| 摘要 |
A method and apparatus for generating an object file that facilitates patching and the introduction of new function. The present invention accomplishes this without disturbing the original source file. The present invention is particularly useful in the generation of programs that will exist on a static device such as a Read Only Memory (ROM) device. The present invention requires that access to routines in the object file be referenced through a vector table located in Random Access Memory (RAM). If a routine in ROM must be patched (i.e. replaced) or if new function is added, the vector table is modified. Modification may be either changing the contents of an existing entry (replacement) or adding a new entry (new function). Generally, this modification involves the steps of: identifying the entry points in the object file to create a vector source table, generating a vector object table from the vector source table; generating a symbol table from the vector object table; comparing entry points in the object files to entries in the symbol table; when a match is found, modifying the entry point of the object file to reference a corresponding entry in the vector table. Since the only the object file is modified, the original source file is not disturbed.
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