Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Atsushi Kanamori

David Charles Wrighton

Mircea Trofin

Rudi Martin

Michal Strehovsky

Fadi M Hanna

Jon G Thomason

Patrick Henri Dussud

John Lawrence Hamby

Jan Kotas

Surupa Biswas

Jonathan G Thomason

Michael Rayhelson

Pracheeti Nagarkar

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for controlling runtime access to application programming interfaces Embodiments of the invention allow library developers to more precisely and easily control which of their libraries' APIs can be called dynamically. Thus, their servicing and versioning burden can be more appropriately controlled. Further, application developers can control which such APIs to further exclude from dynamic calling scenarios, to minimize the runtime support overhead (e.g., preventing generation of metadata).

Controlling runtime access to application program interfaces

Support for dynamic behavior is provided during static compilation while reducing reliance on JIT compilation and large runtimes. A mapping is created between metadata and native code runtime artifacts, such as between type definition metadata and a runtime type description, or between method definition metadata, a runtime type description, and a native code method location, or field definition metadata, a runtime type description, and a field location. A mapping between runtime artifacts may also be created. Some compilation results include trampoline code to support a reflection invocation of an artifact in the reduced runtime support environment, for virtual method calls, call-time bounds checking, calling convention conversion, or compiler-intrinsic methods. Some results support runtime diagnostics by including certain metadata even when full dynamic behavior is not supported.

Supporting dynamic behavior in statically compiled programs

One or more identifiers that facilitate efficient native image validation can be generated and stored in an auxiliary file upon pre-compiling of an assembly. The native image can be validated against an assembly from which the native image is generated, among other files that influence the generated contents of the native image, based upon the auxiliary file and included identifiers. Additionally, native image validation can be performed in an increasing cost sequence associated with each identifier included within the auxiliary file.

Light-weight validation of native images

Controlling runtime access to application programming interfaces

A method in a computer system for accessing Microsoft Component Object Model ('COM') objects of varying thread types from a Java-based program. The computer system has a Java virtual machine ('VM') that executes statements of the Java program and that executes in a multithreaded process. When executing a statement of the Java-based program to instantiate a COM object, the system creates a wrapper object. When the COM object is not thread-safe, the system requests an appropriate thread to instantiate the COM object and stores an identifier of the thread in the wrapper object. When the COM object is thread-safe, the system instantiates the COM object from the current thread and stores an indication in the wrapper object that the COM object can be accessed from any thread. When executing a statement of the Java-based program to invoke a method of the COM object, the system requests the thread identified in the wrapper object to invoke the method of the COM object. When the wrapper object indicates that the COM object can be referenced from any thread, the system invokes the method of the COM object referenced by the wrapper object directly from the current thread.

Method and system for accessing objects of different thread types

The present invention provides a facility for performing self-patching of computer code in memory. The facility patches a segment of executable code at runtime under the control of the code segment. The code segment has a selected entry point, a patching section, and a patched section. The patching section is provided to patch the patched section in order to change the contents of the patched section. When the code segment is executed a first time at the selected entry point, execution jumps from the beginning of the patched section to a point beyond the patched section to execute the patching section. When the patching section is executed, the patching section patches the patched section. Finally, when the code segment is executed at the selected entry point after the patching section has patched the patch section, the patched section is executed rather than the patching section.

In-memory modification of computer programs

A method in a computer system for accessing Microsoft Component Object Model (&ldquo;COM&rdquo;) objects of varying thread types from a Java-based program. The computer system has a Java virtual machine (&ldquo;VM&rdquo;) that executes statements of the Java program and that executes in a multithreaded process. When executing a statement of the Java-based program to instantiate a COM object, the system creates a wrapper object. When the COM object is not thread-safe, the system requests an appropriate thread to instantiate the COM object and stores an identifier of the thread in the wrapper object. When the COM object is thread-safe, the system instantiates the COM object from the current thread and stores an indication in the wrapper object that the COM object can be accessed from any thread. When executing a statement of the Java-based program to invoke a method of the COM object, the system requests the thread identified in the wrapper object to invoke the method of the COM object. When the wrapper object indicates that the COM object can be referenced from any thread, the system invokes the method of the COM object referenced by the wrapper object directly from the current thread.

A method and system for threaded resource allocation and reclamation are provided. In a preferred embodiment, a threaded resource allocation and reclamation facility (&ldquo;the facility&rdquo;) provides available instances of a resource in response to requests from resource consumers. The facility maintains both a central pool for holding available instances of the resource for use by any consumer and individual pools for holding available instances of the resource for use by each consumer. When the facility receives a request for an available instance of the resource from a consumer, it provides one from the individual pool for the requesting consumer. If the individual pool is empty, the facility provides an available instance of the resource from the central pool. In a further preferred embodiment, if the central pool is empty, the facility transfers one or more available instances of the resource from one or more of the individual pools to the central pool, then provides one of the transferred available instances.

Method and system for threaded resource allocation and reclamation

A method and system for providing a group of parallel resources as a proxy for a single shared resource is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a resource grouping facility (&ldquo;the facility&rdquo;) is incorporated in a &ldquo;non-global&rdquo; operating system. A non-global operating system is an operating system that is unable to respond correctly to a request to allocate a global resource of a particular type, such as a memory block, that can be accessed by every program executing in conjunction with the operating system. Instead, a non-global operating system allocates a putatively global resource that may not be accessed by every program executing in conjunction with the non-global operating system. When the facility detects that a transferer program is attempting to share a putatively global resource allocated by the operating system with a transferee program, the facility allocates a proxy resource that is accessible to the transferee. The facility may also allocate one or more intermediate resources accessible to other programs. The facility tracks the putatively global resource and all of the proxy resources as a proxy group. In a preferred embodiment, the facility also copies characteristics of the putatively global resource to the proxy resources. For example, where the putatively global resource and the proxy resources are memory blocks, the facility preferably copies the contents of the putatively global memory block to the proxy memory blocks. When the facility detects that a program is attempting to deallocate a member of the proxy group, that is, a putatively global resource or one of its proxies, the facility preferably deallocates each member of the proxy group.

Method and system for providing a group of parallel resources as a proxy for a single shared resource

A computer-based custom marshaling method and system for custom marshaling of parameters during invocation of functions implemented in a second language by computer programs implemented in an first language. The parameter to be custom marshaled has a first type in the first language and a second type in the second language. The custom marshaling system receives code for converting a parameter of the first type to a parameter of the second type and for converting a parameter of the second type to a parameter of the first type. The custom marshaling system monitors the execution of a computer program implemented in the first language that invokes a function implemented in the second language. The invocation passes a parameter of the first type, and the function expects a parameter of the second type. The custom marshaling system intercepts the invocation of the function implemented in the second language. After intercepting the invocation, the custom marshaling system executes the received code for converting the passed parameter of the first type to a parameter of the second type. The custom marshaling system then invokes the function implemented in the second language passing the parameter converted to the second type. The invoked function returns a parameter of the second type. After invocation of the function, the custom marshaling system executes the received code for converting the returned parameter of the second type to a parameter of the first type and returns the converted parameter of the first type when returning from the intercepted invocation of the function.

Method and system of custom marshaling of inter-language parameters

A method and system for providing a group of parallel resources as a proxy for a single shared resource is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a resource grouping facility ('the facility') is incorporated in a 'non-global' operating system. A non-global operating system is an operating system that is unable to respond correctly to a request to allocate a global resource of a particular type, such as a memory block, that can be accessed by every program executing in conjunction with the operating system. Instead, a non-global operating system allocates a putatively global resource that may not be accessed by every program executing in conjunction with the non-global operating system. When the facility detects that a transferor program is attempting to share a putatively global resource allocated by the operating system with a transferee program, the facility allocates a proxy resource that is accessible to the transferee. The facility may also allocate one or more intermediate resources accessible to other programs. The facility tracks the putatively global resource and all of the proxy resources as a proxy group. In a preferred embodiment, the facility also copies characteristics of the putatively global resource to the proxy resources. For example, where the putatively global resource and the proxy resources are a memory block, the facility preferably copies the contents of the putatively global memory block to the proxy memory blocks. When the facility detects that a program is attempting to deallocate a member of the proxy group, that is, a putatively global resource or one of its proxies, the facility preferably deallocates each member of the proxy group.

Method and system for providing a group of parallel resources as a proxy

A method and system for providing a set of routines that may be invoked by programs of two or more types is provided. In a preferred embodiment, a group of libraries that each are able to be called by programs of a different one of the types is provided. Each of the routines is provided by a function in one of the libraries. The method and system causes all of the libraries of the group to be loaded when any of the libraries of the group are loaded. In order to invoke a routine, a program calls a function in the library of the group that is able to be called by programs of its type. If the routine is provided by a function in this library, the library provides the routine itself. If the routine is provided by a function in another library of the group, the library calls the function that provides the routine in another library of the group. In a preferred embodiment, the library causes a calling instruction to be written into the library which calls the function that provides the routine in another library of the group in order to enable the library to call the function that provides the routine in another library of the group. In a further preferred embodiment, other libraries of the group are actually loaded only when one of their functions is called to provide a routine of the set.

Growing community of inventors

Redmond, WA, United States of America

Atsushi Kanamori