Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for executing a program stored in nonvolatile memory

US6243789A · kind A · utility

106Cited by
32References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 23, 1998
Grant dateJun 5, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 23, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F2212/2022
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method of executing a program includes the step of initiating execution of the program stored contiguously without code fragmentation in a nonvolatile memory. Execution of the program is halted if the program attempts to modify a page of the nonvolatile memory. The page of nonvolatile memory is then copied to a modifiable memory. The page of nonvolatile memory is then remapped to the modifiable memory. Execution of the program is then resumed. A computer system for execution of a program includes a nonvolatile memory storing a program contiguously without code fragmentation. The computer system includes a processor for executing the program. A memory management unit generates an interrupt in response to a request to modify a page of the nonvolatile memory. Execution of the program is halted and the processor copies the page of nonvolatile memory to a modifiable memory in response to the interrupt. The processor resumes execution of the program after updating an address translation table of the memory management unit to refer to the modifiable memory for subsequent program access requests to the page of nonvolatile memory.

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