Solving the starting problem: device drivers as self-describing artifacts

Run-time conflicts can affect even the most rigorously tested software systems. A reliance on execution-based testing makes it prohibitively costly to test every possible interaction among potentially thousands of programs with complex configurations. In order to reduce configuration problems, detect developer errors, and reduce developer effort, we have created a new first class operating system ion, the application abstraction, which enables both online and offline reasoning about programs and their configuration requirements. implemented a subset of the application abstraction for device drivers in the Singularity operating system. Programmers use the application abstraction by placing declarative statements about hardware and communication requirements within their code. Our design enables Singularity to learn the input/output and interprocess communication requirements of drivers without executing driver code. By reasoning about this information within the domain of Singula...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: EUROSYS
• Authors: Michael F. Spear, Tom Roeder, Orion Hodson, Galen C. Hunt, Steven Levi
• Keywords: Application Abstraction, Design Enables Singularity, EUROSYS 2006, Singularity Operating System, System Software