Devices, methods, systems and software products for coordination of computer main microprocessor and second microprocessor coupled thereto

• US 6,179,489 B1
• Filed: 04/04/1997
• Issued: 01/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Tang, Jun, Kerr, Jeffrey L., So, John Ling Wing, Magee, Steven R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US08/833,267
• Time in Patent Office: 1,397 Days
• Field of Search: 395/130, 395/672, 395/676
• US Class Current: 718/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/544 Buffers; Shared memory; Pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/545 where tasks reside in different layers, e.g. user- and kernel-space

Abstract

A process is provided for operating a computer system (100) having a storage holding an operating system (OS) and an application program (APP.exe) and a third program (VSP Kernel), a first processor (106) having an instruction set, and a second processor (1730) having a different instruction set. The process includes a first step of running the first processor (106) to determine whether a part of the application shall be run on the first processor or the second processor and then establishing a second processor object (VSP OBJECT1) if said part shall be run on the second processor and the first processor (106) sending a message that the second processor (1730) is to run said at least part of the application program. The third program establishes message handling functions and bus masters data transfer operations for the second processor between the host running the operating system and the second processor running the third program. The process concurrently runs the second processor to perform operations defined by the third program, including to access memory to detect the message that the second processor is to run said at least part of the application program, and runs the second processor (1730) to access the second processor object and thereby determine operations for the second processor to access second processor instructions for said part of the application program and data to be processed according to said second processor instructions.

Claims

1. A process of operating a computer system having a storage holding an operating system and an application program and a third program, a first processor having an instruction set, and a second processor having a different instruction set, the process comprising:

running the first processor to determine whether a part of the application shall be run on the first processor or the second processor and then establishing a second processor object if said part shall be run on the second processor and the first processor sending a message that the second processor is to run said at least part of the application program;

the third program establishing message handling functions and bus mastering data transfer operations for the second processor between the first processor running the operating system and the second processor running the third program;

concurrently running the second processor to perform operations defined by the third program, including to access memory to detect the message that the second processor is to run said at least part of the application program, running the second processor to access the second processor object and thereby determine operations for the second processor to access second processor instructions for said part of the application program and data to be processed according to said second processor instructions; and

running the second processor to process data according to said at least part of the application program and supplying data thus processed by bus mastering operations defined by the third program.

2. The process of claim 1 further comprising determining whether a part of the application shall be run on the first processor or the second processor by determining whether the second processor has computing availability to run said part of the application, and if so, allocating that part of the application to the second processor.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein if the second processor does not have computing availability and the second processor is already running a task, then executing logic to determine whether said task can be allocated to the first processor to provide computing availability, and if so, then allocating said task to the first processor and allocating said part of the application to said second processor.