The execution parameter section is a variable length block in which a plurality of parameters such as P1, P2, etc. necessary for starting the business program are stored.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the display mode is automatically switched and the business program is executed in response to a change in the state, which saves the operator's effort and reduces the chance of erroneous operation. As a result, the display terminal becomes easier to use and the processing efficiency of the system is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic diagrams showing examples of display modes, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing how to switch display modes in the device shown in FIG. A schematic diagram showing an example, FIG. 6 is a mode transition diagram of the display screen, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the format of the business program storage memory, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the business program control circuit.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of state control data passed from the host computer to the terminal device, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the detection circuit. 1...Communication line, 2...Communication control circuit, 7...
Detection circuit, 3... Communication screen editing circuit, 4... Communication screen memory, 6... Screen display control circuit, 5... Display screen memory, 9... Business program screen memory, 10... Business program memory, 11... ...Business program, 13...Business program storage memory, 12...Business program control circuit, 14...
Input control circuit, 8...CRT display device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A terminal device connected to a host device and having a display device that displays the contents of a display screen memory,
a first means for controlling communication with the host device;
a second controller that controls a business program in the terminal device;
means, third means for switching the screen display mode based on information from the first means and the second means, and a third means for displaying information on the display device according to instructions from the third means. A terminal state control system characterized by comprising the means described in item 4. 2. The first means has a communication control circuit and a communication screen memory, and in response to a change occurring in the communication control circuit, notifies the third means of the change and also updates the communication screen memory. The second means has a business program control circuit and a business program screen memory, and in response to a change in the business program control circuit, the third means sets information to be displayed. At the same time, information to be displayed is set in the business program screen memory, the third means switches the display mode to communication mode, business mode, or split mode, and the fourth means is a screen control circuit. A claim characterized in that the invention further comprises a display screen memory, and at least part of the contents of the communication screen memory and the business program screen memory are transferred to the display screen memory according to the display mode of the third means. The terminal state control method according to item 1. 3. The terminal state control method according to claim 2, wherein the third means switches between the communication mode and the business mode based on the access frequency of the communication screen memory and the business program screen memory. 4. The terminal state control system according to claim 2, wherein the third means changes the display mode based on a command instruction from a business program. 5. The terminal state control system according to claim 2, wherein the third means changes the display mode based on input instructions from a keyboard. 6. Claim 6, characterized in that the fourth means transfers the contents of the communication screen memory and the business program screen memory to the display screen memory according to a predetermined division ratio. 2
Terminal state control method described in section. 7. The method according to claim 2, wherein the fourth means transfers the contents of the communication screen memory and the business program screen memory to a prespecified area of the display screen memory. Terminal state control method.