Patent ID: 6738796
Filing Date: 2004-05-18
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A method for minimizing memory requirements of a system in which read and write threads are used to access a storage medium, the storage medium comprising data segments, and each segment is associated with a synchronization object for indicating a status of availability of data stored on the data segment to which the synchronization object is associated, and for providing a low processor-intensive state for an accessing thread if the associated data segment is not available to be accessed, the method comprising the steps of:examining a state of a segment ready indicator field to determine whether a data segment is available to be read, wherein the segment-ready indicator field requires less memory to maintain than a synchronization object requires; responsive to the segment ready indicator field indicating that the data segment is not available to be read, waiting in a low-processor intensive state for the data segment to become available; responsive to the segment ready indicator field indicating that the data segment is available to be read, reading the data segment without accessing the synchronization object; responsive to completing reading the data segment, determining whether the synchronization object still exists; and responsive to the synchronization object still existing, destroying the synchronization object.