Method and system for generating and applying patches to a computer program concurrently with its execution
US7913243B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 21, 2006 |
| Grant date | Mar 22, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 19, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F8/656
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method, a computer program product, and a system for generating and applying patches to a computer program concurrently with its execution. It provides full support for function pointers, transparent to the programmer and nearly transparent to the concurrent loader. A reference to a function pointer is translated into a sequence of processor instructions called function descriptor instead of translating it into an address. The purpose of the function descriptor is to jump to the memory location of the sequence of instructions generated by the compiler for the procedure referenced by the function pointer. The function descriptor is masked as a static data variable and therefore preserved during the application of a concurrent patch. The address for the jump to the procedure is updated by the regular relocation process during the application of a concurrent patch.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.