Software Diagnostics Library

Sometimes, we ask for a log file to see State and Event pattern, and see it there, only to find that we cannot do Back Trace of State Dumps from some Significant Event for Inter-Correlation analysis because our Data Interval is truncated (Truncated Trace). This highlights the importance of proper tracing intervals that we call Significant Interval analysis pattern by analogy with significant digits in scientific measurements. The following diagram illustrate the pattern:

If you find out you get truncated traces and logs often you may want to increase Statement Current for state logging.

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

This pattern is called Opposition Messages (borrowed from binary opposition originated in Saussure’s structuralism). It covers the following pairs of messages usually found in software traces and logs such as:

• open / close
• create / destroy
• allocate / free (deallocate)
• call / return
• enter / exit (leave)
• load / unload
• save / load
• lock / unlock
• map / unmap

The absence of an opposite may point to some problems such as synchronization and leaks or Incomplete History (wait chains). There can always be a possibility that a second term is missing due to Sparse Trace but this is a poor implementation choice that leads to confusion during troubleshooting and debugging.

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

In a week this short full color book should appear in online bookstores:

• Title: Software Narratology: An Introduction to the Applied Science of Software Stories
• Authors: Dmitry Vostokov, Memory Dump Analysis Services
• Description: This is a transcript of Memory Dump Analysis Services Webinar about Software Narratology: an exciting new discipline and a field of research founded by DumpAnalysis.org. When software executes it gives us its stories in the form of UI events, software traces and logs. Such stories can be analyzed for their structure and patterns for troubleshooting, debugging and problem resolution purposes. Topics also include software narremes and their types, anticipatory software construction and software diagnostics.
• Publisher: OpenTask (April 2012)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 28.0 x 21.6
• Paperback: 26 pages
• ISBN-13: 978-1908043078

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

Memory Dump Analysis Services (DumpAnalysis.com) organizes a free Webinar about software narratology: an application of ideas from narratology to software narrative stories.

Learn about this exciting new discipline and a field of research. When software executes it gives us its stories in the form of UI events, software traces and logs. Such stories can be analyzed for their structure and patterns for troubleshooting, debugging and problem resolution purposes.

Prerequisites: basic software troubleshooting and ability to read software generated logs.

Audience: anyone can benefit from this new perspective: from software users to software engineers and managers.

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/603136294

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

The number of software trace analysis patterns approaches the critical mass of 50 and we have decided to focus on software tracing and logging in the forthcoming year. Some books on tracing including Volume 7 of Memory Dump Analysis Anthology will be published by OpenTask during that year and our efforts will be to further advance software narratology, software trace linguistics, and software trace analysis in the context of memory dump analysis, generative debugging and modeling software behavior.

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

Memoretics as a science of memory snapshots borrows many ideas from the following disciplines (the list is not exhaustive):

• Troubleshooting and Debugging
• Intelligence Analysis
• Critical Thinking
• Forensics
• Linguistics
• Archaeology
• Psychoanalysis
• History
• Mathematics: Sets and Categories
• Literary Criticism and Narratology

It also contributes many ideas back. The following diagram depicts such an interaction:

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

The presentation materials from the webinar (25th of March, 2011) are available for download:

http://www.dumpanalysis.com/PDSPSI-materials

Thanks to everyone who registered and attended!

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

The first Webinar to start an in-depth discussion of pattern-driven software troubleshooting, debugging and maintenance:

Date: 25th of March 2011
Time: 18:30 (GMT) 14:30 (EST) 11:30 (PST)
Duration: 60 minutes

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/448268158

Topics include:

• A Short History of DumpAnalysis.org
• Memory Dump Analysis Patterns
• Troubleshooting and Debugging Tools (Debugware) Patterns
• Software Trace Analysis Patterns
• From Software Defects to Software Behavior
• Workaround Patterns
• Structural Memory Patterns
• Memory Analysis Domain Pattern Hierarchy
• New Directions

Prerequisites: experience in software troubleshooting and/or debugging.

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

With the new year starts the new initiative to integrate traditional multidisciplinary debugging approaches and methodologies with multiplatform pattern-driven software problem solving, unified debugging patterns, best practices in memory dump analysis and software tracing, computer security, economics, and the new emerging trends I’m going to write about during this year.

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

In these post series we are going to discuss the best practices for software tracing implementation including appropriate patterns and their links to software trace analysis patterns. The first one is called Period Timestamp where the start and the end time (and the date if necessary) are recorded in the trace file. This helps in Inter-Correlation and News Value analysis between several different trace types. For example, in one scenario, we had WindowHistory and MessageHistory logs. We identified a problem in the former log as happening at this time:

Handle: 00010196 Class: "ClassA" Title: "TitleA"
   Captured at: 13:36:30:533
[…]

However, when we looked at the latter trace to search for specific window messages posted or sent before that time we saw that the recording started later than the former event:

Start time: 13:36:35:830

Period timestamps are necessary to distinguish Incomplete History from Truncated Trace where in the former case the absence of expected trace message is due to some problem.

From a unified debugging patterns perspective we have this sequence fragment:

Implementation Patterns: Period Timestamp

Usage Patterns: Trace Simultaneously

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