Patent 7757224 was granted and assigned to Microsoft on July, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A post-compilation tool can rewrite executable images produced by a compiler. The tool can add extension definitions, insert extension-trigger instructions, and add a security signature. Operating system software may be notified of extension capabilities when loading the executable image, and may proceed to load an appropriate processor extension. The operating system software can manage availability of processor extensions on behalf of the applications.