Scholarly Communications Project

A User-Extensible Architecture for Visualization and Analysis of Time-Series Trace Data

by

Alan L. Batongbacal

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Approved

Prof. Marc Abrams, Chair
Prof. Dennis Kafura
Prof. Sallie Henry

April, 1996
Blacksburg, Virginia

Abstract

This thesis describes the design and implementation of Chitra95, a software system developed for the visualization and analysis of time-series trace data. Chitra95 is based upon two earlier generations of Chitra and is aimed at producing a system with broad applicability and utility in this area of research.

This thesis contributes to the area of software design for trace visualization and analysis by proposing a set of design principles towards achieving the goals of system extensibility, reusability, reliability, testability and verifiability.

These design principles are demonstrated by Chitra95, a software architecture proposed in this thesis for visualization and analysis of time-series trace data. This architecture is novel in its combination of independence from problem domain semantics; optimization for user-extensibility and code reusability; freedom from any specific user interface model; ability to simultaneously produce an integrated application and a reusable toolkit of parts that may either be customized into a turnkey system or integrated into other software systems; support for enhanced reliability, testability and verifiability; and support for an interface to the World Wide Web and for remote execution. Finally, this thesis makes the specific contribution of a data structure for representing large traces that permits the maintainance of multiple versions of a trace and retains the ability to undo modifications made to a trace.

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