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🕵️ An investigator 💥 A visible bullet 💻 A tracking program 🧬 A tracking substance ✏️ A copying tool
tracer

tracer

3 7.4
A software tool that records what a program does and the order of its steps
  • noun
  • /ˈtreɪsər/
  • Specialized
: trazador
  • tracer software

Now here's the really cool thing about using the tracer pointer to pointer technique is that if inspecting beer said no, we've not gone far enough yet.

Examples

  • All of this is to just give us the tracer that makes golf on TV dramatically easier to watch.

  • And that's basically what the ray tracer does is pretty simple.

  • The Tracer Summit is an automated system that allows building operators to monitor and control indoor air quality.

    Academic text (2004)

  • The physical model served as a template over which the machine guided an electronic tracer and simultaneously machined the contours of the die or mold.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Before surface modeling systems, Hunt Machine developed three-axis programs using a tracer probe on customer-supplied handmade models.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The software developer used a tracer to identify where the program was failing during execution.

  • By adding a tracer, the team was able to monitor data flows between different services efficiently.

  • To enhance performance analysis, the engineer implemented a tracer in the application to log execution paths.

Synonyms

tracing
vstracer
  • Specialized
5 5.8

Recording the path of requests through a computer system to find problems

is a concrete tool component that captures runtime paths and data flows for debugging
trace program
vstracer
  • Specialized
5.2

A tool that shows each step a computer program takes while it runs to find errors

records execution paths and data flows across components for debugging and performance
tracing routine
vstracer
  • Specialized
6.8

A part of a computer program that records the order of steps when it runs to help find bugs

is a separate tool that records across services and supports profiling

Compounds

tracer bullet
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A bullet that leaves a bright trail so you can see its path

tracer bullet
  • Jargon
7.0

A small quick test in software that checks if core parts work together

How Thorough

profiler
  • Specialized
1 6.3
tracer
  • Specialized
3 7.4

Surface Forms

tracer singular
tracers plural

Morphology

tracer = trace (semi-transparent) = trace + er

Morphologically clear as an instrument/agent noun, but the computing-specific meaning (a tool that records execution traces) is technical and may not be obvious to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Tracer comes from trace, which means 'to follow a path or events'. In computing a tracer follows the path of a program or records events so developers can find and fix problems.