Memory validity states in time-travel debugging

• US 10,592,396 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2018
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Gabryjelski, Henry, Davis, Jackson Michael, Nelson, Patrick Lothian, Myers, Del, Lai, Thomas, Mola, Jordi
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente, Emerson C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kretzmer, Erika
• Application Number:
  US15/960,066
• Publication Number:
  US 20190324892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/323 Visualisation of programs or trace data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3636 by tracing the execution of the program
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software

Abstract

Presenting historical state associated with prior execution of an entity. Based on replaying segment(s) of execution of an entity based on a trace, embodiments could present an indication of whether a value of a code element is, at a first execution time point, unknown, known, previously known, and/or known in the future. Additionally, or alternatively, embodiments could present an indication of a value relied upon by simulated execution of a function at a second execution time point, along with an indication of a timing of knowledge of the value in relation to the second execution time point. Additionally, or alternatively, embodiments could present an indication that a return value of a function would be known if the function had executed at a third execution time point, or an indication that the return value would be unknown if the function had executed at the third execution time point.

Claims

1. A method, implemented at a computer system that includes one or more processors, for presenting historical state associated with a prior execution of an entity, the method comprising:

replaying one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity based on one or more trace data streams storing a trace of at least the prior execution of the entity;

in connection with replaying the one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity, and relying on one or more data values available in the one or more trace data streams, simulating execution of a function of the entity as it would have executed at a particular execution time point in the prior execution of the entity, wherein execution of the function was not traced into the one or more trace data streams during the prior execution of the entity; and

based on replaying the one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity, and based on simulating execution of the function of the entity, presenting, in connection with the particular execution time point in the prior execution of the entity, a first indication at a user interface of at least one of the one or more data values relied upon by the simulated execution of the function, along with a second indication of a timing of knowledge of the at least one data value in relation to the particular execution time point.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the method also comprises presenting an indication of whether a memory value of a code element is, at the first execution time point, at least one of unknown, known, previously known, or known in the future, including presenting the memory value of the code element.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein presenting the memory value of the code element includes indicating a range of execution time over which the memory value is known to be valid.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the range of execution time over which the memory value is known to be valid is determined based on one or more of a cache eviction or a cache coherence protocol (CCP) event logged in the one or more trace data streams.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second indication of the timing of knowledge of the at least one data value in relation to the particular execution time point indicates that the at least one value is obtained in the future or in the past on another entity, with respect to the particular execution time point on the entity.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second indication of the timing of knowledge of the at least one data value in relation to the particular execution time point indicates that the at least one value is obtained from within a range of execution times on another entity, with respect to the particular execution time point on the entity.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the indication of the timing of knowledge of the at least one data value in relation to the particular execution time point indicates that the timing is uncertain.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one data value relied corresponds to a memory location.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one data value relied upon by the simulated execution of the function corresponds to a return value of another function.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the method also comprises presenting an indication that a return value of a particular function would be known if the particular function had executed at the particular execution time point, based at least on values of all memory locations used by the particular function being available in the one or more trace data streams.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising indicating a range of execution time of the entity over which the return value of the particular function would be known.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the method also comprises presenting an indication that a return value of a particular function would be unknown if the particular function had executed at the particular execution time point, based at least on a value of at least one memory location used by the particular function being unavailable in the one or more trace data streams.

13. A computer system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the computer system to perform at least the following;

replay one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity based on one or more trace data streams storing a trace of at least the prior execution of the entity;

in connection with replaying the one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity, and relying on one or more data values available in the one or more trace data streams, simulating execution of a function of the entity as it would have executed at a particular execution time point in the prior execution of the entity, wherein execution of the function was not traced into the one or more trace data streams during the prior execution of the entity; and

based on replaying the one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity, and based on simulating execution of the function of the entity, presenting, in connection with the particular execution time point in the prior execution of the entity, a first indication at a user interface of at least one of the one or more data values relied upon by the simulated execution of the function, along with a second indication of a timing of knowledge of the at least one data value in relation to the particular execution time point.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the computer system also presents indication, of whether a memory value of a code element is, at the first execution time point, at least one of unknown, known, previously known, or known in the future, including presenting the memory value of the code element, presenting the memory value of the code element including indicating a range of execution time over which the memory value is known to be valid.

15. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the range of execution time over which the memory value is known to be valid is determined based on one or more of a cache eviction or a cache coherence protocol (CCP) event logged in the one or more trace data streams.

16. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the second indication of the timing of knowledge of the at least one data value in relation to the particular execution time point indicates that the at least one value is obtained in the future or in the past on another entity, with respect to the particular execution time point on the entity.

17. The computer system of claim 13, the at least one data value relied upon by the simulated execution of the function corresponds to a return value of another function that did not execute during tracing, and wherein the computer system simulates execution of the another function to obtain the at least one data value relied upon by the function.

18. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the computer system also presents an indication that a return value of the a particular is known, and wherein the computer system indicates a range of execution time of the entity over which the return value of the particular function would be known.

19. A computer program product comprising one or more hardware storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are executable by one or more processors to cause a computer system to perform at least the following:

replay one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity based on one or more trace data streams storing a trace of at least the prior execution of the entity;

in connection with replaying the one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity, and relying on one or more data values available in the one or more trace data streams, simulating execution of a function of the entity as it would have executed at a particular execution time point in the prior execution of the entity, wherein execution of the function was not traced into the one or more trace data streams during the prior execution of the entity; and

based on replaying the one or more segments of the prior execution of the entity, and based on simulating execution of the function of the entity, presenting, in connection with the particular execution time point in the prior execution of the entity, a first indication at a user interface of at least one of the one or more data values relied upon by the simulated execution of the function, along with a second indication of a timing of knowledge of the at least one value in relation to the particular execution time point.