KR20080033690A - Device and method of memory allocation with 2 stage for mobile phone - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for allocating a memory in a terminal and a method for operating the apparatus are provided to allocate an area of a memory according to the request of a program promptly and prevent the fragmentation of the memory through repetition of allocation and recovery. A memory unit(100) records operation data of a program, which is driven by the control of a controller, in an allocated area, and deletes data in a returned area. A memory allocator(110) divides an area of the memory unit into plural pages and divides each of the pages into plural blocks. The memory allocator manages the blocks such that the blocks are sorted into allocated blocks where data are recorded and blank blocks where data are not recorded. A controller(120) controls the memory allocator. The controller searches for a page having a desired blank block by the request of the program, and records the data of the program in the desired blank block of the searched page.

Description

Device and method for allocating memory of terminal {DEVICE AND METHOD OF MEMORY ALLOCATION WITH 2 STAGE FOR MOBILE PHONE}

1 is an explanatory diagram of a memory allocation method according to an example of the prior art;

2 is an explanatory diagram of a memory allocation method according to an example of the prior art;

3 is a functional block diagram of a memory allocation device of a terminal according to the present invention;

4 is an explanatory diagram of a memory allocation state of a terminal according to the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating a memory allocation method by a memory allocator of a terminal of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart illustrating a memory allocation method by the controller of the present invention terminal.

          ** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings **

100: memory unit 110: memory allocator

112: block management unit 114: page management unit

120: control unit

The present invention quickly allocates and retrieves a memory size requested by a program of a terminal with less fragmentation. In particular, since the memory is divided into two stages, fragmentation occurs quickly by re-allocating. The present invention relates to a memory allocation apparatus and a method of a terminal which do not.

The mobile communication terminal is a device that instantly communicates with a desired counterpart anytime and anywhere while wirelessly connecting and freely moving within a service area formed by a base station.

Since such a terminal is always carried and moved by a user, it is generally small in size, lightly made, and has a specificity in that a lot of resources (RESOURCE) including memory and the like cannot be configured.

The memory provided in the terminal is used by a processor (CPU), and includes a nonvolatile ROM and a volatile RAM.

Non-volatile memory is recorded semi-permanently so that once the data or program basically necessary for the operation of the terminal is recorded, it is not erased even if the supply of operating power is cut off.

Volatile memory records programs and data that are temporarily needed during the operation of the terminal.If the operating power is cut off, the recorded data is deleted, and it is a common memory called heap memory and is an area for programs essential for system operation. And the area for application programs.

Such heap memory is allocated and used by the processor, and is returned and reused when the use is completed, so that a limited number of programs can efficiently share a limited amount of memory.

In this way, the memory area or size allocated by the processor is different in size depending on each program, and the used memory capacity is recovered by the garbage collection program, and the recovered memory is requested by another program. Are reassigned to

At this time, if the size of the recovered memory is smaller than the size of the requested memory, it cannot be reallocated. If the size of the recovered memory is larger than the requested size, the memory space remaining after the reallocation is generated, but smaller than the size requested by another program This results in fragmentation of memory that is not sufficient to reallocate.

That is, due to the fragmentation phenomenon, since the physical area or the size or the space of the entire physical memory remains, but is divided into a large number of sizes that the program cannot utilize, there is a case that the program cannot allocate the memory of the size requested.

Referring to FIG. 1, a memory allocation method according to an example of the prior art will be described as an example. The total size of the heap memory 10 is 10 Mbytes, and a plurality of applications require each required memory size.

As shown in (a), since 3 Mbyte, 2 Mbyte, and 3 Mbyte sizes are allocated and occupied by each application by the memory allocator, data is recorded and 2 Mbytes are in the standby state. Assume that it remains free.

At this time, as shown in (b), the occupancy of the 3 Mbyte and 2 Mbyte memory allocated by the termination of the application is released and returned to the standby state.

In addition, as shown in (c), when another application requests a memory size of 4 Mbytes and another application requests a size of 3 Mbytes, the memory is fragmented physically. It will remain, but will not be able to allocate memory.

Various methods for efficiently allocating and reallocating such limited memory have been proposed.

When memory resources are not limited, there is a method of allocating a large memory and managing an absolute address location. However, in a mobile communication terminal, the capacity of the memory resource is limited, so that a large memory allocation and an absolute address location are secured. There is a problem that is difficult to do.

Referring to FIG. 2, a memory allocation method according to another example of the prior art will be described. The memory is divided into blocks of the same size, and a best fit method, a worst fit method, and a first fit method are requested by an application program. Allocate it in the pit method.

In (a), a block in which a whole memory area is divided and divided into a plurality of block units, allocated to an application program, occupied, and written data is shown in a shadow state.

As an example, a case where another application program requests allocation of a memory area of one block size will be described separately for each method.

Since the best fit method retrieves the memory 10 by the allocator, it searches for the chunks that are waiting in the blank state where no data is recorded, and waits for the chunks of one block size. It is shown in (b) in a way that finds and assigns an area.

This method can efficiently use memory, but has a problem in that it takes a relatively long time to allocate.

The WORST FIT method is a method of allocating the largest chunk memory area among the chunk memories searched by the allocator, and is illustrated in (c).

This method can quickly allocate memory, but since the allocated chunk memory is made up of four blocks, one requested block is allocated and three blocks remain, resulting in a total run time. If it is long, there is a problem that fragmentation becomes seriously large.

The FIRST FIT method is a method of allocating the chunk memory of the first order retrieved by the allocator, and is illustrated in (d).

Even in this manner, the memory allocation can be made quickly, but since the allocated chunk memory is made up of two blocks, one block of memory is allocated and one block is fragmented, resulting in a long run-time. In case of loss, there is a problem of large fragmentation.

When the mobile communication terminal is in operation and fails to allocate the memory required for the application program operated by this fragmentation, a deadlock occurs and the terminal fails to operate. There is.

This problem is not limited to the terminal problem, the user loses important information acquisition opportunities, the preference and reliability of the terminal is low, there is a problem associated with the loss of sales of the mobile communication system operators.

Therefore, there is a need to develop a technique for preventing fragmentation from occurring by using a limited memory of the terminal.

In the mobile communication terminal, the heap memory is divided into two stages, and the processor allocates and retrieves the memory according to a request of the processor. Thus, the processor allocates the memory area of the terminal and the fragmentation does not occur. The purpose is to provide a method.

The present invention devised to provide the above object, the terminal comprising: a memory unit for recording the operation data of the program in the allocated area by the control and monitoring of the control unit, and erases the data of the recovered area; A memory allocator for dividing an area of the memory unit into a plurality of pages, dividing each page into a plurality of blocks, and managing the partition into an allocation block in which data is recorded and a blank block in which data is not recorded; A controller for monitoring a memory allocator, retrieving and allocating a page in which a blank block of a corresponding size remains, and recording data of the program in a blank block area of the allocated page; Present a configuration that includes.

In addition, the present invention devised to provide the above object, the process of dividing into a page of a predetermined unit size when managing the memory unit by the memory allocator; Dividing each page into a plurality of blocks by a memory allocator, and managing each page into an allocation block in which data is recorded and an empty block in which data is not recorded; When the memory allocator requests a memory allocation from the controller, the memory allocator checks a margin block of a requested size in units of pages and allocates pages according to a set order; This presents the included configuration.

In addition, the present invention devised in order to provide the above object, the process of confirming the memory size required for data recording when the application program is driven by the control unit of the terminal; A first allocation process of controlling a memory allocator by a control unit, searching for a page having a memory of the checked and requested size, and allocating the retrieved page; A second allocating step of allocating another page when the size of one blank block configured in the allocated page is not the requested size; Allocating margin blocks constituting the allocated page to record data, and returning the allocated page after returning the allocated block when driving of the program is completed; This presents the included configuration.

Hereinafter, the present invention having the configuration described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a functional configuration diagram of a memory allocation apparatus of a terminal according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a memory allocation state of a terminal according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a memory allocation method by a memory allocator of a terminal, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a memory allocation method by a controller of a terminal according to the present invention.

In describing the embodiments of the present invention, descriptions are omitted for technical contents that are not directly related to the present invention and are well known, and thus, the present invention is clearly transmitted without passing the gist of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a memory allocation apparatus of a terminal according to the present invention will include: a memory unit 100 for recording data generated by operation of a program in an allocated area; A memory allocator 110 which divides an area of the memory unit into a plurality of pages and divides and manages the area into a plurality of blocks again; The control unit 120 controls the memory allocator to directly write data in a block of a page in which data is to be recorded.

The memory unit 100 included in the mobile communication terminal is limited in capacity or size by the mobility and portability of the terminal.

In addition, the terminal is running a variety of applications in order to operate a variety of additional services in addition to communication.

Each such program generates data by driving, and in order to smoothly drive the program, necessary data such as data or parameters generated in this way must be recorded and managed in the allocated area.

Therefore, by using the limited capacity of the memory unit, it is necessary to generate a plurality of programs while driving or to record data necessary for driving such as parameters.

In order to efficiently use a limited amount of co-memory as described above, the program is divided into a predetermined size and quickly allocated, and the used memory is recovered and reallocated by return, and fragmentation occurs in this process. It is a technique of the present invention to prevent the occurrence of unusable areas.

In this way, the memory capacity provided in the memory unit 100 is divided and managed by the page management unit 114 of the memory allocator 110 in a predetermined predetermined size.

In addition, the memory in units of pages divided by the page manager 114 is divided into a plurality of blocks by the block manager 112 and managed.

The block management unit 112 manages whether the block managed in this way is an allocated block in which data is recorded or a blank block in which data is not recorded.

When the program is driven, the controller 120 checks the required memory size and controls the memory allocator 110 to search the memory in the page unit in which the checked memory size is secured.

As described above, the searched memory unit may have a large number of pages, and each program is driven, and it is necessary to separately record data having different utilization states or characteristics.

Such data includes data generated while the program is driven and operated, parameters required for driving the program, and the like.

At this time, the page manager 114 controls the block manager 112 to check whether the memory capacity of the size requested by the controller 120 remains as a blank block, and sets all page units searched in this check to a predetermined value. It arranges according to order and provides it to a control part.

The order of sorting the pages retrieved in this way is various, for example, the order of the size of the total margin capacity is large, the order of the smallest, the order of the returned and retrieved, the last used order, the order of the managed addresses, etc. There is a system, and the description of the present invention shall not be limited to any one system.

The controller 120 allocates the searched page unit memory according to a predetermined order and checks each blank block configured in the allocated page unit, and confirms whether it can be managed in one block and managed in one block. .

If it is determined by the control unit 120 that it cannot be managed as one block in this confirmation, the process of allocating different pages according to the order and repeating the check of the size of the block is repeated, so that the necessary blank blocks are managed as one. do.

The block provided in the page allocated as described above records and updates operational data such as parameters required for driving the program, generated data, and the like.

In addition, when there is data to be managed separately by one program, the control unit reassigns pages allocated and occupied to the same program as much as possible, thereby simplifying management.

When the driving of the program is completed, the allocated margin block is returned by control and monitoring of the controller 120, and when the return of all margin blocks is completed, the corresponding page is returned.

According to the present invention, the memory is divided into two stages of a page unit and a block unit, and when a block is allocated, a page is allocated first, a block unit is allocated, and a block is recovered first even when a block is returned. If all the block units of the page are recovered, the page is recovered.

Therefore, memory allocation is quick and easy to manage, and there is an advantage that fragmentation does not occur even in a long run-time.

Referring to FIG. 4, a memory allocation state of a terminal according to the present invention will be described. The memory unit 100 is divided and managed by a page allocator of a memory allocator in a predetermined size from one page to another.

As an example, while the first program is running, pages 1, 2, 7, and 9 are already occupied and occupied and used, and while the second program is running, the 3, 4, 6, 8 times The page is occupied and in use.

At this time, the first program and the second program respectively generate data to be managed separately, and requests memory for allocation.

The controller 120 searches for pages 1, 2, and 7 occupied by the first program, and since there is no memory of the size requested for allocation, the controller 120 searches for the last 9 pages, and in page 9, the requested size Confirming that there is a memory size, the allocation state is shown.

In the case of the second program, the third, fourth, and sixth pages are searched, and there are no margin blocks of the requested size, and the last block is identified as the margin blocks of the requested size. The assigned state is shown.

Referring to FIG. 5, the memory allocating method according to the memory allocator of the present invention may include: dividing the data into page units when managing the memory by the memory allocator; Dividing the page into blocks and managing a data recording state; Allocating a page having an allocation request size in a set order; It consists of.

5 and 3, the memory allocating method by the memory allocator of the present invention will be described in detail. The memory allocator 110 manages the memory unit 100 under the control and monitoring of the control unit 120. In this case (S100), the memory capacity provided in the memory unit 100 is divided into predetermined predetermined unit sizes, and each is allocated and managed in units of pages (S110).

The page units of the memory unit 100 divided as described above are divided into a plurality of blocks of a predetermined size by the block management unit 112 of the memory allocator 110, and each block manages whether valid data is recorded. (S120).

The memory allocator 110 checks whether the program driven by the controller 120 requests the allocation of memory required (S130), and if such memory is to be allocated from the check, the memory area of the page unit is searched. Then, it is checked whether there is a margin block of a size requested by the program (S140).

In this way, the page having the margin block of the requested size is allocated to the program according to the set order (S150), so that data is recorded in the margin block.

Therefore, since the memory of the size requested by the program is searched in units of pages, the search is quick and the allocation is quick.

Referring to FIG. 6, a method of allocating a memory by a controller of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: checking a memory size required by a program driven by the controller; Searching for a memory unit and allocating a page unit having a corresponding margin; Allocating another page if the margin is not the requested size; Writing data in the margin block of the allocated page and returning the page when the program is completed; It consists of.

6 and 3, the memory allocation method by the control unit of the present invention will be described in detail, it is checked whether the APPLICATION program is driven by the control unit 120 of the terminal (S200).

When it is determined that the application program is driven by the control unit 120 as described above, it is checked how much the size or capacity of the data storage memory required by the program is (S210).

The controller 120 that checks the size of the required memory controls the memory allocator 110 to search for a page having a blank block of the size determined as described above (S220), and searches the pages thus found in a predetermined order. The sorted pages are allocated to the program (S230).

The controller 120 analyzes the size of the margin block of the memory page allocated to the program, thereby confirming whether the size is required for the allocation (S240).

If the requested memory size is analyzed and confirmed as not consisting of one consistent margin block in this check, the next order of pages or another page is reallocated according to the set order of the retrieved pages (S250), and the margin blocks are requested. Check again whether the size is a consistent size (S240).

In this confirmation, if the margin block included in the allocated page is composed of the margin blocks consistent with the size required by the program, the margin block is allocated to the driven program, and the driven program is generated with the necessary parameters and data. Data and the like are recorded (S260).

When it is determined that the driving of the program being driven and operated is completed (S270), the control unit 120 returns a block allocated for recording data, and erases the data of the recovered block by this return.

The controller 120 checks whether all blocks constituting the page are returned, and if all blocks are returned, returns the corresponding page (S280).

Accordingly, since the RUN-TIME of the terminal is long and a plurality of programs are operated, fragmentation does not occur even if memory allocation and repetition are repeated, there is an advantage of more efficiently utilizing limited memory.

