Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support – Digital data processing system initialization or configuration – Loading initialization program
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-21
2003-10-21
Lee, Thomas (Department: 2185)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: support
Digital data processing system initialization or configuration
Loading initialization program
C709S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06636964
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a program initializing method, and a program providing medium, all of which are suitable for use in object-oriented operating systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
An operating system (hereinafter referred to as an “OS”) using object-oriented techniques is referred to as an object-oriented OS. Elements of an object-oriented OS are formed into modules as objects, thereby advantageously increasing the flexibility of a system.
In some object-oriented OSs, objects forming basic elements of the OS possess an execution mechanism similar to a mechanism for objects forming an application program running on the OS. The above type of OS is referred to as a “pure object-oriented OS”. In the pure object-oriented OS, services provided by the OS are defined by a set of objects, thereby making it possible to more flexibly construct the OS. More specifically, for example, before starting the OS, objects providing services may be combined according to functions required by a user, and it is possible to dynamically add or delete functions to or from the OS with the purpose of optimizing or updating the OS (without the need for stopping the system).
In the pure object-oriented OS, a plurality of execution environments may be prepared for the objects, and a frame for selecting an execution environment in response to a request of an application program can be easily provided. By selecting a suitable execution environment, the application programs are able to receive services which are optimal for execution models unique to the programs. In the following description, the execution environments are defined as a set of services provided by an OS and support the operations of application programs. The execution environments may include concurrent object execution environments, Java program execution environments, portable operating system interface (POSIX) execution environments, etc.
In contrast, according to a conventional OS, which is a non-object-oriented OS, as shown in
FIG. 13
, only a single execution environment
202
is provided for all the application programs, such as a first application program
200
and a second application program
201
. In another conventional OS, as shown in
FIG. 14
, a basic execution environment
210
, and a plurality of execution environments, such as a first execution environment
211
and a second execution environment
212
, operating on the basic execution environment
210
, are prepared in advance, and a first application program
213
and a second application program
214
are operated under the corresponding execution environments. Whether the OS is provided with a single execution environment or a plurality of execution environments, as shown in
FIGS. 13 and 14
, respectively, the types of execution environments to be provided are fixed when the OS is started.
Accordingly, in the known OSs, in adding a new execution environment, it is necessary to interrupt the operation of the OS, select the required execution environment, and then restart the OS. Additionally, when the same services are shared by a plurality of execution environments, it is necessary to integrate the services into a basic execution environment. That is, according to conventional OSs, a plurality of execution environments cannot be flexibly provided.
Typically, in conventional OSs, initialization is performed by a series of steps, such as those shown in FIG.
15
. An example of an initializing process in a conventional OS is discussed below with reference to FIG.
15
.
In step S
220
, hardware is initialized, for example, registers are set and input/output devices are initialized. Then, in step S
221
, portions shared by the individual software modules, such as name management service, memory management service, and so on are initialized.
It is then determined in step S
222
whether all the execution environments have been initialized. If the outcome of step S
222
is no, the process proceeds to step S
223
in which the corresponding execution environment is initialized. The process then returns to step S
222
.
If the result of step S
222
is yes, the process proceeds to step S
224
. It is determined in step S
224
whether all the software modules to be operated have been initialized. If the outcome of step S
224
is no, the process proceeds to step S
225
. If the result of step S
224
is yes, the process proceeds to step S
228
.
In step S
225
, a memory required for a software module which is not yet initialized is assigned. Subsequently, in step S
226
, a structure required for this software module is generated. Then, in step S
227
, an initializing function is called for this software module, and the process returns to step S
224
.
In step S
228
, a software module which is to be operated first is called, and the initializing process is completed.
In some conventional OSs, each software module may initialize itself rather than depending on the above-described initializing process.
On the other hand, a pure object-oriented OS is formed of, as illustrated in
FIG. 16
, a set of a plurality of objects, and provides execution environments by flexibly utilizing these objects. Thus, according to the pure object-oriented OS, by adding or deleting an object, an execution environment can be easily added, deleted, or updated. Additionally, in the pure object-oriented OS, an object can be easily shared by a plurality of execution environments.
In
FIG. 16
, a first execution environment
230
is used as a concurrent object-oriented execution environment, which runs a first application program
231
, and a second execution environment
232
is used as a non-object-oriented execution environment, which runs a second application program
233
. In this pure object-oriented OS, objects, such as a downloader
234
, a scheduler
235
, and a registry
236
, are shared by the first execution environment
230
and the second execution environment
232
. In addition to those objects shared with the second execution environment
232
, the first execution environment
230
includes a first message handler
237
, a first memory manager
238
, and an object manager
239
. In addition to the objects shared with the first execution environment
230
, the second execution environment
232
includes a second message handler
240
, a second memory manager
241
, and a thread manager
242
.
According to the pure object-oriented OS, only the first execution environment
230
may be provided when the OS is started. Then, if the necessity arises for operating the second application program
233
, the second execution environment
232
can be provided by adding the second message handler
240
, the second memory manager
241
, and the thread manager
242
. In this manner, according to the pure object-oriented OS, a plurality of execution environments can be flexibly provided as needed.
In the pure object-oriented OS as described above, if a system is initialized according to an initializing process similar to the aforementioned process, the following three problems are raised, thereby failing to sufficiently exhibit the characteristics of the pure object-oriented OS.
According to the above-described initializing process, an adequate consideration is not given to the presence of a plurality of execution environments. In conventional OSs, each software module possesses information of an execution environment to which the software module belongs. Additionally, a software module forming an execution environment installs another software module which is to be executed under the execution environment according to a unique technique, and in some cases, a software module initializes itself. Thus, according to the above-described OS initializing process, an execution environment to which each software module belongs cannot be identified in advance. Consequently, processing executed in common for a plurality of execution environments, such as searching for a software module or checking for the presence
Chang Eric
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Lee Thomas
Sony Corporation
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