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Tracing, Logging and Viewing Facilities


In the Explorer, the same kind of commands as in the Simulator are available for tracing the execution, logging the user interaction and examining the system. There are a few differences, described below.

Tracing the Execution

Textual Trace

In the Explorer, the same type of printed trace information is available for executed transitions as in the Simulator; see Textual Trace. Unlike the Simulator, however, there is no command to start continuously printing the textual trace; instead, a command must be explicitly used whenever a trace is wanted.

Graphical SDL Trace

Graphical trace of SDL symbols in the source GR diagrams is available. The graphical trace in the Explorer selects all symbols that were executed in the transition leading to the current state. This is different from the Simulator, where GR trace selects the next symbol to be executed.

MSC Trace

MSC trace enables tracing of executed events in an MSC Editor. When the trace first is enabled, an MSC Editor is opened, showing the events executed up until the current state, and the current path is set up. After that, the trace is continuously updated in the MSC Editor as transitions are executed. This means that events are added when you navigate down the behavior tree, the selected event is changed when you navigate up, and the MSC is redrawn when you move outside the current path.

The MSC trace from the current root to the current state can also be saved on a log file, which later may be opened from an MSC Editor. To save such an MSC log, enter the command MSC-Log-File, followed by the file name. The MSC log file should be given the file extension .mpr.

Before an MSC trace is started, you may define what types of events that will be traced. See MSC Trace Options for more information.

Logging the User Interaction

The interaction between the user and the Explorer can be logged on file in exactly the same way as in the Simulator. See Logging the User Interaction for more information.

Examining the System

The current state of the system can be examined in the same way as in the Simulator. The View commands available in the View module of the Explorer UI are generally the same ones as in the View module of the Simulator UI.

Current Process and Scope

Some of the commands used for examining the system operate on a specific process instance, the current process, identified by the current scope. A scope is a reference to a process instance, a reference to a service instance if the process contains services, and possibly a reference to a procedure instance called from this process/service (the current procedure).

The scope is automatically set by the explorer to the process instance that executed in the transition leading to the current system state. You may change the scope if you would like to examine another process, service or procedure instance.

Commands to Examine the System

The available commands are shortly described below. See Examining the System for more information.


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