A software blackbox recorder

Abstract

A major emphasis of this paper is on the actual dynamic measurement of program activity. From measurements taken on the operation of the program, it will become fairly obvious just what data will be needed to model accurately the current state of the system. The modeling process for software functionality is no longer something that will be performed ex post facto. It may be accomplished dynamically while the program is executing. It is the goal of this paper to present a methodology that will capture the essentials of program functionality that will, in turn, permit the reconstruction of the system activity profile at the point of-failure. The essential information collection process and the mechanism for the interpretation constitute the software black box.