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Is the bdebugger supposed to debug?

Jul
6
0
Is the bdebugger supposed to debug? There's nothing in the Help file about how to actually run it. There's a lot of verbiage about it, but nothing about how to use it.

So, I executed "bdebugger /c" (sans quotes) from a tcc.exe window. The "IDE 11.0" window opened with a curser in the large tabbed panel. I entered a simple script (two “echo” commands and a pause), clicked the “Start” arrow and saved it when prompted to do so. It got saved and ran fine when I executed it from the File Manager.

Then I replaced the script lines with this random garbage text in the large tabbed “IDE 11.0” window with the naïve expectation that it would be detected as such:

asdfghjkl;'
rj5$rf
gtf&h RR5
gfbv#@aXX

After about twenty minutes trying to get the "debugger" to tell me this was buggy code, I gave up and started writing this. Then, I looked at the tcc.exe window where I started the bdebugger. The garbage text had been executed (well, tried to be) with the expected error messages.

It seems to me that the bdebugger only executes the code in the IDE window in the saved BTM file in the tcc.exe window where the bdebugger was started. I can do that now with a script I resurrected from an old Korn-shell script I wrote years ago, and all I have to do is save the script I’m writing and a new tcc.exe window opens and executes the saved script automatically.

A forum question about the debugger from last year had multiple questions, and from that I’ve learned to just ask one question. To wit:

Where in the Help file does it explain how to use the bdebugger for debugging and explain how to use it for such things as the “Step” mode (Cntrl-C)?

George
 
> Is the bdebugger supposed to debug? There's nothing in the Help file
> about how to actually run it. There's a lot of verbiage about it, but
> nothing about how to use it.

The BDEBUGGER / IDE topic in the online help covers all of the debugger
commands.


> So, I executed "bdebugger /c" (sans quotes) from a tcc.exe window.

Not a meaningful command -- the "/c" option means "create this file", but
you didn't provide a name.


> Then I replaced the script lines with this random garbage text in the
> large tabbed “IDE 11.0” window with the naïve expectation that it would
> be detected as such:
>
> asdfghjkl;'
> rj5$rf
> gtf&h RR5
> gfbv#@aXX

The debugger window does not (indeed cannot) execute the batch file itself.
The batch files are executed in the console window attached to the debugger
window. The debugger window merely controls the program flow. All i/o
(including error messages) will appear in the console window.


> After about twenty minutes trying to get the "debugger" to tell me this
> was buggy code, I gave up and started writing this. Then, I looked at
> the tcc.exe window where I started the bdebugger. The garbage text had
> been executed (well, tried to be) with the expected error messages.
>
> It seems to me that the bdebugger only executes the code in the IDE
> window in the saved BTM file in the tcc.exe window where the bdebugger
> was started. I can do that now with a script I resurrected from an old
> Korn-shell script I wrote years ago, and all I have to do is save the
> script I’m writing and a new tcc.exe window opens and executes the
> saved script automatically.

The debugger executes the code (whether single stepping, running to a
breakpoint, or executing the entire file) in a new TCC window.


> Where in the Help file does it explain how to use the bdebugger/IDE for
> debugging and explain how to use it for such things as the “Step” mode
> (Cntrl-C)?

"Step mode" (I presume you mean single stepping) has nothing to do with ^C.
(Where did you get that connection?)

"help bdebugger" documents all of the menu & toolbar commands in the
debugger.

Rex Conn
JP Software
 

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