STEPPING OUT OF AN ASYNCHRONOUS METHOD INTO ITS CONTINUATION IN A DEBUGGER

• US 20120266144A1
• Filed: 04/15/2011
• Published: 10/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Miskelly, Gregg Bernard, Toub, Stephen H., Lomov, Dmitry, Halliday, Ian William James
• Granted Patent: US 8,893,090 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/129
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3632 of specific synchronisation aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/00 Arrangements for software engineering testing or debugging G06F11/36; administrative, planning or organisation aspects of software project management G06Q10/06

Abstract

Stepping out of an asynchronous process. A method includes, as part of a computer program execution, at a caller, making an asynchronous function call from the caller to a callee. Associated with the asynchronous function call a continuation waits for the completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call. The method further includes correlating a debugging indicator to the callee indicating that a user wishes to step out of the caller when the callee returns. An indication of completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call and that a user wishes to step from the callee to the continuation is received. The debugging indicator is referenced and based on the debugging indicator execution at entry into the continuation is stopped.

Claims

1. In a computing environment, a method of stepping out of an asynchronous process the method comprising:

as part of a computer program execution, at a caller, making an asynchronous function call from the caller to a callee, associated with the asynchronous function call a continuation waits for the completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call;

correlating a debugging indicator to the callee indicating that a user wishes to step out of the caller when the callee returns;

receiving an indication of completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call and that a user wishes to step from the callee to the continuation; and

referencing the debugging indicator and based on the debugging indicator stopping execution at entry into the continuation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is a single bit flag.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in an asynchronous workflow state machine associated with the callee.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in a debugger tool.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in a dictionary list of asynchronous processes.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein correlating a debugging indicator to the callee indicating that a user wishes to step out of the caller when the callee returns is based on examination of a debugger configuration file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the acts are performed so long as execution has proceeded past a synchronous portion of the process.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is a single bit flag.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in an asynchronous workflow state machine associated with the callee.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in a debugger tool.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in a dictionary list of asynchronous processes.

2. The method of 1 wherein the acts are performed in response to receiving input indicating that an entity wishes to step from a callee to a continuation.

3. The method of claim 0, wherein the entity comprises a system developer using a debugger tool comprising step out functionality.

10. In a computing environment, one or more computer readable storage media comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the following acts to be performed:

as part of a computer program execution, at a caller, asynchronously calling a callee, associated with the asynchronous call a continuation waits for the completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call;

correlating a debugging indicator to the callee indicating that a user wishes to step out of the caller when the callee returns;

receiving an indication of completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call and that a user wishes to step from the callee to the continuation; and

referencing the debugging indicator and based on the debugging indicator stopping execution at entry into the continuation.

11. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 0, wherein the debugging indicator is a single bit flag.

12. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 0, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in an asynchronous workflow state machine associated with the callee.

13. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 0, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in a debugger tool.

14. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 0, wherein the debugging indicator is stored in a dictionary list of asynchronous processes.

15. The one or more computer readable storage media of claim 0, wherein correlating a debugging indicator to the callee indicating that a user wishes to step out of the caller when the callee returns is based examination of a debugger configuration file.

16. A computing system including functionality for stepping out of an asynchronous process the computing system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer readable media coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more computer readable media comprise computer executable instructions stored thereon that when executed by one or more of the processors cause one or more of the processors to perform the following;

as part of a computer program execution, at a caller, making an asynchronous function call from the caller to a callee, the asynchronous function call being associated with a mechanism causing a continuation to wait for the completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call;

the caller correlating a debugging indicator to the callee indicating that a user wishes to step out of the caller when the callee returns;

at the continuation, receiving an indication of completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call and that a user wishes to step from the callee to the continuation;

as a result of receiving an indication of completion of the callee with respect to the asynchronous function call and that a user wishes to step from the callee to the continuation, the continuation referencing the debugging indicator and notifying a debugger that the callee has returned and that the callee is correlated with the debugging indicator;

the debugger verifying that execution should be stopped at the point of entry into the continuation, and as a result, the debugger stopping execution at entry into the continuation.