Graphical Trace Object (GTO) Tool Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Topic No.: N08-003 Topic Title: Graphical Trace Object (GTO) Tool Proposal No.: N081-003-0706 Firm: GrammaTech, Inc 317 N. Aurora Street Ithaca, New York 14850 Contact: Michael McDougall Phone: (607) 273-7340 Web Site: www.grammatech.com Abstract: Development and maintenance of large software systems is a daunting task. A number of tools for simplifying the development process have been designed over the years. These include source-code browsers, debuggers, and profilers. However, despite all of these tools, software has become increasingly complex and bloated, and often exhibits poor performance despite exponential increases in processor speed. We believe that this is due to developers lacking a deep understanding of how their software operates, and that tools that are able to visualize complex software operations will help them gain key insights. We propose to explore the range of techniques that are necessary for building a tool for run-time visualization of objects and object interactions in C++ programs and to investigate the practical feasibility of these techniques. The research will span multiple areas of computer science touching on data visualization, user interfaces, run-time program monitoring, and static analysis. If the option is exercised, we propose to develop early prototypes for the techniques that show the best promise. Benefits: We believe that there will be strong industrial demand for a tool that provides visualization of the interactions between objects in a complex software system. Developing software is an expensive activity. Such a tool would decrease the cost to develop higher quality software, and would offer a strong return on investment. The tool would appeal across all industries that rely heavily on software. This includes finance, mil/aero, transportation, engineering, and others. Return