Item    2577550                 94/05/17        10:04

From:   DARREN_SMITH@NEXT.COM@INET00#   Internet Gateway
Subject: Announcing CrashCatcher for HP/PDO

Announcing CrashCatcher for HP/PDO:
CrashCatcher 1.14 is only tool available for debugging HP/PDO

software


PALO ALTO, CA, May 17, 1994 --- WhiteLight Systems, Inc. today

announced the release of CrashCatcher 1.14.  This release of

CrashCatcher extends support to software running on

Hewlett-Packard computers running NeXT Computer's Portable

Distributed Objects (PDO). When an application enters a detectable

failure state (including invalid memory references, messages to

freed objects, NX_exceptions, and other problems), CrashCatcher

generates a comprehensive diagnostic report. CrashCatcher 1.14

continues to support software running under NEXTSTEP.

Without CrashCatcher, debugging PDO code is almost impossible

because the PDO version of gdb has serious bugs that make it

unusable.  Specifically, gdb is unable to produce a correct stack

backtrace past any functions not compiled with NeXT Computer's

gcc.  This includes functions linked in from the system libraries

as well as all code compiled with HP's compilers.  Also, when an

application crashes and produces a corefile, gdb is unable to

determine the cause of the crash since gdb does not read corefiles

correctly.

CrashCatcher generates comprehensive reports on crashes and

non-fatal exceptions for software under development in gdb. It

then continues to watch for errors in beta-test and production

software in the field.  When an error occurs, CrashCatcher

automatically sends a comprehensive report to the user's console

or to an e-mail address specified by the system administrator.

(Report output under HP/PDO is to a file or standard error.)

 *Initiate reports externally and then return control to the

application.


 *Customize report triggers and contents, even to system and

third-party resources.


 *Safely decode C strings and objects.


 *Enable "soft landings."


 *Save time in development and achieve 100% reporting of

errors in the field.


For more information, contact:
Norman Goldfarb
WhiteLight Systems, Inc.
350 Cambridge Ave, Suite 200
Palo Alto, CA, 94306 U.S.A.

Phone:      (415) 321-2183
Fax:           (415) 321-2083
NeXTMail:norm@whitelight.com

CrashCatcher and WhiteLight are trademarks of WhiteLight Systems,

Inc.  NEXTSTEP, PDO and Portable Distributed Objects are

trademarks or registered trademarks of NeXT Computer, Inc.



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