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Cool Tools - Sun Memory Error Discovery Tool (Discover)The Sun Memory Error Discovery Tool (Discover) is a tool used by software developers to detect programming errors related to the allocation and use of program memory at runtime on Sun Solaris® systems. Examples of errors detected by Discover include:
NOTE: Download and InstallDiscover can be used with either the SunTM Studio 12 and newer Compilers and Tools or the GCC for Sun Systems compilers. You should always use Discover from the same level of the Sun Studio Compilers and Tools. For example, Discover from CMT Developer Tools for Sun Studio 12 Update 1 should be used on binaries built by Sun Studio 12 Update 1 Compilers and Tools. Starting with CMT Developer Tools for Sun Studio 12 update 1, Discover(version 1.3) is available on both SPARC and x64 platforms. To use with Sun Studio 12 Update 1 Compilers and Tools, please install CMT Developer Tools for Sun Studio 12 Update 1. To use with Sun Studio 12 Compilers and Tools, please install CMT Developer Tools for Sun Studio 12. Starting with GCC for Sun Systems release 4.0.4, Discover is already installed as part of the distribution. It is invoked as <gcc-install-dir>/gcc/bin/discover. The man page is <gcc-install-dir>/gcc/man/man1/discover.1. DocumentsPlease see the man page for a description of supported features. The man page is also supplied with the download package. More details about Discover can be found in the Discover User's Guide.
Using DiscoverDiscover can work with the Sun Studio 12 and newer compilers for C, C++, and FORTRAN, as well as the GCC for Sun Systems where Discover is part of the distribution. Please refer to the User's Guide and man page for detailed instructions on usage and data analysis. Below we provide a brief example of usage.
First, make sure the application you are testing is compiled with the discover target Now the target is modified for detecting memory errors. Run the binary in your regular environment and Discover will report any encountered errors to stderr. For example:
./target You can use instrumentation options to write the Discover report to a different file or generate the report in HTML format. A sample of HTML output can be found here.
The simplest way to generate an HTML report is to set
the $ DISCOVER_HTML=1 ./target Alternatively, you can supply -H option at instrumentation time. Please note that Discover will only report errors from code that is executed at runtime. If the source code contains a memory error (e.g. uninitialized memory use) that was not executed during the invocation of the program, or if the compiler has performed an optimization (e.g. dead code elimination) that deleted the code for the erroneous source code statement, then the error will not be reported. See the man page or the Discover User's Guide for details and more examples. Known IssuesBecause of the way libraries are instrumented at run time when using discover, it is possible for its analysis to be incomplete, and in rare instances program execution may be incorrect. See this page for more information and details on workarounds. This issue has been fixed in Discover 1.1. However, in order for the fix to be effective, the instrumented binary must be run on a machine with one of the following operating systems:
DependenciesOn Solaris 9, Discover requires that Patch 112963-14 for the SunOS 5.9 linker be installed. Solaris 9 or later is required as a host OS at runtime. Starting with Sun Studio 12 Update 1, the minimum OS requirement is Solaris 10 update 5. Consequently, minimum OS requirement for Discover 1.3 is also Solaris 10 update 5. It is also recommended that Sun Studio 12 Update 1 Patch 141860-02 (SPARC) or Patch 141858-03 (x64) be installed for Discover 1.3. SupportDiscover is provided without support. However, a CoolTools Forum is available where questions and discussions about installing, using, or improving Discover can be posted. Posting in the forums does not guarantee a response. Please send your feedback to: .
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