System and method for change logging in a firmware over the air development environment

• US 20080030757A1
• Filed: 07/21/2006
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Peddireddy, Sudheer Kumar, Ingles, Roger H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,296,268 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management

Abstract

The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for change logging in a firmware over the air (FOTA) development environment. In one example, the method may include creating a cumulative change log for an intermediate binary file that contains an extractable binary image. The cumulative change log may record changes between the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file. The cumulative change log may be stored in the intermediate binary file and later retrieved. The cumulative change log may be analyzed to identify statistics about changes that occurred between the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining a change log when creating iterations of a binary image for use in a mobile device, the method comprising:

creating a first intermediate binary file containing header information and image information for a first binary image;

creating a second intermediate binary file containing header information and image information for a second binary image;

inserting a first change log into the second intermediate binary file, wherein the first change log contains differences between the first and second intermediate binary files;

creating a third intermediate binary file containing header information and image information for a third binary image; and

inserting the first change log and a second change log into the third intermediate binary file, wherein the second change log contains differences between the second and third intermediate binary files.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising combining the first and second change logs in the third intermediate binary file.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second change logs are maintained separately within the third intermediate binary file.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating the third intermediate binary file based in part on information from the first change log.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising reviewing the first and second change logs to accumulate statistics based on the differences between the first, second, and third intermediate binary files.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising analyzing the statistics to identify a portion of the first, second, and third intermediate binary files in which a number of changes that occur between the first and second intermediate binary files and between the second and third intermediate binary files are below a threshold value.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising analyzing the statistics to identify a portion of the first, second, and third intermediate binary files that has changed less between the first and second intermediate binary files and between the second and third intermediate binary files than other portions of the first, second, and third intermediate binary files.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

creating a fourth intermediate binary file containing header information and image information for a fourth binary image; and

inserting the first change log, the second change log, and a third change log into the fourth intermediate binary file, wherein the third change log contains differences between the third and fourth intermediate binary files.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second change logs are automatically created.

10. A method for use in a firmware over the air development environment comprising:

creating a cumulative change log for an intermediate binary file that contains an extractable binary image, wherein the cumulative change log records changes between the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file;

storing the cumulative change log in the intermediate binary file;

retrieving the cumulative change log from the intermediate binary file; and

analyzing the cumulative change log to identify statistics about changes that occurred between the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising analyzing the statistics to identify a portion of the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file in which a number of changes that occurred between the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file are below a threshold value.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising analyzing the statistics to identify a portion of the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file that has changed less than other portions of the intermediate binary file and earlier iterations of the intermediate binary file.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising identifying a location and a size of the identified portion within the intermediate binary file.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising moving the identified portion to another location within the intermediate binary file.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising partitioning the extractable binary image based at least in part on the identified statistics.

16. A system for change logging in a firmware over the air environment comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor; and

a plurality of computer executable instructions stored in the memory for execution by the processor including instructions for;

creating a base intermediate binary file containing header information and image information for a binary image;

creating at least first and second iterations of the intermediate binary file;

creating a first change log representing differences between the base and first intermediate binary files and a second change log representing differences between the first and second intermediate binary files;

inserting the first change log into the first iteration of the intermediate binary file and the first and second change logs into the second iteration of the intermediate binary file; and

extracting an executable binary image from the second intermediate binary file.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising instructions for inserting the first change log into the second iteration of the intermediate binary file separately from the second change log.

18. The system of claim 17 further comprising instructions for combining the first and second change logs into a single cumulative change log in the second iteration of the intermediate binary file.

19. The system of claim 16 further comprising analyzing the first change log prior to creation of the second iteration of the intermediate binary image, wherein the analyzing is used to modify a placement of information within the second iteration of the intermediate binary file.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the first and second change logs are automatically created with the first and second iterations of the intermediate binary file.