Dynamic device matching using driver candidate lists
US5802365A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 2, 1996 |
| Grant date | Sep 1, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 2, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/102
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and mechanism for automatically correlating a device to its appropriate driver and family within a computer system utilizing candidate matching. A device tree indicating devices coupled to a computer system is available from an operating system. Within the device tree are device nodes which specify a particular device's name (device name) and a property which indicates compatible device names (compatible names) to the particular device. Drivers and corresponding families for devices can be located in RAM, ROM, or in another storage media (such as disk drive). Drivers can include a data field indicating a driver name indicative of a corresponding device with which they operate. For a particular device, the system constructs a candidate list of drivers by comparing (1) the device name and (2) the compatible names from the device tree against all the driver names of data fields of all known drivers. The candidate list is sorted so that matches by device name and proper version number are higher priority. Corresponding families are then determined and loaded. The system then sequentially attempts installation of the drivers from the candidate list to the particular device (bas…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.