JPH04181583A - Storage medium, storage management method, and data processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a storage medium search technique and a technique that is particularly effective when applied to a storage method for secondary information such as directory information. , magnetic tape, IC card, and other readable and writable storage media and their access devices.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, storage media such as floppy disks, optical disks, magnetic tapes, and IC cards used in data processing systems contain directory information (file name, file size, file storage location, used size, free area size, etc.). etc.) is a directory information storage area provided within the storage medium itself, and this directory information is stored system-specifically when the storage medium is initialized, and when a file is saved or modified. (Japanese Standards Association, 1999)
(Refer to pages 181 to 432 of ``rJIs Handbook Information Processing Hardware Edition,'' published on April 20, 2013).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventionally, however, directory information is stored within the storage medium itself, so if there is an abnormality such as the directory information becoming unreadable, all data within the storage medium cannot be accessed. There was a problem with it disappearing. In particular, since the frequency of access to the directory information storage area is higher than the frequency of access to other file information areas, write and read errors are likely to occur.

Additionally, since directory information is conventionally stored using a system-specific method, even if a storage medium with the same structure is used in a different system, it may be possible to install it in a read/write device, but the data cannot be read due to the difference in data format. There were some problems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium in which directory information can be easily restored even if it is destroyed, thereby improving system reliability.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to read directory information on a storage medium even between different types of devices.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to transfer directory information to other systems, to automate the creation of indexes and labels for the storage medium based on the directory information, and to make it possible to apply the directory information to a database. It is in.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Representative inventions disclosed in this application will be summarized as follows.

That is, a secondary storage section that mainly stores directory information in a common access specification and data format is provided on the exterior of a storage medium used in a data processing system, such as a protective case.

Further, the read/write device that accesses the storage medium has a secondary storage section read/write function in addition to the original storage section read/write function.

[Operation] According to the above-described means, since the access specifications and data format of the secondary storage section provided in the storage medium are unified, directory information can be read even by different models. Additionally, this makes it possible to automate the creation and search of storage media labels and create a database of directory information.

Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned means, since directory information can be stored redundantly in the original storage unit and the secondary storage unit, even if an abnormality occurs in the directory information in the original storage unit, the directory information in the secondary storage unit This makes it possible to avoid data inaccessibility due to read/write errors in the directory section, and improves the reliability of the storage medium and system.

[Embodiment] Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration example of a storage medium to which the present invention is applied and a system using the same.6 In the figure, 1 indicates a storage medium for storing various data such as a floppy disk; 2 is a data processing device such as a personal computer that uses the storage medium 1 as an external storage means.

This data processing device includes, for example, a microcomputer 2
1, a main memory device 22 consisting of a semiconductor memory, and a CRT.
It is composed of a display device 23, a printer 24, and the like.

In this embodiment, the storage medium 2 includes an original storage section (
In addition to the primary storage section (1a), a secondary storage section (1b) is provided which specifically stores directory information (file name, file size, file storage location, used size, free area size, etc.).

In addition, corresponding to the configuration of the storage medium 1 as described above, the data processing device 2 includes a main read/write device 25a having an access function for the primary storage section 1a, and a secondary storage section 1a.
Sub read/write device 2 having access function b
5b is provided.

The primary storage unit 1a stores the types of storage media (paper, floppy disk, compact disk, hard disk,
(magnetic tape, IC card, etc.) have different access specifications, and even the same storage medium may have different data formats depending on the system used. but,
In this embodiment, the access specifications and data format of the secondary storage section 1b are created according to a common standard, so that it can be accessed by any system.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of an access operation to the secondary storage unit 1b in a system using a storage medium according to the present invention.

In this embodiment, the secondary storage section 1b is basically accessed when the directory information of the storage medium 1 is changed. That is, when the storage medium 1 is initialized, when new data is saved, when it is updated, and when directory information is read.

At the time of initialization, the directory information in the secondary storage unit 1b is initialized to a predetermined common data format (
Steps Sl, S2).

When newly saving or updating the primary storage section 1a, the changed directory information is also rewritten and updated in the secondary storage section 1b (steps S3 to S4).

