METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING STARTUP PERFORMANCE AND INTEROPERABILITY OF A VIRTUAL APPLICATION

• US 20110191772A1
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Code Systems Incorporated (VOXX International Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Code Systems Incorporated (VOXX International Corporation)
• Inventors: Murphey, C. Michael, Larimore, Stefan I., Obata, Kenji C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,229,748 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/13 File access structures, e.g. distributed indices arrangements of input from, or output to, record carriers G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45587 Isolation or security of virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45591 Monitoring or debugging support
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

A data structure including simple and complex objects. Each simple object includes a content type indicator, a size indicator, and one or more simple data types. Each complex object includes a content type indicator, a size indicator, and one or more child objects. The complex objects include a layer object having first and second child objects. The first child object is a collection of complex objects storing information for configuring a virtual filesystem of a virtual application at application startup. The second child object is a collection of complex objects storing information for configuring a virtual registry of the virtual application at application startup. Reading of selected simple and complex objects may be deferred at startup based on the content type indicator. Deferred objects may be read after startup when access to information stored by the deferred object is request by the virtual application.

Claims

1. A data structure comprising:

a plurality of simple objects each comprising a content type indicator, a size indicator, and one or more simple data types; and

a plurality of complex objects each comprising a content type indicator, a size indicator, and one or more child objects, each of the child objects being one of the plurality of simple objects, one of the plurality of complex objects, a collection of one or more of the plurality of simple objects, or a collection of one or more of the plurality of complex objects;

the plurality of complex objects comprising at least one layer object comprising a first child object and a second child object, the first child object being a first collection of one or more of the plurality of complex objects, the second child object being a second collection of one or more of the plurality of complex objects, the first collection storing information for configuring a virtual filesystem of a virtual application at application startup, the second collection storing information for configuring a virtual registry of the virtual application at application startup.

2. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one layer object further comprises a third child object comprising a third collection of one or more of the plurality of simple objects, each of the simple objects of the third collection storing a value of an environmental variable.

3. The data structure of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the one or more of the plurality of complex objects of the first collection each comprise:

a third collection of one or more of the plurality of complex objects, each of the complex objects of the third collection storing information for configuring a directory in the virtual filesystem; and

a fourth collection of one or more of the plurality of simple objects, each of the simple objects of the fourth collection storing information corresponding to a file in the virtual filesystem.

4. The data structure of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more of the plurality of complex objects of the second collection comprise:

a third collection of one or more of the plurality of complex objects, each of the complex objects of the third collection storing information for configuring a key in the virtual registry; and

a fourth collection of one or more of the plurality of simple objects, each of the simple objects of the fourth collection storing information corresponding to a key value in the virtual registry.

5. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor implement a reader configured to read a binary file storing a plurality of nested objects, each of the nested objects storing a content type indicator, a size indicator, and information for configuring a virtual application during an initialization process, the reader being configured to:

decide whether to read a particular object of the plurality of nested objects based on the content type indicator of the particular object; and

if the reader decides not to read the particular object, store a location of the particular object in a data structure of the virtual application for subsequent reading by the reader.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the location of the particular object stored in the data structure of the virtual application is a location of the size indicator.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the reader is further configured to:

receive a request to read the particular object after the reader has stored the location of the size indicator of the particular object in the data structure of the virtual application;

in response to the request, obtain the location of the size indicator from the data structure of the virtual application and read the size indicator stored at the location;

identify an end location of the particular object as a function of the location and the size indicator read from the location;

identify a format associated with the particular object, the format comprising a plurality of data items arranged in a predetermined order;

if the particular object includes the plurality of data items arranged in the predetermined order, read the plurality of data items in the predetermined order from the particular object;

if the particular object includes fewer than all of the plurality of data items, read the data items included in the particular object, and assign default values to data items not read from the particular object; and

if the particular object includes one or more additional data items positioned after the plurality of data items, after reading the plurality of data items in the predetermined order from the particular object, advance to the end location of the particular object thereby skipping the one or more additional data items positioned after the plurality of data items.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the reader is further configured to:

receive a request to read the particular object after the reader has stored the location of the particular object in the data structure of the virtual application,

in response to the request, obtain the location of the particular object from the data structure, and

read the particular object starting at the location.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the reader is further configured to:

receive a request to read a selected object nested inside the particular object after the reader has stored the location of the particular object in the data structure of the virtual application,

in response to the request, obtain the location of the particular object from the data structure,

read the particular object starting at the location, and

until the selected nested object is read, identify a next object nested inside the particular object and read the next object.

10. A method performed by a computing device, the method comprising:

identifying a file storing a plurality of objects each storing a content type indicator, a size indicator, and information for configuring a virtual application during an initialization process;

for each of the plurality of objects, during the initialization process, determining whether to defer reading the object based on the content type indicator of the object;

for each deferred object, storing an offset value in a placeholder portion of the virtual application, the offset value indicating a location at which the size indicator of the deferred object is stored in the file, the placeholder portion of the virtual application being configured to store content of the type indicted by the content type indicator of the deferred object; and

for each non-deferred object, reading the information stored in the non-deferred object and configuring the virtual application with the information read.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

initiating the initialization process of the virtual application by executing the file.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

after completion of the initialization process, receiving a request for information referencing a selected placeholder portion of the virtual application;

reading the offset value from the selected placeholder portion;

identifying a location in the file corresponding to the offset value read from the selected placeholder portion; and

reading the information requested from the file starting from the identified location in the file.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein for each of the plurality of objects, during the initialization process, determining whether to defer reading the object based on the content type indicator of the object comprises:

deferring reading of the object if the content type indicator of the object indicates the object is storing information for configuring a directory or a registry key.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein for each deferred object:

if the content type indicator of the deferred object indicates the object is storing information for configuring a directory, the placeholder portion of the virtual application in which the offset value is stored comprises a directory of a virtual filesystem of the virtual application, and

if the content type indicator of the deferred object indicates the object is storing information for configuring a registry key, the placeholder portion of the virtual application in which the offset value is stored comprises a key of a virtual registry of the virtual application.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein for each non-deferred object, reading the information stored in the non-deferred object comprises:

reading a plurality of simple data items arranged in a predetermined order from the non-deferred object.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein for each non-deferred object, reading the information stored in the non-deferred object comprises:

reading the size indicator of the non-deferred object;

identifying an end location of the non-deferred object based on the size indicator;

identifying a format associated with the non-deferred object, the format comprising a plurality of data items arranged in a predetermined order;

if the non-deferred object includes the plurality of data items arranged in the predetermined order, reading the plurality of data items in the predetermined order from the non-deferred object;

if the non-deferred object includes fewer than all of the plurality of data items, reading the data items included in the non-deferred object, and assigning default values to data items not read from the non-deferred object; and

if the non-deferred object includes one or more additional data items positioned after the plurality of data items, after reading the plurality of data items in the predetermined order from the non-deferred object, advancing to the end location of the non-deferred object thereby skipping the one or more additional data items positioned after the plurality of data items.

17. A computer-readable medium comprising:

a file storing a plurality of objects each storing a content type indicator, a size indicator, and information for configuring a virtual application during an initialization process; and

instructions that when executed by a processor perform a method comprising;

for each of the plurality of objects, during the initialization process, determining whether to defer reading the object based on a type of content indicated by the content type indicator of the object;

for each deferred object, storing an offset value in a placeholder portion of the virtual application, the offset value indicating a location at which the size indicator of the deferred object is stored in the file, the portion of the virtual application being configured to store content of the type indicted by the content type indicator of the deferred object; and

for each non-deferred object, reading the information stored in the non-deferred object and configuring the virtual application with the information read.