Device control apparatus

A device control method for controlling a plurality of devices, said device control method comprising:

• a specification association table obtainment step of obtaining a specification association table in which a device and a specification of the device are associated with each other;
• a use situation association table obtainment step of obtaining a use situation association table in which a device and a use situation of the device are associated with each other;
• an application obtainment step of obtaining an application program in which a device to be controlled is described by an abstract name;
• a condition definition table obtainment step of obtaining a condition definition table in which conditions that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name are defined, the conditions being a specification-related condition and a use situation-related condition;
• a specification-conforming device identification step of identifying, by referring to the condition definition table, the specification-related condition that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name described in the application program, and of identifying, by referring to the specification association table, the device with the specification which conforms to the identified condition;
• a use situation-conforming device identification step of identifying, by referring to the condition definition table, the use situation-related condition that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name described in the application program, and of identifying, by referring to the use situation association table, the device with the use situation which conforms to the identified condition;
• and
• a device control step of controlling, based on the application program, the device identified in said specification-conforming device identification step and which is also identified in said use situation-conforming device identification step.

A program for controlling a plurality of devices, said program causing a computer to execute:

• a specification association table obtainment step of obtaining a specification association table in which a device and a specification of the device are associated with each other;
• a use situation association table obtainment step of obtaining a use situation association table in which a device and a use situation of the device are associated with each other;
• an application obtainment step of obtaining an application program in which a device to be controlled is described by an abstract name;
• a condition definition table obtainment step of obtaining a condition definition table in which conditions that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name are defined, the conditions being a specification-related condition and a use situation-related condition;
• a specification-conforming device identification step of identifying, by referring to the condition definition table, the specification-related condition that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name described in the application program, and of identifying, by referring to the specification association table, the device with the specification which conforms to the identified condition;
• a use situation-conforming device identification step of identifying, by referring to the condition definition table, the use situation-related condition that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name described in the application program, and of identifying, by referring to the use situation association table, the device with the use situation which conforms to the identified condition;
• and
• a device control step of controlling, based on the application program, the device identified in said specification-conforming device identification step and which is also identified in said use situation-conforming device identification step.

A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for controlling a plurality of devices is recorded, the program causing a computer to execute:

• an application obtainment step of obtaining an application program in which a device to be controlled is described by an abstract name;
• a condition definition table obtainment step of obtaining a condition definition table in which conditions that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name are defined, the conditions being a specification-related condition and a use situation-related condition;
• a specification-conforming device identification step of identifying a device which conforms to the specification-related condition that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name described in the application program;
• a use situation-conforming device identification step of identifying a device which conforms to the use situation-related condition that should be satisfied by the device with the abstract name described in the application program;
• a device control step of controlling, based on the application program, the device identified in said specification-conforming device identification step and which is also identified in said use situation-conforming device identification step.