PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING A LOG-STRUCTURED FILE SYSTEM IN FLASH MEMORY

摘要

A portable electronic device includes a log-structured file system implementedin flashmemory. The log-structured file system includes a write function for storingcontiguous data recordsto the flash memory in the form of at least one data log, although the systemmay write data recordsto the flash memory using a plurality of data logs. The Log-structured filesystem also includes aread function for retrieving data records from the one or more logs using aplurality of memorymapped pointers, which may be stored in an associated RAM index, or which maybe implementedas an index stored in the flash memory. A clean-log function is also providedfor eliminatinginactive records from the log so that new data can be appended to the end ofthe log. The variousfunctions associated with the log-structured file system are implemented as atLeast three softwaremodules, a read module, a write module and a clean-log module, although otherconfigurations arepossible. The portable electronic device may include a two-way RF transceiverfor sending andreceiving data from the device, and may also include a plurality ofapplication programs that areconfigured to intersect with the log structured file system, as well as othersoftware modules forcontrolling the operation of the portable electronic device.