TW201516703A - Method for processing network event and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for processing a network event and an electronic device using the method are provided. The method includes: detecting at least one network event, and generating at least one network interrupt signal in response to the at least one network event; determining to process the at least one network event immediately or later according to a generation frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal and an operation state of an application corresponding to the at least one network event.

Description

Network event processing method and electronic device

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to a network event processing method and an electronic device using the same.

In order to make the computer system work more efficiently and reduce the time that the computer system maintains the high-performance mode, some work scheduling mechanisms and power-saving mechanisms have been proposed. For example, in the existing work scheduling mechanism, in order to prevent the computer system from repeatedly switching between high performance and sleep mode due to receiving intermittent network events, some sporadic or less important network events may occur. It is temporarily stored and then processed by the system through the high-performance mode at a later time.

However, there are no clear mechanisms for confirming which network events are sporadic or relatively insignificant. In particular, modern people are far more dependent on the Internet than in the past. If network events are managed more efficiently, it will certainly help the computer system's operational efficiency and/or power-saving ability.

In view of this, the present invention provides a network event processing method and an electronic device, which can determine whether a network event needs to be executed immediately, and make a judgment that meets actual needs.

The invention provides a network event processing method, which is suitable for an electronic device. The method includes: detecting at least one network event, and generating at least one network interrupt signal in response to the network event; and an application corresponding to the network event according to a frequency of generating the network interrupt signal The operational status determines the immediate or delayed processing of the network event.

The invention further provides an electronic device comprising a network interface module and a processing module. The network interface module is configured to detect at least one network event and generate at least one network interrupt signal in response to the network event. The processing module is coupled to the network interface module, and is configured to determine the network event to be processed immediately or delayed according to the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal and the operating state of the application corresponding to the network event. .

Based on the above, the network event processing method of the present invention and the electronic device using the method can decide whether to process the network immediately or delay according to the detected network event and the application currently running by the electronic device. Road event. This allows for optimal management of network events for network behavior and application behavior.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

10‧‧‧Electronic devices

11‧‧‧Network Interface Module

12‧‧‧Processing module

122‧‧‧Connected interface control module

124‧‧‧Power Management Module

126‧‧‧ core processing module

31_1~31_6‧‧‧Internet events

32_1~32_6‧‧‧System Interrupt Event

33‧‧‧dotted line

T1~T6‧‧‧ time point

S602, S604‧‧‧ steps of a network event processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

2 is a schematic diagram of a network event and a time axis according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the working state of the system before finishing according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a collated network event and time axis according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a collated network event and time axis according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a network event processing method according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the electronic device 10 can be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, an electronic book, a game machine, or a tablet PC. ), notebooks (notebooks), desktop computers, and other electronic devices with computing and network connectivity.

The electronic device 10 includes a network interface module 11 and a processing module 12. network The interface module 11 can include various (network) network interface cards (NICs) and wireless network interface cards (wireless NICs) and other network interface modules for providing network connection functions. For example, if the network interface module 11 includes a (wired) network interface card, the electronic device 10 can be connected to the Internet or the rest of the electronic device through the network interface module 11 in a wired manner. In addition, if the network interface module 11 includes a wireless network interface card, the electronic device 10 can be wirelessly connected to the Internet or the rest of the electronic device through the network interface module 11. For example, the electronic device 10 can use the third generation mobile communication technology (3rd-Generation, 3G), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), or Bluetooth (BT) supported by the network interface module 11. The communication protocol is connected to the Internet or the rest of the electronic device, and the invention is not limited thereto.

The network interface module 11 can detect a network event and generate a network interrupt signal in response to the detected network event. For example, each time a network event is detected, the network interface module 11 generates a network interrupt signal. The network events mentioned herein include events in which the network interface module 11 receives network packets from the Internet. Alternatively, in an embodiment, the network event may further include an event that the electronic device 10 wants to send a network packet to the Internet or other electronic devices through the network interface module 11, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

The processing module 12 is coupled to the network interface module 11. The processing module 12 can obtain the frequency of generation of the network interrupt signal. For example, assume that the network interface module 11 detects N network events within a predetermined time range and reacts to the N network event. The processing module 12 can count the number of the N network interrupt signals, and obtain the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal according to the preset time range and the value of N. The preset time range is, for example, any time range between 0.1 milliseconds and 10 seconds, which is not limited by the present invention, and N is a positive integer.

