JPH07191881A - Real-time memory monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the monitor and display of memory contents simultaneously with the operation of a target software by grasping the change of memory contents with the passage of time easily for an operator so as to grasp the operation of the target software. CONSTITUTION:When the operator issues a command for registering a monitor area and a command for deleting the monitor area, a monitor area registering means 1 is activated and changes the constitution of a registration table T corresponding to the instruction. A memory monitoring means 2 is activated at fixed intervals, reads the monitor area registered on the table T to be registered at that time point from a memory M allocated to a target software S and records the result in the registration table T. When the entry constitution of the registration table T is changed by the monitor area registering means 1 and data in the monitor area of the registration table T is updated by the memory monitoring means 2, a memory display means 3 is activated, transforms the data in the monitor area so as to clearly observe those data and displays them on a display window W.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for confirming the memory contents during operation of target software in a computer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a memory dump method has been generally used as a means for an operator to confirm the memory contents of a target software during operation. In this method, the operation of the target software is temporarily stopped, and the operator issues a dump command to instruct the edit display of the memory contents. At this time, the area of the memory to be edited and displayed, that is, the start address and the size are designated. Upon receiving this command, the system reads the contents of the target area, converts it into a number string or character string, and displays it on the terminal.

In this system, since the operation of the target software is temporarily stopped, it is possible to confirm the contents of a plurality of memory areas which are kept consistent. As a method of stopping the target software, a method of forcibly stopping by the intervention of an operator at an appropriate time and a method of stopping when the program reaches an instruction of a preset address are general. There is also a method of stopping when an address is accessed as an operand. Regardless of which method is used, it is necessary to stop the operation and input a command every time, so the number of times when the software can be stopped cannot be so large.
Therefore, it is difficult to grasp the temporal change of the memory contents.

Further, since the character terminal is used as a user interface, there is only a display method of a numerical string and a character string. With this display method, you can confirm the exact value, but it is difficult to understand intuitively. For example, in order to check ON / OFF of a certain bit, a hexadecimal number is displayed, a 4-bit value including the target bit is checked, and this is decomposed to check the target bit value. This operation is complicated and incomprehensible. Also, if you want to see the increase or decrease of the numerical value, it is difficult to understand by the expression by the numerical string. When the intelligibility is poor as described above, it takes time to grasp each value, and the number of memory contents that can be grasped in a certain period is limited. Fundamentally, a more intuitive display is needed to display changes in shorter time intervals.

Another method for confirming the memory contents of the target software is the whole memory dump method, although it is not real-time. In this method, the memory contents at a certain point of time are written to a file, and later the file contents are examined using an edit display tool. Since the trial execution of the target software has been completed, the memory contents can be examined slowly, which is suitable for confirming the contents of more areas than the above-mentioned memory dump method. However, since a large file capacity is required and operability is poor, the time when the memory contents can be confirmed is further limited. This scheme is typically used when examining more memory contents at a time. In one operation, the maximum is 2 to 3 time points. Therefore, this method is further disadvantageous in confirming the temporal change of the memory contents.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible for an operator to more easily understand the temporal change of memory contents in order to understand the operation of target software. Therefore, it is possible to monitor and display the memory contents at the same time as the operation of the target software, and to realize a more intelligible display method.

[0007]

A real-time memory monitoring system of the present invention is a memory allocated to target software, a registration table for registering monitoring information, a window for displaying monitoring results, a monitoring area and a display format. Monitoring area registration means for registering and in the registration table, memory monitoring means for periodically reading the values of the monitoring areas registered in the registration table from the memory and setting them in the registration table, monitoring area registration means and memory monitoring means. And a memory display means for writing the contents of the registration table in a display window.

[0008]

1 is a diagram showing the components of the present invention. The monitoring area registration means 1 is activated when the operator issues a command to register the monitoring area and a command to delete the monitoring area, and changes the configuration of the registration table T according to the instruction. The memory monitoring means 2 is activated at regular intervals, reads the monitoring area registered in the table T registered at that time from the memory M allocated to the target software S, and records the result in the registration table T. The memory display means 3 is activated when the entry structure of the registration table T is changed by the monitoring area registration means 1 and when the data of the monitoring area of the registration table T is updated by the memory monitoring means 2, and the registration table T is registered. The data in the inside monitoring area is transformed into an easily viewable form and displayed in the display window W.

