Pre-Grant Publication Number: 20070234286
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Prior Art Detail
Summary / Description
| Summary / Description | The invention relates to implementing a source code annotation language (SAL). SAL may be implemented by adding keywords to a function interface to define a contract for the function independent of function call context. Annotations may also be inserted at global variables, formal parameters, return values, or user-defined types. |
Basic Information
| Type of Prior Art | Issued Patents - US |
| Country | United States of America |
| Patent/Application # | US20050076331 |
| Kind Code | United States (US) - Patent Appl. Publ. within the ... - A1 |
| Patentee Name | MICROSOFT CORP |
| Relevant Pages, Columns, or Lines | |
| URL | http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi... |
| Filing Date | April 7, 2005 |
| Additional Information | |
Notes / To Do
| Notes | Please note that the patent reference relates to Microsoft's Source code annotation language (SAL). An earlier prior art (Titled - "SAL Annotations") post ed by me also relates to Microsoft's Source code annotation language (SAL). |
Excerpt
Excerpt [0013] In another aspect, one or more code annotations are inserted at one or more annotation targets. Each of the annotation targets is of an annotation target category. Annotation target categories include: global variable, formal parameter of a function, return value of a function, user-defined data type. The code annotations can include a property, an annotation prefix (e.g., a qualifier), etc. A property can be a read only property, a return value property, etc. A property can indicate, for example, a location of a buffer pointer or characteristic of a buffer (e. g., a readable extent or writable extent of a buffer). A qualifier can be a precondition qualifier, a postcondition qualifier, etc. A dereference prefix can be used to specify properties of an object referenced by a reference parameter. The inserted annotations also can include default annotations.
[0014] In another aspect, an annotation is inserted at a value in program code. The value (e.g., a formal parameter of a function, a return value, etc.) has a value type (e.g., scalar, void, pointer, user-defined type, struct, etc.). The annotation is a keyword indicating that the value has usability properties sufficient to allow a function to rely on the value, where the usability properties depend on the value type. For example, if the value is a pointer, and an object pointed to by the pointer has one or more readable elements, the readable elements of the object each have usability properties sufficient to allowa function to rely on the one or more readable elements. The value also can be a reference parameter. |
Relevance
Claims
1
A method comprising:
locating a parameter of a function, the parameter to be passed as a pointer if a size of the parameter is greater than a threshold and to be passed as data if the size of the parameter is not greater than the threshold; and
adding an annotation record for the parameter to a byte code image file containing byte code for the function.
Relevance
The following text describes feature of annotating function parameters. Annotations may be used to indicate type (scalar, void, pointer, user-defined type, struct, etc.) of function parameter - "In another aspect, an annotation is inserted at a value in program code. The value (e.g., a formal parameter of a function, a return value, etc.) has a value type (e.g., scalar, void, pointer, user-defined type, struct, etc.)."
The following text describes feature of annotating function parameters. Annotations may be used to indicate type (scalar, void, pointer, user-defined type, struct, etc.) of function parameter - "In another aspect, an annotation is inserted at a value in program code. The value (e.g., a formal parameter of a function, a return value, etc.) has a value type (e.g., scalar, void, pointer, user-defined type, struct, etc.)."
Claim Chart
All
