Patent · US Expired

Compiler and method for avoiding unnecessary recompilation

US5854932A · kind A · utility

66Cited by
6References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 17, 1995
Grant dateDec 29, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 17, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F8/71
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A minimal rebuild system and process for minimizing rebuilding of a user's programming project analyzes and records dependencies of object code files compiled in a previous build of the project on classes declared in header files. When rebuilding the project, the system detects and records changes made to the classes and header files since the project was last built. The system then determines whether to recompile the object code files from their respective source code files by comparing the recorded dependencies and changes. If an object code file's dependencies do not intersect the changes, recompiling of the object code file can be omitted. The minimal rebuild system utilizes an approximate representation of the dependencies to yield an efficient system while ensuring that the project is correctly rebuilt.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.