This section describes how to collect the execution history of the program.

A history of program execution is generally called a trace; this term will be used in the remainder of this document.

It is nearly impossible to find the cause of runaway program execution from the memory contents, stack information, and the like after the runaway has occurred. The collected trace data, however, can be used to trace program execution up to the runaway directly, making this an effective tool for discovering hidden bugs.