Debugger using class information and dynamic instance inter-relationships

• US 5,845,125 A
• Filed: 02/10/1997
• Issued: 12/01/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Koyama, Noriaki, Nishimura, Tomoko, Igarashi, Masato, Ueki, Katsuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chavis, John Q.
• Application Number:
  US08/797,123
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• Field of Search: 395/701, 395/704
• US Class Current: 717/129
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/362 Software debugging
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software

Abstract

A debugger which helps a user perform object-based debugging. A class information generation section (8) generates class information based on the source code. The execution section (12) executes the program. The object information generation section (13) generates object information based on class information and execution information. The user sets a breakpoint in a desired object via the breakpoint setting section (16). A breakpoint may be set at a desired location in the object. The break processing section (18) detects a breakpoint and breaks the execution of the program. The reservation section (21) reserves a debug operation with the identifier of an object. When there is an object that can be referenced by the reserved identifier, the reservation execution section (22) executes the operation reserved for the object.

Claims

1. A debugger comprising:

a class information generation means for generating class information representing a structure of plural classes which implement plural objects of a program to be debugged based on source code of said program to be debugged;

an object information generation means for generating and recording object information including an object identification and a starting address for each object when each of said plural objects is created during an execution of said program;

a breakpoint setting means for setting plural breakpoints according to said object information, each breakpoint being set at a breakpoint address corresponding to a specific object of said plural objects;

an event point setting means for setting an event point in said specific object of said program;

an event point detection means for detecting said event point according to the execution of said program; and

an event information generation means for generating event information about the execution of said program at said event point.

2. A debugger as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a reference relation information generation means for generating reference relation information representing reference relations among said plural objects based on said object information; and

a reference relation information output means for outputting said reference relation information.

3. A debugger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said breakpoint setting means further comprises means for setting an address breakpoint in a location in said plural objects corresponding to one of said plural classes.

4. A debugger as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a user interface for performing input and output of debugging information for said specific object based on an identifier corresponding to said specific object in said source code of said program.

5. A debugger as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:

a reservation means for reserving a debug operation using said identifier of said specific object; and

a reservation execution means for automatically executing a reserved operation for said specific object when said specific object can be referenced with a reserved identifier.

6. The debugger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said event point setting means comprises an event point setting means for setting an event point at each public method of said specific object and for setting an event point at each public method of each public object of said plural objects contained in said specific object.

7. The debugger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said breakpoint setting means comprises:

breakpoint setting means for setting plural breakpoints, each breakpoint being set at a first breakpoint address of each public method of said specific object, at a second breakpoint address of each public method of a base class of said specific object and at a third breakpoint address of a public method of at least one public object of said plural objects contained in said specific object.

8. The debugger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for generating and recording comprises means for recording which of said plural objects is created by another of said plural objects.

9. The debugger as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for tracking access right information by tracking when said start address of said specific object is transferred to another of said plural objects.

10. The debugger as claimed in claim 9, wherein the breakpoint setting means comprises breakpoint setting means using said access right information to set said plural breakpoints.

11. The debugger of claim 1, wherein the break means comprises:

break means for breaking the execution of said program at one of the breakpoint addresses regardless of which of said plural objects referenced said one of said breakpoint addresses;

means for restarting the execution of said program without user intervention if said one of the breakpoint addresses is called by a one of said plural objects on which a one of said plural breakpoints was not set by said breakpoint setting means; and

means for passing control to a user if said one of the breakpoint addresses is called by a one of said plural objects on which a one of said plural breakpoints was set by said breakpoint setting means.