A Machine-Independent Debugger

Abstract

The present invention teaches a source-level debugger that defines symbol tables with a grammar. A grammar interface component is used by the compiler to automate portions of the debugger to construct and write the symbol table in a grammar thus simplifying the compiler. The grammar interface component is used by the debugger during execution of the target to read and decode the symbol table, thus simplifying the debugger. Using a grammar to specify the symbol table also documents the symbol table concisely and emphasizes that symbol tables are data structures, not file formats. Many of the pitfalls of working with low-level file formats can be avoided by focusing instead on grammar-based high-level data structures and automating the implementation details. Management of breakpoints is divided by splitting the nub into a client nub that is local to the target, a server nub that is local to the debugger. The management of breakpoints is localized to the client nub, thus saving communication time between the client nub and the server nub in support of breakpoint processing.