Object-oriented operating system

• US 6,351,778 B1
• Filed: 11/05/1998
• Issued: 02/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Object Technology Licensing Corporation (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Bolton, Eugenie Lee, Orton, Debra Lyn, Chernikoff, Daniel F., Moeller, Christopher P., Goldsmith, David Brook
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chavis, John Q.
• Application Number:
  US09/186,419
• Time in Patent Office: 1,209 Days
• Field of Search: 395/682, 395/683, 709/302, 709/303, 709/310, 709/311
• US Class Current: 719/310
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/76 Adapting program code to run in a different environment; Porting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/445 Program loading or initiating bootstrapping G06F9/4401; security arrangements for program loading or initiating G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4484 Executing subprograms
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4492 Inheritance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45537 Provision of facilities of other operating environments, e.g. WINE I/O emulation G06F13/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications

Abstract

An apparatus for enabling an object-oriented application to access in an object-oriented manner a procedural operating system having a native procedural interface is disclosed. The apparatus includes a computer and a memory component in the computer. A code library is stored in the memory component. The code library includes computer program logic implementing an object-oriented class library. The object-oriented class library comprises related object-oriented classes for enabling the application to access in an object-oriented manner services provided by the operating system. The object-oriented classes include methods for accessing the operating system services using procedural function calls compatible with the native procedural interface of the operating system. The computer processes object-oriented statements contained in the application and defined by the class library by executing methods from the class library corresponding to the object-oriented statements.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

computer hardware having executable program memory;

a procedural operating system running in said executable program memory to control the computer hardware to perform native system services;

an object-oriented interface running in said executable memory for encapsulating method-specific data in specific memory locations for exclusive operation thereupon by a selected one of a plurality of object-oriented methods;

procedural program logic code for adapting native system services, provided in response to an associated object-oriented method invoked on the computer hardware platform, in accordance with the method-specific data encapsulated for that associated object-oriented method;

program code for determining if object-oriented methods to be invoked are present in the executable program memory during runtime execution; and

a runtime loader, responsive to the determinations, for selectively loading the required object-oriented methods into the executable program memory during runtime execution before invocation of the method, if not already present;

whereby a choice of which system implementation to use can be deferred to run-time.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the procedural program logic code further comprises:

procedural program logic code portions specific to each object-oriented method to control arguments, data values and/or parameters associated with the native system services for adapting and/or monitoring the provided native system services to be compatible with the system services require the related object-oriented method.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein computer hardware platform further comprises:

an operating system based on Windows or Unix executing on a Unix or IBM-compatible computer environment.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the procedural program logic code further comprises:

programming code for adapting at least one of the following native system services;

thread services, task services, virtual memory services, inter-process communication (IPC) services, synchronization services, scheduling services, fault services, processor and processor set services, port services, security services, file system services, and/or graphical user interface (GUI) services.

5. A method for operating a computer system, comprising the steps of:

executing a procedural operating system on computer hardware to provide native system services;

executing an object on the procedural operating system to encapsulate data in a specified location in computer memory for exclusive operation thereon by one or more object-oriented methods associated with the object;

determining during runtime whether object-specific procedural program logic code is available in executable program memory to provide required native system services;

loading the object-specific procedural program logic code into the executable program memory during runtime to provide said required native system services; and

using the object-specific procedural program logic code to adapt native system services, provided in response to an invocation of a selected one of the methods, in accordance with the related encapsulated data;

whereby a choice of which system implementation to use can be deferred to run-time.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of using object-specific procedural program logic code to adapt native system services further comprises the step of:

controlling arguments, data values and/or parameters associated with the one or more issued procedural function calls for adapting and/or monitoring the native system services to be compatible with the system services required by the related object-oriented method.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of selectively loading the method further comprising the step of:

also loading related portions of the procedural program logic code, if not yet loaded.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of executing a procedural operating system on computer hardware further comprises the step of:

executing a procedural operating system based on Windows or Unix.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of executing a procedural operating system based on Windows or Unix further comprises the step of:

executing the procedural operating system in a Unix or IBM-compatible computer environment.

10. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of providing procedural program logic code further comprises the step of:

providing one or more of the following native system services;

thread services, task services, virtual memory services, inter-process communication (IPC) services, synchronization services, scheduling services, fault services, processor and processor set services, port services, security services, file system services, and graphical user interface (GUI) service.

11. A method for operating a computer system, comprising the steps of:

compiling an object-oriented program containing an object-oriented method that calls a system service;

executing a procedural operating system on computer hardware to provide native system services;

executing an object on the procedural operating system to encapsulate data in a specified location in computer memory for exclusive operation thereon by the object-oriented method;

determining during runtime whether object-specific procedural program logic code is available in executable program memory to provide required native system services;

loading the object-specific procedural program logic code into the executable program memory during runtime to provide said required native system services; and

using the object-specific procedural program logic code to adapt said native system services, provided in response to an invocation of the object-oriented method, in accordance with the encapsulated data;

whereby a choice of which system implementation to use can be deferred to run-time.

12. A method for operating a computer system, comprising the steps of:

compiling an object-oriented program containing an object-oriented method that calls a system service;

executing a procedural operating system on computer hardware to provide native system services;

executing an object on the procedural operating system, to be operated on by the object-oriented method;

determining during runtime whether object-specific procedural program logic code is available in executable program memory to provide required native system services;

loading the object-specific procedural program logic code into the executable program memory during runtime to provide said required native system services; and

using the object-specific procedural program logic code to call said native system services in response to an invocation of the object-oriented method;

whereby a choice of which system implementation to use can be deferred to run-time.

13. A method for operating a computer system, comprising the steps of:

compiling an object-oriented program containing an object-oriented method that calls a system service;

executing a procedural operating system on computer hardware to provide native system services;

executing an object on the procedural operating system, to be operated on by the object-oriented method;

determining during runtime whether object-specific procedural program logic code is available in executable program memory to provide required native system services;

loading the object-specific procedural program logic code into the executable program memory during runtime to provide said required native system services; and

using the object-specific procedural program logic code to call said native system services in response to an invocation of the object-oriented method;

whereby the application can be developed without knowing the operating system.

14. A method for operating a computer system, comprising the steps of:

compiling an object-oriented program containing an object-oriented method that calls a system service;

executing a procedural operating system on computer hardware to provide native system services;

executing an object on the procedural operating system, to be operated on by the object-oriented method;

determining during runtime whether object-specific procedural program logic code is available in executable program memory to provide required native system services;

loading the object-specific procedural program logic code into the executable program memory during runtime to provide said required native system services; and

using object-specific procedural program logic code to call said native system services in response to an invocation of the object-oriented method;

whereby the application can be developed without knowing the operating system.

15. A method for operating a computer system, comprising the steps of:

executing a procedural operating system on computer hardware to provide native system services;

executing an object on the procedural operating system to encapsulate data in a specified location in computer memory for exclusive operation thereon by one or more object-oriented methods associated with the object;

determining during runtime whether object-specific procedural program logic code is available in executable program memory to provide required native system services;

loading the object-specific procedural program logic code into the executable program memory during runtime to provide said required native system services; and

using the object-specific procedural program logic code to adapt native system services, provided in response to an invocation of a selected one of the methods, in accordance with the related encapsulated data;

whereby the object-oriented program can be developed without knowing the operating system.