Electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs

Claim 2

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a first memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; a keyboard for entering into said first memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation, second means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state to said second state to store the parameters needed to subsequently restart execution of said operative program from the point of interruption, third means responsive to the second state of said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter into said first memory information to be processed by said debugging program, fourth means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said second state to said first state and responsive to said stored parameters for automatically restarting said operative program, whereby the switching between said modes of operation does not need any intervention by the operator for the correct restart of the operative program.

Claim 3

A computer according to claim 1, wherein said switching element is manually operable.

Claim 4

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a first memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; a keyboard for entering into said first memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state to said second state to store the parameters needed to subsequently restart execution of said operative program from the point of interruption, third means responsive to the second state of said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; fourth means responsive to the second state of said switching element to enable said display unit to display information relating to said debugging program, fifth means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said second state to said first state and responsive to said stored parameters for automatically restarting said operative program, whereby the switching between said modes of operation does not need any intervention by the operator for the correct restart of the operative program.

Claim 5

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a first memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; a keyboard for entering into said first memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state to said second state to store the parameters needed to subsequently restart execution of said operative program from the point of interruption, third means responsive to the second state of said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; fourth means responsive to the second state of said switching element to enable said display unit to display information relating to said debugging program, fifth means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said second state to said first state and responsive to said stored parameters for automatically restarting said operative program, whereby the switching between said modes of operation does not need any intervention by the operator for the correct restart of the operative program.

Claim 6

A computer according to claim 3, wherein said fourth means comprises transmitting means responsive to said switching element to cause during said second mode of operation said central unit to transmit to said display unit the address of the next instruction of said operative program to be executed and coding means for generating a coding of the information located at said address and for supplying said coding to said display unit.

Claim 7

A computer according to claim 4 further comprising: a condition program register for storing at least one of said parameters including significant results of previously performed instructions, said fourth means comprising: means conditioned by said switching element to send to said display unit during said second mode of operation the information stored in said condition program register.

Claim 8

A computer according to claim 3, wherein said switching element is manually operable.

Claim 9

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a first memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs: a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; said debugging program comprising a plurality of blocks; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said first memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state to said second state to store the parameters needed to subsequently restart execution of said operative program from the point of interruption, third means responsive to the second state of said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter into said first memory information to be processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by said switching element during said second mode of operation to associate a group of predetermined keys of said plurality to a corresponding block of said debugging program and to cause said central unit to selectively activate each of said blocks for processing information introduced from said keyboard before the actuation of one key of said group; fifth means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said second state to said first state and responsive to said stored parameters for automatically restarting said operative program, whereby the switching between said modes of operation does not need any intervention by the operator for the correct restart of the operative program.

Claim 10

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a first memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs: a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; said debugging program comprising a plurality of blocks; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said first memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state to said second state to store the parameters needed to subsequently restart execution of said operative program from the point of interruption, third means responsive to the second state of said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter into said first memory information to be processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by said switching element during said second mode of operation to associate a group of predetermined keys of said plurality to a corresponding block of said debugging program and to cause said central unit to selectively activate each of said blocks for processing information introduced from said keyboard before the actuation of one key of said group; fifth means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said second state to said first state and responsive to said stored parameters for automatically restarting said operative program, whereby the switching between said modes of operation does not need any intervention by the operator for the correct restart of the operative program.

Claim 11

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a first memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs, said debugging program comprising a plurality of blocks; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said first memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation, first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation, second means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state to said second state to store the parameters needed to subsequently restart execution of said operative program from the point of interruption, third means controlled by said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by said switching elements to enable said display unit to display information relating to said debugging program; fifth means controlled by said switching element during said second mode of operation to associate a group of predetermined keys of said plurality to a corresponding block of said debugging program and to cause said central unit to selectively activate each of said blocks to process information introduced from said keyboard before the actuation of one key of said group; sixth means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said second state to said first state and responsive to said stored parameters for automatically restarting said operative program, whereby the switching between said modes of operation does not need any intervention by the operator for the correct restart of the operative program.

Claim 12

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a first memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs, said debugging program comprising a plurality of blocks; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said first memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation, first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation, second means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state to said second state to store the parameters needed to subsequently restart execution of said operative program from the point of interruption, third means controlled by said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by said switching elements to enable said display unit to display information relating to said debugging program; fifth means controlled by said switching element during said second mode of operation to associate a group of predetermined keys of said plurality to a corresponding block of said debugging program and to cause said central unit to selectively activate each of said blocks to process information introduced from said keyboard before the actuation of one key of said group; sixth means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said second state to said first state and responsive to said stored parameters for automatically restarting said operative program, whereby the switching between said modes of operation does not need any intervention by the operator for the correct restart of the operative program.

Claim 13

A computer according to claim 8 wherein said central unit comprises an addressing register for addressing the instructions of said operative program stored in the locations of said first memory during said first mode of operation, and wherein said fourth means are responsive to the address stored in said addressing register to enable said display unit to display said address and the information stored in the location addressed by said addressing register, whereby the display unit displays the address and the content of the location of the first memory corresponding to the instruction to be executed at the moment of the interruption caused by said switching element.

Claim 14

A computer according to claim 9, wherein said fifth means are responsive to the depression of a third key of said group for activating a third block of said debugging program, further comprising: means controlled by the instructions of said third block for replacing in the location of said first memory addressed by said addressing register the information stored therein and displayed by said display unit with informations entered by said keyboard.

