Method for compiling a software program and executing on a system which converts data between different endian formats
US5828884A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 23, 1996 |
| Grant date | Oct 27, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 23, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F9/34
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for compiling a software program and executing the program on a data processing system which performs conversion between data formatted in differing endian formats, namely big-endian and little-endian formats, also known as byte swapping. The data processing system comprises a data storage device, such as system memory, a processor, and a byte swapping device coupled between the data storage device and the processor. Data conversion apertures, or ranges, are defined in the processor address space and the processor provides address signals to the byte swapping device. The byte swapping device selectively byte swaps data transferred between the processor and storage device based upon the relationship between the addresses received by the byte swapping device and the data conversion apertures. A compiler generates object offsets to data elements in a source code module, then adds a format base to the object offset to calculate a data aperture offset for each data element, which is then stored in an object code module. The format bases for the data elements are chosen according to the data type of the data element. A base memory address is bound to each data element at runtime…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.