Embedded Software Tool Opens Real-Time Window Into Code

Said to establish an entirely new category of debugging tool for embedded software developers, LiveCODE is essentially a tracing system, but with two major differences: whereas existing trace tools require manual insertion of trace points, LiveCODE enables bugs to be isolated virtually automatically; and secondly, the new tool permits code to be altered and tested without recompiling.In operation, LiveCODE interactive run-time tracing system automatically instruments the compiled executable image in the target system. The user simply selects the code segments to trace at run-time and the tool automatically prepares the image so that the segments' execution history is displayed as an interactive sequence diagram. When a logic error occurs, for example, the diagram generated by LiveCODE can be reviewed to gain an understanding of execution flow up to the error. The user can then debug the source code.The tool also can be used to help pinpoint the cause of a system crash and to help developers better understand the execution of code unfamiliar to them. (The above screen shot is an example of LiveCODE being used to insert a code fragment into an application to further determine the source of a bug and to experiment with potential fixes of the problem.). LiveCODE for PowerPC processor architectures is available for Windows and Solaris host systems.