debugging

[Doug Farrell]

Hi all,

Can someone help me out a little with Python? What do people use to
debug Python code? I don't understand how to use the built in debugger
and I haven't had any luck getting ddd to debug my Python programs. I
end up falling back on inserting print statements in my code to figure
out what's going on. This works but isn't always the fastest route to
a solution. So, I'm just wondering what other people do.

Thanks,
Doug

[Diez B. Roggisch]

Re: debugging

Hi,
[color=blue]
> Can someone help me out a little with Python? What do people use to
> debug Python code? I don't understand how to use the built in debugger
> and I haven't had any luck getting ddd to debug my Python programs. I
> end up falling back on inserting print statements in my code to figure
> out what's going on. This works but isn't always the fastest route to
> a solution. So, I'm just wondering what other people do.[/color]

I use print..... But if you want to have a graphical debugger, look into
eric. Actually, its much more, and if I were not so tied to xemacs key
bindings, I'd switch yesterday.

Diez

[Michael Hudson]

Re: debugging

writeson@earthl ink.net (Doug Farrell) writes:
[color=blue]
> Hi all,
>
> Can someone help me out a little with Python? What do people use to
> debug Python code? I don't understand how to use the built in
> debugger[/color]

What have you tried? pdb.run('...') and pdb.set_trace() may be your
friends.
[color=blue]
> and I haven't had any luck getting ddd to debug my Python programs. I
> end up falling back on inserting print statements in my code to figure
> out what's going on. This works but isn't always the fastest route to
> a solution. So, I'm just wondering what other people do.[/color]

Well, quite a lot of the time I ... insert print statements in my
code.

I also find stopping and actually thinking hard every now and again
helps, too :-)

Cheers,
mwh

--
ARTHUR: Yes. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing
cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door
saying "Beware of the Leopard".
-- The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Episode 1

[Larry Bates]

Re: debugging

Doug,

I use a loggerclass to log debugging/tracing information
to a log file during the program execution. I trigger these
logging statements by setting python variables _trace and
_debug at the top of my program execution (normally by reading
them from a .INI file using ConfigParser). This way I can
trace/debug my program and then easily turn them off when
the code is finalized. I leave this code in the application
and find that it can prove to be very valuable should a
problem arise in the future. Just turn on trace/debug and
take a look at the log file. I don't believe that there
is significant overhead in a few "if _debug: logf.writelines ..."
statements in the code.

-Larry


"Doug Farrell" <writeson@earth link.net> wrote in message
news:88bc63c6.0 401230416.7acf9 04c@posting.goo gle.com...[color=blue]
> Hi all,
>
> Can someone help me out a little with Python? What do people use to
> debug Python code? I don't understand how to use the built in debugger
> and I haven't had any luck getting ddd to debug my Python programs. I
> end up falling back on inserting print statements in my code to figure
> out what's going on. This works but isn't always the fastest route to
> a solution. So, I'm just wondering what other people do.
>
> Thanks,
> Doug[/color]

[Michael Geary]

Re: debugging

Doug Farrell wrote:[color=blue]
> Can someone help me out a little with Python? What do people
> use to debug Python code? I don't understand how to use the
> built in debugger and I haven't had any luck getting ddd to
> debug my Python programs. I end up falling back on
> inserting print statements in my code to figure out what's
> going on. This works but isn't always the fastest route to a
> solution. So, I'm just wondering what other people do.[/color]

What OS are you running?

On Windows, PythonWin has a nice interactive debugger.

My favorite is Komodo, which is available for Windows, Linux, and Solaris:

http://www.activestate.com/Products/Komodo/

Komodo is not free, but the personal edition is pretty cheap, and the
commercial edition is well worth the price for commercial development.

-Mike

[Hans Nowak]

Re: debugging

Doug Farrell wrote:[color=blue]
> Hi all,
>
> Can someone help me out a little with Python? What do people use to
> debug Python code? I don't understand how to use the built in debugger
> and I haven't had any luck getting ddd to debug my Python programs. I
> end up falling back on inserting print statements in my code to figure
> out what's going on. This works but isn't always the fastest route to
> a solution. So, I'm just wondering what other people do.[/color]

"The most effective debugging tool is still careful thought, coupled with
judiciously placed print statements." -- Brian Kernighan (1978)

The 'print statements' method still works, anno 2004. Aside from that, I use
unit tests. I never use a debugger; I find stepping through code, or breaking
execution off halfway, rather clumsy.

Just my $0.02,

--
Hans (hans@zephyrfal con.org)

http://zephyrfalcon.org/

[python newbie]

Re: debugging

I second the recommend. on Komodo. I'm definitely happy with it myself. I
recently bought the personal edition.
If you install the ActiveState version, as you heard by now, you get
PythonWin which can debug. I notice the similarity in interfaces even, as
they were both made by ActiveState of course. However Komodo has a lot of
functionality beyond it, if you need that it is (if you even care about
Komodo and what I'm typing here, bye).

"Michael Geary" <Mike@DeleteThi s.Geary.com> wrote in message
news:1012jf28ch jio61@corp.supe rnews.com...[color=blue]
> Doug Farrell wrote:[color=green]
> > Can someone help me out a little with Python? What do people
> > use to debug Python code? I don't understand how to use the
> > built in debugger and I haven't had any luck getting ddd to
> > debug my Python programs. I end up falling back on
> > inserting print statements in my code to figure out what's
> > going on. This works but isn't always the fastest route to a
> > solution. So, I'm just wondering what other people do.[/color]
>
> What OS are you running?
>
> On Windows, PythonWin has a nice interactive debugger.
>
> My favorite is Komodo, which is available for Windows, Linux, and Solaris:
>
> http://www.activestate.com/Products/Komodo/
>
> Komodo is not free, but the personal edition is pretty cheap, and the
> commercial edition is well worth the price for commercial development.
>
> -Mike
>
>[/color]