System and method for facilitating safepoint synchronization in a multithreaded computer system
US6523059B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 7, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 18, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 7, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99957
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for facilitating a global safepoint operation in a multithreaded computer system are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, each thread keeps track of its safepoint regions by maintaining a variable which indicates a state, such as whether the current region of the thread is safe, unsafe, or transitional. In this manner, it can be determined whether a thread is currently in a safepoint region without suspending the thread. When a thread is currently in a safepoint region, the thread can continue to operate while a global safepoint operation, such as garbage-collection is being performed. When the thread begins to transition out of the safe region, it moves into a transitional region. The transitional region automatically blocks the transition into the non-safe region to assure that the safepoint operation occurs in a safe region.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.