Method and apparatus to support remote configuration code

• US 7,363,482 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd. (Xiaomi Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Zimmer, Vincent J., Rothman, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRIBBS, MALCOLM
• Application Number:
  US10/794,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20050198487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,511 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

A method and related apparatuses involve extensible framework interface (EFI) byte code images packaged within extensible markup language (XML) documents. In one embodiment, a processing system obtains an XML document, extracts an EFI byte code (EBC) image from the XML document, and then executes the EBC image. For instance, such a process may be used to obtain configuration code such as an EFI driver from a remote system. Processes are disclosed for retrieving and loading configuration code in pre-boot and runtime environments. Additional embodiments relate to XML files containing EBC images, processing systems that use EBC images from XML documents as configuration code, and processing system that provide XML documents with EBC images to other processing systems. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

extracting an extensible framework interface (EFI) byte code image from an extensible markup language (XML) document;

executing the EFI byte code (EBC) image on a processing system;

decoding the EBC image from a text-based encoding to a binary image; and

utilizing an EFI virtual machine to interpret the EBC image.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving the XML document from a remote processing system to the processing system.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein

the EBC image comprises an EFI driver;

and

the operation of executing the EBC image comprises loading the EFI driver in a pre-operating system environment of the processing system.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein

the EBC image comprises an EFI driver;

and

the operation of executing the EBC image comprises loading the EFI driver in an operating system runtime environment of the processing system.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining the XML document from local data storage.

6. An apparatus comprising:

a tangible, machine accessible medium; and

instructions encoded in the machine accessible medium, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform operations comprising;

extracting an extensible framework interface (EFI) byte code image from an extensible markup language (XML) document;

executing the EFI byte code (EBC) image;

decoding the EBC image from a text-based encoding to a binary image; and

utilizing an EFI virtual machine to interpret the EBC image.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the operations performed by the instructions further comprise:

retrieving the XML document from a remote processing system.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:

the EBC image comprises an EFI driver; and

the operation of executing the EBC image comprises loading the EFI driver in a pre-operating system environment of the processing system.

9. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:

the EBC image comprises an EFI driver; and

the operation of executing the EBC image comprises loading the EFI driver in an operating system runtime environment of the processing system.

10. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the operations performed by the instructions further comprise:

obtaining the XML document from local data storage.

11. An apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a processor communicatively coupled to the machine accessible medium, the processor to execute the instructions encoded in the machine accessible medium.