Intel swats hyper-threaded bugs

Intel yesterday unveiled a software suite designed to help developers locate deeply embedded bugs in applications designed for its Pentium 4 and Xeon processor-based systems that include Hyper-Threading technology.

The chip giant claimed that Thread Checker 1.0, based on an error detection engine that monitors program execution and pinpoints the location of threading bugs, will dramatically reduce development cycles.

Whereas traditional tools require a developer to 'guess' where to place traps in source code, Thread Checker locates the exact lines of code that are causing threading errors, according to Intel.

The tool organises issues into categories ranging from errors to warnings, and shows variable, source line and call stack information for easy developer analysis.

"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 at Intel's software products division.

"During beta tests, 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."

Farzin Shakib, president of Acusim Software, added: "Using Intel Thread Checker we discovered two elusive bugs on the very first day, as well as numerous inconsistencies and opportunities for performance improvement."

Thread Checker is available at Intel's website here and from resellers in the second quarter of 2003.

Version 1.0 is priced at $1,198 for a single-user commercial licence and includes Intel VTune Performance Analyzer.