JPH06259242A - Method and device for correcting basic control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce cost for correction processing to a shipped device by easily correcting a basic control program (including self-diagnosis/initial set processing) stored in a non-volatile medium in the state of integrating it into the device. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a reloadable nonvolatile memory 1-12 for storing the correction program of the basic control program in any prescribed form so as to be operated when starting the device, processing to copy the basic control program from a ROM 1-4 to a basic memory 1-3 and processing to decide whether the correction information is existent in the non- volatile memory 1-12 or not and whether the information is proper or not is performed on the initial stage of that program to be executed when starting the device, and the program is corrected according to that information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program correction method and apparatus for an arithmetic processing unit in which a basic control program routine group is fixedly incorporated in a non-volatile medium, and in particular, a basic control program capable of easily executing program correction. The correction method and the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an immutable non-volatile medium fixed in a device, such as a ROM (Read Only M
Since a basic control program routine group (a set of basic routines such as initial setting, self-diagnosis, input / output, etc., which will be referred to as a basic control program hereinafter) is stored in the "memory", this will be described as an example. Generally, the basic control program operates as follows. First, the hardware of the device is checked when the power of the device is turned on (hereinafter referred to as startup). At this time, at the same time, initial setting inside the apparatus is performed. This is to guarantee the operation of the device. Also, data input / output (for example, key input, character display, etc.)
Often includes the basic processing program of. If a program defect is found in these parts, the operation of the device will be seriously affected. Therefore, when it is necessary to make some changes to the basic control program, the programs will be replaced immediately.
In that case, how to make corrections to already shipped products becomes a big problem. Conventionally, the following designs are often made. (1) Adopted a structure in which ROM can be replaced at the design stage,
The OM itself can be replaced. (2) In the case of a structure other than (1), the board on which the ROM is mounted is replaced. (3) Operating system (hereinafter abbreviated as OS)
If can be started, the program that replaces the basic control program is executed on the OS.

[0003]

The above prior art has the following problems if it is assumed that the basic control program is replaced. In other words, in the methods (1) and (2), it is necessary to replace the parts of the apparatus, which causes a great deal of trouble. Also,
In the method (3), there are many parts that depend on the structure of the OS,
For example, there are the following problems. (1) When the corresponding device can use a plurality of OSs, a replacement program is required for each type of OS, and management man-hours thereof are required. (2) In the case of an OS with high versatility, many models are compatible with the OS, and it is difficult to make changes for some models. Therefore, a utility program that runs on the OS must be created. In this case, the OS
It may not work depending on the version of.
In this case, a replacement program is required for each version of the OS, and management man-hours are required. That is, the OS
It is becoming a reality that restrictions from As a method related to this type of method, correction by a patch of a program has been proposed, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-98126. This method has a problem that the self-diagnosis program at the time of starting up the apparatus cannot be modified if desired. As a fundamental measure against these problems, it is possible to store the program in a rewritable non-volatile medium.
The use of a large capacity non-volatile medium is costly. The object of the present invention is to improve such problems and to easily change the basic control program incorporated in the device, thereby reducing the cost of the correction process to the already shipped device,
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for modifying a basic control program that enables batch processing of modification processing via a network.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a method and apparatus for modifying a basic control program according to the present invention corrects a basic control program based on modification information stored in advance when the apparatus is started up. With possible means,
It is characterized in that the existence and correctness of the information is confirmed at the initial stage of starting up the device, and the program is immediately corrected using the information. That is, the following functions and means (1) to (4) are provided. (1) In the portion processed in the initial stage of the basic control program executed when the apparatus is started up, the process of copying the program from the non-modifiable medium to the modifiable medium, and the presence / absence of corrective information thereof are determined. Enter the processing to do. (2) A nonvolatile and readable / writable medium operable at the time of (1) (the nonvolatile memory 1-1 in FIG. 1).
Equip 2). (3) The format of modification information is defined so that a plurality of modification information can be stored. Information (checksum or the like) that guarantees the correctness of the correction information is added to this format. (4) Hardware (correction information invalidation display circuit 1-13 in FIG. 1) indicating that the correction information is invalid is provided.

[0005]

In the present invention, when the apparatus is started up, the basic control program is first copied to the main memory by the function (1). After that, the nonvolatile medium (means (2) above) storing the correction information is set in an accessible state, and the presence or absence of the correction information is checked. If there is correction information, the validity of the correction information shown in (3) above is checked, and if it is correct, the correction address of the program is obtained and the corresponding program is corrected (mainly the patch processing of the program). I do. Note that there may be a plurality of correction points. In addition, since the program to be modified is a basic part, if incorrect information is duly written in (for example, if the information for which the checksums match is accidentally created), the device may run out of control. Therefore, the correction information can be unconditionally invalidated by the hardware (4). By these, it is possible to easily change the basic control program incorporated in the device.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1-5 is a hardware core logic part, 1-11 is a peripheral device logic part,
Reference numeral 1-14 is a correction logic unit. The hardware core logic unit 1-5 includes a microprocessor 1-1, a basic peripheral control circuit (interrupt controller, timer, etc.) 1
-2, a basic memory 1-3, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1-4 storing a basic control program. The peripheral device logic unit (including options and the like) 1-11 includes an expansion memory 1-6, a peripheral device control logic 1-7, a floppy disk 1-8, a hard disk 1-9, and a printer 1-10. . In addition, the correction logic unit 1-14 includes a rewritable non-volatile memory 1-12 that stores correction information, and a correction information invalid display circuit 1-13 including a mechanical switch such as a DIP switch. Composed. Then, the ON / OFF state of this switch is made readable by software, and invalidation / validation of the correction information can be compulsorily specified by the state.

