SmartBear has confirmed end-of-life for AQTime in June/July 2026. This guide maps each AQTime profiler to its Software Verify equivalent and describes the migration path for each.
See also: AQTime is shutting down for a summary of what changes and what you gain.
| AQTime Profiler | Software Verify Replacement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allocation Profiler | Memory Validator | Replaces + extends |
| Resource Profiler | Memory Validator | Replaces + extends |
| Reference Count Profiler | Memory Validator | Available, off by default |
| Coverage Profiler | Coverage Validator | Direct replacement |
| Light Coverage Profiler | Coverage Validator | One tool, one setting |
| Performance Profiler | Performance Validator | Direct replacement |
| Sampling Profiler | Performance Validator (sampling mode) | PV has both instrumented and sampling modes |
| Function Trace | Bug Validator (beta, 32-bit only) | Partial — 64-bit in development |
| Failure Emulator | No equivalent yet | Fault Validator is planned |
| Exception Trace | Exception Tracer | Handled at the debug layer |
| Load Library Tracer | Memory Validator / Bug Validator | DLL tracking built in |
| BDE SQL Profiler | N/A | BDE is deprecated |
| Static Analysis Profiler | N/A | Use your IDE or a dedicated static analyser |
| Unused VCL Units | N/A | Handled by compiler warnings |
| Sequence Diagram Link | N/A | UML tooling is now IDE-native |
| Platform Compliance | N/A | Use SDK targeting / compiler flags |
AQTime split memory tracking across three separate profilers: Allocation Profiler, Resource Profiler, Reference Count Profiler. Memory Validator covers all three in one tool.
AQTime’s Allocation Profiler tracked heap memory allocations and deallocations — detecting leaks, recording call stacks, reporting object counts and block sizes. It filtered standard MFC and VCL allocations automatically.
One significant difference: in AQTime, heap allocation tracking was off by default. You had to enable “Check system memory allocations” in the profiler settings before allocation data appeared. Many users were unaware of this and received incomplete results.
Memory Validator has allocation tracking on by default. Every heap allocation and deallocation is captured immediately when you start a session.
AQTime’s Resource Profiler tracked: fonts, brushes, bitmaps, registry handles, COM objects, print spooler handles, and similar Windows resources.
Memory Validator tracks these resources, plus GDI handles, Windows kernel handles, and .NET handles that AQTime’s Resource Profiler did not separately cover. The scope is broader by default.
AQTime required project preparation to enable resource tracking — it was not automatic. Memory Validator requires no project preparation; resource and handle tracking is active from the first run.
AQTime’s Reference Count Profiler monitored COM interface AddRef and Release calls to detect unreleased references and premature releases.
Memory Validator includes COM reference count tracking. It is off by default (consistent with it being a specialised capability most developers don’t need). Enable it in Memory Validator’s settings if COM reference counting is part of your workflow.
What you gain in migration:
AQTime offered two separate coverage tools (Coverage Profiler and Light Coverage Profiler) to handle the speed/completeness tradeoff. Coverage Validator handles this with a single instrumentation mode setting.
AQTime’s Coverage Profiler provided routine-level and line-level coverage with hit counts, partial line handling (short-circuit && etc.), and multi-run merging.
Coverage Validator provides routine-level and line-level coverage with hit counts, partial line handling, and multi-run merging. The default instrumentation mode (“Complete but faster”) captures full line coverage with visit counts at practical speed.
AQTime’s Light Coverage Profiler was designed for regression runs where speed mattered more than completeness. It omitted hit counts, omitted partial line tracking.
Coverage Validator’s “Incomplete but faster” mode covers the same use case: skips very short lines (under 5 bytes), counts each line once rather than on every visit. Use this mode for CI/CD pipeline runs and large regression suites where throughput matters.
