Utilities,
Continued
Table 2–3
(Continued) Running a Utility Process
Stage
Dispatcher Process
6
Reads the flags field in the DCT to determine if the utility uses a shared
diagnostic driver.
If...
Then...
The utility uses a
shared diagnostic
driver
The dispatcher gets the directory entry and the
pointer to the driver descriptor from the DCT.
The shared driver
needed is not already
in RAM
The dispatcher allocates temporary RAM for the
shared driver (loading the driver from ROM to RAM)
and fills in the driver descriptor data structure in the
driver descriptor for the shared driver.
7
Calls the utility entry point.
8
Checks the parameters passed.
If the parameters are out of range or too many passed, the dispatcher sends
out an illegal parameter message.
9
Prompts the user if more parameters are needed.
10
Prompts the user if the utility is going to destroy any user data.
11
Starts the utility.
2–9