Platform-independent device drivers
US6202147A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 29, 1998 |
| Grant date | Mar 13, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 29, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/0284
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A computer-implemented method for allocating memory resources to a device driver is described. In one embodiment, a device driver generates a request for memory allocation in terms of an abstract memory address space. This abstract memory address space is also used by a bus manager to manage the allocation of memory. The driver forwards the request to the bus manager which can then allocate memory or translate the request to a second abstract memory address space used by a second bus manager. When the request is passed to a platform manager, real memory is allocated and the requested memory is passed back to the driver. Thus, by making a memory request in terms of a bus manager's abstract memory address space, the necessity of coding the driver to request real addresses (a platform-specific operation) is avoided.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.