A plurality of monitoring areas can be set in the registration table T, and the memory monitoring means 2 and the memory display means 3 are
Every time it is activated, it processes all the monitoring areas registered in the registration table T. Therefore, the contents of a plurality of memories can be displayed in the display window W at the same time.

Further, by registering in the monitoring area in advance and periodically reading and displaying the registered monitoring area, it becomes possible to monitor the memory simultaneously with the operation of the target software. As the display format, in addition to the display of the current value at each time, it is possible to display the temporal change for a certain past period.

Furthermore, by using a graphical user interface in the display window W, in addition to simple numerical example expression, numerical level expression, ON / OFF expression for each bit, line graph expression, and other flexible and dense display. Will be possible. This enables highly understandable display according to the nature of each monitoring area.

[0012]

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the embodiment of the present invention includes a memory M allocated to target software S,
A registration table T for registering monitoring information, a window W for displaying a monitoring result, a monitoring area registration means 1 for registering a monitoring area and a display format in the registration table T, and a monitoring regularly registered in the registration table T. A memory monitoring means 2 for reading the value of the area from the memory M and setting it in the registration table T;
It comprises memory display means 3 which receives a notification from the monitoring area registration means 1 and the memory monitoring means 2 and writes the contents of the registration table T into the display window W.

In the case of the present invention, the target software S
Has any function and purpose, but it is premised that the memory M to be monitored is used. Memory M
Enables access from the memory monitoring means 2 of the present invention. For example, when the target software S is configured as a process on UNIX, the memory M may be arranged in a shared memory accessible by a plurality of processes. Another method is to use the profile system call that allows the parent process to read the memory of the child process, and use the real-time memory monitoring tool of the present invention as the parent process and the target software as the child process. Since the real-time memory monitoring method of the present invention only reads the memory M to be monitored, it does not interfere with the operation of the target software S.

FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the registration table T. The registration table T is an array in which data necessary for the monitoring operation is registered for each monitoring item. Each monitoring item includes a name field 21 of the monitoring item, a start address field 22 of the area defining the monitoring area, a size field 23 of the area, a display type field 25 and a display information field 23 defining the display format, and a display. A display type field 25 defining a format, a display information field 26, and a data field 24 storing data of a target area are included.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the structure of the display window W. The display area of the display window W is divided for each monitoring item. Each display area has a different format depending on the display type of the corresponding monitoring item. FIG. 3 shows typical display types one by one. In an actual usage situation, a plurality of monitoring items of the same display type are lined up according to the user's designation.

The display type 31 regards the monitoring area as an integer value and displays this value as a level meter. In the case of this type, the minimum value and the maximum value are set in the display information field 26 of the registration table T, and the minimum value is displayed as 0% (the black display disappears in the figure) and the maximum value is displayed as 100% (the entire area is displayed in the figure. It will be displayed in black). Underflow indicator (circle on the left) when it is less than the minimum value, and overflow indicator (circle on the right) when it is greater than the maximum value.
Lights up.

The display type 32 lights different circles according to the value of the monitoring area. Registration table T for this type
In the display information field 26 of, the value at which each circle is to be turned on is set. For example, the value 1 at the beginning of the display information field 26,
Next, when the value 2 and finally the value 3 are set, the leftmost circle when the value of the monitoring area becomes 1 and the second circle when the value of the monitoring area becomes 2 When the value reaches 3, turn on the third circle. Since the value of one monitoring area is uniquely determined at each time, there is always only one lit circle.

The display type 33 turns on / off each box according to ON / OFF of each bit of the monitoring area. In the case of this type, the bit number to be displayed is set in the display information field 26 of the registration table T. For example, if 0 is set at the head of the display information field 26 and then 9 is set, the head box lights up when the bit number 0 of the monitoring area is ON, and the second box is displayed when bit 9 of the monitoring area is ON. Box lights up. Since each bit has a different value, multiple boxes may light simultaneously.

The display type 34 displays the value of the monitoring area as a character string. In this type, it is not necessary to set the display information field 26 of the registration table T.

