Reference attribute annotation signifying no external reference
US9971578B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 15, 2012 |
| Grant date | May 15, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 13, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F16/9024
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The annotation of a returned reference from an executable component to signify that there are no external references to the particular object graph referenced by the returned reference. If either 1) there are no input arguments to the executable component or 2) each input argument is either immutable or represents an object graph that has no external mutable references pointing into the object graph, and no internal mutable references that reference external objects, the particular attribute is assigned to the returned reference. Accordingly, if the returned reference is writable (as determined by evaluating the declaration code or the call code for the executable component), the returned reference is free to have whatever access permissions assigned to it, and may also be assigned to an isolated memory location, though such assignments will cause the returned reference to lose the particular attribute.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.