Abstract: An information processing system including a processor for processing instructions; system memory; system storage, the system storage comprises: an operating system, and a compressed device driver, and a decompressor for decompressing the compressed device driver. The decompressor comprises a generic wrapper that includes: a first code stub for restoring the device driver into its uncompressed state when the device driver is loaded into system memory; a second code stub at the start of the driver body portion for taking control of the system where the driver is decompressed and jumping to the first code stub; and a third code stub for saving the original strategy entry point; and for taking control of the system when the device driver is loaded into system memory of the information processing system.

Abstract: A data processing system for executing multimedia applications which interface with multimedia devices that consume or produce at least one of real-time and asynchronous streamed data includes a CPU for execution of one or more multimedia applications and a DSP for processing data including streamed data. A plurality of modular multimedia software tasks may be called by the multimedia application for execution in the DSP. A plurality of data communication modules are provided for linking selected ones of the software tasks with selected others of the software tasks, and linking selected multimedia devices with selected ones of the software tasks. Each of the communications modules allows continuous, real-time and unidirectional communication of streamed data.

Abstract: A data processing system is provided for executing multimedia applications which interface with multimedia end devices that consume or produce at least one of (a) real-time and (b) asynchronous streamed data. The data processing system includes a central processing unit for data processing operations including execution of the multimedia application, a digital signal processor for processing data including the streamed data, and a plurality of modular components which cooperate to provide a substantially open architecture.

Abstract: This invention discloses a software mechanism for installing and identifying compression/decompression procedures thereby providing dynamic linking, while also supporting existing and future CODEC algorithms. The present procedure is a dynamically linked library installed as an entry in the system initialization file. Each entry is comprised of a four character code which uniquely identifies a file format, a compression type, and a compression subtype. Additional CODEC information in the entry of the system initialization file are the file name, the procedure name, the processing speed, and other attributes of compression algorithms. This method combined with the installed entry in the initialization file allows sharing of the same CODEC algorithm for different file formats and also provides for an existing application program to continue working, without modification, even at such time as when a new CODEC algorithm is added to the file format in a future installation.

Abstract: A centralized digital signal processor resource manager acquires through software techniques, configuration and related data for multimedia hardware devices from BIOS device drivers interposed to functionally insulate the resource manager from hardware device specific information. The resource manager manages hardware devices in a multiple DSP environment using a unique software based hardware device identification scheme to identify and manage the location and availability of each hardware device.