The display type 35 regards the monitoring area as an integer value and displays the time change of this value in a line graph. In the case of this type, the minimum value and the maximum value are set in the display information field 26 of the registration table T. The minimum value is the underlined position of the box, and the maximum value is the overlined position of the box. After the line is connected from the left to the right of the display area, each time a new value is plotted, it scrolls to the left and always displays the past line graph of a certain period from the present.
It is possible to create various display types by combining these display types, changing the relationship between the designation method and the display, and changing a part of the display format. What is important is that the graphical user interface enables a more readable display than the character string display. Furthermore, the appropriate expression changes depending on the role of the monitored memory in the program. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a plurality of display forms and entrust the operator who recognizes the role of each memory with the selection of the display form.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing of the monitoring area registration means 1. The monitoring area registration means 1 is normally stopped while waiting for a command input, and when a command is input, it exits from step 41. Next, in step 42, the input command is analyzed to discriminate a registration command, a deletion command and an error. If there is an error, nothing is done and the process returns to the command input waiting state. If the input command is a registration command, a free entry is secured from the registration table T in step 43. Then, in step 44, the designated name, the start address of the monitoring area, the area size,
The display type / display information is set in the entry secured from the registration table T. If the input command is a delete command, the specified monitoring item is deleted from the registration table T in step 46. In any case, finally, in step 45, the memory display means 3 is notified that the monitoring items of the registration table T have been changed, and the process returns to the command input waiting state.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the processing of the memory monitoring means 2. The memory monitoring means 2 is normally stopped by waiting for a timer, and exits from step 51 at regular intervals. When the movement starts, in step 52, the start address and area size of the monitoring area are obtained from the entry of the registration table T, in step 53, the corresponding area in the memory M is read, and in step 54, the read data is registered. Set in the data field of the entry in table T. next,
In step 55, it is determined whether all the entries in the registration table T have been processed. If there are still remaining entries,
Returning to step 52, the next entry is processed. If it is determined in step 55 that all entries have been completed, step 5
In step 6, the memory display means 3 is notified that the data field of the registration table T has been updated, and the process returns to waiting for the timer.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the processing of the memory display means 3. The memory display means 3 normally waits for a notification from the monitoring area registration means 1 or the memory monitoring means 2,
When notified from any of them, the process exits from step 61. When the movement starts, the type of notification is determined in step 62. If the notification is a registration change notification, all the displays are erased in step 63, and the name, data, display type, and display information are read from the entries in the registration table T in step 64.
In step 65, the data is transformed into display data according to the display type and display information, and in step 66, the name and display data are newly displayed. In step 67, it is determined whether or not all the entries in the registration table T have been processed. If there are any remaining entries, the process returns to step 64 to display the next monitoring entry. When all the display is completed, the process returns to step 61 and waits for the next notification. If it is a data change notification in step 62, in step 68, the data, display type, and display information are read from the entries in the registration table T, and in step 69, the data is transformed into display data according to the display type and display information. Then, in step 6A, the display data is displayed. In step 6B, it is determined whether or not all the entries in the registration table T have been processed. If there are remaining entries, the process returns to step 68 and the next monitoring entry is processed. When all display updates are completed, the process returns to step 61 and waits for the next notification.

[0025]

As described above, when the real-time memory monitoring system of the present invention is used, the contents of a plurality of areas of the memory are monitored simultaneously with the operation of the target software, and the display that follows the temporal change is displayed. Will be possible. Further, it becomes possible to perform an appropriate display corresponding to the role of each area.

As a result, the number of times when the memory contents can be confirmed is increased and the display can be intuitively grasped more easily than in the conventional memory dump method. For this reason, the amount of information about the memory value of the target software that the operator can grasp increases.

The operation of software appears as a change in the register and the memory, but the value of the register is written in the memory in a relatively short period of time. Therefore, if you can monitor the values in memory, you can capture most software operations.

When the point of view to be grasped is clear, the target software may be trial-executed while observing the change in the memory at a required location. Even if the point of view you want to grasp is ambiguous, you can obtain some information by trying the target software while monitoring the memory area that seems to be important. In particular, the latter method is difficult to use in the conventional method, which requires a large amount of operation for one memory display.

Therefore, by using the real-time memory monitoring method of the present invention, the operation of the target software can be grasped more easily than in the conventional method, and more effective debugging can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a registration table T.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a display window.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the monitoring area registration means.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the memory monitoring means.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process of a memory display unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 monitoring area registration means 2 memory monitoring means 3 memory display means S target software M memory used by target software T registration table W display window

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A memory allocated to target software, a registration table for registering monitoring information, a window for displaying a monitoring result, and a monitoring area registration means for registering a monitoring area and a display format in the registration table. Contents of the registration table, which are periodically notified from the memory of the value of the monitoring area registered in the registration table and set in the registration table, and a notification from the monitoring area registration means and the memory monitoring means A real-time memory monitoring system consisting of a memory display means for writing the data into a window.