System and method for visualizing system operation trace chronologies

Claim 3

A method according to claim 1, further comprising: if the second trace hook is one of a predetermined third set of instructions, setting one or more flags to indicate that a dispatch event is about to take place.

Claim 4

A method according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined third set of instructions includes a get-message instruction and a peek-message instruction.

Claim 5

A method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining if the second trace hook is a send message call entry instruction; if the second trace hook is the send message call entry instruction, then performing the following: pushing a calling window on a dispatch stack; and logging a dispatch event for a callee.

Claim 6

A method according to claim 4, further comprising: if the second trace hook is a send message call exit instruction, popping the calling window from the dispatch stack.

Claim 7

A method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined first set of instructions includes a get-message start instruction, a peek-message start instruction, and a nonqueued message instruction.

Claim 8

A method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined second set of instructions includes a get-message return instruction, and a peek-message return instruction.

Claim 9

A method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying further comprises displaying a first event-pair wholly nested within a second event-pair as a separate timeline.

Claim 10

An information handling system, comprising: one or more processors; a storage means; a display means; an operating system for controlling the one or more processors; means for loading a trace file containing system scheduling information into the storage means, wherein the system scheduling information is generated in a cooperative multitasking system; means for parsing the system scheduling information contained in the trace file into one or more timelines, wherein each timeline contains one or more event-pairs, and wherein event-pairs may be nested within one another, and wherein the means for parsing includes the following: means for saving a first trace hook; means for saving a second trace hook; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined first set of instructions; means for logging a first dispatch event for a visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined first set of instructions, wherein the first dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair start; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined second set of instructions; means for logging a second dispatch event for the visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined second set of instructions, wherein the second dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair stop; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function entry point; means for sending the event-pair start to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function entry point; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function exit point; means for sending the event-pair stop to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function exit point; and means for displaying the timelines on the display means using the visualization tool.

Claim 11

An information handling system, comprising: one or more processors; a storage means; a display means; an operating system for controlling the one or more processors; means for loading a trace file containing system scheduling information into the storage means, wherein the system scheduling information is generated in a cooperative multitasking system; means for parsing the system scheduling information contained in the trace file into one or more timelines, wherein each timeline contains one or more event-pairs, and wherein event-pairs may be nested within one another, and wherein the means for parsing includes the following: means for saving a first trace hook; means for saving a second trace hook; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined first set of instructions; means for logging a first dispatch event for a visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined first set of instructions, wherein the first dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair start; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined second set of instructions; means for logging a second dispatch event for the visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined second set of instructions, wherein the second dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair stop; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function entry point; means for sending the event-pair start to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function entry point; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function exit point; means for sending the event-pair stop to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function exit point; and means for displaying the timelines on the display means using the visualization tool.

Claim 12

An information handling system according to claim 9, further comprising: means for setting one or more flags to indicate that a dispatch event is about to take place if the second trace hook is one of a predetermined third set of instructions.

Claim 13

An information handling system according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined third set of instructions includes a get-message instruction and a peek-message instruction.

Claim 14

An information handling system according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined first set of instructions includes a get-message start instruction, a peek-message start instruction, and a nonqueued message instruction.

Claim 15

An information handling system according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined second set of instructions includes a get-message return instruction, and a peek-message return instruction.

Claim 16

An information handling system according to claim 9, wherein the means for displaying further comprises means for displaying a first event-pair wholly nested within a second event-pair as a separate timeline.

Claim 17

A computer-readable medium for displaying system operation trace information on a display device, comprising: means for loading a trace file containing system scheduling information into a storage means, wherein the system scheduling information is generated in a cooperative multitasking system; means for parsing the system scheduling information contained in the trace file into one or more timelines, wherein each timeline contains one or more event-pairs, and wherein event-pairs may be nested within one another, and wherein the means for parsing includes the following: means for saving a first trace hook; means for saving a second trace hook; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined first set of instructions; means for logging a first dispatch event for a visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined first set of instructions, wherein the first dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair start; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined second set of instructions; means for logging a second dispatch event for the visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined second set of instructions, wherein the second dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair stop; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function entry point; means for sending the event-pair start to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function entry point; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function exit point; means for sending the event-pair stop to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function exit point; and means for displaying the timelines on the display device using the visualization tool.

Claim 18

A computer-readable medium for displaying system operation trace information on a display device, comprising: means for loading a trace file containing system scheduling information into a storage means, wherein the system scheduling information is generated in a cooperative multitasking system; means for parsing the system scheduling information contained in the trace file into one or more timelines, wherein each timeline contains one or more event-pairs, and wherein event-pairs may be nested within one another, and wherein the means for parsing includes the following: means for saving a first trace hook; means for saving a second trace hook; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined first set of instructions; means for logging a first dispatch event for a visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined first set of instructions, wherein the first dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair start; means for determining if the first trace hook is one of a predetermined second set of instructions; means for logging a second dispatch event for the visualization tool if the first trace hook is one of the predetermined second set of instructions, wherein the second dispatch event corresponds to an event-pair stop; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function entry point; means for sending the event-pair start to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function entry point; means for determining if the second trace hook is a function exit point; means for sending the event-pair stop to the visualization tool if the second trace hook is the function exit point; and means for displaying the timelines on the display device using the visualization tool.

Claim 19

A computer-readable medium according to claim 15, further comprising: means for setting one or more flags to indicate that a dispatch event is about to take place if the second trace hook is one of a predetermined third set of instructions.

Claim 20

A computer-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined third set of instructions includes a get-message instruction and a peek-message instruction.

Claim 21

A computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined first set of instructions includes a get-message start instruction, a peek-message start instruction, and a nonqueued message instruction.

Claim 22

A computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined second set of instructions includes a get-message return instruction, and a peek-message return instruction.

Claim 23

A computer-readable medium according to claim 15, wherein the means for displaying further comprises means for displaying a first event-pair wholly nested within a second event-pair as a separate timeline.