Although the present invention has been described in the embodiments as described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

The present invention having the above configuration has a convenient effect of increasing reliability by quickly allocating a memory size requested by each program in a terminal having limited memory resources.

In addition, since the RUN-TIME of the terminal becomes longer, fragmentation caused by repetition of memory allocation and retrieval does not occur, and thus there is an industrial use effect of efficiently operating a limited memory.

Claims (15)

In the terminal, A memory unit for recording operation data of a program driven by control and monitoring of the control unit in an allocated area and erasing data of the returned area; A memory allocator for dividing an area of the memory unit into a plurality of pages, dividing each page into a plurality of blocks, and managing the partition into an allocated block in which data is recorded and a blank block in which data is not recorded; A controller for monitoring the memory allocator, retrieving and allocating a page in which a blank block of a corresponding size remains, and writing data of the program in a blank block area of the allocated page; Memory allocation apparatus of the terminal configured to include. The method of claim 1, wherein the memory allocator, A page management unit dividing the entire area of the memory unit into pages of a set unit size, and monitoring whether an area in which data can be written remains on each page; A block manager for dividing each page area divided by the page manager into a plurality of blocks, and dividing and monitoring the allocated block area into which data is recorded and the blank block area into which data is not recorded; Memory allocation apparatus of the terminal, characterized in that the configuration includes. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit, And monitoring the memory allocator, selecting a page in which a blank block of the size requested by the program remains, and allocating the page to the program. The method of claim 3, wherein the control unit, And monitoring the size of the allocated space of the allocated page, and if the size requested by the program is not provided as one space block, selecting and reassigning another page. The method of claim 4, wherein the page selection, And a page in the next order is selected according to the predetermined order. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the control unit, And the memory allocator writes data of the program directly to the allocated area of the memory by the memory allocator. When the memory unit is managed by the memory allocator, dividing into pages of a predetermined unit size; Dividing each page into a plurality of blocks by the memory allocator, and managing each page into an allocation block in which data is recorded and an empty block in which data is not recorded; When the memory allocator requests a memory allocation from the controller, the memory allocator checks a margin block of a requested size in units of pages and allocates pages according to a set order; Method of operating a memory allocation device of a terminal configured to include. The method of claim 7, wherein the assignment process, Confirming, by the memory allocator, whether there is a memory allocation request of a predetermined size to record data of a program driven from the controller; If there is a memory allocation request, searching each page unit to determine whether there is a margin area of the requested size; Allocating a page having a margin area of the requested size among the searched pages; Method of operating a memory allocation device of a terminal comprising a. The method of claim 8, wherein the page allocation, And allocating the searched pages in a predetermined order, and allocating pages in a next order even when requesting additional allocation or requesting another page. When the application is driven by the controller of the terminal, checking a memory size required for data recording; A first allocation process of controlling a memory allocator by the controller, searching for a page having a memory of the checked and requested size, and allocating the retrieved page; A second allocating step of allocating another page if the one size block size configured in the allocated page is not the checked and requested size; Allocating blank blocks constituting the allocated page to record data and returning the allocated page after returning the allocated block when driving of the program is completed; Method of operating a memory allocation device of a terminal configured to include. The method of claim 10, wherein the first allocation process, And searching for a margin area of the allocated page when the driven program has already allocated memory in units of pages and needs to allocate additional memory. The method of claim 10, wherein the return process, Recording the data generated by the program in the allocated space block of the page allocated by the controller; Confirming whether the program is completed by the controller; Returning the allocated block first when the program finishes driving, and then returning the corresponding page in the following order; Method of operating a memory allocation device of a terminal, characterized in that consisting of. The method of claim 12, wherein the return of the block or the return of the page, And erasing data recorded in the block or page. The method of claim 12, wherein the recording of the data, And operating the memory allocation apparatus of the terminal by the control unit to record data in the allocated blank block of the memory by a direct drive method. The method of claim 10, wherein the second allocation process, And in case of allocating the other page, a designated page is allocated in a predetermined order.

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