17949353. USER-LEVEL EXCEPTION-BASED INVOCATION OF SOFTWARE INSTRUMENTATION HANDLERS simplified abstract (Intel Corporation)

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USER-LEVEL EXCEPTION-BASED INVOCATION OF SOFTWARE INSTRUMENTATION HANDLERS

Organization Name

Intel Corporation

Inventor(s)

Michael Lemay of Hillsboro OR (US)

Scott Constable of Portland OR (US)

David M. Durham of Beaverton OR (US)

USER-LEVEL EXCEPTION-BASED INVOCATION OF SOFTWARE INSTRUMENTATION HANDLERS - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17949353 titled 'USER-LEVEL EXCEPTION-BASED INVOCATION OF SOFTWARE INSTRUMENTATION HANDLERS

Simplified Explanation

The abstract describes techniques for improving exception-based invocation of instrumentation handler programs.

  • Executing an interrupt instruction of an instrumented program
  • Searching for the interrupt number in an interrupt table
  • Saving the address of the next instruction of the instrumented program as a return address
  • Determining the destination address of the instrumentation handler program in an interrupt destination table
  • Transferring control of the instrumented program to the instrumentation handler program at the destination address

Potential Applications

This technology could be applied in various fields such as software development, cybersecurity, and system monitoring.

Problems Solved

This technology helps in efficiently handling exceptions and invoking instrumentation handler programs in a systematic manner.

Benefits

The benefits of this technology include improved performance, enhanced debugging capabilities, and better control over the execution flow of instrumented programs.

Potential Commercial Applications

Potential commercial applications of this technology could include software development tools, security software, and performance monitoring systems.

Possible Prior Art

One possible prior art for this technology could be the use of interrupt handling mechanisms in operating systems to manage exceptions and interrupts efficiently.

Unanswered Questions

How does this technology impact the overall performance of instrumented programs?

This article does not provide specific details on the performance implications of implementing these techniques.

Are there any limitations or constraints when implementing this technology in real-world applications?

The article does not address any potential limitations or constraints that may arise when applying these techniques in practical scenarios.


Original Abstract Submitted

Techniques for improving exception-based invocation of instrumentation handler programs include executing, by a processor, an interrupt instruction of an instrumented program, the interrupt instruction having an interrupt number; searching for the interrupt number in an interrupt table; and in response to the interrupt number being found in the interrupt table, saving an address of a next instruction of the instrumented program after the interrupt instruction as a return address, determining a destination address, in an interrupt destination table, of a beginning of an instrumentation handler program associated with the interrupt number and transferring control of the instrumented program to the instrumentation handler program at the destination address.