Software Diagnostics Library

Fascinated by Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square I created the new art genre with the following two artistic installations:

A Pause before Crash

This is 1Mb of PAUSE instructions without the point of return:

_text SEGMENT

main PROC

DW 100000h DUP (90f3h)

main ENDP

_text ENDS

END

When launched it crashes:

0:000> kL
Child-SP          RetAddr           Call Site
00000000`0012ff58 00000000`7704be3d 1MbPause+0x201011
00000000`0012ff60 00000000`77256a51 kernel32!BaseThreadInitThunk+0xd
00000000`0012ff90 00000000`00000000 ntdll!RtlUserThreadStart+0x1d

0:000> ub rip
1MbPause+0x201002:
00000001`40201002 f390            pause
00000001`40201004 f390            pause
00000001`40201006 f390            pause
00000001`40201008 f390            pause
00000001`4020100a f390            pause
00000001`4020100c f390            pause
00000001`4020100e f390            pause
00000001`40201010 cc              int     3

You can download the source code, PDB and 64-bit EXE from here:

1MbPause.zip

Do Nothing and Crash

This is 1Mb of NOP instructions without the point of return:

_text SEGMENT

main PROC

DB 100000h DUP (90h)

main ENDP

_text ENDS

END

When launched it crashes too:

0:000> kL
Child-SP          RetAddr           Call Site
00000000`0012ff58 00000000`7704be3d 1MbNop+0x101011
00000000`0012ff60 00000000`77256a51 kernel32!BaseThreadInitThunk+0xd
00000000`0012ff90 00000000`00000000 ntdll!RtlUserThreadStart+0x1d

0:000> ub rip
1MbNop+0x101009:
00000001`40101009 90              nop
00000001`4010100a 90              nop
00000001`4010100b 90              nop
00000001`4010100c 90              nop
00000001`4010100d 90              nop
00000001`4010100e 90              nop
00000001`4010100f 90              nop
00000001`40101010 cc              int     3

You can download the source code, PDB and 64-bit EXE from here:

1MbNop.zip

The earliest opcodism binary was created on October 25th, 2006 that I now call Nothingness and Crash: The Smallest Program.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

This is a revised, edited, cross-referenced and thematically organized volume of selected DumpAnalysis.org blog posts about crash dump analysis and debugging written in October 2008 - June 2009 for software engineers developing and maintaining products on Windows platforms, quality assurance engineers testing software on Windows platforms and technical support and escalation engineers dealing with complex software issues. The third volume features:

- 15 new crash dump analysis patterns
- 29 new pattern interaction case studies
- Trace analysis patterns
- Updated checklist
- Fully cross-referenced with Volume 1 and Volume 2
- New appendixes

Product information:

• Title: Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 3
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (20 December 2009)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-43-8

• Hardcover: 404 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (30 January 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-44-5

Back cover features 3D computer memory visualization image.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Studying poetry and reading books about Stalin certainly influenced this first verse:

Welcome, Doctor DebugLove!
Your name, pronounced, fixes bugs!

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

This is an encyclopedic work I bought in a local book shop and finally finished reading today. It took me a year to read from cover to cover and pages were falling out of the glue but I continued to read. Highly recommended for education and another view on human history. The review of Freud was enlightening to me because I didn’t know about the recent scholarship criticizing his work. In fact, I so liked this book that just bought it again in a hardcover version from Folio Society and start rereading it again soon.

Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention, from Fire to Freud

The second encyclopedic book seems was written before the previous one but looks like the logical sequel to it. I’m starting reading it next week.

The Modern Mind: An Intellectual History of the 20th Century

- Dmitry Vostokov @ LiterateScientist.com -

Finally I realized this morning that in addition to folding of a linear memory space into a 2D image in ParaView, the so called DLL List Landscape, we can also do a 3D folding too. I used the same dump file but this time the formula for coordinates is:

(file_size/4)^1/3

so for 1,746,853 byte file we have a 3D map of 75×75x75 points. Here are some beautiful images (click on them for a larger view) that I got and I write next parts of advanced memory visualization tutorial later next week.

Point view

Wireframe view

Surface view

Surface + edges view

Volume view

The chosen 3D folding shows varying 2D landscape in XY plane but almost constant landscape in YZ and XZ slices:

More effects.

