Execution control with cross-level trace mapping

Abstract

Described technologies aid execution control during replays of traced program behavior. Cross-level mapping correlates source code, an intermediate representation, and native instructions in a trace.The trace includes a record of native code instructions which were executed by a runtime-managed program. The trace does not include any executing instance of the runtime. Breakpoints are set to aligntrace locations with source code expressions or statements, and to skip over garbage collection and other code unlikely to interest a developer. A live debugging environment is adapted to support trace-based reverse execution. An execution controller in a debugger or other tool may utilize breakpoint ranges, cross-level mappings, backward step-out support, and other items to control a replay execution of the trace. Aspects of familiar compilers or familiar runtimes may be re-purposed for innovative execution control which replays previously generated native code, as opposed to their established purpose of generating native code.

Description

Background technique [0001] Computer software is often complex. Part of the complexity may arise from the nature of the work the program is designed to perform, for example, tracking numerous real-world items or ongoing transactions over hours or more, coordinating activities with other complex software, controlling complex hardware, etc. . In almost any real-world use of software, complexity also arises, as many details are introduced and should be properly managed to instruct the computer hardware how to perform real-world work that was originally written in English or another natural language to describe with much less precision. That said, the transformation from a high-level description to a low-level implementation executable by a computer system inevitably introduces complexity. Programming language source code, which is even more precise than natural language, is still at a relatively high level, and thus obscure, open to various understandings and implementations. ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0005] However, because execution traces can contain less information than is sometimes available during real-time process debugging, and because execution traces record state information at a low level, when a debugger or other software tool attempts to control replay execution (i.e., based on the recorded technical challenges arise when the execution of the trace

Depending on the implementation, execution control operations familiar to developers and often used during live debugging may be less accurate when attempted during trace-based replay, or may not be available at all

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