Patent Application
20080155506
Various examples relate to the field of debuggers in processor-based systems, and in an example, but not by way of limitation, the export and/or import of XML formatted data and/or source code generator output from and/or into a debugger.
System analysis of computer and other processor-based systems is an involved and painstaking process. Such systems analyses may include system testing, unit and/or module testing, and performance analysis, just to name a few.
Whatever the analysis, test data is normally required for that analysis. The creation and maintenance of such test data and the expected output generated by that test data is not a trivial task. This is particularly true when a system comprises a multitude of modules or units, and each module requires a different format for its input data and produces its output data in a different format. This is further complicated when one is dealing with multiple systems, such as a production or customer system and a test or reference system. Such test data is normally painstakingly manually prepared, and as such, is susceptible to errors.
A debugger is a common way to analyze a system. A debugger can be used to set up break points in a software module, and along with other tools, the software module can be analyzed, debugged, and diagnosed. However, the use of a debugger is not always convenient on a production software system. Moreover, errors and other problems on a production system may be caused by data that does not exist on a test or reference system. Additionally, if the production system includes a multitude of modules that deal with a multitude of data types, the variety of data types can become quite cumbersome and not conducive to data analysis. The result is that it is very difficult to use the data that caused a problem on one system (production) to conduct tests on another system (test system). The art is therefore in need of an alternative method of dealing with debuggers and other software tools on multiple systems.
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.
The functions or algorithms described herein are implemented in software or a combination of software and human implemented procedures in one embodiment. Flowcharts disclosed herein illustrating these functions and algorithms are not to be interpreted as limiting the functions and algorithms to the order of steps disclosed in the flowcharts, and the functions and algorithms may be performed with all or a portion of the steps outlined in a particular flowchart. The software comprises computer executable instructions stored on computer readable media such as memory or other type of storage devices. The term “computer readable media” is also used to represent carrier waves on which the software is transmitted. Further, such functions correspond to modules, which are software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. Multiple functions are performed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodiments described are merely examples. The software is executed on a digital signal processor, ASIC, microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a computer system, such as a personal computer, server or other computer system.
In an embodiment, a system includes a debugger in a processor-based system. The processor-based system further includes a module to serialize data associated with the debugger into an XML format, and a module to deserialize the XML data associated with the debugger. The system also includes a module to export the serialized data out of the debugger, and a module to import XML data into the debugger, so that the imported XML data can be deserialized and processed in the processor-based system. The system may further include a module that generates source code from the data associated with the debugger. The generated coding creates the data associated with the debugger and can be exported from the debugger.
At 220, the serialized data from the debugger in the first processor-based system is exported to a debugger associated with a second processor-based system. In an embodiment, the receipt of the data into the debugger in the second processor-based system is referred to as an import of the data into the debugger in the second processor-based system.
At 230, the first processor-based system is that of a customer and the second processor-based system is that of a software provider, and at 240, the second processor-based system is substantially similar to the first processor-based system. The relationship between the first processor-based system and second processor-based system at operations 230 and 240 may be referred to as a production system and test system respectively.
At 250, the data from the first processor-based system is deserialized, and it is then used in an execution of the second processor-based system. One aspect of operation 250 is that if the data caused an error on the first processor based system, that same data, after serialization and deserialization, can be used as test data on the second processor-based system. By using the data from the first processor-based system in testing on the second processor-based system, the difficult step of test data preparation is avoided. At 260, the execution of the second processor-based system using the deserialized data from the first processor-based system includes one or more of setting breakpoints in the debugger associated with the second processor-based system, locating an error in one or more of the first processor-based system and the second processor-based system, diagnosing one or more of the first processor-based system and the second processor-based system, and preparing test data.
At 270, a user interface is provided. The user interface has access to a plurality of XML-formatted data files. A user can then select an XML-formatted file to import into the debugger of the first processor-based system or the debugger of the second processor-based system. This allows a user to create an XML file for testing on either or both of the first processor-based system and the second processor-based system. Additionally at 270, the user interface provides a form in which a user may enter XML formatted data for import into the debugger of the first processor-based system or the debugger of the second processor-based system, thereby providing another manner in which the user may create XML data for use in connection with a debugger or other system analysis.
