The Debugger Interface

The integrated debugger provides most of the functional capabilities of the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime debugger, as well as a few AcuBench-specific features. Most notably, the integrated debugger offers you the ability to modify your code during debug, without leaving the debugger interface.

This chapter describes in detail those elements of the debugger interface that are unique to AcuBench. It also notes equivalencies between AcuBench and runtime debugger functions. For more information about those equivalent functions, see Runtime Debugger, which includes extended descriptions of debugger functions.

Note that if you prefer to use the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime debugger, instructions on how to access it from within AcuBench are included in Debugging a Program.

Integrated debugger functions appear in a Code Editor window in the development area of the workspace. The debugger interface also uses the Output window, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen, to display various output messages generated by the debugger. These messages may include such things as tracing information, information about breakpoints, and error messages.

When using the integrated debugger, you may want to open the File tab of the Workspace window. The File tab provides a tree view representation of your project's Source, Screen, Report, Copy, Object, List, Resource, FD, and Remote files. For more information about project files, see Creating a Project.

You can toggle the Output and Workspace windows on and off from the View menu or the Standard toolbar, or close them by clicking the Close button on each window. You can also resize windows by dragging their borders with the mouse.

The AcuBench integrated debugger offers several features to assist you in debugging your code: