Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Achut Reddy

Su Chan

Greg White

Wayne C Gramlich

Shyam Desirazu

The claimed invention can be used to automatically determine what files are needed to optimally execute a computer program to a desired state. In one embodiment the invention automatically creates an optimized file containing the files that are necessary to reach the desired state of a computer program. One or more remainder files may also be created. A remainder file contains the files that may be used by the computer program after reaching the desired state of execution.

Method and apparatus for automatically optimizing execution of a computer program

The invention provides a method and apparatus for dynamic patching for run-time error checking. With the present invention, a program to be error checked is read into memory where a debugging module resides. Such in-memory copy of the program is scanned for load objects. The load objects comprise libraries used by the program being error checked, as well as the main routines of such program. Next, a list of patch sites in the load objects is created and these patch sites corresponds to address locations in the load objects to be patched. Address space is then allocated for sections of the patch area where calls to real checking code resides. Finally, patches are written out to the in-memory copy of the program to be error checked. The original instruction in a patch site is replaced with branch to patch area instruction and the original instruction displaced is stored in the patch site's corresponding section of the patch area. The call to real checking code in this section of the patch area calls an error checking code. After the error checking is complete, the process transfers from the patch area to the next instruction in the segment of load object that was patched. In addition, the present invention is able to load new load objects. Such new load objects are scanned and the aforementioned patching process is repeated for patching the new load objects.

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Achut Reddy