Method to reduce wasted character data areas of java strings

Abstract

A string handling method, program, and information processing apparatus capable of reducing the amount of data stored in a storage. An information processing apparatus handles strings. The information processing apparatus includes a storage storing a group of strings including a plurality of strings each of which consists of a plurality of pieces of character data, a reference section which refers to a particular string in the group of strings, a character data detecting section which detects character data that is not referenced as the particular string in the group of strings, and a character data deleting section which deletes the detected character data from the group of strings.

1 . A string handling method embodied in a computer readable medium for handling a character array in an information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus having a storage storing a group of character array objects, each of the character array objects consisting of a plurality of pieces of character data, the method comprising: 
 referring to a string of a string object in the group of character array objects; and    deleting a given piece of character data and character array object from the group of character array objects when garbage collection is performed.    
   
   
       2 . A string handling method for handling a string in an information processing apparatus having a storage storing a group of strings including a plurality of strings each of which consists of a plurality of pieces of character data, the method comprising: 
 referring to a particular string in the group of strings;    detecting a piece of character data that is not referenced as the particular string among the group of strings; and    deleting the detected piece of character data from the group of strings.    
   
   
       3 . A string handling method for handling a string in an information processing apparatus having a storage storing a group of strings including a plurality of strings each of which consists of a plurality of pieces of character data, the method comprising: 
 referring to a particular character string in the group of strings;    reordering the plurality of strings in accordance with the plurality of pieces of character data;    detecting a first string and a second string identical to the first string in a group of strings including the reordered plurality of strings; and    deleting the second string from the group of strings including the reordered plurality of strings.    
   
   
       4 . A string handling method for handling a string in an information processing apparatus having a storage storing a group of strings including a plurality of strings each of which consists of a plurality of pieces of character data, the method comprising: 
 referring to a particular string in the group of strings;    detecting a first string and a second string identical to a portion of the first string among the group of strings; and    deleting the second string from the group of strings.    
   
   
       5 . A string handling method for handling a string in an information processing apparatus having a storage storing a group of strings including a plurality of strings each of which consists of a plurality of pieces of character data, the method comprising: 
 referring to a particular string in the group of strings;    detecting a first string and a second string whose front-end string including the first piece of character data is identical to a back-end string of the first string including the last piece of character data among the group of strings; and    concatenating in the group of strings the first string with the second string by unifying the back-end string with the front-end string.    
   
   
       6 . A computer program embodied in a computer readable medium for causing a computer having a storage storing a group of strings including a plurality of strings each of which consists of a plurality of pieces of character data to handle the strings, the computer program causing the computer to perform the steps of: 
 referring to a particular string in the group of strings;    detecting a piece of character data that is not referenced as the particular string among the group of strings; and    deleting the detected piece of character data from the group of strings.    
   
   
       7 . The computer program according to  claim 6 , causing the computer to perform, instead of the detecting step and the deleting step, the steps of: 
 reordering the plurality of strings in accordance with the plurality of pieces of character data;    detecting a first string and a second string identical to the first string in a group of strings including the reordered plurality of strings; and    deleting the second string from the group of strings including the reordered plurality of strings.    
   
   
       8 . The computer program according to  claim 7 , causing the computer to perform, instead of the detecting step, the step of: 
 detecting a first string and a second string identical to a portion of the first string among the group of strings.    
   
   
       9 . The computer program according to  claim 7 , causing the computer to perform, instead of the detecting step and the deleting step, the steps of: 
 detecting a first string and a second string whose front-end string including the first piece of character data is identical to a back-end string of the first string including the last piece of character data among the group of strings; and    concatenating in the group of strings the first string with the second string by unifying the back-end string with the front-end string.    
   
   
       10 . An information processing apparatus including storage, the storage storing a group of strings including a plurality of strings each of which consists of a plurality of pieces of character data and handles the strings, the apparatus comprising: 
 a reference section referring to a particular string in the group of strings;    a first detecting section detecting a piece of character data that is not referenced as the particular string among the group of strings; and    a first deleting section deleting the detected piece of character data from the group of strings.    
   
   
       11 . The information processing apparatus according to  claim 10 , comprising, instead of the first detecting section and the first deleting section: 
 a reordering section reordering the plurality of strings in accordance with the plurality of pieces of character data;    a second detecting section detecting a first string and a second string identical to the first string in a group of strings including the reordered plurality of strings; and    a second deleting section deleting the second string from the group of strings including the reordered plurality of strings.    
   
   
       12 . The information processing apparatus according to  claim 11 , comprising, instead of the second detecting section: 
 a third detecting section detecting a first string and a second string identical to a portion of the first string among the group of strings.    
   
   
       13 . The information processing apparatus according to  claim 11 , comprising, instead of the second detecting section and the second deleting section: 
 a fourth detecting section detecting a first string and a second string whose front-end string including the first piece of character data is identical to a back-end string of the first string including the last piece of character data among the group of strings; and    a concatenating section concatenating in the group of strings the first string with the second string by unifying the back-end string with the front-end string.