Patent ID: 7249225

Claim:
A method for supporting read-only objects within an object-addressed memory hierarchy, comprising: receiving a request at a translator to access an object, wherein the request includes an object identifier for the object that is used to reference the object within the object-addressed memory hierarchy, and wherein the translator converts an object identifier and offset into a corresponding physical address and converts the request to access an object into a request for the corresponding physical address; using the object identifier to retrieve an object table entry associated with the object; and if the request is a write request, examining a read-only indicator within the object table entry, and if the read-only indicator specifies that the object is a read-only object, performing a corrective action to deal with the fact that the write request is directed to a read-only object, wherein performing the corrective action involves: obtaining a writable copy of the object, clearing the read-only indicator to indicate that the object is no longer read-only, and updating the writable copy of the object with data from the write request; updating a remotely located master copy of the object with data from the write request; terminating the requesting process because the write request is not allowed; and if the request is directed to a debugging breakpoint, pausing the requesting process and clearing the read-only indicator.