Mechanism for performing polling in a system
US6578036B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 15, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jun 10, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 15, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99945
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improved mechanism for efficiently polling file descriptors in a large scale computer system is disclosed. The polling of the file descriptors is performed by first determining, based upon a set of indication information, which file descriptors are eligible for polling. A file descriptor is eligible for polling if the indication information for that file descriptor indicates that the file associated with that file descriptor might (but does not necessarily) have an event pending. Only if a file descriptor is determined to be eligible will the file descriptor and the file associated with the file descriptor be polled. By polling only the eligible file descriptors in a system, the overhead associated with the polling operation is kept to a minimum. As a result, even in a large scale system with a large number of file descriptors, polling is still performed efficiently.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.