In this embodiment, the processing module 12 can run more than one operating system (OS). For example, Microsoft Windows operating system or iOS, etc., the invention is not limited thereto. There are multiple applications running in the operating system, and each application's current operating state can be divided into a foreground operating state or a background operating state. The foreground operating state indicates that an application is currently being operated by the user, and the operating window of the application is displayed, for example, on the uppermost layer of the user interface (UI) of the electronic device 10 for viewing by the user. However, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, after a certain type of application is executed, even if its operation window is not displayed on the uppermost layer of the user interface of the electronic device 10, the application is continuously executed as long as the application is not stopped. It is considered to be in the foreground operating state. For example, various multimedia players for playing movies and/or music, and the like. In particular, for applications that are in the foreground operating state, if the application is used to execute any processing program that is highly relevant to the network (for example, playing online audio and video), as long as the network is slightly delayed (delay), Both can seriously affect the user's experience of operating this application.

Relative to the foreground operating state, the background operating state indicates that an application is not currently being operated by the user, and since the user does not currently need to operate it, the operating window of the application usually does not need to be displayed on the electronic device. The top layer of the user interface of 10. However, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, after a certain type of application is executed, regardless of whether its operation window is displayed on the uppermost layer of the user interface of the electronic device 10, the application is continuously regarded as being in the background operation state. For example, a download program for downloading files in the background, and the like. In particular, for applications that are in background operation state (for example, download programs that download programs in the background), users usually do not pay special attention to their performance and network fluency at a certain point in time. Within the allowable range, a small amount of network latency usually does not significantly affect the user's perception of operating the application.

In this embodiment, the network event has a very high probability of being corresponding to the application currently running by the processing module 12. For example, when a user uses an application that is in a foreground operating state, such as a browser, to play online video or perform a process that is highly correlated with network performance, the network event detected by the network interface module 11 at this time. There is a high probability that the network interface module 11 is receiving online video streams provided by the online video server over the Internet. In addition, when the user downloads data from the Internet using an application in a background operation state such as a download program or executes any processing program that does not directly affect the user, the network interface module 11 detects the content at this time. There is a high probability that the network event is that the network interface module 11 is receiving the downloaded data provided by the online storage server over the Internet. Alternatively, the network packet of a network event may also have a specific tag that can be used to identify the corresponding application.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the processing module 12 can obtain the operating state of the currently running application through the operating system running thereon, and further according to the network. The frequency of the channel interrupt signal and the operating state of the application determine whether the network event detected by the network interface module 11 is to be processed immediately or delayed.

For example, in this embodiment, when the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the operating state of the application corresponding to the network event is the foreground operating state, the processing module 12 may determine immediately Handle detected network events. For example, in the above example, in order to determine whether the frequency of the network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to the preset frequency, the processing module 12 can determine the network detected by the network interface module 11 within the preset time range. Whether the number N of road events is greater than or equal to a threshold value. If N is greater than or equal to the threshold, the processing module 12 determines that the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to the preset frequency.

In addition, when the processing module 12 determines to immediately process the detected network event, the processing module 12 not only processes the network event that has been received (eg, stored in the register of the electronic device 10) but has not yet been processed ( For example, if the electronic device 10 is in a low-efficiency mode and other power-saving state, the processing module 12 can also switch the electronic device 10 to the high-performance mode immediately or according to the user's selection to improve The processing performance of the electronic device 10 and the processing module 12.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, in addition to the above situation (that is, the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the operating state of the application corresponding to the network event is the foreground operating state), The processing module 12 can determine the network event detected by the delay processing. For example, when the frequency of the network interrupt signal is not greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the operating state of the application corresponding to the network event is not the foreground operating state, the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal is not greater than or equal to the preset. Frequency, and the operating state of the application corresponding to the network event is the foreground operating state, or the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the operating state of the application corresponding to the network event is not the foreground operation. In the state, the processing module 12 can determine the network event detected by the processing.

