System and method for encoding trace framework enabling in an object file

1. A method for tracing a program comprising:

generating a trace object code from trace source code;

processing component information of the trace object code to generate an object file;

wherein the object file comprises a linear sequence of bytes comprising:

a file header,

a first section header of type enable control block (ECB),

a second section header of type action,

a first section data entry associated with the first section header comprising a name of a probe to enable and a name of a second section data entry of type action,

the second section data entry associated with the second section header defining at least one selected from a group consisting of a predefined action and a name of a third section data entry of type program object corresponding to an action, and

a third section header comprising a name of a fourth section data entry comprising program object code associated with a predicate, wherein the program object code associated with the predicate is executed when the probe is encountered during tracing;

parsing the object file, by a tracing framework, to enable the probe in the program;

tracing the program, wherein tracing the program comprises encountering the probe;

executing at least one selected from a group consisting of the predefined action and the action associated with the probe to obtain data.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

saving the object file in a persistent data store.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trace source code comprises a probe description associated with the probe, wherein the probe description comprises an optional predicate and the action.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein processing component information comprises:

assigning a unique identifier for each section header in the plurality of section headers.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third section the third section data entry comprises the program object code corresponding to the action.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the program object code is executed by a virtual machine.

7. A computer system tracing a program comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a storage device; and

software instructions stored in the memory for enabling the computer system to:

generate a trace object code from trace source code;

process component information of the trace object code to generate the object file,

wherein the object file comprises a linear sequence of bytes comprising:

a file header,

a first section header of type enable control block (ECB),

a second section header of type action,

a first section data entry associated with the first section header comprising a name of a probe to enable and a name of a second section data entry of type action,

the second section data entry associated with the second section header defining at least one selected from a group consisting of a predefined action and a name of a third section data entry of type program object corresponding to an action, and

a third section header comprising a name of a fourth section data entry comprising program object code associated with a predicate,

wherein the program object code associated with the predicate is executed when the probe is encountered during tracing;

parse the object file, by a tracing framework, to enable the probe in the program;

trace the program, wherein tracing the program comprises encountering the probe;

execute at least one selected from a group consisting of the predefined action and the action associated with the probe to obtain data.

8. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein processing component information comprises software instructions stored in the memory for enabling the computer system to:

assign a unique identifier for each section header in the plurality of section headers.

9. The computer system of claim 7 , further comprising software instructions stored in the memory for enabling the computer system to:

save the object file in a persistent data store.

10. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the trace source code comprises a probe description associated with the probe, wherein the probe description comprises an optional predicate and action.

11. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the third section data entry comprises the program object code corresponding to the action.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the program object code is executed by a virtual machine.