Arney Computer Systems says it has begun shipping a new software diagnostic product that employs IBM System z hardware facilities and z/OS operating system services to dynamically monitor the execution of applications being debugged.
The tool, Trap Diagnostic Facility (TDF), which uses the hardware TRAP facility rather than using software recovery exits, provides many advantages. Among them, user recovery routines can be debugged in the same manner as other user-written code.
TDF is engineered to reduce the manual effort required to debug a program, maximizing developer productivity. The Automatic System Breakpoint facility for example, inserts breakpoints automatically at key processing points within the program without any manual effort. The SingleStepRange feature allows a range of instruction addresses to be specified for instruction tracing. This option prevents the developer from having to set many breakpoints in order to trace only a section of main- line code. Requiring less manual effort means the job can be completed in less time.
TDF does not require any code changes to the application being debugged, the vendor says. The system can be used to debug complex multi-tasking, server-oriented software environments, as well as batch programs and ISPF applications.
The TDF Server is a 64-bit z/OS application using memory object technology to maintain the needed data structures, trace data and buffers above the 2 gigabyte bar where they have no impact on the application being debugged. On z/OS releases that support code execution above the bar, much of the TDF code is relocated there to reduce the amount of traditional storage required. User-written code being debugged can also reside above the bar.
The server is able to debug user code with any AMODE, any RMODE, authorized or not authorized, cross-memory mode or not. The code can be running in either TCB or SRB mode. Facilities are provided to debug code being shared between debugged tasks and non-debugged tasks of an address space and code shared between multiple address spaces such as PC routines.
More information can be found here.