That is, if the electronic device 10 and/or the processing module 12 are currently in a power-saving state such as standby, hibernation, or low-performance mode, the present invention can respond to the network traffic according to the currently detected network traffic. The operating state of the application determines whether to switch the electronic device 10 and/or the processing module 12 to a normal or high performance mode. In particular, in this embodiment, only the network traffic detected in a specific time range exceeds or equals a threshold (that is, the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to a preset frequency), and corresponds to When the operating state of the application of the network traffic is the foreground operating state, the processing module 12 needs to switch the electronic device 10 and/or the processing module 12 to a normal or high-performance mode, for example, to process the network in real time. event. Conversely, if the detected network traffic is less than a threshold in a certain time range (ie, the network interrupt signal is generated less than a predetermined frequency), and/or an application corresponding to the network traffic If the operating state is not the foreground operating state, the processing module 12 temporarily does not change the operating mode of the electronic device 10 and/or the processing module 12 (ie, maintains the power saving state), and delays processing of the detected network event. .

After the processing module 12 determines to delay the detected network event, in this embodiment, the processing module 12 waits for the next system break event. Then, when the processing module 12 detects a system interrupt event, the processing module 12 can process the received but unprocessed network events. Mentioned here The system interrupt event is, for example, an interrupt event that is periodically generated by the processing module 12 in accordance with a clock. Alternatively, in an embodiment, the system interruption event may also be a specific network event corresponding to the network packet received by the electronic device 10 periodically from the specific server through the Internet, and the like, which is not limited by the present invention. That is to say, through the system interrupt event generated periodically, the processing module 12 will process the unprocessed network events at the latest when the next system interrupt event arrives, thereby avoiding excessive accumulation of unprocessed network events. And the network performance is too poor and so on.

For example, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network event and a time axis according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, it is assumed that the network interface module 11 detects the network event 31_1 before the time point T1; during the time point T1~T2, the network interface module 11 detects the network event 31_2; Between the time points T2 and T3, the network interface module 11 detects the network event 31_3; between time points T3 and T4, the network interface module 11 detects the network event 31_4; at the time point T4~ Between T5, the network interface module 11 detects the network event 31_5; between time points T5 and T6, the network interface module 11 detects the network event 31_6. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the network event and the time axis, and in fact, the network events 31_1~31_6 may respectively include one or more network events. In addition, the time points T1 T T6 correspond to the time points when the system interrupt events 32_1 32 32_6 are detected.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the working state of the system before finishing according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, before the processing time of the network event is allocated and organized, the time range covered by the dotted line 33 indicates the detection time of the network event and the system interruption event according to FIG. 2, that is, the electronic device 10 and/or Or processing module 12 The time required to handle network events and system outage events. That is to say, if the processing time of the network event is not allocated and organized, the electronic device 10 and/or the processing module 12 need to be maintained in the normal working mode or even the high-performance working mode within the time range covered by the dotted line 33. To handle the corresponding network events and system interrupt events in real time.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a collated network event and time axis according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, it is assumed that the network events 31_1~31_4 are browser applications corresponding to the audio and video playing on the line, and the operation interface of the browser application is, for example, hidden or switched to the background, so that the browser application is enabled. The operating state is in the background operating state. After the network event is allocated and organized, before the time point T4, even if the network event 31_1~31_4 or the network interrupt signal corresponding to the network event 31_1~31_4 is generated at a frequency greater than the preset frequency, the processing module 12 is also processed. Network events 31_1~31_4 are not processed immediately when network events 31_1~31_4 are detected. Instead, system interrupt events are awaited to process unprocessed network events along with system interrupt events. For example, after the network interface module 11 detects the network event 31_1, the network event 31_1 is temporarily stored in the register of the electronic device 10, and at the time point T1, the system is processed by the processing module 12. The interrupt event 32_1 is executed in conjunction with the temporary network event 31_1, and the rest of the network events 31_2~31_4 and so on.

In addition, it is assumed that the network events 31_5, 31_6 are update programs corresponding to the system information update, and the frequency of the network interrupt signals generated by the network events 31_5, 31_6 or the network events 31_5, 31_6 is not greater than or equal to the preset. frequency Rate, and the operating state of the update program is also not the foreground operating state. Therefore, the processing module 12 does not process the network events 31_5, 31_6 immediately, but at the time point T5. The system interrupt event 32_5 is processed together with the network event 31_5, and at the time point T6, the system interrupt event 32_6 is processed together with the network event 31_6. Therefore, with respect to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the network events 31_1~31_6 processed by the delay can effectively shorten the time required for the system to maintain the normal operation or the high performance mode.

