Good tools for Multi-threaded C++ debugging on MacOSX?

Question

Hi!

I recently switched form ubuntu to MacOSX.

I also recently started heavily using multi threading.

What good addons/alternatives are there to g++ for debugging multi-threaded apps on MacOSX? In particular, I'm interested in tools that let me "poke" around classes/structs; to follow pointers, expand members, show the value of members, etc ...

Thanks!

Answer 1

Does Xcode with Shark and CHUD not do what you want?

Answer 2

Valgrind. Especially Helgrind.

It's not a GUI tool like you suggested, but it'll save you a hell of a lot of time.

Answer 3

Look into Spin and Promela. Spin is a model checker which runs through every state your code can be in to look for losses in safety and liveness. As you want, with spin you can step through it yourself and choose which option is run next and what values things should have. You need to write out the section you want to test in promela code which is similar to c though. Spin is better than regular debugging tools - multithreaded programs don't run in the same way every time so a model checker is more useful than a standard debugger.