JP2002149426A - Method for executing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent such a case being generated recently that a preliminarily decided area on an RAM is not large enough to store a BIOS program in a certain CPU to be used due to the inclination of the increase of the size of the BIOS program. SOLUTION: A BIOS program to be executed on an RAM is allowed to directly refer to a data part stored in an ROM so that the function of the BIOS program to be executed by a segment preliminarily decided on the RAM can be added.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for reducing the size of a basic input / output system (BIOS) program stored in an OM.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a BIOS program in which a code portion and a data portion are compressed together and stored in an area of a predetermined size in a read-only memory (ROM) includes:
When a computer is started, a code area and a data area are expanded together in a predetermined area on a readable / writable memory (RAM) (hereinafter, this area is referred to as a segment) and executed. The segment size and the number of occupied segments differed depending on the central processing unit (CPU).

FIG. 4 shows a conventional BI expanded on a RAM.
It is a program code example of an OS program.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 4 denotes a BIOS program operation area on the RAM in which an expanded BIOS program is stored, and 41 denotes a BIOS program operation area in the BIOS program operation area 4.
A data area for storing a data portion of the OS program,
Reference numeral 42 denotes a code area in which the program code portion of the BIOS program in the BIOS program operation area 4 is stored.

In the data area 41, "XX DAT"
A 128 "indicates that" XX is a data name indicating a numerical value of 128 ", and" YY DATA
32 "indicates that" YY is a data name indicating a numerical value of 32 ".

In the code area 42, "MOVE E
AX, [LABEL41: XX] ”(LABEL41 is a label indicating the address of the data area 41 in the BIOS program operation area 4) means that“ input the data named XX in the data area 41 to the register EAX ”. And "COMPARE EB"
X, [LABEL41: YY] "indicates that" the data in the register EBX is compared with the data named YY in the data area 41 ".

[0007] As described above, the data referred to by the conventional BIOS program is the R in which the program code is stored.
It was stored in the same area as the BIOS program operation area 4 on the AM.

[0008]

However, in recent years,
With the diversification of computer functions and the complexity of processing, the size of BIOS programs tends to increase, and depending on the CPU used in the computer, the BIOS program may not be able to be executed in a predetermined segment on the RAM. ing.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention allows a BIOS program executed on a RAM to directly refer to a data portion stored in the ROM, thereby enabling the BIOS program to be executed on the RAM. It is an object of the present invention to add a function of a BIOS program executed in a predetermined segment.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a CPU for controlling the entire information processing apparatus, 2 is a ROM in which programs and data such as a BIOS program are stored, and 3 is a BIOS program executed after the information processing apparatus is started. R
AM.

FIG. 2 shows a RAM and a ROM recognized by the CPU.
Is an address map.

In FIG. 2, the ROM area includes addresses (4 GB-512 KB) to 512 KB of address 4 GB.
B is allocated, and 128 MB from address 0 to address 128 MB is allocated as a RAM area.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a compressed BIOS program area in which a compressed BIOS program is stored.
Reference numeral 23 denotes a BIOS extended data area in which a part of the BIOS data is stored. Reference numeral 23 denotes a BIOS program operation area whose size is limited by a CPU in which a BIOS program to be executed after the information processing apparatus is started is stored. Compressed B stored in area 21
The BIOS program is decompressed on the BIOS program operation area 23, and the decompressed BIOS program is stored in the BIOS extension data area 22 of the ROM.
It operates by referring to a part of the data.

As described above, the BIOS extended data area 22 for storing a part of the BIOS data is provided in an empty area other than the compressed BIOS program area 21 on the ROM, and the BIOS program is executed when the BIOS program is executed. By referring to a part of the BIOS data, RA
The size of the BIOS program / data stored in the BIOS program operation area 23 whose size on M is limited can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is an example of a program code of the BIOS program in the present embodiment.

“XX DATA 128” in the BIOS extended data area 22 on the ROM indicates that “XX is a data name indicating a numerical value of 128”.
“YY DATA 32” indicates that “YY is a data name indicating a numerical value of 32”.

BIOS program operation area 2 on RAM
3 in the code area 232 of “MOVE EAX, [LA
BEL221: XX] ”(LABEL221 is a label indicating the address of the data area 221 of the BIOS extension data area 22 on the ROM) indicates that“ data named XX in the data area 221 is input to the register EAX ”. And "COMPARE EB
X, [LABEL 221: YY] ”is the“ register EBX
Is compared with the data named YY in the data area 221. "

As described above, the BIO according to the present embodiment
The data referenced by the S program is the BIOS program operating area 2 on the RAM where the program code is stored.
3 is stored separately in the data area 231 and the BIOS extended data area 22 on the ROM.

Note that the BIOS program is divided into several functional units (modules), stored in the ROM, and replaced with another module which is unnecessary at that time in the RAM when necessary, thereby limiting the size of the BIOS program. BIO
The BIOS program can also be executed in the S program operation area.

[0022]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
By allowing the BIOS program executed on the RAM to directly refer to the data portion stored in the ROM, the BIOS program executed in a predetermined area on the RAM can be executed.
The function of the OS program can be added.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an address map of a RAM and a ROM recognized by a CPU according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a program code of a BIOS program according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a program code of a conventional BIOS program.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Koichi Satake 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5B076 BA00

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A ROM for storing a compression program and data.
A compression program decompression means for decompressing the compression program stored in the ROM; a RAM for storing the decompression program in which the compression program decompression means decompresses the compression program; and An information processing apparatus having a program executing means for executing a decompression program stored in a RAM. 2. A compression program decompression procedure for decompressing a compression program stored in a ROM, and a decompression program decompressed in the compression program decompression procedure by R
Decompression program storage procedure to be stored in AM, and ROM
A program execution method comprising a program execution procedure for executing a decompression program stored in the RAM by referring to data stored in the RAM.