System and method for hard real-time garbage collection requiring a write barrier but no read barrier
US5293614A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 8, 1991 |
| Grant date | Mar 8, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 8, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99953
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Generally, in one form of the invention, a computer system for executing application programs in hard real-time, comprises a central processing unit (CPU) for executing the application programs and system programs and a computer memory partitioned into a data memory and a code memory. A garbage collector, which executes on said CPU, places a write barrier over certain portions of memory. Furthermore, it transfers an object from a location in the memory to a second object at another location in the memory. In a critical section, which may not be interrupted, it allocates sufficient space for the second object so that the entire contents from the first object can be copied into the second object, and in an interruptable section, it copies the entire contents of the first object into the second object. A write routine is linked into the application programs for updating objects in the computer memory. The write routine is operable to update both the first object and the second object whenever the garbage collector is transferring the contents of the object into the second object. Both copies are thereby kept current.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.