Patent · US Expired

Graphical system and method for debugging computer programs

US6412106B1 · kind B1 · utility

105Cited by
27References
52Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 16, 1999
Grant dateJun 25, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 16, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F11/323
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A system and method for graphically debugging a computer program is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a graphical debugging environment is provided, which is capable of displaying a graphical representation of an application program to be debugged. Thereafter, the graphical debugging environment allows a user to insert debugging tools, such as breakpoints, directly into the graphical representation of the application program. Thus, a user is not required to interact with the textual source code of an application program when debugging it. The graphical debugging environment may display indicators illustrating where debug tools have been inserted within the application program. In a preferred embodiment, the graphical debugging environment allows a user to perform debugging during an application program's runtime. Thus, a user is not required to halt an application program prior to debugging it. Also, in a preferred embodiment the graphical debugging environment executing on a local computer may be used to debug an application program residing on a remote computer.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.