Debugging analytic executables

There are a variety of techniques to debug AEs. The first technique described is called printf debugging, after the similarly named C library function. This technique outputs debugging information in string format from the program being debugged to standard output and error. You can collect this output in log files and place the log files from the host and all the SPUs into a single directory in the AE export directory tree. You can also attach debuggers and other diagnostic tools to AE processes running on the host. Another technique is to use NPS logging, which is the same facility used by UDXs.

The following sections examine the use of GDB, the test harness, Java debugging, and sample code for returning runtime system information.