Command: debug
Command: debugdebug
A symbolic debugging window, for the interactively monitoring of Fire during execution. This facility is available on Microsoft Windows systems only.
Interaction with the debugger is available only when normal Fire processing is suspended. During this interaction, commands typed in the monitor window (in response to the Debug > prompt) are executed normally .
Only development versions of the system have this debugging facility.
None
-ic
Open the debug window iconic, or iconise the debug window if it is not
already iconised.
-pos=<screen_xy>
X,Y screen position for the debug window. The default is 100,100.
-st
When the debug window has been opened initiate stepping mode so that subsequent
macro code execution is interrupted at the first executable statement. The
default behavior is to open the window but wait for operator instruction
as to how and when to start debugging.
-tb
Display the window menu icon in the Windows taskbar. The default behavior
is not to display it in the taskbar but only to display it on the desktop
when minimized. This switch has no meaning on Unix systems.
This command displays the interactive debug window. If the debug window is already displayed, no action is taken.
The debug window is divided vertically into 3 sections, and can be resized internally as well as externally by sashes handles:
This section contains general information about when the debugger should stop macro code execution and give the operator the chance to debug his/her code. Such stop points are known as "break points" and can be set as follows:
When Fire issues an error message (known as the "Error Break").
When a break has been set at a particular line in a particular macro or function (known as a "Code Break").
When a command is executed which contains a particular text string (known as a "Text Command Break").
When a condition is true, e.g. testing the value of a language identifier (known as a "Conditional Command Break").
This section takes the form of a 5-sheet tab window:
General: This sheet contains 4 check-boxes, the first of which permits the Error Break to be set or unset, and the rest enable the other 3 break categories (details of which are managed by sheets Code, Text and Condition) to be enabled or disabled.
Code: This sheet contains some text boxes for the setting of Code Breaks in files or procedures. The bottom text box gives a list of current Code Breaks. Code Breaks can also be added/removed/conditionalized/suppressed interactively in the Flow Section during code debugging.
Text: This sheet contains details of Text Command Breaks. It allows the setting/removal/editing of Text Breaks, which can be literal or wild-card matched.
Condition: This sheet contains details of Condition Command Breaks. It allows the setting/removal/editing of Fire language conditions. When active, all conditions are tested before the execution of every executed Fire statement, which can slow processing down somewhat. These breaks should be used sparingly.
Save/Restore: This sheet enables the current set of breaks to be written to or retrieved from file. The created files have the extension .dbg.
This section contains information about the current executing command frame. It contains a row of push-buttons to control subsequent program flow once Fire has been told to resume, a text window showing the code of the currently executing command frame, and a single-line text box displaying the next Fire command to be executed when Fire is told to resume.
Consider the following image which is a snapshot of this section when Fire has been interrupted.
Fire has stopped at the ifyes line (shown in red) and is now waiting for one of the push-buttons to be clicked to resume execution. As you can see the command shown in the Current Command text box expands careted strings automatically.
This wait gives the operator the chance to add or remove break points, look at the the values of identifiers and so on. In this interrupted state, the Fire monitor window can be used to run enquiry commands.
A quick way of looking at identifier values is to highlight the offending identifier, and a tooltip will display its value.
A quick way to add remove a break is to right click in the main window on a particular line. This will display a popup window such as:
and you can add or remove a break point. This break point will also be added to the list of Code Breaks in the Breaks section. Break points are shown in the text window by various symbols to the left of the code:
Symbol
Meaning
Break point
Break point (suppressed)
Conditional break point
Conditional break point (suppressed)
2 other symbols may appear in the left margin as follows:
Symbol
Meaning
The next line scheduled for execution, which is typically
the line at which Fire has been interrupted
The code line which caused an Error Break
When you have finished debugging for the moment, you should tell Fire to resume execution by clicking one of the push buttons. The resume functionality of each button is as follows:
Button
Functionality
Step
Execute the current command then interrupt Fire again. If the current command begins a new command frame (e.g. a macro, function or procedure), execution will be interrupted at the first command within the new command frame
Next
Execute the current command then interrupt Fire again. If the current command begins a new command frame (e.g. a macro, function or procedure), the command frame is executed without stepping into it, unless their is a break point within that command frame
Run
Resume execution and continue running until the next break point is met, at which time Fire will be interrupted again
RunFrame
Resume execution and execute the remainder of the current command frame, then interrupt Fire again. If a break point is met between the current command and the end of the current frame the interruption is made at that break point.
Skip
Skip the current command (i.e. do not execute it) and stop at the next command.
Abort
Abort execution of the current command frame, leave the debugger and return to normal processing.
This last section contains a text window and an information status bar.
The text window displays a command frame traceback when Fire has been interrupted. This traceback enables you to see the command frame hierarchy of what has called what to get to the current code position.
The status bar simply indicates whether Fire is currently running or interrupted.
An example of this section in an interrupted state is:
Typically to debug a macro one would set break points in the debugger first then execute the macro, e.g. typed into the monitor window, or from an on-screen menu.
Alternatively, to stop at the first line of a macro, click the Step button in the Flow Section then run the macro.
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