thorn@godot.radonc.unc.edu (Jesse Thorn) (04/11/89)
Here is an interesting debugging technique... It was implemented on InterLisp-D systems using ADVISE. Basically, when a function fired it would sound a note through the keyboard speaker. Unique notes could be associatated with "interesting" functions e.g Hich C would sound whenever "DeleteFile" was triggered. Families of "interesting" functions could be assigned frequencies within specified ranges. Recursive calls could be aurally monitored by either sounding the same note at different octaves or simply descreasing the frequency by some constant - the net effect would be to give you a general idea of where you were in the call stack by how low (or high) the note was. Anyway, you get the idea. You as a debugger would develop a musical model of what proper versus improper program behavior was and then compare program behavior against this model. The advantage was that you didn't have to decipher trace messages that would sometimes fly by faster than you could read them. And again, behavior could be more readily discerned. This probably doesn't have much utility in the "real world" unless you have a good ear for music but is an interesting addition/alternative to text-based debugging tools. Jess "I code with Elvis' Ghost" Thorn North Carolina Memorial Hospital - Radiation Oncology - Chapel Hill, NC UUCP: ...!mcnc!godot!thorn, INTERNET: thorn@godot.radonc.unc.edu