The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 30, 2003
Filed:
Aug. 03, 2000
Jack Benkual, Cupertino, CA (US);
Thomas Y. Ho, Fremont, CA (US);
Jerome F. Duluk, Jr., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, CA (US);
Abstract
A mechanism that allows an application program running on a processor, to send data to a device using a medium that temporarily stores data and changes the order of the data dispatch on the way to the device. An inventive Random-In-First-Out (RIFO) buffer or memory device that restores the original order is provided. Several alternative approaches for implementing the RIFO control mechanisms for write efficiency and correctness. Method for use in conjunction with a data processing system having a host processor executing write instructions and communicating results in the form of symbols generated by the write instructions to at least one hardware device coupled to the host processor for receiving the symbols from the host processor, where the method preserves a predetermined order in which the symbols are received by the hardware device. Method includes sending a symbol from the host processor to a storage with an identifier indicating a symbol ordering relative to other of the symbols, storing the symbol and the indicator in the storage, and altering the order of dispatch of the symbols from the storage to the hardware device based on the indicator so that the symbols are received by the hardware device in the predetermined order independent of the order in which the symbols were communicated by the host processor. The invention also provides numerous embodiments of system, apparatus, method, computer program, and computer program product associated with the inventive concept.