Want to know the essential steps of debugging, diagnostic, and testing a new software? You are in right place.
Programs created by us are prone to error. It is not realistic to expect a newly created program to run correctly the first time. Before a program can be put into productive use it must be debugged. Here we mention six essential steps of testing a new software.
A bug is a defect or imperfection in a program. In the context of programming, it is an error in a program that is responsible for undesirable results.
The testing of a program involves the validation of program design. Thus testing involves data that are intentionally used to reflect the worst-case situations.
In order to assist the programmer in locating and rectifying errors or bugs in programs, several tools are available. These tools could be hardware aids such as logic analyzers or software aids such as debug programs.
A debugged program is loaded into the memory with the object program that is to be debugged. If errors occur during the run, the debug program is activated features that aid the programmer in debugging tasks. Some of the common features are described below.
Table of Contents
Steps of testing a new software
Display Register Contents
This feature allows the programmer to check the contents of certain registers of the CPU during the execution of a program. The contents of the registers can be printed or displayed on appropriate devices. It is also possible to modify the contents of some registers if necessary.
Display/Replace Memory Contents
The programmer can access the contents of a memory location and display it. The contents can then be modified if necessary.
Memory Dump
This feature makes it possible to print the contents of a group of memory locations. Thus a programmer can view the contents of desired memory locations and determine the accuracy of data.
Output Memory Content
The contents of memory are transferred and the store dins some other mass storage devices such as disks or magnetic tapes.
Breakpoints
Breakpoints are interrupts in the object program. They are used to examine the current status of certain critical CPU registers or I/O ports.
When the execution of the object program reaches a breakpoint, its execution is temporarily halted. The debug program then allows the programmer to examine and alter the contents of the selected register, memory locations, or I/O ports to correct errors.
Disassembly
This is the reverse of the assembly process. The operation consists of reading out the contents of the program memory into assembly language.
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