breakpad/docs/mozilla_brown_bag_talk.md

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# Breakpad Crash Reporting for Mozilla
* January 24, 2007
* Links updated February 14, 2007
* Mozilla HQ
* Mark Mentovai
* Brian Ryner
## What is a crash reporter?
* Enables developers to analyze crashes that occur in the wild
* Produces stack backtraces that help identify how a program failed
* Offers higher-level data aggregation (topcrashes, MTBF statistics)
## Motivation
* Talkback is proprietary and unmaintained
* Smaller open-source projects have few options
* Larger projects need flexibility and scalability
## Design Options
* Stackwalking done on client
* Apple CrashReporter
* GNOME BugBuddy
* Client sends memory dump
* Talkback
* Windows Error Reporting
* Breakpad
## Goals
* Provide libraries around which systems can be based
* Open-source
* Cross-platform
* Mac OS X x86, PowerPC
* Linux x86
* Windows x86
* No requirement to distribute symbols
## Client Libraries
* Exception handler installed at application startup
* Spawns a separate thread
* Minidump file written at crash time
* Format used by Windows debuggers
* Separate application invoked to send
* HTTP[S](S.md) POST, can include additional parameters
## Symbols
* Cross-platform symbol file format
* Contents
* Function names
* Source file names and line numbers
* Windows: Frame pointer omission data
* Future: parameters and local variables
* Symbol conversion methods
## Processor
* Examines minidump file and invokes stackwalker
* Symbol files requested from a SymbolSupplier
* Produces stack trace
* Output may be placed where convenient
## Intergation
* Breakpad client present in Gran Paradiso Alpha 1 for Windows
* Disabled by default
* Enable with `MOZ_AIRBAG`
* Proof-of-concept collector
* http://mavra.perilith.com/~luser/airbag-collector/list.pl
* Other platforms coming soon
## More Information
* Project home: https://chromium.googlesource.com/breakpad/breakpad
* Mailing lists
* [google-breakpad-dev@googlegroups.com](http://groups.google.com/group/google-breakpad-dev/)
* [google-breakpad-discuss@googlegroups.com](http://groups.google.com/group/google-breakpad-discuss/)
* Ask me (irc.mozilla.org: mento)