Furthermore, when reading directory information, the directory information in the secondary storage section is read independently from the primary storage section (steps S5 and S6). As a result, when the directory in the primary storage section cannot be read, the secondary storage section 1b
By reading the directory information of
access to the information department.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a 3.5-inch floppy disk.
This is used in the C card, and is mounted on the protective case 10 of the floppy disk.

FIG. 4 shows an example of specifications for unifying the data format to the secondary storage unit 1b.

The format of the directory information stored in the secondary storage unit is one file FDA with a file name field FNC, a file size field FSC, and a file storage location information field SA.
C, an update date and time field DTC, and a notes field RMC. Therefore, the used size and free area size can be calculated from the size information of each file.

As mentioned above, if the secondary storage section 1b is an IC card that uses semiconductor memory, the method of accessing the secondary storage section can be unified by determining the access specifications to conform to the IC card standard. can do.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a 3.5-inch floppy disk is explained as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a 5-inch floppy disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, an IC card, a video tape, etc. Further, the secondary storage means for storing directory information added to the storage medium is not limited to IC cards, but also magnetic tape (
(magnetic stripe), etc.

As explained above, in the above embodiment, a secondary storage section that mainly stores directory information in a common access specification and data format is provided on the exterior of the storage medium used in the data processing system, such as a protective case. , directory information can be read even on different models.

Additionally, this has the effect of making it possible to automate the creation and search of labels for storage media and to create a database of directory information.

In addition, a secondary storage section that mainly stores directory information with common access specifications and data formats is provided on the exterior of the storage medium used in the data processing system, such as a protective case. Since directory information can be stored redundantly in each storage section, even if an error occurs in the directory information in the original storage section, it can be recovered using the directory information in the secondary storage section. This makes it possible to avoid inaccessibility of data due to read/write abnormalities, thereby improving the reliability of the storage medium and the system.

Furthermore, since the storage medium can read directory information only with an access device without being attached to a data processing system such as a personal computer, files can be easily managed and searched.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically explained above based on Examples, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above Examples and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, a readable and writable storage means such as an IC card or a magnetic tape is used as the secondary storage unit, but a predetermined capacity is guaranteed, and a non-rewritable storage such as a bar code may be used. It is also possible to use means.

Furthermore, in the case of video tapes, by storing the amount of stored information, index, remaining capacity, etc. in the secondary storage unit,
It is also possible to perform control based on information in the secondary storage unit, such as cueing and automatic forwarding to an empty area.

In the above explanation, the invention made by the present inventor has been mainly applied to a readable and writable storage medium, which is the background field of application. It can also be used as a storage medium.

[Effects of the Invention] The effects obtained by typical inventions disclosed in this application are briefly explained below.

In other words, because the access specifications and data format of the secondary storage section provided in the storage medium are unified, directory information can be read even by different devices, and this makes it possible to automate the creation and search of storage media labels. It becomes possible to create a database of information and directory information. Also.

Even if an abnormality occurs in the original directory information in the primary storage, it can be recovered using the directory information in the secondary storage, improving the reliability of the storage medium and the system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a storage medium according to the present invention and a system using the same. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for accessing a secondary storage section. FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an embodiment applied to an inch floppy disk. The fourth @ is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the format configuration of the secondary storage unit. 1... Storage medium, 1a... Primary storage section, 1b.
. . . Secondary storage unit, 2. . . Data processing device, 10.
. . . Exterior (protective case), 25. . . Storage medium access device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A storage medium equipped with a readable and writable primary storage section, the storage medium being characterized in that its exterior is provided with a secondary storage section in which at least directory information is stored. . 2. A secondary storage section in which at least directory information is stored is provided on the exterior of the storage medium having a readable and writable primary storage section, and a part of the primary storage section includes information stored in the secondary storage section. A storage management method characterized by storing the same information as directory information. 3. A read/write device that can access the primary storage section and a read/write device that can access the secondary storage section corresponding to a storage medium that has a primary storage section and a secondary storage section that stores the directory information. A data processing device comprising: a write device.