The Debugger Interface

The integrated debugger provides most of the functional capabilities of the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime debugger, as well as a few AcuBench-specific features. Most notably, the integrated debugger offers you the ability to modify your code during debug, without leaving the debugger interface.

Note: Users of Windows XP who have installed Service Pack 2 should be aware that the operating system's default firewall protection may block operation of the integrated debugger. When prompted to choose whether or not to keep blocking acubench80, click Unblock.

This chapter describes in detail those elements of the debugger interface that are unique to AcuBench. It also notes equivalencies between AcuBench and runtime debugger functions. For more information about those equivalent functions, see Runtime Debugger, which includes extended descriptions of debugger functions.

Note that if you prefer to use the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime debugger, instructions on how to access it from within AcuBench are included in Debugging a Program.

Integrated debugger functions appear in a Code Editor window in the development area of the workspace. The debugger interface also uses the Output window, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen, to display various output messages generated by the debugger. These messages may include such things as tracing information, information about breakpoints, and error messages.

When using the integrated debugger, you may want to open the File tab of the Workspace window. The File tab provides a tree view representation of your project's Source, Screen, Report, Copy, Object, List, Resource, FD, and Remote files. For more information about project files, see Creating a Project.

You can toggle the Output and Workspace windows on and off from the View menu or the Standard toolbar, or close them by clicking the Close button on each window. You can also resize windows by dragging their borders with the mouse.

The AcuBench integrated debugger offers several features to assist you in debugging your code:

The current line of execution is highlighted, and if the Line Number pane is visible, its line number is marked. You can toggle the highlighting and specify the highlight color in the Tools > Options > Environment > Debug dialog box, described in this manual in Debug Options.
You can make changes to your code while debugging. The changes do not affect the current execution of the program, but you can test the changes simply by restarting the debugger, as described in Starting Stopping and Navigating the Debugger.
Three specialized windows give you information about your code as you debug: Watch, Stack Info, and Memory. These windows can be displayed in the Output window or as floating windows, either one at a time or together, in any combination.
A Quick Watch window lets you select any variable in the source code and display its current value.
Using AcuConnect® with ACUCOBOL-GT's Thin Client technology, you can debug a program that resides on a remote server using the same AcuBench debug commands that are used to debug a local program.