Patent ID: 8325353

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: a service storage unit that stores therein a plurality of services for controlling settings of a plurality of devices that performs functions related to image processing, each of the plurality of services being software belonging to a device control service layer in a layered architecture of the image processing apparatus; an application storage unit that stores therein an application that is software belonging to an application layer in the layered architecture and generates instruction information indicating an instruction related to at least one of the functions, the indicated instruction being one of a single-service setting instruction and a multiple-service setting instruction; a setting information specifying unit that belongs to an intervening layer which intervenes between the application layer and the device control service layer in the layered architecture, the setting information specifying unit being configured such that, if the indicated instruction is a multiple-service setting instruction, the setting information specifying unit specifies a service corresponding to the indicated instruction based on the instruction information, and specifies setting information to be set for the service by referring to a table in which the a correspondence between the setting information generated by the application and the plurality of services is defined; and a setting unit that sets the setting information for the service specified by the setting information specifying unit, wherein, the image processing apparatus is configured such that when the instruction information indicates the multiple-service setting instruction, the multiple-service setting instruction is sent to the setting information specifying unit, and when the instruction information indicates the single-service setting instruction, the single-service setting instruction is sent to a directly corresponding common service.