System and method for formatting data for transmission between an embedded computer and a host computer having different machine characteristics

• US 7,392,526 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2006
• Issued: 06/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: S2 Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: S2 Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Underseth, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Van H.
• Application Number:
  US11/500,616
• Publication Number:
  US 20060282507A1
• Time in Patent Office: 687 Days
• Field of Search: 719310-313, 719/320, 719/328, 709/217, 709/224, 709/233, 707/1, 707/10, 707/102, 717/106, 717/110, 717/120, 717/121, 717/124, 717/133, 717/136
• US Class Current: 719/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3636 by tracing the execution of the program
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/542 Intercept
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/546 Xcast
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/547 Messaging middleware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/36 Software reuse
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/546 Message passing systems or structures, e.g. queues
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A system and method for providing seamless communication with threads executing on an embedded computer. Using a DAT system, a programmer can test the communication interfaces of a thread via either a scripting program, any COM-compliant program, or a graphical test utility. The DAT system automatically formats a block of data that is transmitted between the embedded computer and a host computer and accounts for machine specific enumeration sizes, machine specific pointer sizes, machine specific structure alignment boundaries, machine specific integer sizes, and machine specific byte ordering.

Claims

1. A system for transmitting data, the system comprising:

a host computer;

a first application executing on the host computer;

an embedded computer;

a second application executing on the embedded computer;

a database that identifies at least one interface characteristic of a plurality of interprocess interfaces of the first application and the second application and a user; and

a communication module that defines an interface for communication with the embedded computer, wherein the first application communicates with the second application via the communication module;

wherein the host computer stores host computer machine characteristic information for the embedded computer,

wherein the host machine characteristic information includes information selected from at least one of;

an enumeration size, an adaptive enumeration indicator, a short size, a long size, a float size, a double size, a double long size, a pointer size, a structure alignment boundary, an integer size, a byte ordering, a Boolean size, and a character size;

wherein the host computer stores embedded computer machine characteristic information for the host computer, wherein the embedded computer machine characteristic information includes information selected from at least one of;

an enumeration size, a pointer size, a structure alignment boundary, an integer size, and a byte ordering; and

wherein the first application stores data received from the second application in one of a plurality of persistent data objects,

wherein the first application loads data from one of the plurality of persistent data objects and transmits the loaded data to the second application to test the embedded computer,

wherein the second application, in response to receiving the transmitted data, generates response data,

wherein in response to receiving the response data from the second application that is targeted for the first application, the communication module modifies the response data, prior to transmitting the response data to the first application, and

wherein the modification is based, at least in part, upon the host computer machine characteristic information, the embedded computer machine characteristic information, and the interface characteristic.

2. A system for transmitting data, the system comprising:

a host computer;

a first application executing on the host computer;

an embedded computer;

a second application executing on the embedded computer;

a database of interprocess interface information describing characteristics of a plurality of communication interfaces of the first application and the second application, the interprocess interface information including parameter information for at least one of the communication interfaces;

wherein the host computer receives machine characteristic information for the embedded computer;

wherein the first application stores data received from the second application in one of a plurality of persistent data objects,

wherein the first application loads data from one of the plurality of persistent data objects and transmits the loaded data to the second application to test the embedded computer,

wherein the second application, in response to receiving the transmitted data, generates response data, and

wherein in response to receiving the response data from the second application that is targeted for the first application, the host computer modifies the response data prior to transmitting the response data to the first application, wherein the modification is based, at least in part, upon machine characteristic information and the interface information, and wherein the machine characteristic information includes information selected from at least one of an enumeration size, a pointer size, a structure alignment boundary, an integer size, and a byte ordering.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein modification includes reversing a byte order of at least one element of data in the response data.

4. A system for transmitting data, the system comprising:

a host computer;

a first application executing on the host computer;

an embedded computer;

a second application executing on the embedded computer; and

a database of interprocess interface information describing characteristics of a plurality of communication interfaces of the first application and the second application;

wherein the host computer receives machine characteristic information for the embedded computer,

wherein the first application stores data received from the second application in one of a plurality of persistent data objects,

wherein the first application loads data from one of the plurality of persistent data objects,

wherein the host computer modifies the loaded data,

wherein the first application transmits the modified data to the second application to test the embedded computer,

and

wherein the modification is based, at least in part, upon machine characteristic information and the interface information, and wherein the machine characteristic information includes information that is selected from at least one of an enumeration size, a pointer size, a structure alignment boundary, an integer size, and a byte ordering.

5. A system for transmitting data, the system comprising:

a host computer;

a first application executing on the host computer;

an embedded computer;

a second application executing on the embedded computer; and

a database of interprocess interface information describing characteristics of a plurality of predefined interfaces of the first application and the second application, the interprocess interface information including parameter information for at least one of the communication interfaces;

wherein the embedded computer transmits to the host computer a connection message that includes machine characteristic information for the embedded computer,

wherein the first application stores data received from the second application in one of a plurality of persistent data objects,

wherein the first application loads data from one of the plurality of persistent data objects and transmits the loaded data to the second application to test the embedded computer,

wherein the second application, in response to receiving the transmitted data, generates response data,

wherein in response to receiving the response data from the second application that is targeted for the first application, the host computer modifying the response data prior to transmitting the response data to the first application, and

wherein the modification is based, at least in part, upon the machine characteristic information and the interface information and wherein the machine characteristic information includes information that is selected from at least one of an enumeration size, a pointer size, a structure alignment boundary, an integer size, and a byte ordering.

6. A method of transmitting data, the method comprising:

automatically generating a database wherein the database includes interprocess interface information that describes a plurality of interfaces, the interprocess interface information including parameter information for at least one of the communication interfaces;

storing, at a host computer, data received from an embedded computer in one of a plurality of persistent data objects;

loading data from one of the plurality of persistent data objects;

transmitting the loaded data to the embedded computer to test the embedded computer;

receiving response data from the embedded computer, the response data generated in response to the transmitted data; and

formatting the response data, based at least upon the interface information and machine characteristic information that describes at least one characteristic of the embedded computer and wherein the machine characteristic information includes information that is selected from at least one of an enumeration size, a pointer size, a structure alignment boundary, an integer size, and a byte ordering, wherein formatting the response data further comprises modifying a number of bits of a data structure in the response data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein formatting the response data comprises reversing the byte order of at least one data field in the response data.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein formatting the response data comprises modifying a structure alignment boundary.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein automatically generating a database comprises parsing at least one interface description file.

10. A method of transmitting data, the method comprising:

storing, at a host computer, data received from an embedded computer in one of a plurality of persistent data objects;

loading data from one of the plurality of persistent data objects;

transmitting the loaded data to the embedded computer to test the embedded computer;

receiving response data from the embedded computer, the response data generated in response to the transmitted data; and

formatting the received response data, wherein the formatting is based at least in part upon information from a database of interprocess interface information that describes at least one characteristic of the response data and information that describes at least one characteristic of the embedded computer, and wherein the characteristic information of the embedded computer includes information that is selected from the group consisting of;

an enumeration size, a pointer size, a structure alignment boundary, an integer size, and a byte ordering, wherein formatting the response data comprises modifying a number of bits of a data structure in the response data communication.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein formatting the response data comprises reversing the byte order of at least one data field in the response data.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein formatting the response data comprises modifying a structure alignment boundary.