Re: Experimental Mathematica debugger
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg96928] Re: Experimental Mathematica debugger
- From: dh <dh at metrohm.com>
- Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:14:56 -0500 (EST)
- References: <go63dv$pkc$1@smc.vnet.net>
Hi David, another great addition from you, thank's a lot. There is a samll bug with the conditional break point window. It is not possible to input any text because it does not take the focus. I have Mathematica version 7 on Vista. thank's again, Daniel David Bailey wrote: > I have been fairly dissatisfied with the built-in debugger available in > versions 6 and 7, and I would like people to try an experimental new > debugger called DebugTrace. As some of you may recall, I once wrote a > debugger for an earlier version of Mathematica - called M-Debug. That > debugger was based on TraceScan, and was unable to locate Mathematica > expressions within the original source code. It was also very slow when > code was executing to a breakpoint. > > DebugTrace works in a new way, identifying program locations using line > numbers which double as breakpoint toggle buttons! > > I work as a consultant, and in my experience, projects often start with > a very large notebook, full of unstructured code, which it is necessary > to understand. Beginners typically write programs in this style - often > without a single user-defined function - and DebugTrace can operate well > on this kind of code, as well as more elegant code and also packages. > > DebugTrace is a Mathematica program like any other - i.e. it operates > without any kernel hacks, but this means that it is fairly easy to add > support for particular pieces of software. For example the debugger > knows about my Super Widget Package, and when appropriate, it displays > an extra button that enables the debugger to gain control while a modal > Java window is being displayed (without closing the window). I imagine > that this flexibility may be useful in other contexts. > > Another revolutionary feature of DebugTrace, is that it comes with > actual documentation, illustrated with a small example program! > > DebugTrace version 0.95 is available free from my website. It will > remain free even after it is polished. If you find specific problems, it > might be best to e-mail me directly with a simple example. > > As I say, this project is experimental, and its future development - if > any - depends on the feedback I receive. > > > David Bailey > http://www.dbaileyconsultancy.co.uk > >