As another example, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a collated network event and time axis according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, it is assumed that the network events 31_1~31_4 are browser applications corresponding to the audio and video playing on the line, and the difference between this embodiment and the embodiment of FIG. 4 is that, in this embodiment, the browser application is The operation interface is, for example, continuously maintained in the foreground (for example, the user is watching an online movie), and the operating state of the browser application is maintained in the foreground operating state. Since the network event 31_1~31_4 or the network interrupt signal corresponding to the network event 31_1~31_4 is generated at a frequency greater than the preset frequency, and the operating state of the browser application is maintained in the foreground operating state, the processing module 12 When the network interface module 11 detects the network events 31_1~31_4, it processes the network events immediately, thereby avoiding the delay of the network events 31_1~31_4 and affecting the user's feeling of watching the online video.

Referring to FIG. 1 again, in a hardware architecture, in one embodiment, the processing module 12 includes a connection interface control module 122, a power management module 124, and a core processing module 126. The connection interface control module 122 can include a secure digital input /Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) connector and a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) connector, etc., are connected to the network interface module 11 and the power supply. Between the management module 124 and the core processing module 126. The connection interface control module 122 can receive network events and/or network interrupt signals through the network interface module 11, and can generate a control interrupt signal correspondingly. In addition, the connection interface control module 122 is also a bridge between the core processing module 126 and the network interface module 11 for communicating and transmitting signals.

The power management module 124 is coupled to the network interface module 11, the connection interface control module 122, and the core processing module 126. The power management module 124 can count the number of network interrupt signals generated by the network interface module 11 in each preset time range to obtain the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal, and generate power according to the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal. Manage interrupt signals. For example, the power management module 124 can determine whether the number of network interrupt signals generated by the network interface module 11 in a predetermined time range is greater than or equal to a threshold. If the number of network interrupt signals generated by the network interface module 11 in the preset time range is greater than or equal to the threshold value, it indicates that the network interrupt signal is generated at a frequency greater than or equal to a preset frequency, and therefore, the power management The module 124 can generate a first power management interrupt signal. On the other hand, if the number of network interrupt signals generated by the network interface module 11 in the preset time range is not greater than or equal to the threshold value, the frequency of the network interrupt signal is less than the preset frequency, so the power management module Group 124 can generate a second power management interrupt signal. Moreover, in an embodiment, the control generated by the interface interface control module 122 is The disconnection signal can also replace the network interrupt signal generated by the network interface module 11, and serve as the power management module 124 to evaluate the basis of the number of network events detected within a predetermined time range, depending on the actual needs. set. In addition, in this embodiment, the power management module 124 can be integrated with the power management controller or implemented by a separate hardware circuit, which is not limited in the present invention.

The core processing module 126 is coupled to the interface interface control module 122 and the power management module 124. The core processing module 126 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a micro-processor, etc., and can run more than one operating system. The core processing module 126 can receive the power management interrupt signal generated by the power management module 124, and obtain the operating state of the application corresponding to the detected network event through the operating system running thereon. Then, the core processing module 126 can determine whether the detected network event is processed immediately or delayed according to the power management interrupt signal and the operating state of the application.

For example, in an embodiment, if the core processing module 126 receives the first power management interrupt signal, the core processing module 126 can know that the number of network events detected in a predetermined time range is large. Therefore, if the operating state of the application corresponding to the network events is in the foreground operating state, the core processing module 126 may decide to process the network events immediately. On the other hand, if the core processing module 126 receives the second power management interrupt signal, the core processing module 126 can know that the number of network events detected within a preset time range is small, so regardless of the network. The operational state of the application corresponding to the road event is in the foreground or background operating state, and these network events are determined by the core processing module 126 to be deferred.

