Virtual address window for accessing physical memory in a computer system
US6055617A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 29, 1997 |
| Grant date | Apr 25, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 29, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/10
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Physical memory is accessed by associating identified memory with a window of virtual address space whose size and location are specified by an application program. In the typical application of the invention, the virtual window is smaller in size than the associated memory. One or more virtually-windowed address translations are then established between portions of the windowed address space and the corresponding portions of the physical memory. Additional physical memory can be accessed with the same virtual address space by establishing new virtually-windowed address translations with other portions of the physical memory. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the physical memory is identified, attached to the virtual window, and the address translation is established by the computer's operating system in response to a series of system calls from an application program. These calls permit the application program such as a database program to access a physical data space that is larger in size than the program's virtual address space.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.