Parallel program debugging: interface design and implementation

This work describes a proposal for a model for parallel debugging interfaces. The main goal of this work is to present a parallel debugger interface model that can be used as a base for new interfaces. The advantage of designing interfaces using an existing model is to standardize some features, which could help in transposing one of the main barriers for the effective use of such tools: the need of learning how to use them - which is, in its turn, considered by most of the programmers as "a waste of time". The activities involved in building this model were the identification of useful parallel debugging interface features and the further creation of an ideal set of criteria based on them. This set of criteria was used in building the model as well as in developing an interface prototype for parallel debugging. The prototype is called PADI (Parallel Debugger Interface). It is a front-end to a lower level parallel debugger and implements several features described by the model, developed with the purpose of making parallel debugging an easier task.