Methods and apparatuses for a compiler server

• US 9,880,819 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2014
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Beretta, Robert, Burns, Nicholas William, Begeman, Nathaniel, Miller, Phillip Kent, Stahl, Geoffrey Grant
• Primary Examiner(s): Mitchell, Jason
• Application Number:
  US14/175,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20140181797A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,453 Days
• Field of Search: 717140, 717146-148, 717151, 717170-173, 717176-178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/41 Compilation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44521 Dynamic linking or loading; Link editing at or after load time, e.g. Java class loading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine

Abstract

A method and an apparatus that instructs a compiler server to build or otherwise obtain a compiled code corresponding to a compilation request received from an application are described. The compiler server may be configured to compile source codes for a plurality of independent applications, each running in a separate process, using a plurality of independent compilers, each running in a separate compiler process. A search may be performed in a cache for a compiled code that satisfies a compilation request received from an application. A reply message including the compiled code can be provided for the application, wherein the compiled code is compiled in direct response to the request, or is obtained from the cache if the search identities in the cache the compiled code that satisfies the compilation request.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

in response to receiving, at a compiler server that comprises a plurality of different compilers of different types of source code, a compilation request from a first application to compile a source code, the compilation request comprising meta data that is generated from the source code and the compilation request further identifying a compiler in the plurality of different compilers to use to compile the source code,

searching, by the compiler server, a cache for a compiled code that satisfies the compilation request by comparing at least a portion of the meta data in the compilation request with meta data associated with the compiled code in the cache,

determining if the first application is authorized to receive the compiled code, and if the first application is authorized to receive the compiled code providing the compiled code to the first application in response to the compilation request if the compiled code that satisfies the compilation request is available from the cache, otherwise;

selecting a first compiler from the plurality of different compilers based at least in part on the identification of the compiler in the request;

instructing, by the compiler server, the first compiler to build the compiled code from the source code for the compilation request;

in response to detecting that the first compiler has successfully built the compiled code;

providing the first application with the compiled code built for the compilation request; and

storing the compiled code in the cache with the meta data from the compilation request;

in response to detecting that the application process is not allowed to access the compiler identified in the compilation request;

selecting, by the compiler server, a second compiler, different from the first compiler, from the plurality of different compilers to build compiled code;

compiling the source code using the second compiler;

providing the first application with the compiled code; and

storing a copy of the compiled code, wherein the compiled code is available for a future compilation request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of compilers are loaded in separate processes and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, at the compiler server, in response to a message indicating a failure of the first compiler to build the compiled code, an alternative compilation request from the first application to compile the source code which causes the compiler server to select the second compiler.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the compilation request is received over a network connection remotely coupled with the first application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first application is to execute the compiled code from the source code and the compilation request is a JIT (just in time) compilation for the compiled code and wherein the compiler server performs the searching, the instructing, and the providing for the first application and the plurality of independent client applications.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the compilation request includes a representation of the source code and wherein the searching comprises:

identifying one or more compiled codes from the cache according to the representation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the representation is a key hashed from the source code and wherein the compilation request includes compilation options, wherein each of the identified one or more compiled codes is associated with meta data, the method further comprising:

determining if the meta data is compatible with the compilation options.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the compilation options include a specification of a target processor architecture for the compiled code.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein providing the first application with the compiled code comprises:

in response to receiving the compiled code from the one or more compilers, storing the compiled code into the cache, wherein the compiled code is indexed in the cache according to the representation.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating meta data for the compiled code according to the compilation request; and

storing the meta data associated with the compiled code in the cache.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the compilation request from the first application includes a security setting which comprises an authorization level.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the compiler server executes in a first process, and instructing the first compiler comprises:

determining a status for the first compiler, the status indicating if the first compiler is running in a second process; and

invoking the second process to load the first compiler if the status indicates the first compiler is not loaded.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first compiler is associated with a request queue, wherein the first compiler retrieves requests from the request queue to perform compilation tasks, the method further comprising:

generating a request to compile the source code according to the compilation request; and

appending the request to the request queue for the first compiler to compile the source code.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the compiler server, another compilation request from a second application;

searching, by the compiler server, the cache for a compiled code that satisfies the another compilation request, wherein if compiled code that satisfies the compilation request is not found within the cache, performing;

selecting, by the compiler server, the first compiler;

instructing, by the compiler server, the first compiler to build compiled code for the another compilation request;

providing, by the compiler server, the compiled code to the second application if the compiled code is successfully built for the another compilation request.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the another compilation request includes a security setting that comprises at least one of a user identifier or an authorization level or a user privilege or a security level or a user information.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the meta data comprises at least one of:

a code signature comprising a hash of the source code, generated by the first application program;

a compressed version of the source code generated by the first application program.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein a compiler failing to compile source code comprises one or more of:

the meta data in the request to compile source code identifies security attributes of the compiler, and security attributes of the compiler do not match the meta data;

a compiler cannot be found to compile the source code;

or

the compiler selected crashes or corrupts itself.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein a first, trusted compiler and a second compiler are both capable of compiling the source code, and the first compiler is selected to compile the source code in preference over the second compiler.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the compilation request specifies a plurality of preferred compilers to compile the source code.

19. A machine readable non-transitory medium storing instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause the data processing system to perform a method, comprising:

in response to receiving, at a compiler server that comprises a plurality of different compilers of different types of source code, a compilation request from a first application to compile a source code, the compilation request comprising meta data that is generated from the source code and the compilation request from the first application further identifying a compiler in the plurality of different compilers to use to compiler the source code,

searching, by the compiler server, a cache for a compiled code that satisfies the compilation request by comparing at least a portion of the meta data in the compilation request with meta data associated with the compiled code in the cache,

determining if the first application is authorized to receive the compiled code, and if the first application is authorized to receive the compiled code providing the compiled code to the first application in response to the compilation request if the compiled code that satisfies the compilation request is available from the cache, otherwise;

selecting a first compiler from the plurality of different compilers based at least in part on the identification of the compiler in the request;

instructing, by the compiler server, the first compiler to build the compiled code from the source code for the compilation request;

in response to detecting that the application process is not allowed to access the compiler identified in the compilation request;

providing the first application with the compiled code built for the compilation request;

storing the compiled code with the associated meta data from the compilation request;

in response to detecting that the first compiler fails to build the compiled code for the compilation request;

selecting, by the compiler server, a second compiler different from the first compiler from the plurality of different compilers to build compiled code;

compiling the source code using the second compiler;

providing the first application with the compiled code; and

storing a copy of the compiled code, wherein the compiled code is available for a future compilation request.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of compilers are loaded in separate processes and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, at the compiler server, in response to a message indicating a failure of the first compiler to build the compiled code, an alternative compilation request from the first application to compile the source code which causes the compiler server to select the second compiler.

21. The medium of claim 19, wherein the compilation request is received over a network connection remotely coupled with the first application.

22. The medium of claim 19, wherein the first application is to execute the compiled code from the source code and the compilation request is a JIT (just in time) compilation for the compiled code and wherein the compiler server performs the searching, the instructing, and the providing for the application and the plurality of independent client applications.

23. The medium of claim 19, wherein the compilation request includes a representation of the source code and wherein the searching comprises:

identifying one or more compiled codes from the cache according to the representation.

24. The medium of claim 19, wherein the compilation request from the first application includes a security setting which comprises an authorization level.

25. The medium of claim 19, wherein the representation is a key hashed from the source code and wherein the compilation request includes compilation options, wherein each of one or more compiled codes stored in the cache is associated with meta data, the method further comprising:

determining if the meta data is compatible with the compilation options, wherein the compilation options include a specification of a target processor architecture for the compiled code.

26. The medium of claim 19, wherein instructing the first compiler comprises:

determining a status for the first compiler, the status indicating if the first compiler is running in a second process; and

invoking the second process to load the first compiler if the status indicates the first compiler is not loaded.

27. The medium of claim 19, the method further comprising:

receiving, at the compiler server, another compilation request from a second application;

searching, by the compiler server, the cache for a compiled code that satisfies the another compilation request, wherein if compiled code that satisfies the compilation request is not found within the cache, performing;

selecting, by the compiler server, the first compiler;

instructing, by the compiler server, the first compiler to build compiled code for the another compilation request;

providing, by the compiler server, the compiled code to the second application if the compiled code is successfully built for the another compilation request.

28. The medium of claim 27 wherein the another compilation request includes a security setting that comprises at least one of a user identifier or an authorization level or a user privilege or a security level or a user information.