Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a debugging tool configured to serialize function calls made to a graphics API on a remote device such as a hand-held videogame system. Embodiments of the invention may be used to emulate the performance of the same graphics API calls made on the remote device to generate a given display frame. An instrumented driver may capture and serialize each graphics API call invoked by a graphics application running on the remote device. Thus, the host component of the graphical application debugger may generate and display the same image as displayed on the target device without the latency of waiting for a set of framebuffer data to be transmitted over the communication link for each frame rendered on the target device.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a debugging tool configured to translate a pre-compiled binary shader as part of debugging a graphics application running on a remote device. An instrumented driver may capture and serialize each graphics API call invoked by a graphics application running on the remote device along with any pre-compiled binary shader programs supplied by the graphics application. The graphical application debugger may translate the shader program into a form appropriate for graphics hardware present on the host system. By replaying the same sequence of API calls invoked on the target device using the same shader programs, the graphical application debugger may generate and display the same image displayed on the target device without the latency of waiting for a full set of framebuffer data to be transmitted over the communication link for each frame rendered on the target device.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a data communications protocol and client server architecture used for the performance analysis and debugging of a graphics application running on a remote device. The remote device may be a hand-held video game console, a mobile phone, or convergence device, but may also be a personal computer system. A graphical application debugger may include a host component and a target component. The host component executes on a host system and presents a debugging interface to a developer. The target component may record data related to the performance of a graphics pipeline on the target device and transmit this data back to the host system over a communication link. The target component may be included as part of an instrumented version of a graphics device driver.