Mechanism for Allocating Statement Frontier Annotations to Source Code Statements

• US 20110296389A1
• Filed: 05/28/2010
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Oliva, Alexandre
• Granted Patent: US 8,516,463 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/151
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/73 Program documentation

Abstract

A mechanism for allocating statement frontier annotations to source code statements of a software program is disclosed. A method of embodiments of the invention includes generating statement frontier annotations during translation of source code statements of a software program on a computer system. The method further includes allocating the statement frontier annotations to the source code statements, wherein a statement frontier annotation indicates a frontier of a source code statement to which the statement frontier annotation is allocated.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for allocating statement annotations comprising:

generating statement frontier annotations during translation of source code statements of a software program on a computer system; and

allocating the statement frontier annotations to the source code statements, wherein a statement frontier annotation indicates a frontier of a source code statement to which the statement frontier annotation is allocated.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the statement frontier annotation comprises a beginning-of-statement annotation or an end-of-statement annotation, and wherein the frontier comprises a beginning or an end of the source code statement.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the beginning-of-statement annotation indicates the beginning.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the end-of-statement annotation indicates the end.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein allocating includes establishing a fixed reference location between a statement frontier annotation and a corresponding binding annotation of a source code statement to which the statement frontier annotation and the binding annotation are allocated.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising maintaining the fixed reference location by preventing the binding annotation from moving about with reference to the statement frontier annotation, while other compiler internal statements of the source code statement move about.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising continuously maintaining the fixed reference location if the binding annotation is updated.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein each of the statement frontier and binding annotations serve as another compiler internal statement of the source code statements.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the binding annotation is updated as necessitated.

10. A system for allocating statement annotations comprising:

a processor communicably coupled to a memory; and

a compiler communicably coupled to the processor, the compiler having an annotation allocator operable to;

generate statement frontier annotations during translation of source code statements of a software program on a computer system; and

allocate the statement frontier annotations to the source code statements, wherein a statement frontier annotation indicates a frontier of a source code statement to which the statement frontier annotation is allocated.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the statement frontier annotation comprises a beginning-of-statement annotation or an end-of-statement annotation, and wherein the frontier comprises a beginning or an end of the source code statement.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the beginning-of-statement annotation indicates the beginning.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the end-of-statement annotation indicates the end.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein allocating includes establishing a fixed reference location between a statement frontier annotation and a corresponding binding annotation of a source code statement to which the statement frontier annotation and the binding annotation are allocated.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the annotation allocator is further operable to maintain the fixed reference location by preventing the binding annotation from moving about with reference to the statement frontier annotation, while other compiler internal statements of the source code statement move about.

16. An article of manufacture comprising a machine-readable storage medium including data that, when accessed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

generating statement frontier annotations during translation of source code statements of a software program on a computer system; and

allocating the statement frontier annotations to the source code statements, wherein a statement frontier annotation indicates a frontier of a source code statement to which the statement frontier annotation is allocated.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the statement frontier annotation comprises a beginning-of-statement annotation or an end-of-statement annotation, and wherein the frontier comprises a beginning or an end of the source code statement.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the beginning-of-statement annotation indicates the beginning.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the end-of-statement annotation indicates the end.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein allocating includes establishing a fixed reference location between a statement frontier annotation and a corresponding binding annotation of a source code statement to which the statement frontier annotation and the binding annotation are allocated.