Contour view

Process DNA view

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

I was trying hard to name the music style or genre related to memory dumps and computer memory (physical and virtual). The problem is that in this area of electronic and electroacoustic music most good names were already taken. Some candidates that came to my mind were just MUSIC (My User Space IC) or IRQL Music. Finally I decided to name it simply: Memory Space Music. Stay tuned to future samples dug out from memory spaces.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Following the news about Dr. Debugalov, Giordano Bruno¹ of Debugging, his creator, Narasimha Vedala, depicted the event at once:

This event was also filmed by Narasimha Vedala:

Burning Debugalov (3Mb AVI)

1. Giordano Bruno wrote extensive works on the art of memory and Dr. Debugalov is famous for his memory analysis techniques.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

There are many books and articles titled “Large-scale Structure of X”, where X can be Space-Time, Cosmos or Universe. Here is the large-scale structure of 12Gb complete memory dump:

The image was generated with the help of ImageMagick. The dump file was interpreted as a raw RGBA image with 8-bits per color:

C:\MemoryDumps>convert -size 56751x56751 -depth 8
-resize 450x450 rgba:complete.dmp dump_12Gb_rgba_8_sq.jpg

The width and height were calculated as sqrt(filesize/4).

Complete memory dumps are physical memory dumps where modularized structure of virtual space of kernel and process memory is not expected but we see some structure nevertheless.

I’ve also created two pages with dump slices. Some viewers do not handle files with more that 32767 pixels in one dimension so I split 450×56751 slice into two:

Complete Memory Dump Slice Part 1 (11Mb JPEG)

Complete Memory Dump Slice Part 2 (10Mb JPEG)  

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Recently I discovered Quantum Levels on top of a continuum in one kernel memory dump:

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Just noticed that RichardS from Australia (nickname: rsayad1) was outraged after reading Dumps, Bugs and Debugging Forensics book and burnt it in his fireplace. I applied my analytical and forensic skills and figured out his name: Richard Sayad. The only excuse for him is that crash dumps is so hot topic that he rushed to buy the book without even looking inside it on Amazon.

What do you think and what is your opinion about this book? It is basically composed from the following material:

Cartoons

The first 64 bugtations

For the book all cartoons were edited, polished and most of them became full color in the book version.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org - 

Some memory dumps can serve the role of a relic and be the subject of veneration. For example, a universal memory dump that reveals the eternity and infinity of Memory. Speaking about earthly artifacts, like computer memory dumps, some of them could be relics and subjects of personal veneration after being generated from a cult system or when a venerated person was working on a computer, for example, doing code construction or writing and composing great works of significant value.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Now some pictures from Citrix CDF traces.

Deep waters of The Sea of Traces:

Considering software tracing as narrative no wonder one day I discovered the vast Library of Software Logs in the sea above:

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Here are some artistic images found in process memory dumps of VLC media player and IE. The latter was freezing after memory leaking, the size of its memory dump file is more than 1.5Gb.

Needle (VLC)

The tip of the same Needle magnified by x8:

The Image of Heap (from IE):

Red Zones (from IE):

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Last weekend I came across this book in a local bookshop:

Patterns Of The Earth

I immediately recalled all beautiful patterns I have seen and collected from visualized computer memory maps. I plan to include many images in a full-color book this summer:

Patterns of Computer Memory (ISBN: 978-1906717711)

This book should be essential for creative computer engineers and inquiring debugging minds!

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Finally previously announced full-color coffee table book is on sale:

DLL List Landscape: The Art from Computer Memory Space

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 1 and Volume 2 have numerous articles related to computer memory visualization techniques using Dump2Picture and Microsoft debugger WinDbg.

I’m also working on Computer Memory Visualization book together with Jamie Fenton that was originally conceived as a coffee table book for general readers but now becomes more software engineering and science oriented the more I work on it. Coffee table status now comes to DLL List Landscape book.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Here are product details and covers for previously announced DLL List Landscape book:

• Title: DLL List Landscape: The Art from Computer Memory Space
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: Opentask (15 December 2008)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 21.6
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-36-0
• Paperback: 16 pages

Front cover:

Back cover:

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Finally Dr. Debugalov adventures are going to be imprinted with bugs inside. This full-color book features never published before cartoons and a few surprises. It sets a new standard for entertainment in software engineering.

• Title: Dumps, Bugs and Debugging Forensics: The Adventures of Dr. Debugalov
• Author: Narasimha Vedala
• Editor: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: Opentask (1 December 2008)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.0
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-25-4
• Paperback: 64 pages

The cover was designed by Narasimha Vedala.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -