Claims
- 1. A method for debugging an application program, comprising:
(a) receiving a request from a debug program; (b) causing an application program to generate pixel information suitable for a display screen in response to said request; (c) storing said pixel information in a virtual frame buffer so as not to be displayed on said display screen; (d) generating a graphics file from said pixel information; and (e) transmitting said graphics file to said debug program for processing.
- 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising repeating (a) through (e) multiple times so as to run said application program through a diagnostic sequence.
- 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said diagnostic sequence is provided to said debug program by a user of a computer running said debug program.
- 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein said diagnostic sequence is preprogrammed into said debug program.
- 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising prior to (a), detecting a debug request initiated by a user of a first computer running said application program.
- 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising prior to (a), transmitting identifications of said application program and a first computer running said application program.
- 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising prior to (a), transmitting a user identification and a password provided by a user of a first computer running said application program.
- 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said application program runs on a first computer, said debug program runs on a second computer, and said first computer and said second computer communicate through the Internet.
- 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising prior to (a), establishing a secure communication channel between said first computer and said second computer.
- 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said graphics file is in a GIF format.
- 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said graphics file is in a JPEG format.
- 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said graphics file is in a TIF format.
- 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said graphics file is in a PNG format.
- 14. An apparatus for debugging an application program, comprising a first computer including an interface program configured to:
(a) receive a request from a debug program; (b) cause an application program to generate pixel information suitable for a display screen of said first computer in response to said request; (c) store said pixel information in a virtual frame buffer of said first computer so as not to be displayed on said display screen; (d) generate a graphics file from said pixel information; and (e) transmit said graphics file to said debug program for processing.
- 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said application program runs on said first computer, and said debug program runs on a second computer.
- 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said first computer and said second computer communicate through the Internet.
- 17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said interface program is further configured to establish a secure communication channel between said first computer and said second computer prior to performing (a).
- 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said secure communication channel employs a secure sockets layer protocol.
- 19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said interface program is further configured to transmit to said second computer, identifications of said application program and said first computer after establishing said secure communication channel.
- 20. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said interface program is further configured to transmit to said second computer, an user identification and a password provided by a user of said first computer, after establishing said secure communication channel.
- 21. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said interface program is further configured to repeat (a) through (e) multiple times so as to run said application program through a diagnostic sequence.
- 22. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said diagnostic sequence is provided to said debug program by a user of said second computer.
- 23. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said diagnostic sequence is preprogrammed into said debug program.
- 24. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said interface program is further configured to detect a debug request initiated by a user of said first computer prior to performing (a).
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/664,941, filed Sep. 19, 2000, and incorporated herein by this reference.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09664941 |
Sep 2000 |
US |
Child |
10355800 |
Jan 2003 |
US |