Client-server system with effectively used server functions

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is therefore the first object of the present invention to provide a client-server system in which a client apparatus is able to easily realize the functions provided by the server apparatuses in the client-server system, and to provide a client-server system in which such functions can be used by the client apparatus without updating programs for dealing with such functions.
It is the second object of the present invention to provide a client-server system which reduces the troubles of the operators of the server apparatuses, achieving optimum processing by improving the interrupt handling process.
The first object is achieved by a client apparatus, connected to a plurality of server apparatuses in a network, for requesting an arbitrary server apparatus of the plurality of server apparatuses to execute a job, the client apparatus comprising: a function information requesting unit for requesting each of the plurality of server apparatuses in the network to send information on the functions which can be provided by each of the plurality of server apparatuses; a function information receiving unit for receiving the information on the functions sent from each of the plurality of server apparatuses; a guidance menu generating unit for generating a guidance menu based on the information received by the function information receiving unit; and a displaying unit for displaying the guidance menu generated by the guidance menu generating unit.
In the above client apparatus, the information publication requesting unit may send either of a first request and a second request to each of the plurality of server apparatuses according to an instruction by the user, wherein the first request requests each of the plurality of server apparatuses in the network to send information on the functions which can be provided by each of the plurality of server apparatuses, and the second request requests each of the plurality of server apparatuses in the network to send information on certain functions