Method and apparatus for selective replay of computer programs

• US 5,870,607 A
• Filed: 09/11/1996
• Issued: 02/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Brown University
• Original Assignee: Brown University
• Inventors: Netzer, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Demetra R.
• Application Number:
  US08/710,098
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• Field of Search: 395/704, 395/709, 395/183.14, 395/183.11, 395/183.1, 395/183.09, 395/701
• US Class Current: 717/127
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3414 Workload generation, e.g. scripts, playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3471 Address tracing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3644 by instrumenting at runtime
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting

Abstract

A user can selectively replay portions of a computer program execution, so that the entire program need not be run again to support further test and debug. A run-time instrumented version of the program is created by inserting special instructions into the original program. The run-time instrumented version is executed to create trace files of memory accesses and system calls, as well as identification of interrupts. During execution of the run-time instrumented version, a state of each accessed memory location is monitored and updated to determine which memory accesses should be traced and when. This monitoring and updating is performed in a manner which minimizes interference with the execution. A user then may select a desired portion of the original computer program for replay and, in response, appropriate data is stored in corresponding memory locations so that the desired portion of the program may be replayed accurately.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring an execution of a computer program so that a portion of the execution may be replayed, the method comprising the steps of:

(A) segmenting the computer program into a plurality of segments;

(B) executing the computer program including the plurality of segments;

(C) during execution of the computer program, monitoring access of a memory location by the computer program to determine whether an accessed value of the memory location is a value to be stored; and

(D) at an end of each of the plurality of segments executed during execution, storing the accessed value when step (C) determines that the accessed value includes a value to be stored.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

receiving an input indicative of a selected one of the plurality of segments of the computer program to be replayed;

writing to the memory location the value stored in step (D) corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of segments; and

replaying the selected one of the plurality of segments.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step, performed prior to step (C), of associating a state with the memory location.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein;

step (C) includes the steps of;

detecting a type of access of the memory location; and

modifying the state associated with the memory location depending upon the type of access; and

step (D) includes a step of determining whether the accessed value of the memory location includes a value to be stored based upon the state associated with the variable, at the end of each of the plurality of segments.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of modifying includes transitioning the state from a first state to a second state without performing a conditional test on the first state.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the step of associating includes storing a state variable in a second memory location that has a predetermined offset from the memory location; and

the step of modifying includes modifying the state variable stored in the second memory location.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

detecting that a type of access of the memory location corresponds to a predetermined type of memory access; and

in response to a predetermined type of memory access, storing the accessed value prior to an end of one of the plurality of segments.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of detecting that the type of access of the memory location corresponds to a predetermined type of memory access includes detecting that the access includes a system call that modifies data stored in the memory location.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of the method are performed by instrumentation instructions added to the computer program, such instrumentation instructions being executed during the execution of the computer program.

10. An apparatus for monitoring an execution of a computer program so that a portion of the execution may be replayed, the apparatus comprising:

means for segmenting the computer program into a plurality of segments;

means for executing the computer program including the plurality of segments;

means for monitoring access of a memory location by the computer program, during execution of the computer program, to determine whether an accessed value of the memory location includes a value to be stored; and

means for storing the accessed value in response to the means for monitoring determining that the accessed value includes a value to be stored, at an end of each of the plurality of segments executed during execution.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for receiving an input indicative of a selected one of the plurality of segments of the computer program to be replayed;

means for writing to the memory location the value stored by the means for storing corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of segments; and

means for replaying the selected one of the plurality of segments.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus further comprises means for associating a state with the memory location;

and

wherein the means for monitoring includes;

means for detecting a type of access of the memory location; and

means for modifying the state associated with the memory location depending upon the type of access; and

wherein the means for storing includes means for determining whether the accessed value of the memory location includes a value to be stored based upon the state associated with the variable, at the end of each of the plurality of segments.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the predetermined plurality of access types includes a read, a write, a partial read, a partial write, and a system call.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the means for modifying includes means for transitioning the state from a first state to a second state without performing a conditional test on the first state.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein:

the means for associating includes means for storing a state variable in a second memory location that has a predetermined offset from the memory location; and

the means for modifying includes means for modifying the state variable stored in the second memory location.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for detecting that a type of access of the memory location corresponds to a predetermined type of memory access; and

means, operative in response to the type of access of the memory location that is monitored corresponding to the predetermined type of memory access, for storing the accessed value prior to an end of one of the plurality of segments.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for detecting that the type of access of the memory location corresponds to a predetermined type of memory access includes means for detecting that the access includes a system call that modifies data stored in the memory location.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus includes instrumentation instructions added to the computer program, such instrumentation instructions being executed during the execution of the computer program.