Exception Stack Trace (Java)

While working on Mobile Software Diagnostics webinar⁶¹ and exploring the richness of Android platform and similarity of its LogCat traces (Eclipse representation) to Minimal Trace Graphs (please see a corresponding slide in trace analysis pattern reference⁶²) we recognized the time had come to provide a Java implementation for a general software narratological pattern-oriented trace analysis approach and see what memory analysis patterns can be applied there. Here by implementation we mean concrete platform examples. For example, in the past we did similar implementations of memory analysis patterns (originally developed for unmanaged and native Windows code) for .NET (WinDbg) and Mac OS X (GDB and now for LLDB⁶³). The first trace analysis pattern we cover here is very obvious and simple and called Exception Stack Trace (Volume 4, page 337). In the original pattern example a stack trace was inside a single trace message but can also be split such as each frame has its own message (date and time columns were removed for clarity):

E/AndroidRuntime(31416): java.lang.NullPointerException
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.MotionEvent.writeToParcel(MotionEvent.java:1596)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at
com.example.nullpointer.FullscreenActivity$1.onTouch(FullscreenActivity.java:139)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.View.dispatchTouchEvent(View.java:3881)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:869)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:869)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:869)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:869)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchTouchEvent(ViewGroup.java:869)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at
com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:175
0)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at
com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow.superDispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1135)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.app.Activity.dispatchTouchEvent(Activity.java:2096)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at
com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.dispatchTouchEvent(PhoneWindow.java:1734)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.ViewRoot.deliverPointerEvent(ViewRoot.java:2216)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.view.ViewRoot.handleMessage(ViewRoot.java:1887)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:3687)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at
com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:867)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:625)
E/AndroidRuntime(31416):  at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

Since many memory analysis patterns are based on stack traces here we also have similarity with the following patterns as Managed Code Exception (Volume 1, page 331) and Managed Stack Trace (Volume 6, page 115). We hope that in the subsequent pattern implementation examples we show more complex patterns of abnormal software behavior and may also discover any missing ones.

⁶¹ http://www.patterndiagnostics.com/mobile-software-diagnostics-materials

⁶² http://www.dumpanalysis.com/Training/Accelerated-Windows-Software-Trace-Analysis-Public.pdf

⁶³ http://www.patterndiagnostics.com/accelerated-macosx-core-dump-analysis-book