US4435766A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Nested resource control using locking and unlocking routines with use counter for plural processes
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
•
Filing: 1981-06-16
•
Granted: 1984-03-06
•
Expires: 2001-06-16
Abstract
Abstract A mechanism allowing nested resource locks among a plurality of related programs is provided by means of a lock counter which is incremented and decremented as programs LOCK and UNLOCK a resource but the resource is not released until a count is zero. A separate LOCK counter is provided for each resource in the system.
Inventors
- 👤 Judith G. Haber
- 👤 Kenneth L. Jeffries
- 👤 Paul J. Kilpatrick
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 22:35
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/52
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of controlling a process lock on a resource, said method comprising: nesting lock requests within a number of programs comprising a process; maintaining said process lock through incrementing and decrementing a use counter from the initial process lock, during execution of a program, and calling up other programs within said process until said use counter is restored to its initial state prior to releasing said initial process lock.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of controlling a process lock on a resource, said method comprising: nesting lock requests within a number of programs comprising a process; maintaining said process lock through incrementing and decrementing a use counter from the initial process lock, during execution of a program, and calling up other programs within said process until said use counter is restored to its initial state prior to releasing said initial process lock.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
73 words
A method of serializing access to a resource by a plurality of programs belonging to a common process comprising the steps of: (a) defining a convention lock counter for association with a process; (b) incrementing said counter whenever one of the programs in the process requests a lock; (c) decrementing said counter whenever one of said programs requests an unlock; and (d) releasing said resource only when said convention lock counter is zero.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
73 words
A method of serializing access to a resource by a plurality of programs belonging to a common process comprising the steps of: (a) defining a convention lock counter for association with a process; (b) incrementing said counter whenever one of the programs in the process requests a lock; (c) decrementing said counter whenever one of said programs requests an unlock; and (d) releasing said resource only when said convention lock counter is zero.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
99 words
A system for providing serialized access to a resource by a plurality of related programs in a multi-tasking environment including: convention lock counter means associated with the resource; means associated with said convention lock counter for incrementing said counter whenever a program requests a lock; means associated with said convention lock counter for decrementing said counter whenever one of said programs requests an unlock; and means responsive to said programs and associated with said convention lock counter for releasing said resource for access by a program unrelated to the related programs only when said convention lock counter is zero.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
99 words
A system for providing serialized access to a resource by a plurality of related programs in a multi-tasking environment including: convention lock counter means associated with the resource; means associated with said convention lock counter for incrementing said counter whenever a program requests a lock; means associated with said convention lock counter for decrementing said counter whenever one of said programs requests an unlock; and means responsive to said programs and associated with said convention lock counter for releasing said resource for access by a program unrelated to the related programs only when said convention lock counter is zero.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
33 words
The system of claim 3 further including means connected to said resource for establishing and maintaining a wait queue for programs unrelated to the related programs when said unrelated programs request a lock.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
59 words
In a multi-tasking interactive environment system means for controlling allocation of a plurality of resources among a plurality of processes where each process may encompass a plurality of routines which can request locks on a resource including: control means for granting all requests for locks on a resource from one process before granting any requests from a different process.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
59 words
In a multi-tasking interactive environment system means for controlling allocation of a plurality of resources among a plurality of processes where each process may encompass a plurality of routines which can request locks on a resource including: control means for granting all requests for locks on a resource from one process before granting any requests from a different process.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
104 words
The system of claim 5 wherein said control means for granting includes: lock counter means associated with each resource; means connected to the resource for incrementing the lock counter whenever any routine in a first process requests a lock; means connected to the resource for decrementing the lock counter whenever any routine in the first process requests an unlock; means associated with the resource for maintaining a wait list of any lock requesting routines not in the first process; and means associated with the resource for honoring the lock request of a routine in said wait list only when said lock counter is zero.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 4 further including means associated with each routine for priority ordering said programs in said wait queue.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 6 further including means associated with each routine for priority ordering the wait list.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1987-03-06 | 1987-09-05 | 1988-03-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1991-03-06 | 1991-09-05 | 1992-03-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1995-03-06 | 1995-09-05 | 1996-03-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |