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System Call
In computing, a system call (commonly abbreviated to syscall) is the programmatic way in which a computer program requests a service from the operating system on which it is executed. This may include hardware-related services (for example, accessing a hard disk drive or accessing the device's camera), creation and execution of new processes, and communication with integral kernel services such as process scheduling. System calls provide an essential interface between a process and the operating system. In most systems, system calls can only be made from userspace processes, while in some systems, OS/360 and successors for example, privileged system code also issues system calls. Privileges The architecture of most modern processors, with the exception of some embedded systems, involves a security model. For example, the '' rings'' model specifies multiple privilege levels under which software may be executed: a program is usually limited to its own address space so that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linux Kernel Interfaces
The Linux kernel provides several interfaces to user-space applications that are used for different purposes and that have different properties by design. There are two types of application programming interface (API) in the Linux kernel that are not to be confused: the "kernel–user space" API and the "kernel internal" API. Linux API The Linux API is the kernel–user space API, which allows programs in user space to access system resources and services of the Linux kernel. It is composed out of the System Call Interface of the Linux kernel and the subroutines in the GNU C Library (glibc). The focus of the development of the Linux API has been to provide the ''usable features'' of the specifications defined in POSIX in a way which is reasonably compatible, robust and performant, and to provide additional useful features not defined in POSIX, just as the kernel–user space APIs of other systems implementing the POSIX API also provide additional features no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interrupt
In digital computers, an interrupt (sometimes referred to as a trap) is a request for the processor to ''interrupt'' currently executing code (when permitted), so that the event can be processed in a timely manner. If the request is accepted, the processor will suspend its current activities, save its state, and execute a function called an '' interrupt handler'' (or an ''interrupt service routine'', ISR) to deal with the event. This interruption is often temporary, allowing the software to resume normal activities after the interrupt handler finishes, although the interrupt could instead indicate a fatal error. Interrupts are commonly used by hardware devices to indicate electronic or physical state changes that require time-sensitive attention. Interrupts are also commonly used to implement computer multitasking, especially in real-time computing. Systems that use interrupts in these ways are said to be interrupt-driven. Types Interrupt signals may be issued in response t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Processor Register
A processor register is a quickly accessible location available to a computer's processor. Registers usually consist of a small amount of fast storage, although some registers have specific hardware functions, and may be read-only or write-only. In computer architecture, registers are typically addressed by mechanisms other than main memory, but may in some cases be assigned a memory address e.g. DEC PDP-10, ICT 1900. Almost all computers, whether load/store architecture or not, load data from a larger memory into registers where it is used for arithmetic operations and is manipulated or tested by machine instructions. Manipulated data is then often stored back to main memory, either by the same instruction or by a subsequent one. Modern processors use either static or dynamic RAM as main memory, with the latter usually accessed via one or more cache levels. Processor registers are normally at the top of the memory hierarchy, and provide the fastest way to access data. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modularity
Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a system into varying degrees of interdependence and independence across and "hide the complexity of each part behind an abstraction and interface". However, the concept of modularity can be extended to multiple disciplines, each with their own nuances. Despite these nuances, consistent themes concerning modular systems can be identified. Contextual nuances The meaning of the word "modularity" can vary somewhat based on context. The following are contextual examples of modularity across several fields of science, technology, industry, and culture: Science *In biology, modularity recognizes that organisms or metabolic pathways are composed of modules. *In ecology, modularity is considered a key factor—along with diversity and feedback—in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assembly Language
In computer programming, assembly language (or assembler language, or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as Assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence between the instructions in the language and the architecture's machine code instructions. Assembly language usually has one statement per machine instruction (1:1), but constants, comments, assembler directives, symbolic labels of, e.g., memory locations, registers, and macros are generally also supported. The first assembly code in which a language is used to represent machine code instructions is found in Kathleen and Andrew Donald Booth's 1947 work, ''Coding for A.R.C.''. Assembly code is converted into executable machine code by a utility program referred to as an '' assembler''. The term "assembler" is generally attributed to Wilkes, Wheeler and Gill in their 1951 book '' The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subroutine
In computer programming, a function or subroutine is a sequence of program instructions that performs a specific task, packaged as a unit. This unit can then be used in programs wherever that particular task should be performed. Functions may be defined within programs, or separately in libraries that can be used by many programs. In different programming languages, a function may be called a routine, subprogram, subroutine, method, or procedure. Technically, these terms all have different definitions, and the nomenclature varies from language to language. The generic umbrella term ''callable unit'' is sometimes used. A function is often coded so that it can be started several times and from several places during one execution of the program, including from other functions, and then branch back (''return'') to the next instruction after the ''call'', once the function's task is done. The idea of a subroutine was initially conceived by John Mauchly during his work on EN ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calling Convention
In computer science, a calling convention is an implementation-level (low-level) scheme for how subroutines or functions receive parameters from their caller and how they return a result. When some code calls a function, design choices have been taken for where and how parameters are passed to that function, and where and how results are returned from that function, with these transfers typically done via certain registers or within certain structures within the call stack. There are design choices for how the tasks of preparing for a function call and restoring the environment after the function call are divided between the caller and the callee. Some calling convention specifies the way every function should get called. Introduction Calling conventions are usually considered part of the Application Binary Interface ''ABI''. Calling conventions may be related to a particular programming language's evaluation strategy, but most often are not considered part of it (or v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows API
The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is Microsoft's core set of application programming interfaces (APIs) available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. The name Windows API collectively refers to several different platform implementations that are often referred to by their own names (for example, Win32 API); see the versions section. Almost all Windows programs interact with the Windows API. On the Windows NT line of operating systems, a small number (such as programs started early in the Windows startup process) use the Native API. Developer support is available in the form of a software development kit, Microsoft Windows SDK, providing documentation and tools needed to build software based on the Windows API and associated Windows interfaces. The Windows API (Win32) is focused mainly on the programming language C in that its exposed functions and data structures are described in that language in recent versions of its documentation. However, the API may be used by any ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Native API
The Native API is a lightweight application programming interface (API) used by Windows NT and user mode applications. This API is used in the early stages of Windows NT startup process, when other components and APIs are still unavailable. Therefore, a few Windows components, such as the Client/Server Runtime Subsystem (CSRSS), are implemented using the Native API. The Native API is also used by subroutines such as those in kernel32.dll that implement the Windows API, the API based on which most of the Windows components are created. Most of the Native API calls are implemented in ntoskrnl.exe and are exposed to user mode by ntdll.dll. The entry point of ntdll.dll is LdrInitializeThunk. Native API calls are handled by the kernel via the System Service Descriptor Table (SSDT). Function groups The Native API comprises many functions. They include C runtime functions that are needed for a very basic C runtime execution, such as strlen(), sprintf(), memcpy() and floor(). Oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windows NT
Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released on July 27, 1993. It is a processor-independent, multiprocessing and multi-user operating system. The first version of Windows NT was Windows NT 3.1 and was produced for workstations and server computers. It was a commercially focused operating system intended to complement consumer versions of Windows that were based on MS-DOS (including Windows 1.0 through Windows 3.1x). Gradually, the Windows NT family was expanded into Microsoft's general-purpose operating system product line for all personal computers, deprecating the Windows 9x family. "NT" was formerly expanded to "New Technology" but no longer carries any specific meaning. Starting with Windows 2000, "NT" was removed from the product name and is only included in the product version string along with several low-level places within the system. In fact, NT was a trademark of Northern Telecom (later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrapper Function
A wrapper function is a function (another word for a ''subroutine'') in a software library or a computer program whose main purpose is to call a second subroutine or a system call with little or no additional computation. Wrapper functions are used to make writing computer programs easier by abstracting away the details of a subroutine's underlying implementation. Purpose Wrapper functions are a means of delegation and can be used for a number of purposes. Programming convenience Wrapper functions can be used to make writing computer programs easier. An example of this is the MouseAdapter and similar classes in the Java AWT library. Wrapper functions are useful in the development of applications that use third-party library functions. A wrapper can be written for each of the third party functions and used in the native application. In case the third party functions change or are updated, only the wrappers in the native application need to be modified as opposed to changing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glibc
The GNU C Library, commonly known as glibc, is the GNU Project's implementation of the C standard library. Despite its name, it now also directly supports C++ (and, indirectly, other programming languages). It was started in the 1980s by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU operating system. Released under the GNU Lesser General Public License, glibc is free software. The GNU C Library project provides the core libraries for the GNU system, as well as many systems that use Linux as the kernel. These libraries provide critical APIs including ISO C11, POSIX.1-2008, BSD, OS-specific APIs and more. These APIs include such foundational facilities as open, read, write, malloc, printf, getaddrinfo, dlopen, pthread_create, crypt, login, exit and more. History The glibc project was initially written mostly by Roland McGrath, working for the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in the 1980s as a teenager. In February 1988, FSF described glibc as having n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
