Patent ID: 7840800

Claim:
Method to check module chaining in a modular software architecture located in an electronic unit ( 10 ) with microprocessor ( 11 ) comprising, apart from the microprocessor, a memory space ( 14 , 16 , 18 ), the method comprising: in response to execution of an inter-module call instruction belonging to the instruction set of the microprocessor, triggering execution of a save routine in privilege mode allowing writing to otherwise read-only memory by the inter-module call instruction belonging to the microprocessor's instruction set, from within the execution of the save routine executing in privilege mode, before branching the execution of the calling module to a precise point in the program of the called module: automatically writing, with hardware means, information used to identify the calling module in a memory location that is read-only to programs not executing in privilege mode and that is used to store calling program information, the written calling module identification information being hardware secured, identifying an identification and program chaining check routine specific to the called module among several identification and program chaining routines; and using the identified identification and program chaining check routine, checking said written identification information of the calling module.