Software Diagnostics Library

If you like me totally immerse in complete memories of computation you probably would like a complete Beethoven collection that I bought last year and now listen to the second time:

Beethoven Edition: Complete Works

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

I was a big fan of Kitaro music for many years during 90s. Today I started re-listening to some of his albums and recommend

Heaven & Earth: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack

to listen to when analyzing complete memory dumps from complex issues, looking at user (Earth) and kernel (Heaven) spaces and trying to figure out which module started the conflict.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Reading stack traces like English verse (remeber to read from bottom to top):

0:01> ~8kL
ChildEBP RetAddr 
009ef258 7c827d0b ntdll!KiFastSystemCallRet
009ef25c 7c83d236 ntdll!NtWaitForSingleObject+0xc
009ef298 7c83d281 ntdll!RtlpWaitOnCriticalSection+0x1a3
009ef2b8 7c82dabf ntdll!RtlEnterCriticalSection+0xa8
009ef358 7c82dab1 ntdll!LdrpGetProcedureAddress+0x128
009ef374 77e764ea ntdll!LdrGetProcedureAddress+0x18
009ef5d8 7c34c456 kernel32!UnhandledExceptionFilter+0x46f
009ef5f4 7c34957c msvcr71!_XcptFilter+0x15f
009ef600 7c34246e msvcr71!_endthreadex+0xb7
009ef628 7c828752 msvcr71!_except_handler3+0x61
009ef64c 7c828723 ntdll!ExecuteHandler2+0x26
009ef6f4 7c82855e ntdll!ExecuteHandler+0x24
009ef6f4 7c82be3e ntdll!KiUserExceptionDispatcher+0xe
009efa00 7c82a319 ntdll!RtlpFindEntry+0x68
009efc2c 7c3416b3 ntdll!RtlAllocateHeap+0x606
009efc6c 7c3416db msvcr71!_heap_alloc+0xe0
009efc74 7c360947 msvcr71!_nh_malloc+0x10
009efc80 0285f893 msvcr71!operator new+0xb
009efca8 02852e38 SQLModule!ODBCDelete+0xf3
009efd54 0269acff Store!ProcessDeletes+0x3d
009eff38 0269badb Store!UpdateStore+0xe
009eff58 00323499 Common!WorkItem+0x15c
009eff84 7c349565 Common!WorkItemThread+0x339
009effb8 77e64829 msvcr71!_endthreadex+0xa0
009effec 00000000 kernel32!BaseThreadStart+0x34

The new thread started
To work through items
It got an item
Handled to the store
To run delete requests
Through Oh-Dee-Bee-See
It tried to alloc
But crashed in malloc
While browsing the heap
Exception was dispatched
And handler called at once
But couldn’t find a filter
And called default one
That filter needed help
And looked for its address
But halted in suspense
While entering crit sec.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

If you complain about heap corruption again or type !locks every day and see pages of output filled with columns the following album from Supertramp reminds us that

Some Things Never Change

Here is my track name interpretation:

1. It’s a Buggy World
2. You Code, I Debug
3. Let’s Debug Together
4. Live to Debug It
5. Some Bugs Never Disappear
6. Read My Bug Report Please
7. Sooner or Later I Fix It
8. Help Me Down that Code Path
9. And the Customer
10. Il Est De Mon Bug!
11. Where There’s a Bug

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Listening to étude No. 1 in C major written by Frédéric Chopin (Op. 10) an idea came to me about writing 16 debugging études (ISBN: 978-1906717575). It is surprising that there are many programming études out there but there are no debugging ones. Stay tuned and be in touch with this blog.

Draft definition:

Debugging étude is a composition of software with intentional defects (bugs) of considerable difficulty to find and fix, designed to provide practice material to perfect debugging techniques and problem-solving skills.

The idea actually came to me long time ago to create some sort of debugging excersises for training purposes. 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Paperback edition of Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 2 is finally available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Search Inside is also available on Amazon. In addition, I updated the list of recommended books:

Listmania! Crash Dump Analysis and Debugging

Hardcover edition will be available on Amazon and B&N in 2-3 weeks.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

“Everything is memory dump.”

I’m very excited to announce that Volume 2 is available in paperback, hardcover and digital editions:

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 2

In one or two weeks paperback edition should also appear on Amazon and other bookstores. Amazon hardcover edition is planned to be available by the end of October.

I’m often asked when Volume 3 is available and I currently plan to release it in October - November, 2009. In the mean time I’m planning to concentrate on other publishing projects. 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

The book is nearly finished and here is the final TOC:

Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 2: Table of Contents

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Album cover and songs list from Narasimha Vedala:

DUMPSTATIC
Dr. Debugalov Feat.
Assembly Crooks and
E.I.P. Wailers.

