International Business Machines Corporation

Kenneth M Herrington

Kenneth L Jeffries

James D Henson, Jr

Michael Hadley Skelton

Charles Lincoln Raby

David Addy Bishop

John R Dyar

Robert F Daugherty

Raymond S Baumgartner

Barbara R Pierschalla

A method and apparatus are disclosed for monitoring software applications within a first processor during development thereof. A limited number of uniquely identifiable elements or 'hooks' are inserted into the software application under development and each time an element is encountered during processing of that software application, the identity of the element and a selected data frame are coupled to the output bus of the first processor. A data output card is utilized to couple that information to a data collection card via a dedicated cable. The data collection card is then utilized to transfer the identity of each element encountered and its associated data frame along with a time value, to a second processor, which is utilized to record that data. In one embodiment of the present invention, a switched bank memory system is utilized in the second processor to permit high speed data storage. In the event the software application under development generates monitoring outputs at a speed greater than may be accurately stored within the second processor, an overrun indication is stored within the second processor and subsequent tests may be run utilizing fewer 'hooks' within the software application under development.

First processor inserting hooks into software and sending unique

A method for use in an electronic digital signal processing system for improving execution time in locating requested programs, reducing program storage requirements in memory and improving packaging and repackaging of programs on direct access memory devices for the library. A program data set for a system is formed to recognize the references to character program names and to resolve those references into control section identification codes. Each referenced character program name is uniquely encoded to a 16 bit control section identification code used as an input to a table lookup routine. The encoded control section identification for the program library loaded on the direct access memory consists of a data set number, a module index number and a control section number. A similar data structure is used to locate programs in storage by program management once they have been retrieved from the program library stored on a direct access memory device of the system.

Program identification encoding

Multiple processes in an interrupt driven system are efficiently executed because each process has its own independently identified and addressable stack storage area including a process control block. Each process control block includes a link field for forming a distributed list of processes in dispatching priority order.

Separate stack areas for plural processes

A method for providing a node address uniquely identifies a process to be separately addressed and dispatched in a uniprocessor or multiprocessor environment. A single processor (14) identified by a unique primary node may include a single node of multiple processes (50), multiple subnodes of processes which do not replicate all of the processes in the subnode, or multiple subnodes with multiple processes replicated in each of said subnodes. Multiple processors (14), (64) and (66) may be joined by a communication data buss (60) to form a network of processors in which any processor may assign a work request to a process in its own or any other processor of the network to efficiently schedule work requests queued to any process in the network of processors.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Kenneth M Herrington