Method and Apparatus for Intercommunications Amongst Device Drivers
First Claim
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1. A machine-implemented method for managing device drivers of devices in a computer, the method comprising:
- providing an application programming interface (API) within a kernel of an operating system (OS) running within a computer, the API being accessible by a plurality of device drivers associated with a plurality of devices in the computer; and
in response to a request from a first instance of a device driver via the API, returning information indicating whether a second instance of the device driver is currently loaded within the kernel.
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Abstract
Techniques for intercommunication amongst device drivers are described herein. In one embodiment, an application programming interface (API) is provided by a kernel of an operating system (OS) running within a data processing system. The API is accessible by device drivers associated with multiple devices installed in the system. In response to a request from a first instance of a driver via the API, information indicating whether another instance of the same driver is currently started is returned via the API. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A machine-implemented method for managing device drivers of devices in a computer, the method comprising:
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providing an application programming interface (API) within a kernel of an operating system (OS) running within a computer, the API being accessible by a plurality of device drivers associated with a plurality of devices in the computer; and in response to a request from a first instance of a device driver via the API, returning information indicating whether a second instance of the device driver is currently loaded within the kernel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A machine-readable medium having instructions stored herein, which when executed by a computer, cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
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providing an application programming interface (API) within a kernel of an operating system (OS) running within a computer, the API being accessible by a plurality of device drivers associated with a plurality of devices in the computer; and in response to a request from a first instance of a device driver via the API, returning information indicating whether a second instance of the device driver is currently loaded within the kernel. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for managing device drivers of devices in a computer, the method comprising:
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means for providing an application programming interface (API) within a kernel of an operating system (OS) running within a computer, the API being accessible by a plurality of device drivers associated with a plurality of devices in the computer; and in response to a request from a first instance of a device driver via the API, means for returning information indicating whether a second instance of the device driver is currently loaded within the kernel. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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24. A computer system architecture, comprising:
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a plurality of device drivers loaded in a kernel of an operating system of a computer, each of the device drivers corresponding to a device presented in the computer; and an application programming interface (API) for coupling the kernel with the plurality of device drivers, the API enabling an instance of a device driver to communicate with the kernel to determine whether another instance of the device driver is currently loaded.
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29. A computer implemented method, comprising:
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a first instance of a diver calling an application programming interface (API) maintained by a kernel of an operating system, the first instance of the driver being identified via a first driver identifier; and in response to a result of calling the API, the first instance of the driver determining whether a second instance of the driver has been initialized. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
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32. A machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a machine, cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
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a first instance of a driver calling an application programming interface (API) maintained by a kernel of an operating system, the first instance of the driver being identified via a first driver identifier; and in response to a result of calling the API, the first instance of the driver determining whether a second instance of the driver has been initialized. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. A machine implemented method, comprising:
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in response to a request received from a first instance of a driver via an application program interface (API), determining whether a second instance of the driver for a device associated with the first instance of the driver has already been initialized, wherein the determination is performed based on information retrieved from a data structure having driver registration information; and return a driver identifier to the first instance of the driver via the API, the driver identifier indicating whether a second instance of the driver has already been initialized. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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38. A machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed, cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
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in response to a request received from a first instance of a driver via an application program interface (API), determining whether a second instance of the driver for a device associated with the first instance of the driver has already been initialized, wherein the determination is performed based on information retrieved from a data structure having driver registration information; and return a driver identifier to the first instance of the driver via the API, the driver identifier indicating whether a second instance of the driver has already been initialized. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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41. A machine-implemented method for managing device drivers of devices in a computer, the method comprising:
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providing an application programming interface (API) within an operating system (OS) running within a computer, the API being accessible by a plurality of device drivers associated with a plurality of devices in the computer; and in response to a request from a first instance of a device driver via the API, returning information indicating whether a second instance of the device driver is currently loaded within the OS.
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42. A machine-readable medium having a library to be loaded within an operating system of a computer, comprising:
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an application programming interface (API) accessible by a plurality of device drivers associated with a plurality of devices in the computer, wherein in response to a request from a first instance of a device driver via the API, the API is configured to return information indicating whether a second instance of the device driver is currently loaded within the OS. - View Dependent Claims (43)
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Specification