Claim 15

A computer according to claim 9 wherein said fifth means are responsive to the depression of a first key of said group for activating a corresponding first block of said debugging program, further comprising: means controlled by the instructions of said first block for storing into said addressing register an address entered by said keyboard, said fourth means are responsive to the address stored in said addressing register to enable said display unit to display said address and the information stored in the location addressed by said addressing register.

Claim 16

A computer according to claim 11 further comprising: means controlled by the instructions of said first block for incrementing the content of said addressing register at each successive depression of said first key, whereby the operator is allowed to inspect the content of said first memory starting upon the location identified by the content of said addressing register.

Claim 17

A computer according to claim 9 wherein said fifth means are responsive to a second key of said group for activating a corresponding second block of said debugging program, further comprising: a program stop booking register; first storing means controlled by the instructions of said second block for storing a condition indicating the actuation of said second key; second storing means controlled by the instructions of said second block for storing into said program stop booking register a stop address entered by said keyboard; sixth means operative during said first mode of operation for testing said condition; seventh means actuated by said sixth means in presence of said condition for comparing the contents of said addressing register and said program stop booking register; eighth means controlled by said seventh means in presence of the equality of said addresses for interrupting the execution of said operative program and conditioning said fourth means to display the booked address and the relevant content of the first memory.

Claim 18

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs; said memory including a service register for storing data not relevant at the end of each instruction; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation, a peripheral unit for entering information recorded in an external support into said memory; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means responsive to said switching element and controlled by a predetermined key of said keyboard for causing said central unit during said second mode of operation to transfer the program read on said support into said service register and for activating the execution of the program stored in said service register; third means responsive to predetermined instructions of said program stored on said support for defining the starting point of the program to be executed at the end of the execution of the program stored on said support.

Claim 19

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs; said memory including a service register for storing data not relevant at the end of each instruction; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation, a peripheral unit for entering information recorded in an external support into said memory; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means responsive to said switching element and controlled by a predetermined key of said keyboard for causing said central unit during said second mode of operation to transfer the program read on said support into said service register and for activating the execution of the program stored in said service register; third means responsive to predetermined instructions of said program stored on said support for defining the starting point of the program to be executed at the end of the execution of the program stored on said support.

Claim 20

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs, said memory including: a zone for storing instruction data not relevant at the end of each instruction; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a peripheral unit for entering information recorded on an external support into said memory; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; third means controlled by said switching element to enable said display unit to display information processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by a predetermined key of said keyboard for causing said central unit during said second mode of operation to transfer the program read on said support into said zone of the memory and fifth means for activating the execution of the program stored in said zone; sixth means responsive to predetermined instructions of said program stored in said zone for defining the starting point of the program to be executed at the end of the execution of the program stored in said zone.

Claim 21

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs, said memory including: a zone for storing instruction data not relevant at the end of each instruction; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element normally having a first state for defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second state for defining a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; a keyboard having a plurality of keys for entering into said memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a peripheral unit for entering information recorded on an external support into said memory; first means controlled by the switching of said switching element from said first state into said second state to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; third means controlled by said switching element to enable said display unit to display information processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by a predetermined key of said keyboard for causing said central unit during said second mode of operation to transfer the program read on said support into said zone of the memory and fifth means for activating the execution of the program stored in said zone; sixth means responsive to predetermined instructions of said program stored in said zone for defining the starting point of the program to be executed at the end of the execution of the program stored in said zone.

Claim 22

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs, said memory including a zone for storing instruction data not relevant at the end of each instruction; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element for selectively defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; said debugging program comprising a plurality of blocks; a keyboard for entering into said memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; said keyboard comprising a plurality of keys; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a peripheral unit for entering information recorded on an external support into said memory, first means conrolled by said switching element to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; third means controlled by said switching element to enable said display unit to display information processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by said switching element during said second mode of operation to associate a group of predetermined keys of said plurality to a corresponding block of said debugging program and to selectively activate each of said block to process information introduced from said keyboard before the actuation of one key of said group; fifth means controlled by a key of said group for causing said central unit to transfer the program read on said support into said zone memory and to activate the program stored in said zone.

Claim 23

An electronic computer with equipment for debugging operative programs comprising: a memory for storing instructions and data of said operative programs, said memory including a zone for storing instruction data not relevant at the end of each instruction; a central unit for processing said programs; a switching element for selectively defining a first mode of operation of said computer for processing said operative programs and a second mode of operation for processing a debugging program for debugging said operative programs; said debugging program comprising a plurality of blocks; a keyboard for entering into said memory information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; said keyboard comprising a plurality of keys; a display unit for displaying information relating to said operative programs during said first mode of operation; a peripheral unit for entering information recorded on an external support into said memory, first means conrolled by said switching element to interrupt said first mode of operation and to activate said second mode of operation; second means controlled by said switching element to enable said keyboard to enter information to be processed by said debugging program; third means controlled by said switching element to enable said display unit to display information processed by said debugging program; fourth means controlled by said switching element during said second mode of operation to associate a group of predetermined keys of said plurality to a corresponding block of said debugging program and to selectively activate each of said block to process information introduced from said keyboard before the actuation of one key of said group; fifth means controlled by a key of said group for causing said central unit to transfer the program read on said support into said zone memory and to activate the program stored in said zone.