Assisting debug memory tracing using an instruction array that tracks the addresses of instructions modifying user specified objects
US8261242B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 2008 |
| Grant date | Sep 4, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 5, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/3644
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention discloses a solution for increasing the immediacy in determining a point of failure after an unexpected program termination. In the solution, a user determined object is identified by a user at compile time, where the identified object is one to be tracked. The compiler introduces executable code into the source code which is able to track modifications made to the object members during run-time. During execution, the address of each instruction modifying to the object is stored in an instruction pointer (IP) array associated with the tracked object. The IP array is continuously updated during program execution when an instruction modifies a member of the tracked object. When an unexpected program termination occurs, the instruction pointer array can be presented to a debugging agent to assist in determining the instruction causing the termination. The debugging agent can be a human agent, debugging software, report generation software, and the like.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.