KHB: Dynamic Instrumentation of Production Systems (a.k.a. DTrace)

KHB: Dynamic Instrumentation of Production Systems (a.k.a. DTrace)

The problem with debugging technologies is that they have always been, and still are to some extent, considered to be poor relations to "the real operating system features".

I think this stems from another concept: that it's wrong for production systems to have bugs. If you think by the time a system goes into production, it shouldn't have bugs, then diverting investment to production debugging tools feels wrong. It's a lot like distributing clean needles to illegal drug users and condoms in school.

I reached a conclusion a long time ago that this view is wrong. Bugs in the field should be expected and investment should be diverted from preventing bugs to making them easier to work around, diagnose, and repair in the field.

I'm seeing more and more diagnostics enabled by default, even with a runtime cost (memory, CPU time, disk space), indicating people are coming around to this view.