Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for updating running processes. In particular, a jump instruction is injected into the first instruction line of a function that has been updated. The jump instruction redirects the program to a location within a jump table containing the address of the first instruction of an updated function. Injection of the jump instruction can be made without stopping execution of the application, thereby allowing a patch to be installed without interrupting application services.

Abstract: A system and method for continuing to provide processing in a processing system is disclosed. In one embodiment, a processing system is provided comprising a secondary storage device, a memory, a processor, an operating system, and a plurality of processes stored in the secondary data storage device. The plurality of processes comprise a first group of processes and a second group of processes. The first group of processes is adapted to be swapped between the secondary data storage device and the memory for execution. The second group of processes is adapted to be locked into the memory of the processing system during operation. The request to lock and unlock a process is affected by a watchdog process unrelated to the process being locked. Configuration information for the watchdog process identifies the processes in the first and/or second groups.