At 280, the data associated with the debugger in the first processor-based system includes source code generated by a source code generator. This generated source code can then be used in several ways. For example, the source code may be incorporated into a program module on a second processor-based system, such as a test system, and unit and other tests may be conducted on the second processor-based system using the module with the source code generated by the source code generator on the first processor-based system.
At 440, one or more of the source code and data structures are copied into a module in the second processor based system. At 450, the module in the second processor-based system is used in a unit test or other diagnosis and/or analysis on the second processor-based system.
The system 500 further includes a debugger 510B that is associated with a second processor-based system 500B. The debugger 510B that is associated with the second processor-based system is configured to import data that is exported by the debugger 510A in the first processor-based system. A module 520B is configured to deserialize the data from the first processor-based system 500A. Another module 540B is configured to execute the second processor-based system 500B using the deserialized data from the first processor-based system 500A. The system 500B further includes an XML comparison module 550B. In an embodiment, the first processor-based system 500A and the second processor-based system 500B are the same system.
Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the examples of the disclosure may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCS, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The examples of the disclosure may also be practiced in distributed computer environments where tasks are performed by I/0 remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
In the embodiment shown in
As shown in
The system bus 23 can be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory can also be referred to as simply the memory, and, in some embodiments, includes read-only memory (ROM) 24 and random-access memory (RAM) 25. A basic input/output system (BIOS) program 26, containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer 20, such as during start-up, may be stored in ROM 24. The computer 20 further includes a hard disk drive 27 for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive 28 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 29, and an optical disk drive 30 for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk 31 such as a CD ROM or other optical media.
The hard disk drive 27, magnetic disk drive 28, and optical disk drive 30 couple with a hard disk drive interface 32, a magnetic disk drive interface 33, and an optical disk drive interface 34, respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide non volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computer 20. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any type of computer-readable media which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs), redundant arrays of independent disks (e.g., RAID storage devices) and the like, can be used in the exemplary operating environment.
A plurality of program modules can be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk 29, optical disk 31, ROM 24, or RAM 25, including an operating system 35, one or more application programs 36, other program modules 37, and program data 38. A plug in containing a security transmission engine can be resident on any one or number of these computer-readable media.
A user may enter commands and information into computer 20 through input devices such as a keyboard 40 and pointing device 42. Other input devices (not shown) can include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 21 through a serial port interface 46 that is coupled to the system bus 23, but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 47 or other type of display device can also be connected to the system bus 23 via an interface, such as a video adapter 48. The monitor 40 can display a graphical user interface for the user. In addition to the monitor 40, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers.
The computer 20 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers or servers, such as remote computer 49. These logical connections are achieved by a communication device coupled to or a part of the computer 20; the examples in the disclosure are not limited to a particular type of communications device. The remote computer 49 can be another computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a client, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above I/O relative to the computer 20, although only a memory storage device 50 has been illustrated. The logical connections depicted in
When used in a LAN-networking environment, the computer 20 is connected to the LAN 51 through a network interface or adapter 53, which is one type of communications device. In some embodiments, when used in a WAN-networking environment, the computer 20 typically includes a modem 54 (another type of communications device) or any other type of communications device, e.g., a wireless transceiver, for establishing communications over the wide-area network 52, such as the internet. The modem 54, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 23 via the serial port interface 46. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 20 can be stored in the remote memory storage device 50 of remote computer, or server 49. It is appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of, and communications devices for, establishing a communications link between the computers may be used including hybrid fiber-coax connections, T1-T3 lines, DSL's, OC-3 and/or OC-12, TCP/IP, microwave, wireless application protocol, and any other electronic media through any suitable switches, routers, outlets and power lines, as the same are known and understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
In the foregoing detailed description, various features are grouped together in one or more examples or examples for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed examples of the invention require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed example. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description of examples of the invention, with each claim standing on its own as a separate example. It is understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. It is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Many other examples will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein,” respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc., are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.
The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72(b) to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The Abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
