US5835763A
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Threaded environment for computer systems without native threading support
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1995-12-15
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Granted: 1998-11-10
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Expires: 2015-12-15
Abstract
Abstract A single threaded computer is provided with a threaded environment by using thread related batch jobs to accept thread tasks and individually apply them to specialized batch jobs that perform the tasks. Return data is applied by the thread related batch jobs to a common queue and the using application is caused to wait on the common queue, thereby overcoming the single threaded computer limitation that an application can only wait on one queue at a time. The thread tasks are thereby performed asynchronously while the user application effectively waits on all such thread tasks by waiting on the common queue. The threaded environment maintains a pool of active thread related batch jobs and permits the cloning of new thread related batch jobs from existing thread related batch jobs to efficiently manage the thread pool.
Inventors
- 👤 Paul F. Klein
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 07:55
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/46; G06F9/48; G06F9/4806; G06F9/4843
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
113 words
A method of operating a computer system that is capable of parallel processing and which natively supports a single-threaded operating system, comprising the steps of: applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs; operating each such thread related batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto and produce return data associated with each said thread task; applying the return data from each such thread related batch job to a single, common queue; and causing the application to wait on the common queue to sequentially retrieve the return data from each of said thread tasks therefrom.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
113 words
A method of operating a computer system that is capable of parallel processing and which natively supports a single-threaded operating system, comprising the steps of: applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs; operating each such thread related batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto and produce return data associated with each said thread task; applying the return data from each such thread related batch job to a single, common queue; and causing the application to wait on the common queue to sequentially retrieve the return data from each of said thread tasks therefrom.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
142 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of operating each batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto further comprises the steps of: reapplying the thread task from each such thread related batch job to a job queue associated with a specialized batch job specifically created to perform the thread task applied to the thread related batchjob; operating the specialized batch job to wait on the job queue, retrieve the thread task therefrom, perform the thread task, and return data to the job queue associated with the performance of the thread task by the specialized batch job; and causing the thread related batch job to wait on the job queue to retrieve the return data therefrom, whereby the application may utilize pre-existing specialized batchjobs not configured to return data to the common queue to perform as an asynchronous thread task.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
106 words
The invention method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs further comprises the steps of: applying each of the plurality of asynchronous thread tasks to a thread queue associated with each of the plurality of thread related batch jobs; and causing each such thread related batch job to wait on the thread queue associated therewith in order to retrieve the thread task thereon, wherein each thread related batch job may be used to sequentially perform a plurality of different thread tasks.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of creating an additional thread related batch job by cloning an existing thread related batch job.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
120 words
A computer-implemented apparatus, comprising: a computer system that is capable of parallel processing and which natively supports a single-threaded operating system; and means, performed by the computer system, for applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs, for operating each such thread related batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto and produce return data associated with each said thread task, for applying the return data from each such thread related batch job to a single, common queue, and for causing the application to wait on the common queue to sequentially retrieve the return data from each of said thread tasks therefrom.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
120 words
A computer-implemented apparatus, comprising: a computer system that is capable of parallel processing and which natively supports a single-threaded operating system; and means, performed by the computer system, for applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs, for operating each such thread related batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto and produce return data associated with each said thread task, for applying the return data from each such thread related batch job to a single, common queue, and for causing the application to wait on the common queue to sequentially retrieve the return data from each of said thread tasks therefrom.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
147 words
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the means for operating each batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto further comprises: means for reapplying the thread task from each such thread related batch job to a job queue associated with a specialized batch job specifically created to perform the thread task applied to the thread related batch job; means for operating the specialized batch job to wait on the job queue, retrieve the thread task therefrom, perform the thread task, and return data to the job queue associated with the performance of the thread task by the specialized batch job; and means for causing the thread related batch job to wait on the job queue to retrieve the return data therefrom, whereby the application may utilize pre-existing specialized batch jobs not configured to return data to the common queue to perform as an asynchronous thread task.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
106 words
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the means for applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs further comprises: means for applying each of the plurality of asynchronous thread tasks to a thread queue associated with each of the plurality of thread related batch jobs; and means for causing each such thread related batch job to wait on the thread queue associated therewith in order to retrieve the thread task thereon, wherein each thread related batch job may be used to sequentially perform a plurality of different thread tasks.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising means for creating an additional thread related batch job by cloning an existing thread related batch job.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
130 words
An article of manufacture embodying one or more instructions that when read and executed by a computer system that is capable of parallel processing and which natively supports a single-threaded operating system causes the computer system to perform the method steps of: applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs; operating each such thread related batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto and produce return data associated with each said thread task; applying the return data from each such thread related batch job to a single, common queue; and causing the application to wait on the common queue to sequentially retrieve the return data from each of said thread tasks therefrom.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
130 words
An article of manufacture embodying one or more instructions that when read and executed by a computer system that is capable of parallel processing and which natively supports a single-threaded operating system causes the computer system to perform the method steps of: applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs; operating each such thread related batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto and produce return data associated with each said thread task; applying the return data from each such thread related batch job to a single, common queue; and causing the application to wait on the common queue to sequentially retrieve the return data from each of said thread tasks therefrom.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
146 words
The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the step of operating each batch job to perform the thread task applied thereto further comprises the steps of: reapplying the thread task from each such thread related batch job to a job queue associated with a specialized batch job specifically created to perform the thread task applied to the thread related batch job; operating the specialized batch job to wait on the job queue, retrieve the thread task therefrom, perform the thread task, and return data to the job queue associated with the performance of the thread task by the specialized batch job; and causing the thread related batch job to wait on the job queue to retrieve the return data therefrom, whereby the application may utilize pre-existing specialized batch jobs not configured to return data to the common queue to perform as an asynchronous thread task.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
107 words
The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the step of applying each of a plurality of asynchronous thread tasks from an application as an input to each of a plurality of thread related batch jobs further comprises the steps of: applying each of the plurality of asynchronous thread tasks to a thread queue associated with each of the plurality of thread related batch jobs; and causing each such thread related batch job to wait on the thread queue associated therewith in order to retrieve the thread task thereon, wherein each thread related batch job may be used to sequentially perform a plurality of different thread tasks.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
The article of manufacture of claim 9, further comprising the step of creating an additional thread related batch job by cloning an existing thread related batch job.
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) | 2001-11-09 | 2002-05-11 | 2002-11-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-11-09 | 2006-05-11 | 2006-11-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-11-09 | 2010-05-11 | 2010-11-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |