Method and apparatus for patching operating systems
US5619698A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 5, 1995 |
| Grant date | Apr 8, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 5, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/4484
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention discloses a variety of methods and apparatus for providing patches within a computer operating system. A patch structure in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention includes a patch block which serves to link the patch structure into a patch chain, and a patch which contains the desired functionality of the patch structure. The patch chain includes a root patch structure and a final patch structure. The root patch structure has a root patch block and a given function which has the root functionality. One aspect of the present invention teaches a method for integrating patches into a computer operating system including the steps of obtaining a new patch to be associated with a patch chain for the given function, determining whether a patch chain is already created in the operating system for the given function and creating a root patch block pointing to the given function as the start of a new patch chain if a patch chain has not already been created for the given function, creating a new patch block for the new patch, and inserting data into the new patch block to cause the new patch block to point to the new patch.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.