Statically Verifiable Inter-Process-Communicative Isolated Processes

• US 20070094495A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Abadi, Martin, Aiken, Mark, Murphy, Nicholas, Zill, Brian, Steensgaard, Bjarne, Larus, James, Barham, Paul, Hawblitzel, Chris, Hunt, Galen, Fahndrich, Manuel, Levi, Steven, Hodson, Orion, Tarditi, David, Wobber, Edward
• Application Number:
  US11/428,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20070094495A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/468 Specific access rights for resources, e.g. using capability register
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes

Abstract

Described herein are one or more implementations of an operating system that provides for statically verifiable inter-process communication between isolated processes. Also, described herein are one or more implementations of programming tools that facilitate the development of statically verifiable isolated processes having inter-process communication.

Claims

1. One or more processor-readable media having processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method comprising:

associating ownership of a particular data set with a first process;

sending the particular data set from the first process to a second process;

transferring ownership of the particular data set from the first process to the second process, wherein the first process no longer has access to the particular data set after the transferring.

2. One or more media as recited in claim 1, wherein the data set includes a message.

3. One or more media as recited in claim 1, wherein the data set includes an endpoint of one or more inter-process communication.

4. One or more media as recited in claim 1, wherein the transferring of ownership occurs through one or more inter-process communication conduits connecting the first process and second process.

5. One or more media as recited in claim 1, wherein both the sending and the transferring are performed without memory allocation.

6. One or more media as recited in claim 1, wherein the data set is stored in an addressable location in allocated memory, the allocated memory having multiple addressable locations, each location being accessible by either the first or the second processes, but not both simultaneously.

7. An operating system comprising one or more media as recited in claim 1.

8. One or more processor-readable media having processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method comprising:

providing for the execution of one or more isolated software processes in a computer operating system environment, wherein the transferring of ownership occurs through one or more inter-process communication channels, wherein each inter-process communications channel consists of two or more of endpoints;

sending a particular data set from the first process to the second process via the inter-process communication channel;

transferring ownership of the particular data set owned by the first isolated software process from the first isolated software process to the second isolated software process.

9. One or more media as recited in claim 8, wherein the first software process no longer has access to the particular data set after the transferring.

10. One or more media as recited in claim 8, wherein the first software process retains no copy of the particular data set after the transferring.

11. One or more media as recited in claim 8, wherein the data set includes one or more endpoints of other inter-process communication channels.

12. One or more media as recited in claim 8, wherein the sending and the transferring comprises writing a pointer into a particular buffer location in the receiving endpoint, wherein the pointer represents the data set being transmitted.

13. One or more media as recited in claim 8, wherein both the sending and the transferring are performed without memory allocation.

14. One or more media as recited in claim 8, wherein the particular data set is stored in an addressable location in a buffer, the buffer having multiple addressable locations, each location being accessible by either the first or the second isolated software processes, but not both simultaneously.

15. An operating system comprising one or more media as recited in claim 8.

16. One or more media as recited in claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether the first isolated software process attempts to access an endpoint that that the first isolated software process does not own;

responsive to the determining, terminating the execution of the first process if the first process attempts to access an endpoint that that it does not own;

determining whether the second isolated process attempts to access an endpoint that that the second isolated process does not own;

responsive to the determining, terminating the execution of the second isolated process if the second isolated process attempts to access an endpoint that that it does not own.

17. One or more processor-readable media having processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method comprising:

obtaining one or more isolated software processes on a computer operating system environment, wherein the obtained two or more isolated software processes are formatted to be executable on the computer operating system environment;

confirming that no memory block of a shared exchange heap is simultaneously accessible by more than one isolated software process, wherein such access would occur while the two or more isolated software processes are executing, the shared exchange heap having one or more memory blocks and one or more of the one or more memory blocks are accessible simultaneously to the two or more isolated software processes when the processes are executed.

18. One or more media as recited in claim 17, the method further comprising confirming that access to each of the one or more memory blocks of the shared exchange buffer is restricted to just the owner of the memory block being accessed.

19. One or more media as recited in claim 17, wherein the one or more isolated software processes software processes are Software Isolated Processes (SIPs) configured for inter-process communication via one or more channels, wherein each channel consists of two or more endpoints and inter-process communication over a channel is defined and restricted by a channel contract associated with each channel, the method further comprising confirming at runtime that inter-process communication via each channel connecting executable isolated software processes conforms with the definitions and restrictions specified in the channel contracts associated with each channel.

20. One or more media as recited in claim 17, wherein the one or more isolated software processes are Software Isolated Processes (SIPs) configured for inter-process communication via one or more channels, wherein each channel consists of two or more endpoints and inter-process communication over a channel is defined and restricted by a channel contract associated with each channel, the method further comprising confirming prior to execution of a process, via the means of a static analysis, that the process'"'"' inter-process communication via each channel connecting executable isolated software processes conforms with the definitions and restrictions specified in the channel contracts associated with each channel.

21. One or more media as recited in claim 17, the method further comprising:

associating ownership of a particular data set with a first executable isolated software process;

sending the particular data set from the first executable isolated software process to a second executable isolated software process;

transferring ownership of the particular data set from the first executable isolated software process to the second executable isolated software process.

22. One or more media as recited in claim 17, the method further comprising:

prior to execution of executable instructions of one or more isolated software processes, determining whether the one or more isolated software processes will attempt to access buffers or endpoints during execution that the attempting process does not own;

responsive to the determining, presenting an indication whether the one or more isolated software processes will attempt to access buffers or endpoints during execution that the attempting process does not own.