Automated Debugging In Java Using OCL And JDI

Correctness constraints provide a foundation for automated debugging within object-oriented systems. This paper discusses a new approach to incorporating correctness constraints into Java development environments. Our approach uses the Object Constraint Language ("OCL") as a specification language and the Java Debug Interface ("JDI") as a verification API. OCL provides a standard language for expressing object-oriented constraints that can integrate with Unified Modeling Language ("UML") software models. JDI provides a standard Java API capable of supporting type-safe and side effect free runtime constraint evaluation. The resulting correctness constraint mechanism: (1) entails no programming language modifications; (2) requires neither access nor changes to existing source code; and (3) works with standard off-the-shelf Java virtual machines ("VMs"). A prototype correctness constraint auditor is presented to demonstrate the utility of this mechanism for purposes of automated debugging.Comment: In M. Ducasse (ed), proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Automated Debugging (AADEBUG 2000), August 2000, Munich. See cs.SE/001003

Extension Language Automation of Embedded System Debugging

Embedded systems contain several layers of target processing abstraction. These layers include electronic circuit, binary machine code, mnemonic assembly code, and high-level procedural and object-oriented abstractions. Physical and temporal constraints and artifacts within physically embedded systems make it impossible for software engineers to operate at a single layer of processor abstraction. The Luxdbg embedded system debugger exposes these layers to debugger users, and it adds an additional layer, the extension language layer, that allows users to extend both the debugger and its target processor capabilities. Tcl is Luxdbg's extension language. Luxdbg users can apply Tcl to automate interactive debugging steps, to redirect and to interconnect target processor input-output facilities, to schedule multiple processor execution, to log and to react to target processing exceptions, and to automate target system testing. Inclusion of an extension language like Tcl in a debugger promises additional advantages for distributed debugging, where debuggers can pass extension language expressions across computer networks.Comment: In M. Ducasse (ed), proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Automated Debugging (AADebug 2000), August 2000, Munich. cs.SE/001003