Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Atm Shafiqul Khalid

Barry Clayton Bond

Luis Felipe Cabrera

Ravisankar V Pudipeddi

Stefan Robert Steiner

An implementation of a technology is described herein for operating systems and loaders of executable images. Furthermore, the technology, described herein, facilitates the adoption and recognition by an operating system of an otherwise unsupported executable-image format by increasing the ease with which an executable-image loader may be modified. This abstract itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.

Extensible loader

Described herein is a technology facilitating the operation of non-native program modules within a native computing platform. This invention further generally relates to a technology facilitating the interoperability of native and non-native program modules within a native computing platform. More specifically, this technology involves an emulation of the kernel of the non-native operating system. Instead of interacting with the native kernel of the native computing platform, the non-native program modules interact with a non-native kernel emulator. This abstract itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.

Kernel emulator for non-native program modules

When using a common configuration data structure (e.g., 'registry'), the access redirector and entry reflector promotes compatibility and interoperability between differing versions of program modules.

Access redirector and entry reflector

When using a common configuration data structure (e.g., 'registry'), the access redirector and entry reflector promotes compatibility and interoperability between differing versions of program modules. The access redirector redirects selected accesses to storage locations (i.e., 'nodes') of a common configuration data structure. The selected accesses are redirected to another node. This redirection stores configuration information for differing versions of program modules at different nodes. However, the differing versions are unaware that they are accessing different nodes. As configuration information in a node is changed, the entry reflector may copy selected portions of such changed information into its associated &#x201c;reflected&#x201d; node and vice versa. This reflection allows associated &#x201c;reflected&#x201d; nodes to share relevant configuration information that promotes interoperability.

Described herein is a technology facilitating the operation of non-native program modules within a native computing platform. This technology provides a mechanism for aligning&#x2014;as necessary&#x2014;parameters of data structures so that program modules or operating systems of different paradigms may use them. The data of parameters of data structures is aligned to match the native paradigm. Typically, such data structures are shared by non-native program modules and the native operating system (or other program modules). It is aligned so that data&#x2014;that would otherwise be non-aligned and performance hindering&#x2014;is quickly and easily accessible by the native platform. This abstract itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.

Data alignment between native and non-native shared data structures

A system and method store information to a sequential storage media such that storage space occupied-by data deemed obsolete may be reclaimed. Information may be written to the storage media as sequential data sets with each data set including a catalog describing the information in the data set. A reclamation catalog identifies the obsolete data stored on the media and is written to the media. A generation number on the storage media may indicate whether the storage media has been reclaimed. A reclamation process transfers data from the source media (e.g., the tape media that includes obsolete data) to a destination media (e.g., a blank tape) while excluding the obsolete data identified in the reclamation catalog. The reclamation process may read a catalog stored on the source media that describes the data stored on the source media. The reclamation process then modifies that catalog by the information stored in the reclamation catalog to create a unified catalog. The unified catalog identifies which of the data stored on the source media is to be copied to the destination media. The reclamation process then copies the data identified in the unified catalog to the destination media. The reclamation process may additionally increment the generation number to indicate that the storage media has been reclaimed.

System and method for managing storage space on a sequential storage media

A system, a method and a program product provide access to variable-length data segments on a sequential access storage medium using an iterative search for a specified data offset based on estimates of media offsets. The data is recorded in variable-length data segments aligned to predetermined alignment intervals. Each data segment has a predetermined signature field to identify the header of each data segment. Session data recorded on the medium so as to prevent session data that matches the signature field from being aligned with the predetermined alignment interval. Approximate or default parameters for data segment size are used for each estimate and are updated with each iteration based on actual data derived from data segment headers on the medium.

Growing community of inventors

Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Atm Shafiqul Khalid