System and method for displaying component information of a trace

• US 8,910,119 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Ivanova, Gorka J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Golabbakhsh, Ebrahim
• Application Number:
  US11/647,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20080163178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,902 Days
• Field of Search: 717/100, 717104-113, 717/120, 717124-128, 709/224
• US Class Current: 717/124
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software

Abstract

A system and method for displaying a trace are described. In an embodiment, the described trace display includes a navigational map that illustrates the linear path taken to get to a selected logical unit and may be used to go back to any previously viewed logical unit in that path. The trace display also includes information section to display relevant information about the currently selected logical unit of the trace.

Claims

1. A trace display system comprising:

a processor having a cache; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory to store instructions to cause the processor to;

generate a navigation map to display a particular linear path to a logical unit of a selected trace having logical units at one or more levels of abstraction, wherein the navigation map comprises;

a link to a trace selection phase to begin the navigation map, and

at least one trace element corresponding to a logical unit at one level of abstraction of the selected trace; and

generate a first informational section to display information specific to a currently selected trace element corresponding to the logical unit of the selected trace at the same time the navigation map is displayed, wherein the first informational section includes at least one link to a second logical unit at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace;

receive an input activating the link to the second logical unit of the trace to analyze;

adding a second trace element to the navigation map, the second trace element corresponding to the second logical unit at the next level of abstraction in the selected trace;

collecting specific information about the second logical unit at the next level of abstraction in the trace;

stopping the display of the first information section with the specific information about the first logical unit while the navigation map is displayed;

displaying a second informational section with the specific information about the second logical unit of the currently selected trace while the navigation map is displayed, the second informational section providing a selection to a third logical unit at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace; and

wherein to generate the navigation map to display only the particular linear path of the selected trace is to display or remove trace elements from the navigation map based on which links to the corresponding logical units are currently activated or deactivated in the generated informational section, and to display the trace elements in order by their respective levels of abstraction in the selected trace, the trace elements on one side of the navigation map corresponding to logical units at higher levels of abstraction and the trace elements on an opposite side of the navigation map corresponding to logical units at lower levels of abstraction; and

further wherein data associated with the selected trace is stored in the cache when the trace is selected.

2. The trace display system of claim 1, wherein the navigation map further comprises:

an indication marking at least one end of the particular linear path.

3. The trace display system of claim 1, wherein the navigation map is displayed horizontally.

4. The trace display system of claim 1, wherein the navigation map is displayed vertically.

5. The trace display system of claim 1, wherein the logical unit is one of the following types:

J2EE engine;

database; and

external server.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigation map includes an indication of ends of the particular linear path.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the link to the trace selection phase includes an indicator.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the indicator includes at least one of:

a different color than other trace elements; and

direction of the particular linear path.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one informational section includes trace information, wherein the trace information includes at least one of:

a trace name,

a trace ID,

a trace type,

a duration of a trace,

level of abstraction of a trace,

start time of a trace, or end time of a trace.

6. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a first selection indicating a trace to be analyzed, the selected trace tracking one or more logical units at one or more levels of abstraction of the trace;

displaying a navigation map illustrating a single linear path to a logical unit of the selected trace, the navigation map including an initial trace element corresponding to a first logical unit at a highest level of abstraction of the trace;

collecting specific information about the first logical unit;

displaying a first informational section with the specific information about the first logical unit of the currently selected trace while the navigation map is displayed, the first informational section providing a selection to a second logical unit at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace;

receiving a second selection indicating the second logical unit of the trace to analyze;

adding a second trace element to the navigation map, the second trace element corresponding to the second logical unit at the next level of abstraction in the trace;

collecting specific information about the second logical unit at the next level of abstraction in the trace;

stopping the display of the first information section with the specific information about the first logical unit while the navigation map is displayed;

displaying a second informational section with the specific information about the second logical unit of the currently seleted trace while the navigation map is displayed, the second informational section providing a selection to a third logical unit at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace;

