Patent ID: 6438557
Filing Date: 2002-08-20
Classification: G06F,Y02D,Y10S

Abstract:
A system for switching resources of a computer among a plurality of programs, the system comprising:a processor for executing programs for the computer; a set of register banks coupled to the processor for storing information for the plurality of programs, each register bank including a plurality of program information registers, the set of register banks having a selection input for selecting a current program for the processor to execute; a status register coupled to the processor for storing in a prioritized order a status bit corresponding to each program, each status bit having a status bit address and indicating a status of the corresponding program as being one of active and inactive; and a program determination logic circuit coupled to the status register for determining the status bit address of a highest priority active program, said program determination logic circuit coupled to the set of register banks for providing the status bit address of the highest priority active program to the selection input wherein the highest priority active program is selected as the current program.