In
computing, a
core dump (in
Unix parlance),
memory dump, or
system dump consists of the recorded state of the working
memory of a
computer program at a specific time, generally when the program has
crashed or otherwise terminated abnormally. In practice, other key pieces of
program state are usually dumped at the same time, including the
processor registers, which may include the program counter and stack pointer, memory management information, and other processor and operating system flags and information. Core dumps are often used to assist in diagnosing and
debugging errors in computer programs.