multibreakpoint

Multibreakpoint is a debugging construct that allows a single logical grouping of multiple breakpoints, enabling unified management of those breakpoints across a program or set of programs. In systems that support multibreakpoints, a developer defines a collection of breakpoint locations, each with its own location, condition, and actions, but controls the collection as a unit.

The primary purpose of a multibreakpoint is to simplify the configuration of related observation points. For example, a group might include breakpoints at several entry points to a module, or at related state transitions across threads. While the individual breakpoints retain their specificity, the multibreakpoint provides centralized actions such as enabling or disabling the entire group, or applying shared conditions or actions to all members.

Implementation typically involves a data structure that stores the set of member breakpoints and a controller or manager that intercepts debugger events and dispatches them to the appropriate members. Many debuggers expose a multibreakpoint concept via a dedicated API or via scripting, allowing programmatic creation and modification of the group.

Use cases include tracing related execution paths without configuring each location separately, coordinating breakpoints across multiple threads or processes, and collecting synchronized data for performance or correctness analysis. Multibreakpoints can reduce setup noise and improve maintainability but may introduce overhead and complexity in understanding exactly which observations are enabled at a given time.

See also: Breakpoint, Conditional breakpoint, Watchpoint, Debugger automation, Instrumentation.