Abstract: A method of assessing a computer program under actual working conditions according to one embodiment comprises executing the computer program multiple times under actual working conditions, in response to each unhandled exception encountered during execution of the computer program, creating a corresponding stack frame signature to characterize the state of the program, and comparing the stack frame signatures to determine which unhandled exceptions are likely to have resulted from similar features.

Abstract: A method of forming a stack signature responsive to execution of a computer program in a digital computer according to one embodiment comprises halting execution of the computer program, tracing the program's call stack to determine a series of stack frames resulting from execution of the program, capturing a selected metric with respect to each stack frame in the series, encoding each captured metric into a corresponding symbol, and assembling the series of encoded symbols into an ordered list thereby forming a stack frame signature that reflects generally the execution of the computer program.

Abstract: A method of assessing a computer program under actual working conditions according to one embodiment comprises executing the computer program multiple times under actual working conditions, in response to each unhandled exception encountered during execution of the computer program, creating a corresponding stack frame signature to characterize the state of the program, and comparing the stack frame signatures to determine which unhandled exceptions are likely to have resulted from similar features.

Abstract: A method of forming a stack signature responsive to execution of a computer program in a digital computer according to one embodiment comprises halting execution of the computer program, tracing the program's call stack to determine a series of stack frames resulting from execution of the program, capturing a selected metric with respect to each stack frame in the series, encoding each captured metric into a corresponding symbol, and assembling the series of encoded symbols into an ordered list thereby forming a stack frame signature that reflects generally the execution of the computer program.

Abstract: A digital computer call stack or combined call stack and data stack is traced and analyzed following the occurrence of an unhandled exception or crash. Stack frame sizes and other artifacts are used to form a distinctive stack signature that generally reflects execution of the program up to the point of failure, without being finely detailed. Stack signatures can be associated with program bugs, and stack signatures collected from other failure instances, at other times or on other machines, can be conveniently compared for recognizing particular types of failures, without access to source code and without detailed study of memory dumps.