Testing and Debugging Concurrent Programs

Problem: How can a sequential program be debugged?

• Print statements
• Debugging tools
  • Step through execution
  • Breakpoints
  • Watches

Problem: What are the difficulties associated with debugging a concurrent program?

• Non-repeatability
• Race conditions
• Vast number of possible program states

Problem: How can concurrent debugging issues be overcome?

• Good design
  • UML diagrams
  • Straightforward interactions between threads
• Good implementation
  • Good programming style
  • Good documentation
• Good testing
  • Unit testing
  • Black box testing
  • White box testing
  • Regression testing