Gain insights into diagnostic techniques and anomaly detection with over 200 trace and log analysis patterns, applicable across various software environments, operating systems, and platforms.

General trace and log analysis patterns allow the application of uniform diagnostics and anomaly detection across diverse software environments. It includes troubleshooting, debugging, describing, and explaining problems and incidents on various operating systems and platforms. It is also helpful in recording network traces, malware, general data, narratives, and text and image analysis (space-like narratology). This course, organized as a pattern language dictionary and cross-referenced with classification, explains and teaches more than 200 traces and log analysis patterns.

A Guide to Learning Software Trace and Log Analysis Patterns

# File size
Trace and log analysis starts with an assessment of artifact **file size**, especially with multiple logging scenarios in distributed systems. If all log files are of the same size, we may have either [circular traces](https://www.educative.io/courses/guide-learning-software-trace-log-analysis-patterns/calibrating-circular-combed-distribution-empty) or
[truncated traces](https://www.educative.io/courses/guide-learning-software-trace-log-analysis-patterns/partition-shape-summary-truncated-visibility). Both point to the wrong trace timing plan or simply to that they are using the default tracing tool configuration.

# Guest component
Sometimes, when comparing normal, expected (working), and abnormal (non-working) traces, we can get a clue for further troubleshooting and debugging by looking at module load events. For example, when we see an unexpected module loaded in our non-working trace, its function (and
sometimes even module name) can signify some differences to pay attention
to.

This lesson introduces the following analysis patterns: file size, guest component, minimal trace, missing component, and no trace metafile.

Getting Started

Activity

Block and Data

Error and Large Scale

Message 1

Message 2

Trace as a Whole

Trace Set

Vocabulary, Memory, Code and Text

Conclusion

Index

Size, Guest, Minimal, Missing, No Metafile

File size

Guest component