DEWIZ-event-based debugging on the grid

Abstract

Debugging tries to locate the reason for incorrect program behavior by analyzing the states occurring during a program's execution. Since the amount of state data affects the debugging process, dedicated analysis functionality must be provided for grid applications, which may process enormous amounts of application data over long execution times. This problem is addressed by the DeWiz tool with an extensible set of event-based analysis modules. The processing operates on an event graph model of the target program's behavior. The desired debugging tasks are specified by arranging and connecting the different DeWiz modules. Due to its selectable abstraction level and its universal applicability, it is suited for parallel and distributed programs. By exploiting the grid for time-consuming analysis tasks in distinct modules, even large amounts of state data can be processed and investigated. This allows to apply debugging activities to large scale grid applications, which are the most challenging targets.