Thread Checker 1.0 released for Pentium processors

By Alun Williams

Posted on 9 Apr 2003 at 12:19

Finding bugs in computer programs can be difficult at the best of times, but multi-threaded programs provide a particular challenge. It is for this reason Intel has released debugging support for its Hyper-Threading technology.

The software tool Thread Checker 1.0 works for Pentium 4 or Xeon processor-based systems that are running Windows XP Professional or Windows 2000.

'Our goal is to make it easier for developers to take advantage of the latest Intel processor features by offering advanced software development tools,' said Jonathan Khazam, general manager, Software Products Division, Intel. 'During beta tests, Intel Thread Checker found elusive bugs that developers had been unable to find or did not even know existed. That's real value for developers who write threaded software.'

The tool monitors program execution and can pinpoint the location of threading bugs. As opposed the traditional approach of developers manually inserting breakpoints, Thread Checker automatically locates the lines of code causing threading errors. As you would expect, it provides call stack information and shows the status of variables within the relevant source code.

You can buy Intel Thread Checker 1.0 online for $1,198. This is for a single-user commercial licence and also includes Intel VTune Performance Analyzer.

You can find more info at intel.com/software/products/