Getting Started with Colleague Studio Debugger Presented by:Katie Morgan Pacific University August, 2014

What is the CS Debugger? Graphical tool to observe your code in action Step through line by line Set breakpoints and jump from breakpoint to breakpoint Combines Eclipse’s graphical interface with UniData’s built-in debugging software

Polls! How many of you have done development using Colleague Studio? –How many of those have used the Colleague Studio Debugger? Bonus Question! –How many folks out there have ever used the UniData command-line debugger?

What can be debugged? Web forms Batch programs Subroutines UI forms

What can’t be debugged? “Old-Style” Procedures The ones that used to use PGDF

Overview of steps 1.Generate 2.Compile 3.Set breakpoints 4.Configure 5.Launch

1. Generate Make sure your project is connected to the environment. Generate the process you want to debug. Make sure there are no errors and that it really generated.

2. Compile Activate the Generated Code tab For WebAdvisor, it’s the Generated Web Code tab Click the “compile for debugging” button

Compile for Debugging

Set breakpoints Set some breakpoints (at least one, so it will suspend when debugger launches). Make sure you’re on the Generated Code tab. In the margin to the left of the line number, either double-click or right-click and choose Toggle Breakpoint. To remove a misplaced breakpoint, just follow the same steps on the existing blue dot, and it will toggle off.

Add your breakpoints

Some tips about breakpoints The debugger will suspend immediately prior to the line with the breakpoint. Do not put a breakpoint on a “flow-control- only” type of statement. END, END CASE, NEXT, RETURN, internal gosub labels Note that IF’s are fine, because they include other operations (such as logical comparisons) to support the flow control.

More tips about breakpoints This may be obvious, but… the debugger will only suspend if it actually reaches the line with the breakpoint. If you have complicated logic, beware of where you’ve placed your breakpoints, because it might not break when you want/expect it to.

Breakpoint limits If you are UniData or older: You are limited to 6 active breakpoints.

How many breakpoints? This is a UniData limitation that is resolved with and higher. One point per active breakpoint (duh!) … plus One point per process

How many breakpoints? You can have more than 6 defined, and toggle whether they’re active or not. In the development perspective, right-click the breakpoint button and choose Disable/Enable Breakpoint.

Enabling/Disabling Breakpoints Disabled Breakpoint Enabled Breakpoint

How many breakpoints? You can also add/remove breakpoints altogether when in the debug perspective.

Configure Launch configurations provide settings needed to run the process How to connect WebAdvisor: Ports UI: URL Timeout settings Credentials Application Initialization Arguments

Configure There are three ways to configure a launch: from the “bug button” menu from the process explorer context menu from the Run menu

Configuring from the “Bug Button” dropdown Click the down arrow Choose “Debug As” Choose your process type

Configuring from the process explorer context menu Right-click your process name Choose “Debug As” Choose your process type

Configuring from the Run menu Click the Run menu Choose “Debug As” Choose your process type

Subroutine and batch configuration Set argument values Initialize the application Adjust the timeout

Subroutine and batch configuration Initialize the application Enter credentials

UI form configuration Adjust the timeout

UI form configuration Enter UI credentials Enter URL Enter SOD password

WebAdvisor form configuration Adjust the timeout

WebAdvisor form configuration Modify the ports

Viewing Existing Configurations Once you have your launch configuration built, next time you use Debug as… for that process, it will simply run the debugger. To change arguments or other settings on a future run, go into your launch configurations.

Viewing Existing Configurations There are three ways to view existing configurations: from the “bug button” menu from the process explorer context menu from the Run menu

Viewing configurations from the “Bug Button” dropdown Click the down arrow Choose “Debug Configurations…”

Viewing configurations from the process explorer context menu Right-click your process name Choose “Debug As” Choose “Debug Configurations…”

Viewing configurations from the Run menu Click the Run menu Choose “Debug Configurations…”

Viewing Launch Configurations Make sure it’s the right one!

