Method and apparatus for debugging applications on a personality neutral debugger

摘要

A method and apparatus for debugging applications on a microkernel without invoking services provided by a particular personality. An application debugger is separated into three distinct pieces consisting of a user interface, debug engine, debug probe (instrumentation server). The user interface supports user inputs and debugger output in a language and platform-independent syntax. The debug engine supports semantics for specific language and target operating environments. The debug probe supports low-level query, access and update of the applications's state. The instrumentation server checks to see if a requested application is in its list of known application tasks. The instrumentation server sets an application into debug mode by either attaching to the application from a list of applications that it has constructed by polling the IBM Microkernel loaders or by having the application launched by a given IBM Microkernel loader. Because the instrumentation server has root authority, it is able to enquire and obtain the application's task control port and therefore manipulate the applications's state using standard microkernel system calls.