BUFFER MANAGEMENT METHOD BASED ON A BITMAP TABLE

A buffer management method based on a bitmap table includes: dividing the bitmap table into a plurality of areas each containing at least one bit; determining and recording an idleness status of each of the areas in accordance with an unoccupied status of the bit in the area; and performing a management on a buffer address pointer in accordance with the recorded idleness status of each of the areas. The entire inventive procedure of allocating a buffer address pointer is fixed and easily controllable, and the RAM consumed for management on each buffer element including at least a 1-bit buffer space is approximately 1 bit, with a relatively fewer resources being consumed. The invention can enable that it takes two clock cycles on average to complete one procedure of allocating a buffer address pointer, and thus the efficiency in allocating and reclaiming a buffer address pointer is high, and the controllability during buffer management is improved. In the case that as a few as possible resources are consumed, the capability in buffer management is improved to a maximal extent, and hence the inventive can satisfy the demand of a large bandwidth for a large buffer.