zepp-hanzj/memmapexplorer

★ 17C++Audience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((MemMap Explorer))
    What It Does
      Memory visualization
      Treemap block diagram
      Source line mapping
    Input Formats
      MAP linker files
      ELF binaries
      DWARF debug info
    Use Cases
      Firmware size analysis
      Binary reverse engineering
      Embedded development
    Tech Stack
      C++ and MFC
      Visual Studio
      GPL-2.0 license

mindmap root((MemMap Explorer)) What It Does Memory visualization Treemap block diagram Source line mapping Input Formats MAP linker files ELF binaries DWARF debug info Use Cases Firmware size analysis Binary reverse engineering Embedded development Tech Stack C++ and MFC Visual Studio GPL-2.0 license

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Identify which functions or libraries consume the most memory in a firmware binary before shipping a size-constrained embedded release.

USE CASE 2

Visualize a compiled program's full memory map as a proportional block diagram to spot bloat at a glance.

USE CASE 3

Map specific memory addresses back to source code lines during debugging or reverse engineering using embedded DWARF debug info.

Tech stack

C++MFCVisual Studio

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Visual Studio on Windows with the C++ desktop and MFC optional components installed.

GPL-2.0, free to use and modify, but any software you distribute that includes this code must also be released as open source under the same GPL-2.0 license.

In plain English

MemMap Explorer is a Windows desktop application that shows how a compiled program is laid out in memory, using the same visual style as WinDirStat, a popular tool for visualizing hard disk usage. Instead of showing which files take up space on a drive, it shows which parts of a compiled program (functions, variables, libraries) take up space in memory, displayed as a proportional block diagram alongside a tree view. The tool imports two types of files that compilers and linkers produce: MAP files, which describe the memory addresses where each function and data block lives, and ELF files, the standard binary format used in embedded systems and Linux. Once imported, the data appears as a tree on the left and a treemap on the right, making it easy to see at a glance which parts of the code are largest. A right-hand details panel shows structured information about any selected item: its address, size, and the names of the sections or objects it belongs to. When debug information is available in a format called DWARF, the tool can also map specific memory addresses back to source code lines. The primary audience is embedded systems and firmware developers who need to understand where code and data live in a device with limited memory, as well as anyone doing binary size analysis or reverse engineering on compiled programs. Building the application requires Visual Studio with C++ desktop and MFC support on Windows. The project is a modified derivative of the open-source WinDirStat codebase and is distributed under the GPL-2.0 license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I have a .map file from my embedded firmware linker. How do I open it in MemMap Explorer and read the treemap to find which functions are largest?

Prompt 2

My firmware image is too large for the target device's flash. How do I use MemMap Explorer to pinpoint which object files or libraries are eating the most space?

Prompt 3

How do I build MemMap Explorer from source in Visual Studio? Which workload components do I need to install for C++ desktop and MFC support?

Prompt 4

In MemMap Explorer, how does the DWARF integration work to jump from a memory address in the treemap to the corresponding source file and line number?

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