Scott Christopher Robbins

US Patent:

7296257, Nov 13, 2007

Filed:

Aug 1, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/211933

Inventors:

Peter C. Dibble - Bethel Park PA, US
C. Douglass Locke - Mt. Lebanon PA, US
Scott D. Robbins - Pittsburgh PA, US
Pratik Solanki - Pittsburgh PA, US

Assignee:

TymeSys Corporation - Pittsburgh PA

International Classification:

G06F 9/45
G06F 9/44
G06F 11/00

US Classification:

717127, 717139, 712244, 714 38, 710262

Abstract:

A technique for implementing a data processor to determine if an exception has been thrown. Specifically, the technique may be used in an interpretive environment where a table known as a bytecode (upcode) dispatch table is used. The dispatch table contains addresses for code that implements each bytecode. When the interpreter executes normally, these addresses point to the basic target machine code for executing each bytecode. However, when an Asynchrounously Interrupted Exception (AIE) is thrown, then the dispatch table is repopulated so that all byte codes point to routines that can handle the exception. These may point to a routine, such as an athrow, that has been extended to handle the special case of the AIE. Alternatively, the rewritten table can point to a routine that is specifically written to handle the firing of an AIE. The table contents are restored to their prior state once the exception handling is complete.