Lock management system and method for use in a data processing system
US6816952B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 31, 2002 |
| Grant date | Nov 9, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 21, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/0862
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The current invention provides an improved system and method for locking shared resources. The invention may operate in a data processing environment including a main memory system coupled to multiple instruction processors (IPs). Lock-type instructions are included within the hardware instruction set of ones of the IPs. These lock-type instructions are executed to gain access to a software-lock stored at a predetermined location within the main memory. After activating the software-lock, further, indivisible execution of the lock-type instruction causes one or more addresses associated with the software-lock to be retrieved. These addresses are used as pointers to, in turn, retrieve the data signals protected by the software-lock. Requests for the protected data signals are issued automatically by the hardware on behalf of the requesting IP, and the IP is allowed to continue instruction execution.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.