Selectively tracing portions of computer process execution
US10747645B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 27, 2018 |
| Grant date | Aug 18, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 26, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2201/865
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Expressly turning tracing on and off at each juncture between code that a developer wants to have traced and other code may reduce trace file size but adds computational cost. Described technologies support selectively tracing a process's execution, with some extra tracing done beyond the code the developer wanted traced, but with significantly reduced computational cost, by reducing the number of trace enablement and disablement operations. A trace controller uses a tracing disablement distance variable whose values indicate the computational distance from trace disablement. A distance variable modifier automatically moves the distance variable closer to a stop-tracing value as the process executes. The amount of extra tracing is balanced against the reduction in trace enablement/disablement operations by tuning thresholds, based on information about routine size and computational cost. Operation of the trace controller is illustrated by sample APIs, a tracing state diagram, and a side-by-side comparison, among other items.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.