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Home > AS/400 Tips > iSeries programmer tips > The Lazy Coder: Get the bugs out |
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ISERIES PROGRAMMER TIPS The Lazy Coder: Get the bugs outAndrew Borts 05.19.2004 Rating: -4.15- (out of 5)
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When I'm ready to compile I use the option DBGVIEW(*LIST) (for ILE programs). It's all I need to get the job done to properly debug my programs without requiring the source code to be around. *LIST embeds the compile listing into the object produced by the compiler.
If you'd like to be on the safe side and compile with DBGVIEW(*ALL), don't feel badly. Your supervisor may request a payment for the extra storage used (again measured in cents).
In any case, the program s
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hould be run through the debugger FIRST to see what's up and to double check your logic. You can set up breakpoints IN THE CODE, go STEP BY STEP through the code, set up conditional debugging -- it's a beautiful thing. You'll see more of your significant others (or for some of you, your game boxes. :-) )
Debug etiquette
Now let's look at some debug etiquette. Lets add some "stuff" to your code to make your lives easier. (RPG programmers will appreciate this tip.) Place the following H spec in EVERY RPG program you write from now on and ANY you have problems with. (This is for RPG IV and above.)
I call this little babe "the Equalizer!" but in reality the OPTION(*SRCSTMT) thing embeds the SOURCE line numbers into your compile, so when you're debugging OR when you have a problem with the program that causes a hard ERROR that stops the program, it responds by saying "Problem in line 40155," which actually means something to your SOURCE CODE that compiled the object, NOT the printout of the compile that was deleted shortly after it was moved into the production server. Whew!
The second part -- *NODEBUGIO -- is a gentle reminder to the compiler to NOT MENTION every single field retrieved from the file while stepping through code. For both of those really cool settings, thank the people who attend the COMMON user conferences for insisting that they get created and implemented. People used to stand up during Sound Off and complain about the way Debug functioned, and IBM eventually listened.
Now back to our tip. I told you that DBGVIEW(*LIST) will give you enough so you can source-level debug your program. You get into the source-level debug by typing the following command:
UPDPROD is fancy talk for Update Production Data. NOW -– when you create libraries using the CRTLIB command (NOT DIRECTORIES) on an AS/400, iSeries or i5 you'll see a parameter called TYPE, which can be *PROD or *TEST. That means YOU can declare if this library is a TEST library OR a PRODUCTION library. Go check -– see if your PROGRAMMER libraries are TYPE *TEST or *PROD. If they are *PROD, then debug will consider those libraries a PRODuction library, and the ONLY way to update the data (OR UPDPROD) is to say UPDPROD(*YES). If they aren't, the DEFAULT for this is *NO, which STOPS debugging dead from updating PRODuction data. (I can hear 2,000 or so professionals hitting their heads on this one.)
Anyway, type the command and hit ENTER and your source pops up (as long as the proper compile option is selected). The REAL source lines (from the source file) are listed to the left of the statements, and you can use F6 to set a break point. Or you can do as I do and hit F10 and step through EVERY line of the program. Hitting F10 will place the debug session in line-by-line mode and place you back at your command line. When the debugger first starts (like right after you type STRDBG), your program is NOT running, which is a VERY important point. If you're setting breakpoints, (and I'd set one for safety) hit F12 to get back to a command line. (Or, as mentioned earlier, you can get your program in line-by-line debug mode by hitting F10.) Once there, you're in DEBUG mode.
From there, initiate your program by calling it directly issuing the command that starts the program. Or if you NEED to -- for complex programs being called by other programs –- create a SMALL program that sets up your test and CALL the program that way. At a later point, you can revisit that program to see if the program is called and returns the fields to your desired completion. Typically that calling program is there to take care of "complex fields" being passed to the program or anything that is more than five minutes' work on the command line. (Remember, I'm the lazy programmer!)
Once a break point has been satisfied or you're in line-by-line mode where the program BREAKS on every line your source is displayed, you can place your cursor on the field and hit F11 to DISPLAY that variable during your debug session. This ALONE is 80% of my life in the debugging system. To end, while you're in the debugger hit F3. F12 will continue the program, and F10 will step the program until the next line is reached.
Debug helper commands
Use the following line commands as helper commands while in Debug:
This tip by no means covers everything involved with debugging programs. In fact, it barely scratches the surface. Let me know if you want more details, and next month I'll give you some more tips.
Until then, this is the Lazy Coder signing off. Remember: Take naps once in a while!
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About the author: Andrew Borts is webmaster at United Auto Insurance Group in North Miami, Fla. He is often a frequent speaker at COMMON and is past president of The Southern National Users Group, an iSeries-AS/400 user group based in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
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