Method and apparatus for analyzing software in a language-independent manner

• US 20020095660A1
• Filed: 08/29/2001
• Published: 07/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Metrowerks Corp. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: OʼBrien, Stephen Caine, Maxwell, Sidney R. III
• Granted Patent: US 6,658,651 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/127
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3624 by performing operations on the source code, e.g. via a compiler
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/364 tracing values on a bus

Abstract

A software analysis system for capturing tags generated by tag statements in instrumented source code. The system includes a probe that monitors the address and data bus of the target system. When a tag statement is executed in the target system, a tag is written to a predetermined location in the address space of the target. The tag contains a tag value that is indicative of the location in the source code of the tag statement generating the tag. The source code instrumenter includes a language-dependent parser and a language-independent analyzer that records tagging data in a symbol database. The system performs a variety of analysis functions in essentially real time, including code coverage, function and task execution times, memory allocation, call pairs, and program tracing.

Claims

1. A system for analyzing software being executed in a target system having a cache memory, a data bus and an address bus, the software containing a plurality of executable tag statements which, when executed, cause the target system to perform an operation outside of the cache memory, the tag statements containing respective tag values corresponding to locations in the software of the tag statements, the system comprising:

a detector that detects the operation outside of the cache memory, the detector capturing a tag value of an executable tag statement when the detector detects the operation; and

a processor connected to the detector, the processor determining the software locations that have been executed based on the respective tag values of the captured tags.

2. The system recited in claim 1 wherein the detector is a probe connected to the address and data buses of the target system that detects the operation while the target system is executing the software.

3. The system recited in claim 1 wherein the operation is a write operation and the detector is a file that receives tag values.

4. The system recited in claim 1 wherein the detector stores the tag values in a persistent memory during execution and writes the tag values to a file following execution.

5. The system recited in claim 1 wherein the operation is a function call across a communications network.

6. The system recited in claim 5 wherein the communications network is an Ethernet network.

7. A method of analyzing software being executed in a target system having a cache memory, a data bus and an address bus, the method comprising:

inserting a plurality of executable tag statements at locations in the software, each of the tag statements, when executed, causing the target system to execute an operation outside of the cache memory, the tag statements containing respective tag values corresponding to the locations in the software of the tag statements;

allowing the target system to execute the software;

monitoring execution of the operation outside the cache memory of the target system while the target system is executing the software and

detecting when the operation has been executed;

capturing a tag by a detector when the operation has been executed; and

determining the software locations that have been executed based on the respective tag values of the captured tags.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the operation is a function call statement outside of the target system and across a communications network having a network address, and wherein the step of detecting when the function call statement has been executed includes determining that the communications network has been addressed.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the communications network is an Ethernet network.