Creating trace data from recent software output and activity

A method comprising:

• operating a computer using a platform running on a set of processor(s), the platform including file system memory structured and/or programmed to hold working data produced during a period of time leading up to an occurrence of an error in the operation of the computer;
• storing recently captured output data in the file system memory while running an application on the computer, the recently captured output data being formatted as a conventional trace data format;
• holding the working data in the file system memory;
• detecting the error;
• responsive to the detected error, formatting the working data held in the file system memory according to the conventional trace data format;
• generating a first trace entry including the recently captured output data and the working data being formatted according to the conventional trace data format;
• and
• producing a trace dataset including the first trace entry and a set of trace entries produced while running the application for problem diagnosis by integrating the first trace entry chronologically with the set of trace entries;
• wherein:
• the first trace entry includes data generated from system log data.