1. Mistah Dumpstatic Feat. E.I.P Wailers.
2. Attached to your pros-ass.
3. I put a dump on you.
4. Be my debugger.
5. When push comes to shove, call Debugalov.
6. Pop ECX Feat. Assembly Crooks.
7. You corrupted my memory Feat. E.I.P Wailers.
8. Dark side of the dump.
9. Sweet Dump o’mine.
10. Optimize your soul.
11. Load address blues Feat. Assembly Crooks.
12. Good bye, Kernel.

Some music for this album will be written with the help of Dump2Wave technology Stay statically tuned to further announcements.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

The Songs of Distant Earth is my favorite Mike Oldfield album. Highly recommended to keep optimism when doing remote debugging on different systems.

The Songs of Distant Earth

Here is my alternative track naming:

1. The Decision To Go Remote
2. Let There Be A Connection
3. Super System Crash
4. Connection Established
5. First Break In
6. The Sea Of Threads
7. Setting Breakpoints
8. Prayer For A Match
9. Lament For Users
10. The Kernel
11. Screensaver Starts
12. Tabular Output
13. The Shining Threads
14. Breakpoint Match
15. The Sunken Debugger
16. Contemplating Observations
17. A New Session

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Although the first bug (the real one) was found in Mark II (see Software bug) the first general-purpose electronic computer was ENIAC and surely it had defects like overflow. In 80s there was an electronic music group called Software. I have a few CDs and listen to them sometimes. One album is called Software-Visions and it has these tracks (one of them is called Xenix - Microsoft UNIX-based OS):

1. Software Visions
2. Secrets
3. Stranger
4. Realtime
5. Mainframe
6. Snobol
7. Xenix
8. Syntax
9. Overflow
10. Interface
11. Eniac

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Looking at computer memory visual images combined with listening to the incredible nostalgic music composed by Oystein Sevag is highly recommended to relieve stress while immersing yourself in the vast depths of memory hierarchy. I really like “Painful Love” tracks. Is love and passion for programming painful?…

Visual

Link

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Klaus Schulze was one of my favorite electronic composers in 90s. Now I’m revisiting my past collection and recommend ”X” album featuring several musical biographies including Nietzsche. “X” here stands for 10th album not for “x” WinDbg command. Good for meditation during slow debugging sessions. All music is very sad and mystical. I even think about this title: “Musical Biography of a Bug“:

X

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

If you remember I promised to review this CD:

 The first Memory Analysis CD album

Finally it arrived by post and here it is:

I’ve just finished listening to it. It is wonderful! Clearly belongs to my Music for Debugging collection. Here is my commentary (italics) on track titles:

1. Chameleon 
   It crashes then hangs then spikes then leaks. You never know what happens next…
2. Silence Before The Storm 
   Waiting for the problem to start dumping memory
3. Appearances 
   Multiple occurrences of the issue ease crash dump collection
4. Memory Analysis 
   Memory dump analysis activity
5. Voices From Heaven 
   It’s my blog full of crash dump analysis patterns
6. Figure In The Fog 
   It’s that DLL! I see it clearly!!!
7. Diamond Tear 
   Customer is happy
8. The Toy Soldier 
   WinDbg
9. Tears In Dragon’s Eyes 
   Operating system vendor is happy too
10. Forgotten Song 
   No pasaran (bugs)
11. Skies
   We are debugging gods!

Enjoy :-) 

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Just discovered this album from Polish band Gutter Sirens on Amazon:

Memory Analysis

I haven’t listened to it yet. Will post a review as soon as it arrives

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Continuing Music for Debugging post I would like to recommend the following album that I used to listen to long time ago and have just found buried in the old corner. In it various movements correspond to different debugging sessions, some glorious and some filled with tension and worries, gradually building up the ultimate problem resolution. I think almost all Vangelis music is very suitable to accompany debugging.

El Greco

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -

Debugging and understanding multithreaded programs is hard and sometimes it requires running several execution paths mentally. Listening to composers who use multithreading in music can help here. My favourite is J.S. Bach and I recently purchased his complete works (155 CD box from Brilliant Classics). Virtuoso music helps me in live debugging too and here my favourites are Chopin and Liszt. I recently purchased 30 CD box of complete Chopin works (also from Brilliant Classics).

Many software engineers listen to music when writing code and I’m not the exception. However, I have found that not all music suitable for programming helps me during debugging sessions.

Music for relaxation, quiet classical or modern music helps me to think about program design and write solid code. Music with several melodies played simultaneously, heroic and virtuoso works help me to achieve breakthrough and find a bug. The latter kind of music also suits me for listening when doing crash dump analysis or problem troubleshooting.

In 1997 I read a wonderful book “Zen of Windows 95 Programming: Master the Art of Moving to Windows 95 and Creating High-Performance Windows Applications” written by Lou Grinzo and this book provides some music suggestions to listen to while doing programming.

Recently I’ve found one research project related to audio debugging, mapping source code to musical structures

http://www.wsu.edu/~stefika/ProgramAuralization.html

- Dmitry Vostokov @ DumpAnalysis.org -