Crash Dump Analysis

In July-August Opentask publisher plans to have its own website. In the mean time here is the additional list of books to be published in the next 5-7 years starting from 2009 onwards:

- Memiotics (ISBN-13: 978-1906717087)

- Voice Recognition: Command and Control (ISBN-13: 978-1906717094)

- Memory Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Approach (ISBN-13: 978-1906717117)

- Deep Down C++ (ISBN-13: 978-1906717124)

- Management Bits: An Anthology from Reductionist Manager (ISBN-13: 978-1906717131)

- Classical, Quantum and Nonlinear Memoretics (ISBN-13: 978-1906717186)

- Crash Dump: A Software Engineering Autobiography (ISBN-13: 978-1906717193)

- Memoidealism: A New Kind of Philosophy (ISBN-13: 978-1906717209)

including 10-volume edition of Software Engineering Notebooks (4 volumes are planned for the next 2 years):

- Software Engineering Notebooks, Volume 1 (ISBN-13: 978-1906717148)

- Software Engineering Notebooks, Volume 2 (ISBN-13: 978-1906717155)

- Software Engineering Notebooks, Volume 3 (ISBN-13: 978-1906717162)

- Software Engineering Notebooks, Volume 4 (ISBN-13: 978-1906717179)

Details will be announced later on the publisher’s website.

Note: the book about voice recognition stands apart from the others. This is actually the title of the first book I wanted to write 5 years ago.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

I’m thinking big for a full-color book to celebrate the forthcoming anniversary of Memory Dump Analysis Anthology. Preliminary details:

• Title: Encyclopedia of Crash Dump Analysis Patterns
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: Opentask (15 April 2009)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.0
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-21-6
• Paperback: 400 pages

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

There are currently 86 patterns in 67 groups and more are coming. I’m working the first two weeks in July to classify them. The classification scheme(s) should appear around 15th of July.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Analysis of computer memory snapshots (memory dumps) and their evolution is the domain of memoretics. Computer memory semiotics (memiotics) is the branch of memoretics that studies the interpretation of computer memory, its meaning, signs and symbols.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -     

Looking at memory dumps every day and writing about them has an unfortunate implication: every state of the world looks like a gigantic memory dump to me. Everything is memory and every state is memory dump. The current state of the world is an infinite (or an immense) number of memuons^*. Infinite can be any cardinal number greater or equal to that of natural numbers. In any case we can say it is N bits where this number is either finite or ∞. Therefore we have 2^N possible memory states (S). The set of possible transitions between them (S -> S) has the number of 2^N ^ 2^N elements. Which is the memory itself and we have transitions between its states too. Ad infinitum we have a limiting process from which arises the perceived flow of events. Anyway there is much to elaborate here. I’ll come back to this later.

(*) Memuon is an indivisible entity similar to a bit of information.

This is my current philosophy I’m dead serious.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Motivated by The Science of Sherlock Holmes I plan to write a book about the history of debugging with the following preliminary product details and tentative release date (which may come earlier if I have enough time):

• Title: The Science of Dr. Watson: An Illustrated History of Debugging
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: Opentask (01 September 2010)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-07-0
• Paperback: 256 pages

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Following the introductory division of memory analysis into two broad categories I decided to plan yet another book with the following title and preliminary product details:

• Title: Memory Analysis Forensics and Intelligence: An Integral Approach
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: Opentask (01 September 2009)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-05-6
• Paperback: 256 pages

As you might have noticed, I prefer to put 128, 256 or 512 pages in my book announcements. What that would say about the author’s background? I would like to set 1024 pages for my memory dump analysis anthology series but 740 or 800 pages is the limit for POD technology I use.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org - 

Recently being interested in forensic science and intelligence I decided to elaborate on memory analysis classification and came up with the following division:

- Memory Analysis Forensics

Answering questions related to a committed computer crime. The suspect may be a human or a software / hardware component. Incident response, troubleshooting and debugging belong to this category. Postmortem memory analysis is usually analysis of dump files saved and detached from the original system or operating conditions.

- Memory Analysis Intelligence

Monitoring memory state for behavioural and structural patterns to prevent certain events from occurring. Usually done in situ. However digital dumpster divers and spies may also collect and analyze memory data that was detached from the original computer system.

Each category can be further subdivided into:

– Functional Memory Analysis

Tracing of events.

– Memoretics 

Analysis of memory states and their evolution.

The latter can be subdivided into: 

— Static Memory Analysis

Traditional memory dump analysis.

— Dynamic Memory Analysis

Live debugging.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

After Bug Check Frequencies post I was curious enough to do the same Google counting procedure for exceptions. Here are my results for exceptions listed in Visual C++ Debug \ Exceptions dialog:

The corresponding graph:

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Due to demand from people that prefer ebooks I published Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 1 in a digital format that can be purchased in Crash Dump Analysis Store. This format has color pictures inside.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -