Variably-sized kernel memory stacks
US5950221A · kind A · utility
66Cited by
4References
56Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 6, 1997 |
| Grant date | Sep 7, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 6, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99939
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention includes a computer system having a processor that executes program instructions in privileged and non-privileged execution modes. A user stack is used when the processor is executing in the non-privileged execution mode. A kernel memory stack is used when the processor is executing in the privileged execution mode. The kernel memory stack can grow and shrink dynamically as it is used by its associated thread, through the use of allocate-on-demand memory. A stack overflow handler is executed from within the kernel to resolve allocate-on-demand faults. The stack handler uses only fixed-size memory stacks.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.