Debugging

Debugging runs a run configuration under a debugger, so you can pause the program at a line, step through it and look at its variables. Runesmith has one debugger interface for every language; the debugger itself comes from a plugin, a debug engine, for the runtime the configuration runs on. This page covers breakpoints, the controls, the Debug panel and what to check when debugging does not start.

Start debugging

1. Click beside a line number to add a breakpoint, or put the caret on the line and press F9. A red dot marks it.
2. Select a run configuration in the run widget.
3. Click Debug in the run widget, or press Shift+F9. With no session running, F5 does the same.

Runesmith runs the configuration's before-launch steps, such as its build, and starts the program under the debugger. The Run panel shows the program's output as for a normal run, and the Debug panel opens. When the program reaches a breakpoint, Runesmith opens the file at that line, marks the line with an arrow and a highlight, and shows the call stack and variables.

Debug is turned off when the selected configuration's kind cannot be debugged, or when no installed plugin provides a debugger. Its tooltip says which.

Breakpoints

Do this	What happens
Click beside a line number, or press F9	Adds a breakpoint to the line, or removes the one it has.
Right-click the line › Edit Breakpoint...	Sets a condition, a hit count or a log message, or turns the breakpoint off.
Right-click the line › Add Log Point...	Adds a breakpoint that writes a message instead of stopping.
Right-click the line › Enable or Disable Breakpoint	Turns the breakpoint off without removing it, or on again.
Run › Remove All Breakpoints	Removes every breakpoint in the folder.

Mark	Meaning
Red dot	A breakpoint that stops.
Orange dot	A breakpoint with a condition or a hit count.
Blue diamond	A log point.
Grey ring	A breakpoint that is turned off.
Ring in its color	The debugger has not set it yet, such as on a line without code. Its tooltip says why.
Orange arrow and highlight	The line the paused program runs next.

A condition is an expression in the program's language, such as count > 3; the program stops only when it is true. A hit count, such as 5, lets the line run that many times before it stops. A log message is written to the debug console each time the line runs, with expressions in braces filled in, such as name is {name}. With a debugger that has no log points of its own, Runesmith stops at the line, writes the message and continues by itself.

Breakpoints belong to the folder: they are saved for the next time you open it and are sent to every session. When you edit the file, each breakpoint stays on its line of text. Changes during a session take effect at once.

Step through code

While a session runs, the debug toolbar shows beside the run widget and the Debug panel's header has the same controls:

Control	Key	What it does
Continue	F5	Runs until the next breakpoint or the end.
Pause		Pauses the running program where it is.
Step Over	F10	Runs the current line and pauses at the next one, without stopping in the functions it calls.
Step Into	F11	Pauses at the first line of the function the current line calls.
Step Out	Shift+F11	Runs until the current function returns, and pauses in its caller.
Restart Debugging	Ctrl+Shift+F5	Stops the program and debugs the configuration again.
Stop Debugging	Shift+F5	Ends the program and the debugger. The run widget's Stop does the same.

The Run menu has these commands too. The status bar shows the session's state, such as Paused at Program.cs:12; click it to show or hide the Debug panel.

The Debug panel

The Debug panel, Ctrl+Shift+D, has three tabs.

Variables

The Variables tab shows three panes side by side:

Pane	What it shows
Call Stack	The program's threads, with the paused one selected, and its frames, innermost first. Click a frame to open its line and read its variables. Frames without source, such as the runtime's, are grey.
Variables	The scopes of the selected frame, such as locals, and their variables with values and types. Expand a variable to see its fields or elements; they load when you expand them, and stay expanded from one pause to the next.
Watch	Expressions you add, evaluated in the selected frame each time the program pauses. Click + to add one, double-click one to change it, and press Delete to remove it.

Right-click a variable for Copy Value and Add to Watch. Run › Add Watch... adds the editor's selected text as a watch, or asks for an expression. Watch expressions are saved with the folder.

Console

The Console tab shows the program's output and the debugger's messages, such as log points. Type an expression in the line at the bottom and press Enter to evaluate it in the selected frame; ↑ and ↓ go through the expressions you typed before.

Breakpoints

The Breakpoints tab lists every breakpoint in the folder with its file, line, condition and log message. Clear a box to turn one off, double-click one to open its line, and press Delete to remove it. The buttons at the top turn every breakpoint on or off and remove them all.

When the debugger can stop on exceptions, Stop on lists the kinds it offers, such as unhandled exceptions. Your choices are saved with the folder.

Debuggers

Each run configuration names the debugger it needs, such as the .NET debugger for a .NET project. A plugin that provides that debugger must be installed; the plugin hub lists them. Starting a debugger starts a program, so its plugin declares the process capability.

When debugging does not start, the Run panel says why, for example:

Message	What to do
No installed plugin provides the dotnet debugger	Install a plugin that provides it.
Debugger could not start	The debugger is missing or failed to start, or its plugin does not declare the process capability; the rest of the message says which. The Debugger channel of the Output panel has the debugger's own log.

Related

• Running
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Write a debug engine