Apple Inc.

Vladimir Lhotak

Daniel I Lipton

Riaz A Moledina

An approach for providing a user with resumption data before pausing or terminating a partially-processed job that is processing in a distributed system. Certain applications, when paused, are not able to resume processing data at precisely the point where it was paused. As a result, users surrender some, or all, of the processed portion of the data when processing is paused. In one embodiment of the invention, a user is provided with resumption data before the user confirms a request to pause the processing. Resumption data from each of the service nodes that is processing a segment of source data are collected and aggregated. Resumption data reflects a measure of processed data that would require re-processing if the processing were paused and resumed. Alternatively, resumption data includes a duration of spent processing time that would be lost if the processing were paused and resumed.

Providing resumption data in a distributed processing system

Some embodiments provide a method for distributing an operation for processing by a set of background services. The method automatically determines a number of background services for performing an operation. The method partitions the operation into several sub-operations. The method distributes the several sub-operations across the determined number of background services.

Performing an operation using multiple services

The present invention is a method and system for reducing delays due to a stream of digital data processing requests to a function specific hardware circuit. The system includes a first hardware stage implemented to perform the given function and a second parallel software code stage implemented to perform the same function. The hardware stage employs circuitry to implement the function whereas the software stage performs the function using software code including function specific processor instructions. The system also includes an arbitration stage that routes the data values to either of the hardware or software stages depending on the availability of the hardware stage and in accordance to pre-defined arbitration rules.

System and method for arbitrating accelerator requests

Color conversion systems and methods using an interpolation table that minimizes interpolation color value generation times and reduces memory storage of interpolation tables. A first color conversion method and system reduces interpolation table generation times by generating interpolation color values on an 'as needed' basis while performing color conversions. A second color conversion method minimizes interpolation table memory storage by dividing the interpolation table into segments, allocating primary memory storage to store only a given number of segments and establishing a segment status bit array to indicate whether a given segment is currently stored in primary memory. A third system and method combines both the first and second methods so that both interpolation table generation times and table memory storage is reduced.

System and method for minimizing color interpolation tables

The present invention is a method and system employing a glue code for: 1) intercepting low-level device dependent information from a graphics management interpreter software tool and 2) re-construct the low-level device dependent information into a high-level object oriented data representation for each object on a given page. The interpreter software is configured such that it transmits marking request signals and associated data to a fictitious frame buffer. However, the glue code of the present invention intercepts the marking request signals and associated data and transmits back receipt acknowledgment signals to the interpreter to make it think that it is writing to a frame buffer. As a result, the interpreter software transmits all marking requests and associated data to the glue code. The glue code then processes the low level device dependent information transmitted from the interpreter and reconstructs it into a high-level object oriented data representation using the information provided by the marking request.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Vladimir Lhotak