Applying winpdb_reborn

[Chris Angelico]

On Sun, May 30, 2021 at 9:19 AM Cameron Simpson <cs at cskk.id.au> wrote:
>
> On 29May2021 09:51, Rich Shepard <rshepard at appl-ecosys.com> wrote:
> >I knew the debugging process with Fortran and C, but haven't learned how to
> >effectively use pdb to find bugs that don't issue a traceback or obvious
> >wrong answer such as my module displaying an empty window with no
> >widgets.
>
> I've only just started with pdb. As of Python 3.7 there's a builtin
> function named breakpoint() which drops you into the debugger. I've
> never been a big debugger person, historicly using print() and
> equivalent.  However, this makes it very easy to insert this call into a
> piece of code instead of having to invoke one's pogramme in a special
> way.
>
> I'd imagine debugging is much like it is in C. Wait for the breakpoint
> to trip, then inspect the programme variables.
>

At its most fundamental level, debugging is the same regardless of the
language: make a bug happen, then see as much as you possibly can
about what caused it. Whether that's dumping print() calls through the
code or using a debug harness, the normal way to figure out what
code's doing is to see what your variables hold at different times.

Using something like gdb, pdb, etc, etc, is just a shorthand for
putting lots and LOTS of print calls into your code. So if you're not
comfortable with those tools, there's no shame in using the more
obvious/simple way of doing things!

(Plus, there's not always an opportunity to use a debug harness.
Sometimes you just have to put your prints into production and let it
run for two weeks in the hope that the bug will show itself.)

ChrisA