summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/runtime/doc/debugger.txt
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'runtime/doc/debugger.txt')
-rw-r--r--runtime/doc/debugger.txt134
1 files changed, 134 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/runtime/doc/debugger.txt b/runtime/doc/debugger.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6b2b252
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runtime/doc/debugger.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+*debugger.txt* For Vim version 9.1. Last change: 2019 Dec 21
+
+
+ VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Gordon Prieur
+
+
+Debugger Support Features *debugger-support*
+
+These features are for integration with a debugger or an Integrated
+Programming Environment (IPE) or Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
+For the debugger running in a Vim terminal window see |terminal-debugger|.
+
+1. Debugger Features |debugger-features|
+2. Vim Compile Options |debugger-compilation|
+
+==============================================================================
+1. Debugger Features *debugger-features*
+
+The following features are available:
+
+ Alternate Command Input |alt-input|
+ Debug Signs |debug-signs|
+ Debug Source Highlight |debug-highlight|
+ Message Footer |gui-footer|
+ Balloon Evaluation |balloon-eval|
+
+These features were added specifically for use in the Motif version of gvim.
+However, the |alt-input| and |debug-highlight| were written to be usable in
+both vim and gvim. Some of the other features could be used in the non-GUI
+vim with slight modifications. However, I did not do this nor did I test the
+reliability of building for vim or non Motif GUI versions.
+
+
+1.1 Alternate Command Input *alt-input*
+
+For Vim to work with a debugger there must be at least an input connection
+with a debugger or external tool. In many cases there will also be an output
+connection but this isn't absolutely necessary.
+
+The purpose of the input connection is to let the external debugger send
+commands to Vim. The commands sent by the debugger should give the debugger
+enough control to display the current debug environment and state.
+
+The current implementation is based on the X Toolkit dispatch loop and the
+XtAddInput() function call.
+
+
+1.2 Debug Signs *debug-signs*
+
+Many debuggers mark specific lines by placing a small sign or color highlight
+on the line. The |:sign| command lets the debugger set this graphic mark. Some
+examples where this feature would be used would be a debugger showing an arrow
+representing the Program Counter (PC) of the program being debugged. Another
+example would be a small stop sign for a line with a breakpoint. These visible
+highlights let the user keep track of certain parts of the state of the
+debugger.
+
+This feature can be used with more than debuggers, too. An IPE can use a sign
+to highlight build errors, searched text, or other things. The sign feature
+can also work together with the |debug-highlight| to ensure the mark is
+highly visible.
+
+Debug signs are defined and placed using the |:sign| command.
+
+
+1.3 Debug Source Highlight *debug-highlight*
+
+This feature allows a line to have a predominant highlight. The highlight is
+intended to make a specific line stand out. The highlight could be made to
+work for both vim and gvim, whereas the debug sign is, in most cases, limited
+to gvim. The one exception to this is Sun Microsystem's dtterm. The dtterm
+from Sun has a "sign gutter" for showing signs.
+
+
+1.4 Message Footer *gui-footer*
+
+The message footer can be used to display messages from a debugger or IPE. It
+can also be used to display menu and toolbar tips. The footer area is at the
+bottom of the GUI window, below the line used to display colon commands.
+
+The display of the footer is controlled by the 'guioptions' letter 'F'.
+
+
+1.5 Balloon Evaluation *balloon-eval*
+
+This feature allows a debugger, or other external tool, to display dynamic
+information based on where the mouse is pointing. The purpose of this feature
+was to allow Sun's Visual WorkShop debugger to display expression evaluations.
+However, the feature was implemented in as general a manner as possible and
+could be used for displaying other information as well. The functionality is
+limited though, for advanced popups see |popup-window|.
+
+Another way to use the balloon is with the 'balloonexpr' option. This is
+completely user definable.
+
+The Balloon Evaluation has some settable parameters too. For Motif the font
+list and colors can be set via X resources (XmNballoonEvalFontList,
+XmNballoonEvalBackground, and XmNballoonEvalForeground).
+The 'balloondelay' option sets the delay before an attempt is made to show a
+balloon.
+The 'ballooneval' and/or the 'balloonevalterm' option needs to be set to
+switch it on.
+
+Balloon evaluation is only available in the GUI when compiled with the
+|+balloon_eval| feature. For the terminal the |+balloon_eval_term| feature
+matters.
+
+The Balloon evaluation functions are also used to show a tooltip for the
+toolbar. The 'ballooneval' option does not need to be set for this. But the
+other settings apply.
+
+==============================================================================
+2. Vim Compile Options *debugger-compilation*
+
+The debugger features were added for use with Sun's Visual WorkShop Integrated
+Programming Environment (ipe). However, they were done in as generic a manner
+as possible so that integration with other debuggers could also use these
+features.
+
+The following compile time preprocessor variables control the features:
+
+ Alternate Command Input ALT_X_INPUT
+ Debug Glyphs FEAT_SIGNS
+ Debug Highlights FEAT_SIGNS
+ Message Footer FEAT_FOOTER
+ Balloon Evaluation FEAT_BEVAL
+
+The support specifically for Sun Visual WorkShop has been removed, since the
+product no longer exists.
+
+For Sun NetBeans support see |netbeans|.
+
+
+ vim:tw=78:sw=4:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: