An execution trace records the ordered steps or observations of one program execution under a chosen observation model. It might record machine instructions, state changes, procedure calls or visible communication events. The model determines what is hidden; two traces cannot be compared meaningfully without knowing their event vocabulary.
For two threads each incrementing a shared counter, a trace can record both reading zero before either writes one. Its final counter value is one even though two increments were requested. A different interleaving can produce two. One observed successful trace therefore does not establish correctness of all permitted interleavings. In communicating sequential processes, a trace conventionally records visible CSP events; internal transitions are omitted. Such a trace records what occurred but does not by itself say which unperformed events were available.
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