Launch Now you’re ready to launch. Hit the green bug. It will either take you directly into the debug perspective, or it will prompt you and ask. Once you’re in the debug perspective, you can still switch between perspectives.

Debug Perspective

Debug view Use these buttons to steer See where you are

Debug View Debug view is where you monitor and control the overall flow of your process. Use buttons to start, stop and step through your process. Monitor your stack—see what processes and line numbers are running.

Control Buttons “Clear” clears the perspective of all terminated launches. “Resume” runs the debugger until the next breakpoint. runs to the end if there are no more breakpoints “Suspend” halts the debugger without ending the debug session. but isn’t that what breakpoints are for? “Terminate” ends the debug session without executing any further.

Control Buttons “Step Into” can be used if the process line you’re on is about to call another process, and you want to debug line-by-line in that process. The called process must be in your project for this to work. To debug it, it must be compiled for debugging. If you already have breakpoints in that process, you can just use the play button (rather than Step Into), and it will suspend at the breakpoint

Control Buttons “Step Over” executes the line you’re currently on and suspends again. This is for when you need to go line by line. Also for when you need to execute a called process without bothering to debug it. “Step Return” is used when you’re inside a routine called by another routine, and you want to execute that inner routine until it returns control to the calling process, and then suspend again.

Control Buttons “Drop to Frame”: Never used it. “Use Step Filters”: ditto.

Variables and Breakpoints Views

Variables view Watch the values change as you step through. If the process is suspended, you can alter values here before resuming.

Variables view Highlight an item here Edit its value here

Variables view Changed values are automatically highlighted

Variables view defaults Datatel has preset the variables view to include only local variables defined by the programmer, arguments and process variables (like MSG, etc). Your v. and vl. variables will not show up.

Variables view defaults 1.Window menu -> Preferences 2.Run/Debug -> Variable Filters Check this box

Breakpoints view View all of your breakpoints and their statuses (enabled or disabled). Enable or disable breakpoints as needed. This works “on-the-fly”.

Breakpoints view Check/uncheck to enable/disable breakpoints

Process editor

All of the process editor tabs are available here. The generated code tab will be the focus by default. This tab is where you can see where you currently are in your code. view your breakpoints. You can add/remove and enable/disable here. change your code. You will probably need to terminate your debug session.

Process editor Highlights the suspended line

Outline view

This is exactly like the outline tab in the default Colleague perspective.

Console view

The console displays system messages, including errors and warnings.

Console view

UI Form Debugger It opens UI Web when the debugging session is started. You must go to the screen you’re debugging (it doesn’t do this automagically).

Web Form Debugger It opens WebAdvisor when the debugging session is started. You navigate the login and menus until you arrive at the starting point for the form you’re debugging. If the form is in a chain, you will need to fill out the lead-in forms until it pulls up the form you’re debugging.

Debugging in layers You may want to debug multiple “layers” of processes. Examples: Your subroutine calls another subroutine Your batch process runs based on a front-end UI screen Your web form writes data based on subroutines

Debugging in layers 1.Import all “layers” into your project 2.Compile all the processes for debugging 3.You can set breakpoints in multiple layers If you’re on UniData pre-7.2.5, watch your total number of active breakpoints! When you’re running the debugger, it will continue through the outer process, enter the nested process, and suspend at the first breakpoint in it.

Debugging batch processes Batch processes that run based on select statements can be an issue. Debug them via the front-end screen (provided it uses procedure hook, and is not an “old-style” procedure!), OR Build a wrapper to perform the selection and run the “real” batch process. Sample in proceedings

Try it! Benefits Obviously, finding the logic errors Being able to test numerous scenarios rapidly by just changing values (arguments on the launch configuration or even variables in the variables tab) on the fly Being able to choose between stepping one line at a time or skipping around based on breakpoints And rapidly changing those breakpoints as needed on the fly

Questions & Answers

Thank You! Katie Morgan Please complete the online session evaluation form Session ID © 2014 Ellucian. All rights reserved.