Summary: Virtual Memory Primitives for User Programs
Andrew W. Appel and Kai Li
CS­TR­276­90
Department of Computer Science
Princeton University
Abstract
Memory Management Units (MMUs) are traditionally
used by operating systems to implement disk­paged vir­
tual memory. Some operating systems allow user pro­
grams to specify the protection level (inaccessible, read­
only, read­write) of pages, and allow user programs
to handle protection violations, but these mechanisms
are not always robust, efficient, or well­matched to the
needs of applications.
We survey several user­level algorithms that make use
of page­protection techniques, and analyze their com­
mon characteristics, in an attempt to answer the ques­
tion, ``What virtual­memory primitives should the op­
erating system provide to user processes, and how well
do today's operating systems provide them?''

Source: Appel, Andrew W. - Department of Computer Science, Princeton University

Collections: Computer Technologies and Information Sciences