Computer system supporting multiple encodings with static data support

• US 10,587,287 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2018
• Issued: 03/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sofia, Anthony T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Daley, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US15/938,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20190305796A1
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/30 Compression speech analysis-synthesis for redundancy reduction G10L19/00; for image communication H04N; Expansion; Suppression of unnecessary data, e.g. redundancy reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/3086 employing a sliding window, e.g. LZ77
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/40 Conversion to or from variable length codes, e.g. Shannon-Fano code, Huffman code, Morse code
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/6011 Encoder aspects

Abstract

A computer system includes a host system, a hardware controller and an operating system. The host system runs an application that includes at least one compression library and that outputs a compression request to compress a data stream having an initial data-representation size. The hardware controller compresses the data stream according to an encoding scheme indicated by the compression library to generate a compressed data stream having a reduced data-representation size with respect to the initial data-representation size. The operating system provides a communication interface between the hardware controller and the application allowing the exchange of protocol data blocks between the application and the hardware controller. A protocol data block identifies an update status of the compression library and the OS. The computer system selectively operates in a first compression mode and a second compression based on the update status, thereby varying a compression ratio of the compressed data stream.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a host system configured to run an application including at least one compression library, the application outputting a compression request to compress a data stream having an initial data-representation size;

a hardware controller configured to compress the data stream according to an encoding scheme indicated by the compression library to generate a compressed data stream having a reduced data-representation size with respect to the initial data-representation size; and

an operating system (OS) configured to provide a communication interface between the hardware controller and the application and to exchange at least one protocol data block between the application and the hardware controller, the at least one protocol data block identifying an update status of at least one of the compression library, the OS, and the hardware controller,

wherein the computer system compares the update status of the hardware controller to the update status of the compression library and the update status of the OS, selectively operates in a first compression mode in response to the comparison indicating that the hardware controller is compatible to the compression library and the OS, and a second compression mode based on the update status in response to the comparison indicating that the hardware controller is incompatible to the compression library and the OS, thereby varying a compression ratio of the compressed data stream.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the compression ratio is a first reduced compression ratio when the compression library and the OS are both updated, and the compression ratio is a second reduced compression ratio when at least one of the compression library and the OS is not updated, the second reduced compression ratio being greater than the first reduced compression ratio.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the compression library indicates a first encoding scheme when the compression library and the OS are both updated, and indicates a different second encoding scheme when at least one of the compression library and the OS is not updated.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the first encoding scheme includes adding a dynamic end-of-block (EOB) symbol determined by the OS to an EOB included in the compressed data stream, and the second encoding scheme includes adding a static preset EOB symbol, known prior to the compression request, to an EOB included in the compressed data stream.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the OS modifies the compressed data stream prior to the compression library adding the static preset EOB symbol.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the modified compressed data is generated in response to adding compatibility data to the compressed data stream and then adding a static preset EOB symbol, determined prior to the compression request, to the EOB.

7. A computer-implemented method of controlling a computer system to compress data, the method comprising:

running, on a host system of the computer system, an application including at least one compression library;

outputting a compression request, via the application, to compress a data stream having an initial data-representation size;

compressing the data stream, via a hardware controller, according to an encoding scheme indicated by the compression library to generate a compressed data stream having a reduced data-representation size with respect to the initial data-representation size;

establishing, via an operating system (OS) installed on the computer system, a data interface between the hardware controller and the application;

exchanging at least one protocol data block between the application and hardware controller to identify an update status of the compression library, the OS, and the hardware controller;

comparing the update status of the hardware controller to the update status of the compression library and the update status of the OS;

selectively operating the computer system in a first compression mode in response to the comparison indicating that the hardware controller is compatible to the compression library and the OS, and a second compression mode in response to the comparison indicating that the hardware controller is incompatible to the compression library and the OS, thereby varying a compression ratio of the compressed data stream.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the compression ratio is a first reduced compression ratio when the compression library and the OS are both updated, and the compression ratio is a second reduced compression ratio when at least one of the compression library and the OS is not updated, the second reduced compression ratio being greater than the first reduced compression ratio.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a first encoding scheme when the compression library and the OS are both updated; and

determining a different second encoding scheme when at least one of the compression library and the OS is not updated.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

in response to invoking the first encoding scheme;

determining, via the OS, a dynamic end-of-block (EOB) symbol;

injecting, via the compression library, the EOB symbol into an EOB included in the compressed data stream; and

in response to invoking the second encoding scheme;

injecting, via the compression library, a static preset EOB symbol into the EOB included in the compressed data stream, the static preset EOB symbol determined prior to the compression request.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising modifying, via the OS, the compressed data stream prior to the compression library adding the static preset EOB symbol.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising generating the modified compressed data in response to adding compatibility data to the compressed data stream and then adding the static preset EOB symbol, known prior to the compression request, to the EOB.

13. A computer program product to control a computer system to compress data, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by an electronic computer processor to perform operations comprising:

running, on a host system of the computer system, an application including a compression library;

outputting a compression request, via the application, to compress a data stream having an initial data-representation size;

compressing the data stream, via a hardware controller, according to an encoding scheme indicated by the compression library to generate a compressed data stream having a reduced data-representation size with respect to the initial data-representation size;

establishing, via an operating system (OS) installed on the computer system, a data interface between the hardware controller and the application;

exchanging at least one protocol data block between the application and hardware controller to identify an update status of the compression library, the OS, and the hardware controller;

comparing the update status of the hardware controller to the update status of the compression library and the update status of the OS; and

selectively operating the computer system in a first compression mode in response to the comparison indicating that the hardware controller is compatible to the compression library and the OS, and a second compression mode in response to the comparison indicating that the hardware controller is incompatible to the compression library and the OS, thereby varying a compression ratio of the compressed data stream.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the compression ratio is a first reduced compression ratio when the compression library and the OS are both updated, and the compression ratio is a second reduced compression ratio when at least one of the compression library and the OS is not updated, the second reduced compression ratio being greater than the first reduced compression ratio.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

determining a first encoding scheme when the compression library and the OS are both updated; and

determining a different second encoding scheme when at least one of the compression library and the OS is not updated.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

in response to invoking the first encoding scheme;

determining, via the OS, a dynamic end-of-block (EOB) symbol;

injecting, via the compression library, the EOB symbol into an EOB included in the compressed data stream; and

in response to invoking the second encoding scheme;

injecting, via the compression library, a static preset EOB symbol into the EOB included in the compressed data stream, the static preset EOB symbol determined prior to the compression request.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising modifying, via the OS, the compressed data stream prior to the compression library adding the static preset EOB symbol, wherein modifying the compressed data stream comprises:

generating the modified compressed data in response to adding compatibility data to the compressed data stream; and

adding the static preset EOB symbol, known prior to the compression request, to the EOB.