wherein displaying the navigation map illustrating the single linear path to the logical unit of the selected trace is to display or remove trace elements from the navigation map based on which selections of subsequent logical units are currently activated or deactivated in the generated informational section, and to display the trace elements in order by their respective levels of abstraction in the selected trace, the trace elements on one side of the navigation map corresponding to logical units at higher levels of abstraction and the trace elements on an opposite side of the navigation map corresponding to logical units at lower levels of abstraction; and

further, wherein data associated with the trace is stored in a cache of a processor upon the first or second selections.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a third selection indicating the third logical unit of the trace to analyze;

removing one or more of the displayed trace elements including the initial trace element and the second trace element in the navigation map if the third logical unit is at a higher level of abstraction in the trace than one or more of the first or second logical units corresponding to the respective initial and second trace elements;

displaying a third trace element at the end of or in place of the one or more removed trace elements in the navigation map, the third trace element corresponding to the third logical unit;

collecting specific information about the third logical unit;

stopping the display of the second information section; and

displaying a third informational section with the specific information about the third logical unit of the currently selected trace, while the navigation map is displayed, the third informational section providing a selection to a subsequent logical unit, if any, at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the third selection is received from one of a link provided by the initial trace element in the navigation map back to the first selection indicating the trace to analyze, or from a link in the first displayed informational section for receiving a new first logical unit at a highest level of abstraction of the trace.

9. An article of manufacture including program code which, when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a first selection indicating a trace to be analyzed, the trace tracking one or more logical units at one or more levels of abstraction of the trace;

displaying a navigation map illustrating a single linear path to a logical unit of the selected trace, the navigation map including an initial trace element corresponding to a first logical unit at a highest level of abstraction of the trace;

collecting specific information about the first logical unit;

displaying a first informational section with the specific information about the first logical unit of the currently selected trace while the navigation map is displayed, the first informational section providing a selection to a second logical unit at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace;

receiving a second selection indicating the second logical unit of the trace to analyze;

adding a second trace element to the navigation map, the second trace element corresponding to the second logical unit at the next level of abstraction in the trace;

collecting specific information about the second logical unit at the next level of abstraction in the trace;

stopping the display of the first information section with the specific information about the first logical unit while the navigation map is displayed;

displaying a second informational section with the specific information about the second logical unit of the currently selected trace while the navigation map is displayed, the second informational section providing a selection to a third logical unit at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace;

wherein displaying the navigation map illustrating the single linear path to the logical unit of the selected trace is to display or remove trace elements from the navigation map based on which selections of subsequent logical units are currently activated or deactivated in the generated informational section, and to display the trace elements in order by their respective levels of abstraction in the selected trace, the trace elements on one side of the navigation map corresponding to logical units at higher levels of abstraction and the trace elements on an opposite side of the navigation map corresponding to logical units at lower levels of abstraction; and

further wherein data associated with the trace is stored in a cache of a processor upon the first or second selections.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 9, wherein the method further comprising:

receiving a third selection indicating the third logical unit of the trace to analyze;

removing one or more of the displayed trace elements including the initial trace element and the second trace element in the navigation map if the third logical unit is at a higher level of abstraction in the trace than one or more of the first or second logical units corresponding to the respective initial and second trace elements;

displaying a third trace element at the end of or in place of the one or more removed trace elements in the navigation map, the third trace element corresponding to the third logical unit;

collecting specific information about the third logical unit;

stopping the display of the second information section; and

displaying a third informational section with the specific information about the third logical unit of the currently selected trace, while the navigation map is displayed, the third informational section providing a selection to a subsequent logical unit, if any, at a next level of abstraction in the selected trace.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 10, wherein the third selection is received from one of a link provided by the initial trace element in the navigation map, back to the first selection indicating the trace to analyze, or from a link in the first displayed informational section for receiving a new first logical unit at a highest level of abstraction of the trace.