[Gambas-user] Gambas3 Debugger: Data Breakpoint
John Anderson
johna at starflightinc.com
Sun May 23 05:12:45 CEST 2021
EXACTLY. Simple watching of a memory address is all I need - and break
execution when the value it points to changes. In all the times I've
needed it I need something simple like break when a Boolean changes
state, or when a public integer changes value. Or maybe when a simple
condition test is met. It doesn't get more complicated than sometimes
the "expression" we want to monitor is simple like "Break when (Xval <
0)" or "Break when (XVal > 10)" . It's not something you need every
day, but on a large project it can be a lifesaver at troubleshooting
time. I think a couple times I had to monitor two values and break when
either one changed or met a simple condition test.
In all cases where I've needed it it was to monitor a public variable,
and break either when it changed...or say when the value went under or
over range for instance. It doesn't have to slow the system down much.
I've been using this feature for decades on VS, Qt etc, and where a Data
Breakkpoint helps a lot in a large project is:
Where you need to monitor a public variable - typically just a Boolen or
integer. It is used in about 180 places throughout code, and the
problem you're looking for is when it changes value in an unexpected
way. When did the value change and in what section of code, and what
set of events lead to that condition. There are many places where the
change could have occurred depending on what's going on with the
physical equipment we're running in the real world.
OR When you're debugging an issue where the public variable changes
because it was sent by reference to a code class that you didn't write,
and the variable gets referenced by another name inside that class.
OR when you have to call a C libray with the public variable sent as
reference, and the C library unexpectedly changes the value. At least
we'd know the monitored value was changed when the C-function call returns.
And so on. There are lots of places a feature like this comes in handy.
It would be very helpful if some sort of Data Breakpoint feature like
this could be added to the Gambas debugger at some point. You don't
want it evaluating complex expressions - for sure that would be a slow down.
-John
We use a Data Breakpoint often in large code
On 5/22/2021 12:37 PM, Benoît Minisini wrote:
>> Le 22/05/2021 à 21:10, John Anderson a écrit :
>>>
>>> For instance in Gambas IDE: Setup a watch on public variable Xval ,
>>> and then tell the system we want to halt whenever Xval changes.
>
> Watching a public variable would easier, as the memory address of
> static values and object contents never change during the program
> execution.
>
More information about the User
mailing list