METHOD FOR GUARANTEEING CONSISTENCY OF FUNCTIONAL PARTS ACROSS A SOFTWARE INSTALLATION IN A COMPUTER

• US 20100122123A1
• Filed: 11/10/2008
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: EDMEADES, Jason Colin, BLUCK, Simon David, REECE, Stuart Jeffrey, LONGERSTAEY, Gary Patrick
• Application Number:
  US12/268,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20100122123A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/49
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0706 the processing taking place on a specific hardware platform or in a specific software environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44521 Dynamic linking or loading; Link editing at or after load time, e.g. Java class loading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44552 Conflict resolution, i.e. enabling coexistence of conflicting executables

Abstract

A method for guaranteeing consistency of functional parts across a software installation in a computer that is platform and language independent. Specifically, each software installation will contain a part, for example a DLL that exports a function or variable, which is available to other parts in the installation. All other parts in the installation, for example, executable files and other DLLs, will reference the exported resource. The name of the exported resource should evoke a particular software level and be specific to the software installation it belongs to. All other software installations on the same computer will follow this practice. Thus, all parts in a software installation will effectively reference a software level (via an exported resource). When the multiple parts of software are loaded into computer memory prior to execution of the software, the operating system will attempt to resolve references to the exported resource. If a software part has been modified such that it refers to an inconsistent export resource, the operating system will produce an error at software load time, immediately identifying the inconsistent part.

Claims

1. A method for guaranteeing consistency of functional parts across a software installation in a computer comprising:

exporting a resource from a shared dynamic linked library when performing a software installation on a computer,

wherein the software installation comprises a plurality of objects,

wherein the plurality of objects comprise dynamic linked libraries and

wherein a resource name identifies a current software level;

referencing the resource from each object associated with a software program;

loading the software program into a memory in the computer; and

generating a dynamic linking error in the computer'"'"'s operating system at the time of the software program loading if an object associated with the software installation has been modified such that it references a resource having a resource name identifying a different software level.