Coverage Validator’s four instrumentation modes:
| Mode | Short lines | Visit counting | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete but faster | Included | Once per line | Default — full coverage, practical speed |
| Complete but slower | Included | Every visit | Maximum accuracy, slower |
| Incomplete but faster | Skipped | Once per line | Regression pipelines, CI/CD |
| Incomplete but slower | Skipped | Every visit | Rarely needed |
Settings location: Settings > Data Collection Settings > Instrumentation Detail
Caveat for “Complete” modes: Cannot run simultaneously with a debugger attached. MAP files for release builds suppress breakpoint hooks.
What you gain in migration:
AQTime offered a Performance Profiler and a Sampling Profiler. Performance Validator provides both profilers in one tool.
AQTime’s Performance Profiler was an instrumented profiler tracking call counts, elapsed time, and a range of CPU and memory counter metrics. It had known issues: BSOD risk when certain counters were used with the Windows DDK installed; counter unavailability on some CPU models, virtual machines, and SpeedStep hardware; a required hotfix (KB896256) for accurate timing on multi-core Windows XP SP2.
Performance Validator is an instrumented profiler with a sampling option. Instrumented mode gives exact call counts, elapsed time, and complete call graphs at routine and line level. It works with any application where debug information is available — MSVC from VC6 through VS 2026, GCC (all versions), Clang, Delphi, Rust.
AQTime’s Sampling Profiler was unmanaged-code only, did not track call hierarchy, and recommended quad-core hardware for accuracy.
Performance Validator includes a sampling mode alongside its instrumented mode. Use instrumented mode for exact call counts and full call graphs; use sampling mode when you want lower overhead profiling.
What you gain in migration:
AQTime’s Function Trace profiler logged every function call entry with actual parameter values — useful for exact execution trace debugging without modifying source code. It supported 32-bit and 64-bit native and managed code.
Bug Validator records parameter values, local variable values, and register values at every function entry, function exit, and line visit. It covers more than Function Trace. Current limitation: Bug Validator is in beta and 32-bit only. 64-bit support is in development.
For 32-bit native code: Bug Validator is the replacement. For 64-bit or managed code: wait for the 64-bit release, or use a conditional breakpoint approach in your debugger in the interim.
AQTime’s Failure Emulator injected controlled failures into:
This allows systematic testing of an application’s error-handling paths.
We do not have a direct equivalent. Fault Validator — which would do this using the same Win32 API hooking infrastructure we already use across our tools — is planned. If fault injection was a core part of your AQTime workflow, we don’t have a replacement today.
| Compiler / Environment | AQTime (native) | Software Verify |
|---|---|---|
| .NET managed | VS 2005 through 2017 | VS 2002 through 2026 |
| MSVC / Visual C++ | VC4 through VS 2010 | VC6 through VS 2026 |
| GCC / MinGW | GCC 2.95 only | All versions |
| Clang | Not supported | Supported |
| C++Builder | Through 10.4 Sydney | 5.5 to current |
| Delphi | Through 10.4 Sydney | 5.0 to current |
| Rust | Not supported | Supported (MV heap caveat for custom allocators) |
| Fortran | Supported | Supported |
| VB6 | Supported | Supported |
| Java | JRE 1.5–1.7 | Not supported |
| UWP / Windows Store | Not supported | Not supported |
AQTime was a single licence covering memory, coverage, and performance. Software Verify offers suites that match this model:
Support Suite — Memory Validator, Performance Validator.
QA Suite — Memory Validator, Coverage Validator, Performance Validator. Replaces AQTime’s three core capabilities in one purchase.
Developer Suite — Memory Validator, Coverage Validator, Performance Validator, Thread Validator. Adds thread analysis and deadlock detection to the QA Suite tool set.
If you only need one or two of the tools, each is available separately as a fully functional 30-day trial:
If you have questions about specific AQTime workflows or need help mapping your setup, contact us.
AQTime 8 documentation remains available at support.smartbear.com/aqtime/docs/ until the end of June 2026.