PROGRAM EXECUTION TRACING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS

摘要

A tracing program method that copies into an area within a tracing program each instruction to be executed and traced in a manner which makes each traced instruction subservient to the tracing program. A hardware instruction counter of the computer system addresses the tracing program, rather than the program being traced. A programmed instruction counter controlled by the tracing program maintains the address within the traced program of its next instruction to be executed and traced. While being traced, the traced program is effectively executing its data using the same instruction sequence that it would use on the same data as if the tracing program was not in the system and as if the traced program was alone operating on its data.