Method and apparatus for facilitating lazy type tagging for compiled activations
US7181732B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 12, 2002 |
| Grant date | Feb 20, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 30, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S707/99957
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for type tagging values in a compiled activation frame in a lazy manner to facilitate garbage collection. This system operates in a mixed-mode environment that supports both interpretation of byte codes and execution of compiled native code. Upon receiving an invocation of a method, the system creates an activation frame for the method on the execution stack. If the method is executing in interpreted mode, the interpreter maintains a tag for each value in the activation frame during execution. The tag indicates whether the value is a reference type or a primitive type. However, if the method is executing in compiled mode, the system allocates space for tags for each value in the activation frame, but does not fill in the tags during execution. This allows the tags to be filled in at a future time when needed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.