Methods and apparatuses for endian conversion

Abstract

An embodiment of the invention includes code, such as a compiler, that enables byte order dependent code to execute on opposite byte order dependent architectures or systems. The compiler analyzes source code and produces diagnostic reports that indicate where source code changes are desirable to produce 'endian neutral' source code versions that are compatible with opposite byte order dependent architectures or systems. Such source code changes may be desirable for code portions that will produce implicit byte order changes or byte order border crossings. The modified source code that is generated may include the semantics of the desired endian conversion, as opposed to generated executable code that includes proper endian formats but which may limit the architectures to which the code is applicable.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to the field of computers, and more specifically, to a method and device for endian conversion. Background technique [0002] Endianess is a property of data storage and retrieval. Big endian data may be stored in memory in the reverse byte order of little endian data. Little-endian data may be stored with the least significant byte at the lowest memory byte address, and big-endian data may be stored with the most significant byte at the lowest memory byte address. Big-endian and little-endian variables with the same value are the same in CPU registers, but may have a different order in memory. [0003] Without recognizing the different order of how some data is stored in memory, source code written using one endianness convention may not execute on a platform that uses another endianness convention. For example, it may be desirable to preserve endian byte order within data written to or read from outside a program. ...

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However, such transformations can be slow and affect system performance

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