SERVER APPARATUS OF COMPUTER SYSTEM

Abstract

When a display command received from a client apparatus is a real display command, a real display control unit extracts, out of the display data drawn in the drawing area, display data of an area corresponding to the display area of the client apparatus, and transferring the extracted display data to the client apparatus. When a display command received from the client apparatus is a real display command, a full display control unit reduces the display data drawn in the drawing area in accordance with the display area of the client apparatus, and transferring the reduced display data to the client apparatus. Even when the size of a display screen is small, the display data in the display area corresponding to a request from the client apparatus is transferred so that the display data can be displayed on the client apparatus in an easy-to-view manner.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a thin client system comprising a server apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and its client apparatuses 20a, 20b, . . . ;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the server apparatus 10 in the thin client system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an accelerator circuit 101 in the server apparatus 10 of the thin client system;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a scaling circuit 11c in the accelerator circuit 101 in the server apparatus 10;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a scaling operation circuit C6 in the scaling circuit 11c in the accelerator circuit 101;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control of overall operation in the server apparatus 10 of the thin client system;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing client-by-client transfer server processing (step SA) associated with server processing in the server apparatus 10;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image (No. 1) of a procedure of generating transfer display data in accordance with a real display command associated with the transfer server processing in the server apparatus 10;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an image (No. 2) of the procedure of generating the transfer display data in accordance with the real display command associated with the transfer server processing in the server apparatus 10;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an image (No. 3) of the procedure of generating the transfer display data in accordance with the real display command associated with the transfer server processing in the server apparatus 10;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an image of a procedure of generating transfer display data in accordance with a full display command associated with the transfer server processing in the server apparatus 10;

FIG. 12 shows a transfer data format of accelerator-processed data generated in association with the transfer server processing in the server apparatus 10;

FIGS. 13A through 13E are diagrams showing how the display data is generated for the client apparatus 20 associated with the transfer server processing in the server apparatus 10, wherein 13A, 13B and 13C are diagrams showing how the display data is generated in accordance with the real display command from the client apparatus 20, and 13D and 13E are diagrams showing how the display data is generated in accordance with the full display command from the client apparatus 20;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the client apparatus 20 in the thin client system;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing control of overall operation in the client apparatus 20 of the thin client system;

FIGS. 16A and 16B show processing (step JK) of controlling a communication with the server apparatus 10 associated with the control of overall operation in the client apparatus 20; wherein 16A is a flowchart of the processing, and 16B shows a transmission protocol for the server apparatus 10;

FIGS. 17A, 17B and 17C are diagrams showing display screen data generated and transferred on the side of the server in a conventional thin client system, wherein 17A is a diagram showing table display screen data when the size of a display screen of a client PC is a VGA size, 17B is a diagram showing the table display screen data when the PC screen size is laterally wider than the VGA size, and 17C is a diagram showing the table display screen data when the PC screen size is a quarter of the VGA size;

FIGS. 18A, 18B and 18C are diagrams showing how the drawing data generated in the server apparatus 10 is transferred to and displayed on the client apparatus 20;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing in detail transfer drawing data H generated by the accelerator circuit 101 on the basis of an area Q′ of drawing data G′ after change in the server apparatus 10;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a tile division judging circuit 11d;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a comparison/compression circuit 11e;

FIG. 22A is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the comparison circuit shown in FIG. 21, and FIG. 22B is a diagram showing one example of the configuration of a buffer 356 for the number of vertical×horizontal lines and pixels;

FIGS. 23A and 23B are block diagrams showing a detailed configuration of a compression circuit 357 shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a circuit 451 for counting the number of colors;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a penetration color detection circuit 454;

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a table for deciding a compression method;

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing one example of a table for result data and header formats;

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the operation of the transfer server processing;

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of an accelerator circuit 21 in the client apparatus; and

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing details of control of a communication with the server.

Claims

1. A server apparatus of a computer system which transmits display data generated in the server apparatus to a client apparatus and which displays the display data on a display screen of the client apparatus, the server apparatus comprising: drawing area setting means for setting an area larger than a display area of the client apparatus as a drawing area of the display data on the basis of display area information from the client apparatus;real display control means for extracting, out of the display data drawn in the drawing area set by the drawing area setting means, display data of an area corresponding to the display area of the client apparatus, and transferring the extracted display data to the client apparatus, when a display command received from the client apparatus is a real display command; andfull display control means for reducing the display data drawn in the drawing area set by the drawing area setting means in accordance with the display area of the client apparatus, and transferring the reduced display data to the client apparatus, when a display command received from the client apparatus is a full display command.

2. The server apparatus of the computer system according to claim 1, wherein the drawing area setting means has client information storing means for storing information on the display area and information on the magnification of this display area which are received from the client apparatus, andsets, as the drawing area of the display data, an area of a size obtained by enlarging the display area of the client apparatus, on the basis of the information on the display area of the client apparatus and the information on the magnification of this display area which are stored by the client information storing means.

3. The server apparatus of the computer system according to claim 2, wherein the full display control means has:reduction circuit means for reducing the display data drawn in the drawing area set by the drawing area setting means, the reduction ratio being an inverse of the magnification of the display area, on the basis of the information on the magnification of the display area which are stored by the client information storing means, when a display command received from the client apparatus is the full display command, andthe display data reduced in accordance with the display area of the client apparatus by the reduction circuit means is transferred to the client apparatus.

4. The server apparatus of the computer system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the information on the magnification of the display area of the client apparatuses stored by the client information storing means includes information on an arbitrary magnification specified in accordance with operation of a user of the client apparatus.

5. A server apparatus of a computer system which transmits display data generated in the server apparatus to a client apparatus and which displays the display data on a display screen of the client apparatus, the server apparatus comprising: client information storing means for storing display area information received from the client apparatus;drawing area setting means for setting, as a drawing area of the display data, an area of a size obtained by enlarging the display area of the client apparatus with an predetermined magnification, on the basis of the display area information from the client apparatuses stored by the client information storing means;real display control means for extracting, out of the display data drawn in the drawing area set by the drawing area setting means, display data of an area corresponding to the display area of the client apparatus, and transferring the extracted display data to the client apparatus, when a display command received from the client apparatus is a real display command; andfull display control means for reducing the display data drawn in the drawing area set by the drawing area setting means in accordance with the display area of the client apparatus, and transferring the reduced display data to the client apparatus, when a display command received from the client apparatus is a full display command.

6. A server apparatus of a computer system which transmits display data generated in the server apparatus to a client apparatus and which displays the display data on a display screen of the client apparatus, the server apparatus comprising: current display data storing means for storing display data for a current screen which is transmitted to the client apparatus;a magnification changing circuit which changes the magnification of the display data for the current screen stored in the current display data storing means;an area dividing circuit which divides, into a plurality of display areas, the display data for the current screen whose magnification has been changed; anda comparison circuit which compares, for each of the display areas divided by the area dividing circuit, the display data for the current screen stored in the current display data storing means with display data for a previous screen transmitted to the client apparatus, in order to judge whether there is a difference between these display data,the display data for the display area judged to have a difference by the comparison circuit being transmitted to the client apparatus.

7. The server apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a compression circuit which compresses the display data judged to have a difference by the comparison circuit, the display data compressed by the compression circuit being transmitted to the client apparatus.

8. The server apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising control means for setting initial values in the magnification changing circuit, the area dividing circuit and the comparison circuit to sequentially operate these circuits.

9. The server apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising control means for setting initial values in the magnification changing circuit, the area dividing circuit and the comparison circuit to sequentially operate these circuits, the control means causing the current display data storing means to perform processing of storing the display data for the current screen, causing the magnification changing circuit to perform processing of changing the magnification of the display data for the current screen, causing the area dividing circuit to perform processing of dividing, into a plurality of display areas, the display data for the current screen whose magnification has been changed, and causing the comparison circuit to perform processing of judging whether the display data for each of the display areas has a difference.