Assembly language programming potential error detection scheme sensing apparent inconsistency with a previous operation
US5132972A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 29, 1989 |
| Grant date | Jul 21, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 29, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/3624
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A computer aided software engineering tool is disclosed which is particularly well adapted to identify potential Assembly language source code errors resulting from the analysis of statements which do not contain incorrect syntax, limits, operand specification, etc.; i.e., do not contain any errors of the type which can be generally categorized as incorrect usage. This objective is achieved by providing a debugging program which has a complete awareness of the specific machine architecture, such as the function of each instruction and the register(s), flags, etc. it affects. By essentially stepping through the Assembly language statements in much the same manner as a computer would while executing the corresponding instructions, the debugging program is able, through such simulation, to identify, in the Assembly language program under study, specific potential inconsistencies with previous operations which the debugging program has been coded to detect and, upon such detection, to issue an appropriate warning message. The programmer may then examine the flagged Assembly language code to determine if a genuine error exists.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.