Patent ID: 7460253

Claim:
An image forming apparatus having a first execution environment that can execute at least one of first-format instructions for controlling an image forming engine of said image forming apparatus in native mode by using real a real-time operating system, and a second execution environment that can execute at least one of second-format instructions defined by a format that does not depend on a type of said image forming apparatus, said image forming apparatus comprising: first control means for controlling processing of execution of the at least one of the first-format instructions in response to the at least one of the second-format instructions of the second execution environment, using at least one of second-format predetermined instructions; recognition means for recognizing, when interpreting the at least one of the second-format instructions from plural applications in the second execution environment, whether or not an instruction to be executed is the at least one of the second-format predetermined instructions; and second control means for controlling said image forming apparatus by executing the at least one of the first-format instructions in response to the at least one of the second-format predetermined instructions when said recognition means has recognized that the instruction to be executed is the at least one of the second-format predetermined instructions, and for controlling said image forming apparatus so as to execute the at least one of the second-format predetermined instructions in the second execution environment when said recognition means has recognized that the instruction to be executed is not the at least one of the second-format predetermined instructions, wherein the second-format predetermined instructions are part of a software interface library which is shared by the plural applications in the second execution environment and each of the second-format predetermined instructions corresponds to the first-format instructions which control the image processing engine, wherein, when controlling execution of the at least one of the first-format instructions using the at least one of the second-format predetermined instructions based on identification information added to the at least one of the second-format predetermined instructions, said second control means determines whether an instruction included in the first instruction controls a printing processing function within said image forming apparatus, or controls an external image forming apparatus via a communication network, and wherein plural first-format instructions correspond to one second-format instruction.