JPH02220145A - Program tracing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the processing time of a program tracing system by setting the trace importance value to a trace instruction to show the importance of this instruction and designating dynamically the trace importance value from outside for the trace instruction which is varidated in accordance with the program running environment to start a tracing operation. CONSTITUTION:A trace importance setting means 11 sets the trace importance value 42 to each trace instruction contained in a program shown in an instruction code 41 with an instruction of a console 2. The value 42 shows the degree of importance of the trace instruction in a program running state. A trace instruction validity designating means 12 designates a specific trace instruction having the value 42 that should be validated at collection of traces with an instruction of the console 2 as a part of the system generating information 3. Thus it is not required to delete the undesired trace instructions out of a program nor to compile the program again when the next test is carried out in a test process of the program or a test process is switched to an operating state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a program tracing method for tracing various information within a data processing device at any position within the program while the program is running.

[Prior Art] Program testing processes include - boat fishing, testing of a single program, and integration testing of multiple programs.

To facilitate the analysis of bugs during testing and to confirm that a given function has been executed, trace instructions are inserted at arbitrary positions within the program. Also,
After testing and even after actual operation begins, trace instructions are inserted into the program in order to analyze any possible failures.

Although these trace instructions are generally necessary when testing a single program, they may not be necessary during an integration test. Furthermore, when operating a program, it is common to leave behind only the minimum number of trace instructions necessary for failure analysis.

Therefore, when moving to the fall testing process or from testing to operation, it was necessary to delete unnecessary trace instructions from the program and recompile it.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional program tracing method described above does not directly address so-called program development, such as deleting unnecessary trace instructions from the program and recompiling it when moving to the next test process or operation. Requires unrelated work;
This method has the disadvantage of requiring a large amount of man-hours when the scale of the program is large or when there are many programs to be combined.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The program tracing method of the present invention provides a trace importance level in which a trace importance value indicating the importance level of the trace instruction is set as a parameter in a trace instruction that triggers the start of tracing information. a setting means; a trace instruction validity designation means for specifying, according to an external instruction, a trace command with a trace importance value to be valid according to a program running environment; and a designation by the trace command validity designation means. and trace collection means that starts tracing in response to a trace instruction having a trace importance value set as a trigger.

[Function] A trace importance value indicating the importance of the trace instruction is set in the trace instruction, and depending on the program running environment,
The trace importance value of the trace instruction to be enabled is dynamically specified by an external instruction and tracing is started, so when moving to the next test in the program testing process or when moving from test to operation, There is no need to delete unnecessary trace instructions from the program and recompile it.

[Example] Next, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing device showing an embodiment of the program trace method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a format diagram of a trace instruction used in the program trace method of FIG.

The data processing device 1 includes a trace importance level setting means 11, a trace command validity specifying means 12, and a trace collecting means 13, and is connected to a console 2 and system generated information 3.

In response to instructions from the console 2, the trace importance setting means 11 sets a trace importance value 42 for each trace command in the program indicated by an instruction code 41, as shown in FIG. Here, the trace importance value 42 indicates how important the trace instruction is when running the program. For example, a trace that is required only during program unit testing is not very important, and the trace importance value 42 is set to a small value. is specified or
A trace that is absolutely necessary during program operation after a test is considered to be quite important, and a large value is designated as the trace importance value 42. Based on instructions from the console 2, the trace command validity designating means 12 designates, as part of the system generation information 3, which trace importance value 42 the trace command has to be valid at the time of trace collection.

This specification can be used, for example, to enable only the trace command with the highest trace importance value 42, to enable all trace commands, or to enable trace commands whose trace importance value 42 is greater than any specified value. You can make detailed specifications such as enabling .

When starting up the system, the data processing device 1 obtains information on which trace importance value 42 the trace command is to be valid from the system generation information 3, and stores it in the trace collection means 13. When the program runs and the trace command is executed, the data processing device 1 sends the trace importance value 42 set in the trace command to the trace collection means 13. The trace collection means 13 determines whether or not the trace command is valid based on the trace importance level 42, and if the trace command is valid, starts tracing various information within the data processing device 1.

Here, the trace command validity designation means 12 determines which trace importance value 42 stored in the trace collection means 13 is to be valid, based on the input from the console 2 after the system is started. Since the specification can be dynamically changed, it is possible to collect traces that are more suitable for the environment in which the program is running.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention sets a trace importance value indicating the importance of the trace instruction in a trace instruction, and sets the trace importance value of the trace instruction to be valid according to the program running environment. By dynamically specifying externally and starting tracing, you can perform tasks such as deleting unnecessary trace instructions from the program and recompiling it when moving from the test process during program development to the next test process or operation. This has the effect of reducing processing time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data processing device showing an embodiment of the program trace method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a format diagram of a trace instruction used in the program trace method of FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Data processing device, 2... Console, 3... System generated information, 11... Trace importance setting means, 12... Trace command validity specifying means, 13... Trace collecting means, 41... Instruction code, 42... Trace importance value.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a program tracing method that traces various information in a data processing device at an arbitrary position in the program while the program is running, a trace instruction that triggers the start of tracing the information includes A trace importance setting means that sets a trace importance value that indicates the importance of a trace instruction as a parameter, and an external instruction that determines which trace importance value to enable a trace instruction according to the program running environment. 1. A program tracing method comprising: a trace command validity designation means for specifying a trace command validity according to the trace command validity designation means; and a trace collection means for starting tracing triggered by a trace command having a trace importance value designated by the trace command validity designation means.