Abstract: A method for use in a computer. A user of the computer stores a table of selections in a permanent memory structure of the computer, each selection indicating a memory object and one of at least two memory management policies for the memory object. The selections may select from one or more choices: e.g., whether pages of the memory object are to be reserved, or faulted on demand; whether pages of the memory object are to be locked into physical memory of the computer, or to be demand paged from a fluid page pool; whether pages allocated for the memory object are to be zeroed; whether the memory object is to be mapped using shared page tables; or specifying whether memory for the memory object is to be allocated contiguous physical pages of memory. A symbolic name is assigned to each of the memory objects. A non-privileged process issues a request designating one of the memory objects by symbolic name, and allocating memory from a reserved pool of memory for use in the object.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for managing pages of a designated memory object according to selected memory management policies. A user of the computer stores a table of selections in a memory of the computer, each selection indicating a memory object and one of at least two memory management policies for the memory object. The selections may select from one or more choices: e.g., whether pages of the memory object are to be reserved, or faulted on demand; whether pages of the memory object are to be locked into the memory of the computer, or to be demand paged from a fluid page pool; whether pages allocated for the memory object are to be zeroed; whether the memory object is to be mapped using shared page tables; or specifying the number of levels of translation pages of a designated memory object to be shared or whether memory for the memory object is to be allocated contiguous pages of memory. A symbolic name is assigned to each of the memory objects.

Abstract: A method of managing computer memory pages. The sharing of a program-accessible page between two processes is managed by a predefined mechanism of a memory manager. The sharing of a page table page between the processes is managed by the same predefined mechanism. The data structures used by the mechanism are equally applicable to sharing program-accessible pages or page table pages.