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

## Message annotations
**Message annotations** analysis pattern was on our list for years, so it’s time to add it to the trace and log analysis pattern catalog. We also allow several annotations per trace message done at different times and annotations of different parts depending on the analysis flow (the topic of the next analysis pattern). When attached to log messages, annotations form their [adjoint
thread of activity](https://www.educative.io/courses/guide-learning-software-trace-log-analysis-patterns/region-theatre-adjoint-thread-blackout-braid-group). However, sorted by their annotation time or
sequence, we get a different trace that we call annotation trace (an example of analysis narrative). We can apply all relevant analysis patterns
to both traces. A sketch of this pattern is depicted in the following diagram:

# Message annotations
**Message annotations** analysis pattern was on our list for years, so it’s time to add it to the trace and log analysis pattern catalog. We also allow several annotations per trace message done at different times and annotations of different parts depending on the analysis flow (the topic of the next analysis pattern). When attached to log messages, annotations form their [adjoint
thread of activity](https://www.educative.io/courses/guide-learning-software-trace-log-analysis-patterns/region-theatre-adjoint-thread-blackout-braid-group). However, sorted by their annotation time or
sequence, we get a different trace that we call annotation trace (an example of analysis narrative). We can apply all relevant analysis patterns
to both traces. A sketch of this pattern is depicted in the following diagram:

This lesson introduces the following analysis patterns: Message Annotations, Message Change, Message Context, Message Cover, and Message Directory.

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

Annotations, Change, Context, Cover, Directory

Message annotations