Software Diagnostics Library

It’s time to update my old Resume and CV: As a Book that was on sale for almost 2 years to reflect exponential changes in objectives, skills, achievements and deliverables since summer, 2003. Actually the number of pages has doubled. The 2nd edition is planned to be 111th book scheduled for publication in December:

• Title: Resume and CV: As a Book (2nd Edition)
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: OpenTask (01 Dec 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-908043-00-9

The front cover color follows the proverbs about “green fields” (I also fixed a bug that was on the first edition front cover)

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

The title of these blog post series was motivated by a book I enjoyed reading this summer:

The Altenberg 16: An Exposé of the Evolution Industry

Finally, after thinking and keeping silence (this blog post was in draft folder for several months) I plan an interview next month for a start.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

When I was a child I experienced dreams where I was carried by a huge wave that was transforming to a torus completely absorbing me up to a breakpoint of my wake up. A year ago I got the book Memory Evolutive Systems because of my interest in applying category theory to memory analysis and debugging and immediately recalled my long-time forgotten childhood dreams while staring at its front cover:

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

This forthcoming full color book is the complete transcript of a Webinar organized by Memory Dump Analysis Services (www.DumpAnalysis.com).

It discusses user vs. kernel vs. physical (complete) memory space, challenges of complete memory dump analysis, common WinDbg commands, patterns and pattern-driven analysis methodology, common mistakes, fiber bundles, DumpAnalysis.org case studies and illustrates step by step a hands-on exercise in a complete memory dump analysis.

• Title: Fundamentals of Complete Crash and Hang Memory Dump Analysis
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: OpenTask (October 2010)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 28.0 x 21.6
• Paperback: 48 pages
• ISBN-13: 978-1906717155

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Just noticed this little book and ordered it to browse and write a review later Glitch: Designing Imperfection

Notice the patterns with glitches on the cover similar to the fabric of memory and some pictures from inside remind me natural memory visualization images you can find in the print form in DLL List Landscape: The Art from Computer Memory Space book. I would therefore welcome the fact that the memory space art has more and more followers (and becomes the true art movement according to the institutional theory of art). There are more art books coming later this year:

Also the museum of debugging and memory dumps will hold an exhibition soon.

In a few days the following book about glitches (as negative business impact annoyances) will be released:

Glitch: The Hidden Impact of Faulty Software

“Search inside the book” on Amazon suggests that the latter book doesn’t consider the positive impact of glitches including art but, anyway, because of my speciality in software debugging and maintenance I would like to review that book too.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Addison-Wesley is publishing early next year this book:

Windows 7 Device Driver (Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series)

From TOC on the publisher website it looks like it mainly covers WDF: KMDF + UMDF.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

I’m pleased to announce that my book Windows Debugging: Practical Foundations is available on Amazon Kindle platform. It has been reformatted and edited to make it fit into the smallest Kindle device and pictures were specifically tailored to improve their viewing experience. The price has dropped to $9.99 (excluding possible VAT and international delivery if any). Please let me know if you have any problems with the content and I make any changes as soon as possible.

Windows Debugging: Practical Foundations (Kindle Edition)

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Being a software engineer, the author penetrated a software technical support department of a major software company rising to a management position. There he started collecting various management bits and tips promising everyone to write a management book. After moving back to engineering he became a director of several software research, education, publishing and software behavior analysis consultancy institutions including a museum. This book is an anthology of selected and edited blog posts from his Management Bits and Tips blog.

What this book has to do with the crash dump analysis then? Considering metaphorically an organization as a software machine, teams as processes and individuals as threads the author had applied his unique knowledge of software crashes and hangs to organizational project failures.

• Title: Management Bits: An Anthology from Reductionist Manager
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: OpenTask (September 2010)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9
• Paperback: 100 pages
• ISBN-13: 978-1906717131

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

The title of this blog post is a bugtated Sherlock Holmes phrase “… the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” from Silver Blaze short story. To see why please watch a video at the end of this post.

Last week I was in St. Petersburg where I visited a bookshop Singer House 

and bought “A Grammar of the Coptic Language” book (in Russian) to practice with ancient memory dumps:

Before that I was circling on an 18th-century coach (seems to be a model if we look at its door handle):

After the riding I was looking around and spotted the Tsar (click on a picture to watch the movie):

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

I was looking for Wordpress plugins to display past year (two-, three-, etc.) old posts and after a few tries decided to create such posts manually to add fresh perspective and new comments on them (in italics). Today we start with June 21st.

2009:

• Debugalov has been burnt! - The book still sells every month and I’m now thinking about a hardcover gift edition. The cover fascinates many people, see for example this review: Book Review - The Adventures of Dr Debugalov. Now we also have Dr. DebugLove. Who is a good and who is a bad guy? Or is it a personality split?

2008:

No dumps on that day

2007:

Looks like the very prolific day. There were 3 blog posts:

• Crash Dump Analysis Patterns (Part 16a) - Stack overflow in kernel. Generated some comments and can also be seen in the following pattern case study: Lateral damage, stack overflow and execution residue

• Repair Clipboard Chain 2.0.1 - One of the most popular Citrix tool in the past

• Guessing stack trace - This old command still works for x86 WinDbg and x86 memory dumps

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Just noticed a rare event when all three volumes of Memory Dump Analysis Anthology occupy the first 3 positions on Bestsellers in Assembly Language Programming Amazon list (observed at the time of this writing):

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Previously announced book is now available on Amazon:

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology: Color Supplement for Volumes 1-3

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Modern pattern-driven software trace analysis on Microsoft and Citrix platforms urgently requires a practical guide and OpenTask plans to publish this summer the following book in both Practical Foundations and Systematic Software Fault Analysis series:

• Title: Citrix Common Diagnostic Facility (CDF) and Microsoft Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) Software Trace Analysis: Practical Foundations
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: Opentask (August 2010)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24
• ISBN: 1906717176
• ISBN-13: 978-1906717179
• Paperback: 200 pages

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

c’t – Magazin für Computertechnik has published a review of First Fault Software Problem Solving book: 

http://www.heise.de/ct/inhalt/2010/08/192/ (in German)

Fabian Röken kindly translated it into English:

No single large software package comes without errors. It seems that customers simply accept this, patiently waiting and hoping for patches or updates. Skwire sticks up for a more target-aimed approach: one will never get a faultless software, but it would already be a great improvement if flaws were already solved on their first occurrence (”first fault”) and not only after a long analysis (”second fault”).

The advantages are actually obvious. However, a corresponding stringent system architecture, as common on mainframes such as IBM’s z/OS, did not become prevalent in the PC market.

Skwire outlines the types of errors and strategies to resolve them in all details. His 40 years of experience, such as at IBM, shimmers through again and again. He puts emphasis on making sure that the reader understands the terminology he is using: “What is a problem in the first place?”, “What is a service point?” - in some cases he also explains specific metrics such as the “serviceability rating”.

His tool classification includes teaching tips, e.g. regarding the structure of a protocol in case of errors; or for tracking the important information how often an error must occur before a solution has to be approached. His suggestions equally address developers, designers, testers, managers - and the end user. In his last chapter he presents and reviews commercial tools in the first fault and second fault environment.

Skwire addresses a topic which is unfortunately very much neglected, and this alone already makes it worth enough to take a look at his book (***). Short quotations and humorous drawings relax the technical topic. If you are looking for an overview then you will be fine with this book. However, if you are a software developer looking for source code samples then you will search in vain. Skwire has released the book under the print-on-demand process. You will find it on Amazon, for example.

(Tobias Engler/fm)

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

It is time to start being systematic. In addition to all-encompassing multi-volume Memory Dump Analysis Anthology OpenTask starts Systematic Software Fault Analysis series with Crash Dump Analysis: Practical Foundations as the first book. It introduces basic definitions, tools, memory dump collection and preliminary analysis methods for Windows platforms including legacy versions. This practical reference guide is a must have for system administrators of Windows server platforms and client workstations, technical support engineers and general Windows users. It builds foundation for the second book Crash Dump Analysis for System Administrators and Support Engineers and the remaining tetralogy books Windows Crash Dump Analysis and Advanced Windows Crash Dump Analysis.

Product information:

• Title: Crash Dump Analysis: Practical Foundations (Windows Edition, Systematic Software Fault Analysis Series)
• Authors: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: Opentask (May 2010)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-98-8
• Paperback: 100 pages

Fromt cover:

Table of Contents to be published soon.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

The book is about to be submitted for publication. It has 68 full color illustrations. Here is TOC:

Table of Contents

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology lacks full color inserts. This is rather a current limitation of POD technology that OpenTask publisher uses at the present time. The solution previously announced a year ago is to print a separate full color title with selected articles and illustrations. Finally, it is about to be published next month. The book front and back covers are collages from covers of individual memory dump analysis volumes:

TOC will be available soon. Here is the book data:

• Title: Memory Dump Analysis Anthology: Color Supplement for Volumes 1-3
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Publisher: OpenTask (May 2010)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.0
• Paperback: 110 pages
• ISBN-13: 978-1906717698

OpenTask also plans a separate color supplement for volumes 4 and 5 once they are published. 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Yesterday I discovered the blog j00ru//vx where I was pleased to see another memory visualization approach which I classify as synthetic:

x86 Kernel Memory Space Visualization (KernelMAP v0.0.1)

So far now I put a bit more extended (but in no way complete) classification with links (based on my previous blog post where every category is presented in chronological order of my encounter with links):

1. Synthetic

• Numerous debuggers that show memory maps for easy navigation (links to follow)
• VMMap
• KernelMAP v0.0.1
• MemSpyy
• Virtual memory usage and GC heap usage

2. Natural

a. Static

• Dump2Picture (Windows)
• dump2pic (Linux)
• 2D and 3D visualization using general-purpose tools like ParaView.

b. Semi-dynamic

• WinDbg scripts

c. Dynamic 

• Haywire

Please let me know any other approaches or links you know. 

PS. I’m currently a big fan of artificial evolution and recommend this fantastic full-color book that has good ideas about expression-based visualization:

The Art of Artificial Evolution: A Handbook on Evolutionary Art and Music (Natural Computing Series)

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

Source: Amazon DE (at the time of this writing)

It is also the top best seller among OpenTask titles: http://www.opentask.com/top-bestseller-april-2010

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -

OpenTask to offer first 3 volumes of Memory Dump Analysis Anthology in one set:

The set is available exclusively from OpenTask e-Commerce web site starting from June. Individual volumes are also available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores worldwide.

Product information:

• Title: Modern Memory Dump and Software Trace Analysis: Volumes 1-3
• Author: Dmitry Vostokov
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 22.86 x 15.24
• Paperback: 1600 pages
• Publisher: Opentask (31 May 2010)
• ISBN-13: 978-1-906717-99-5

Information about individual volumes:

• Volume 1
• Volume 2
• Volume 3

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org -