The software which executes upon processors is a sequence of digital words known as machine code. This machine code is understandable by the hardware of the processors. However, programmers typically write programs in a higher-level language which is much easier for humans to comprehend. The program listings in this higher-level language are called source code. In order to convert the human-readable source code into machine-readable machine code, several special software tools are known in the art. These software tools are compilers, linkers, assemblers, and loaders.
Existing compilers, linkers, and assemblers prepare source code well in advance of their being executed upon processors. These software tools expect that the hardware upon which the resulting machine code executes, including processors, will be in a predetermined and fixed configuration for the duration of the software execution. If a flexible processing methodology were invented, then the existing software tools would be inadequate to support processors and other hardware lacking a predetermined and fixed configuration.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds