Method for managing multiple virtual storages divided into families

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An object of the present invention is to provide, for the user, means for data sharing and easy data reference among virtual spaces without imposing the management of the above-mentioned environment setting information on the user, while retaining the high data security which is the advantage of the multiple virtual storage method.
In order to achieve the above objective, the inventive multiple virtual storage management method includes the steps of: (a) requesting, by a first program allocated a first virtual space subordination of the first program to a first one of the space families at a timing determined by the first program; (b) subordinating said first virtual space to the first family, in response to the requesting of subordination; (c) requesting, by a second program allocated to a second virtual space subordinated to a second one of the space families, secession of the second virtual space from second space family at a timing determined by said second program; and (d) letting the second virtual space secede from the second space family in response to the requesting for the secession.
More specifically, the inventive multiple virtual storage management method includes a step of letting the first virtual space belong to the first space family even if the first virtual space is a portion which already belongs to the second space family.
In a more preferable aspect, the inventive multiple virtual storage management method includes the steps of: (a) declaring, by a program placed in a virtual space (parent space), creation of a new space family, and specifying an address and size of a family common area to be formed in the space family; (b) forming a family common area in the parent space; (c) declaring, by programs placed in a plurality of other virtual spaces (child spaces), subordination of the vertical spaces to the space family; and (d) establishing a family common area with the size in the address which has been specified by the parent space in an individual area of the child spaces