Memory allocation
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsRichard Chamberlain, Gordon Hutchison
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of allocating memory in a data processing system 10 and a memory allocation mechanism 54 are provided. Memory is allocated by the memory allocation mechanism in response to a memory allocation request 56 from a process 50 running on the system 10. The request 56 includes data identifying the size of the block required and an indication of a mask bit pattern. The memory allocation mechanism receives the request, selects a block of memory having an appropriate size and having an address with a bit pattern which corresponds correctly to the indicated mask bit pattern, and allocates the selected block of memory to the process.
Claims25
A method of allocating memory in a data processing system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a memory allocation request from a running process, the request including data relating to the size of the block of memory required and an indication of a mask bit pattern;
- selecting a block of memory of appropriate size and having an address including a bit pattern corresponding correctly to the mask bit pattern;
- and
- allocating the selected block of memory to the process.
A method of performing a memory update in a data processing system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of:
- reading an encoded memory address from memory;
- comparing the encoded memory address with a mask bit pattern to determine whether one or more flag bits embedded in the encoded memory address are set;
- resetting one or more of the flag bits in the encoded memory address;
- and
- storing the updated encoded memory address in the memory.
A memory allocation mechanism for a data processing system, the mechanism being operable to:
- receive a memory allocation request from a process running on the data processing system, the memory allocation request including data indicating the size of a memory block required and a mask bit pattern;
- select a block of memory of appropriate size and having an address including a bit pattern which corresponds correctly to the mask bit pattern;
- and
- allocate the selected block of memory to the process.
A computer program product directly loadable into the internal memory of a digital computer, comprising software code portions for performing, when said product is run on a computer, the method of allocating memory in a data processing system having a memory, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a memory allocation request from a running process, the request including data relating to the size of the block of memory required and an indication of a mask bit pattern;
- selecting a block of memory of appropriate size and having an address including a bit pattern corresponding correctly to the mask bit pattern;
- and
- allocating the selected block of memory to the process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.