Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!henry.jpl.nasa.gov!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!hacgate!ashtate!dbase!awd
From: awd@dbase.UUCP (Alastair Dallas)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Problem with LSC 4.0 debugger.
Summary: You've got a point...
Message-ID: <254@dbase.UUCP>
Date: 25 Sep 89 18:43:09 GMT
References: <85031@pyramid.pyramid.com> <244@dbase.UUCP> <85347@pyramid.pyramid.com>
Distribution: na
Organization: Ashton Tate Devlopment Center Glendale, Calif.
Lines: 30

In article <85347@pyramid.pyramid.com>, bjb@pyramid.pyramid.com (Bruce Beare) writes:
> 
> (referring to my response)
> I am not sure exactly what position you are taking. I think that you are
> saying "If the program can't see the variable from the current PC, then
> the debugger should not be able to display it." 

Yes, you're right; that's what I'm saying.  I expect a source-level debugger
to show me the value of variables which are in context.  If the program can't
see a variable in a particular context, I don't expect that the debugger
can, either.

> I certainly don't agree with the above statement. 
> 	1) The debugging programmer needs all the help that they can get. 
> 	2) The "context argument" can be turned around for the purposes of this
> 	   argument. i.e. "The debugger should be able to set the context 
> 	   in which the memory display/modify request in the data window
> 	   will be interpreted/executed." This means that when you do a
> 	   "set context" on a line in the data window, the line will
> 	   obey all of the scope rules for the selected context.

I thought about this after I posted my reply: You didn't seem confused that
the program context hid the variable, you were upset that the debugger wasn't
magical enough.  That's certainly a valid addition to the wish list, so
I retract my snide comments about not buying C compilers unless you know C.
I guess our only continuing disagreement, then, is where to put a global-
context debugger on the priority list.  It seems like a lot of pain for
only a little gain, to me, so I'd put it fairly low on the list.

/alastair/