Method and apparatus for generating an update package

• US 8,453,138 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2005
• Issued: 05/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Bend Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Red Bend Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Meller, Evyatar, Peleg, Sharon
• Primary Examiner(s): DAO, THUY CHAN
• Application Number:
  US11/578,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20080196019A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,967 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 717/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/658 Incremental updates; Differential updates

Abstract

Method and apparatus for generating an update package. The update package is capable of in-place updating an old version to a new version wherein the old and new versions are stored in a storage device. The method includes inserting update commands into the update package, wherein the update commands allow updating the old version to the new version. The method further includes checking the update commands for determining whether they create at least one conflict, and if so, selecting one conflict out of the at least one conflict, wherein content overridden in said one conflict requires protection. A protection command allowing protection of the content before it is being overridden and a restoration command allowing restoration of the content with the protected content after it was overridden are also inserted into the update package.

Claims

1. A method for in-place updating an old version of content stored in memory to a new version of content stored in said memory, the method comprising:

obtaining an update package for in-place updating said old version of content to said new version of content, said update package including a sequence of commands including at least (i) update commands for copying content of said old version from one memory location in said memory to another memory location in said memory and (ii) protection commands for protecting content of said old version when at least one update command from the sequence of update commands would otherwise create one or more conflict areas, in which content to be overridden will be required for a subsequent update command, said protection commands including commands for copying said content of said old version of at least said conflict areas to a storage buffer and wherein said conflict areas are included in at least one block of content having been split into said conflict areas and non-conflict areas;

copying content of said old version from one memory location in said memory to another memory location in said memory, according to said update commands in said obtained update package; and

protecting, according to said protection commands, the content of said old version of each conflict area of said one or more conflict areas included in said at least one block of content prior to said content of said conflict area being overridden.

2. The method for in-place updating according to claim 1, wherein the update package further includes restoration commands for restoring said protected content of said old version.

3. The method for in-place updating according to claim 2, further comprising:

restoring said protected content of said old version in said storage buffer by copying said protected content from said storage buffer to a block of content including the overridden content.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program product stored thereon for in-place updating an old version of content stored in a memory device to a new version of content, said computer program product for causing a computer to receive an update package, said update package comprising:

a sequence of update commands for copying content of said old version from one memory location in said memory to another memory location in said memory; and

protection commands for protecting content of said old version, when at least one update command from said sequence of update commands would otherwise create one or more conflict areas in which content to be overridden will be required for a subsequent update command, said protection commands including commands for copying said content of said old version of at least said one or more conflict areas to a storage buffer, wherein said at least one or more conflict areas are included in at least one block of content having been split into non-conflict areas and said at least one or more conflict areas, and wherein

said computer program product further causes said computer to perform said in-place updating in accordance with said received update package so that (i) content of said old version is copied from one memory location in said memory to another memory location in memory and (ii) the content of said old version of each conflict area of said one or more conflict areas of said at least one block of content is protected prior to said content of said one or more conflict areas being overridden.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein the update package further comprises restoration commands for restoring said protected content of said old version.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein the received update package further comprises restoration commands for restoring said protected content of said old version in said storage buffer.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein said restoration commands include commands for copying said protected content of said old version from said storage buffer to one or more blocks of content including the overridden content.

8. A method for generating an update package of in-place updating an old version of content in a memory device to a new version of content, the method comprising:

obtaining a sequence of update commands for copying content of said old version from one memory location in said memory device to another memory location in said memory device;

determining if any of said update commands from said sequence of update commands creates one or more conflict areas wherein content to be overridden would be required by a subsequent update command;

for each block of content containing at least one determined conflict area, splitting the block of content into (i) conflict areas and (ii) non-conflict areas; and

generating a protection command for each determined conflict area of said one or more conflict areas of said blocks of content, for protecting the content of said old version of said one or more conflict areas to be overridden, wherein each generated protection command enables copying of said content of said one or more conflict areas of said blocks of content to a storage buffer.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

inserting the protection commands to the sequence of update commands such that a protection command precedes an update command that creates a conflict area wherein content is overridden.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating, for each conflict area of said one or more conflict areas, a restoration command for restoring the protected content of each conflict area.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said generated restoration commands enable copying of said protected content from said storage buffer to one or more blocks of content including conflict areas.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating new update commands for copying content of the non-conflict areas to a memory location in said memory whereat content of said old version is not overridden.

13. An apparatus for in-place updating an old version of content to a new version of content, the apparatus comprising:

a memory device for storing said old version of content;

an update package receiver for obtaining an update-package including a sequence of commands including (i) update commands for copying content of said old version from one memory location in said memory device to another memory location in said memory device and (ii) protection commands for protecting content of said old version, when at least one update command would otherwise create one or more conflict areas wherein content to be overridden will be required for a subsequent update command, said protection commands including commands for copying said content of said old version of at least said one or more conflict areas to a storage buffer and wherein said one or more conflict areas are included in at least one block of content having been split into conflict areas and non-conflict areas; and

a processor in communication with said update package receiver for executing said in-place updating in accordance with said update package so that (i) content of said old version is copied from one memory location in said memory to another memory location in memory and (ii) the content of said old version of each conflict area of said one or more conflict areas of said at least one block of content is protected prior to said content of each conflict area being overridden.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the update package further includes restoration commands for restoring said protected content of said old version.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the update package further includes restoration commands for copying said protected content from said storage buffer to one or more blocks of content including the overridden content.