It is to be understood that the above-described judging rules may be changed or adjusted depending on actual needs, and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, in an embodiment, the type of the communication protocol of the network interface module 11 and the like may be additionally considered, and the foregoing determination rules may be adaptively adjusted according to different communication protocols, etc., depending on actual requirements.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a network event processing method according to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6, in step S602, at least one network event is detected by the network interface module 11, and at least one network interrupt signal is generated in response to the at least one network event. Then, in step S604, the processing module 23 determines to immediately or delay processing the at least one network according to the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal and the operating state of the application corresponding to the at least one network event. event.

However, the detailed implementation details of this method have been described in the above embodiments, and thus the detailed description thereof will not be repeated here.

In summary, the present invention mainly uses two parameters as a basis for judging whether it is necessary to immediately process a network event detected within a predetermined time range. One of the parameters is the frequency of detecting the network event, that is, the frequency of generating the network interrupt signal, and the other parameter is the operating state of the application corresponding to the detected network event. Through these two parameters, the present invention can effectively determine whether the detected network event needs to be processed immediately, or can wait for the next system interrupt signal to arrive, and then process it together.

In other words, through the network event processing method and the electronic device proposed by the present invention, whether it is determined to immediately process or delay processing the detected network event, The invention does not affect the user who is operating the electronic device in use, and can achieve the effect of reducing the time and power consumption of the system in high performance or normal working mode.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

S602, S604‧‧‧ network event processing methods steps

Claims (10)

A network event processing method is applicable to an electronic device, the method comprising: detecting at least one network event, and generating at least one network interrupt signal in response to the at least one network event; and according to the at least one network The generating frequency of the interrupt signal and the operating state of one of the applications corresponding to the at least one network event determine whether the at least one network event is processed immediately or delayed. The network event processing method of claim 1, further comprising: when the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to a preset frequency, and the at least one network event corresponds to the When the operational state of the application is a foreground operational state, it is decided to process the at least one network event immediately. The network event processing method of claim 1, further comprising: when the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is not greater than or equal to a preset frequency, and the at least one network event corresponds to The operating state of the application is not the foreground operating state, the generating frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is not greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the operation of the application corresponding to the at least one network event The status is the foreground operating state, or the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the operating state of the application corresponding to the at least one network event is not the foreground operating state. At this time, it is decided to delay processing the at least one network event. The method for processing a network event according to the first aspect of the invention, further comprising: when the decision is made to delay processing the at least one network event, temporarily not processing the at least one a network event, and waiting for a system interrupt signal; and processing the at least one network event when the system interrupt signal is detected. The network event processing method of claim 1, wherein the generating frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal and the operating state of the application corresponding to the at least one network event are determined immediately or The step of delaying processing the at least one network event includes: generating a power management interrupt signal according to the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal; and corresponding to the at least one network event according to the power management interrupt signal The operational state of the application determines whether the at least one network event is processed immediately or delayed. An electronic device includes: a network interface module for detecting at least one network event, and generating at least one network interrupt signal in response to the at least one network event; and a processing module coupled to the The network interface module determines to process the at least one network event immediately or delay according to a generation frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal and an operation state of an application corresponding to the at least one network event. . The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the generating frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to a predetermined frequency, and the operation of the application corresponding to the at least one network event When the state is a foreground operational state, the processing module determines to process the at least one network event immediately. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is not greater than or equal to a predetermined frequency, and the at least The operating state of the application corresponding to a network event is not the foreground operating state, the generating frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is not greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the at least one network event corresponds to The operating state of the application is the foreground operating state, or the generating frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal is greater than or equal to the preset frequency, and the operation of the application corresponding to the at least one network event When the state is not the foreground operating state, the processing module determines to delay processing the at least one network event. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein when the processing module determines to delay processing the at least one network event, the processing module temporarily does not process the at least one network event and waits for a system interruption. The processing module processes the at least one network event together when the processing module detects the system interrupt signal. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the processing module comprises: a connection interface control module coupled to the network interface module for receiving the at least one network through the network interface module a power management module coupled to the network interface module for obtaining the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal, and generating a power management according to the generated frequency of the at least one network interrupt signal And a core processing module coupled to the power management module and the connection interface control module to obtain the operating state of the application corresponding to the at least one network event, and according to the power management The operating state of the interrupt signal and the application corresponding to the at least one network event determines whether the at least one network event is processed immediately or delayed.