ABRT 2.0 architecture

Hooks

• programs / libraries which are invoked at the moment when problem occurs
• the mechanism of invocation is problem-dependent
• when invoked, they create a new problem directory in $COREDUMPDIR and store problem data in it
• hook examples:
• python - a script in sitecustomize.py which will override sys.excepthook (python 2.3, 2.4)
• CCpp - a "C/C++" hook (runs for any crashes in binary programs, not just C/C++). It's a binary named /usr/libexec/abrt-hook-ccpp. It is initiated via /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern

Daemon (abrtd)

• runs all the time (this may be changed in a future version)
• listens on /var/run/abrt.socket for problem notifications
• runs "post-create" events on new problem directories. Useful for
• automatically collecting additional information very soon after the crash
• if the machine is running unattended, or admin doesn't want users to deal with crash reporting (kiosk mode), "post-create" event can be used to report problem automatically, without any user
interaction
• sends broadcast messages over system dbus when a new problem is detected
• accepts requests on Unix domain socket to create new problem directories. This is used by python hook, and likely to be used by perl/java hooks in the future
• accepts requests on Unix domain socket to delete a problem directory (used by GUI/cli when it runs under unprivileged user)