MULTI-ENVIRONMENT OPERATING SYSTEM

• US 20110093836A1
• Filed: 07/19/2010
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Tzakis, Andrew N., Carlyle, Jeffrey C., Galicia, Joshua D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,389,877 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/139
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/441 Multiboot arrangements, i.e. selecting an operating system to be loaded

Abstract

A device with multiple, co-existing, and independent environments interacting with a common kernel, and related methods of operation, are disclosed herein. In at least one embodiment, the device is a mobile device on which a run-time method is performed. The run-time method includes interpreting a first software application on a register-based virtual machine coupled to a kernel. The method additionally includes concurrently executing a second software application also coupled to the kernel, where the second software application is a compiled software application. The interpreting of the first software application is performed using a first library, and the executing of the second software application is performed using a second library.

Claims

1. A run-time method performed on a mobile device, the method comprising:

interpreting a first software application on a register-based virtual machine coupled to a kernel; and

concurrently executing a second software application also coupled to the kernel,

wherein the second software application is a compiled software application,

wherein the interpreting of the first software application is performed using a first library, and

wherein the executing of the second software application is performed using a second library.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first library is smaller than the second library.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second library is substantially POSIX compliant.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first library is bionic and the second library is glibc.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second software application includes C code or C++ code, and wherein the first software application is interpreted using a byte-code-interpreter.

6. A run-time method performed on a mobile device, the method comprising:

interpreting at least one first software application on a register-based virtual machine coupled to a kernel; and

concurrently executing at least one second software application also coupled to the kernel, wherein the second software application is a compiled software application,

wherein the executing of the at least one second software application allows for displaying of a plurality of windows simultaneously, but only a single window can be displayed based upon the at least one first software application at any given time.

7. A device comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one storage device that stores computer executable instructions, wherein the computer executable instructions include;

first instructions that when performed by the at least one processing device establish a first software framework that interacts with a kernel, wherein the first software framework includes a first library and is configured for executing run-time interpreted code on a register-based virtual machine by way of the first library;

second instructions that when performed by the at least one processing device establish a second software framework that interacts with the kernel, wherein the second software framework includes a second library and is configured for executing pre-run-time compiled C/C++ code by way of the second library; and

third instructions that when performed by the at least one processing device establish the kernel.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the run-time interpreted code and the first software framework are comprised within a first environment established on the device.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the pre-run-time compiled C/C++ code and the second software framework are comprised within a second environment established on the device.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the run-time interpreted code and the first software framework are comprised within a first environment established on the device, and wherein each one of the first and second environments is capable of operation in relation to the kernel even if the other of the first and second environments is not present.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the first software framework includes first middleware and the second software framework includes second middleware.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein each of the first and second middleware includes a respective application framework, wherein the first middleware includes the first library, and wherein the second middleware includes the second library.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the first library includes a bionic library and the second library includes a glibc library, wherein the kernel is a Linux-based kernel, and wherein the kernel interfaces between at least one hardware device and each of the first and second middleware.

14. The device of claim 7, wherein the second software framework includes one of the following desktop environments:

GNOME, Enlightenment, Xfce, Fluxbox, LXDE and KDE.

15. The device of claim 7, wherein the second software framework includes an X11 Window manager.

16. The device of claim 7, wherein the second software framework supports a multiplicity of logical memory partitions while the first software framework is limited to only a single data partition in addition to a system area.

17. The device of claim 7, wherein the second software framework includes a Gstreamer multimedia framework.

18. The device of claim 7, wherein the device is a mobile device, and wherein the second software framework supports either a greater number of display resolutions or higher-level display resolutions than the first software framework.

19. The device of claim 7, wherein the first software framework one or more of (a) includes a radio interface layer, (b) allow for the performing of GPS functioning, and (c) is released under an Apache license.

20. The device of claim 7, further comprising a display, wherein the second instructions enable a first showing of a plurality of windows on the display but the first instructions only allow for a second showing of only a single window on the display.

21. A method for operating a device having a kernel, a first environment with first middleware, and a second environment with second middleware, wherein each of the environments interfaces the kernel:

initializing the kernel;

identifying a device mode state;

launching services common to each of the first environment and the second environment;

determining one of the first and second environments as being a primary environment based at least in part upon the mode state; and

launching initializing scripts for each of the first and second environments,

wherein the first middleware of the first environment is configured to interpret application code at run-time with a byte-code interpreter, and the second middleware of the second environment is configured to execute a pre-run-time-compiled application.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining that an event has occurred; and

in response to the event, switching from the one of the environments being the primary environment to the other of the environments being the primary environment.