The correction information of this embodiment will be described below. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a storage format of the correction information in the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 2-1 is data indicating the number of correction information, 2-2 and 2-3 are correction information stored by that number, 2-7 is a checksum, 2-1
Reference numeral 5 is error information, which constitutes correction information. Also, each correction information is data indicating the data length (length 2-4), and the correction information number (area No.
2-5), modified data 2-6, and its checksum 2-7
Composed of. Further, the correction data 2-6 is the processing level ID2- indicating the part (level) to be corrected.
8, correction destination address 2-9 indicating an address to be corrected on the basic memory, version / revision information 2-10,
Correction number 2-11, correction program storage address 2
-12, data indicating the length of the correction program (length 2-13), and its body (correction program 2-1)
4). The processing level ID 2-8 is used for determination when the correction processing should be performed further ahead (for example, between the correction information 2-2 and 2-3). The correction number 2-11 is a serial number when there are a plurality of correction points in the same version / revision. The correction program storage destination address 2-12 is data having meaning according to the processing level ID 2-8, and is stored in the nonvolatile memory (EEPROM) 1-12 to the basic memory 1
-3 shows the copy destination address when the entire program is copied to -3.

Next, the procedure for starting up the computer system of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of system startup according to the embodiment of the present invention. When starting this system, the self-diagnosis / initial setting process of the hardware core logic unit 1-5 shown in FIG. 1 is first performed (step 301), and then the self-diagnosis / initial setting of the peripheral device logic unit 1-11. Is performed (step 302). After that, the OS is loaded (step 303). In the present embodiment, the minimum operation confirmation is performed at the time of system startup (that is, step 30
The program correction process is performed (at the stage where the process of 1 is completed).

Next, the program correction method of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a program correction method according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the system is started up, the initial setting / self-diagnosis program of the basic control program stored in the ROM 1-4 is first executed. At this time, the hardware core logic unit 1-
First, the self-diagnosis 5 is executed (step 401). And when the minimum program operation is guaranteed, RO
The program of M1-4 is copied to the basic memory 1-3 (step 402). Next, the correction information invalid display circuit 1-
The flag 13 is read to confirm that the correction information is not invalid (step 403). If the result is not invalid, the correction information stored in the non-volatile memory 1-12 is read (step 404). The correction information includes check information (sum check, etc.) indicating the validity of the information. After confirming that there is no error in the correction information based on this information (step 405), the program is corrected (step 407). This correction processing is, for example, patch processing of a jump instruction to the correction destination address to the address of the correction program. When an error occurs, the area number is logged as error information 2-15 (step 406). When all corrections are completed in this way (step 408), the process proceeds to the self-diagnosis / initial setting process (step 409) of the peripheral device logic unit 1-11 as in the conventional case.

[0010]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, (1) the program incorporated in the apparatus can be corrected later by a correction process using software. (2) A plurality of pieces of correction information can be registered. (3) The parts corresponding to the peripheral device logic sections 1-11 and 2-2 can be modified back to the self-diagnosis / initial setting program. Therefore, it is possible to provide a function for easily changing the basic control program incorporated in the apparatus, and this function enables cost reduction of the correction processing for the already shipped apparatus and batch processing of the correction processing via the network.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a storage format of correction information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of system startup according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a program correction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-1 Microprocessor 1-2 Basic peripheral control circuit 1-3 Basic memory 1-4 ROM 1-5 Hardware core logic section 1-6 Extended memory 1-7 Peripheral device control logic 1-8 Floppy disk 1-9 Hard disk 1-10 Printer 1-11 Peripheral device logic part 1-12 Non-volatile memory 1-13 Correction information invalid display circuit 1-14 Correction logic part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A program rewriting method for an arithmetic processing device, wherein a basic control program routine group is fixedly incorporated in a non-volatile medium, and the program is operated after being copied to a rewritable medium. Modification information of the program is stored in a predetermined format in a non-volatile medium, the presence or absence and correctness of the information are confirmed at the initial stage of device startup, and the program is modified using the information. How to modify the basic control program. 2. An initial stage of a basic control program routine group to be executed when the apparatus is started up in an arithmetic processing unit in which the basic control program routine group is fixedly incorporated in a non-volatile medium and the program is operated after being copied to a rewritable medium. And a control means for performing a process of copying the program from the nonvolatile medium to a rewritable medium and a process of determining the presence / absence of correctness information of the program, and a basic control that is operable at the time of starting the device. An arithmetic processing unit comprising: a rewritable non-volatile medium for storing correction information of a program routine group in a predetermined format; and means for invalidating the correction information.