Bugged by the Interactive Debugger

Hey, Brian and Joey:

After having a problem attempting to use the Interactive Source Debugger (ISDB) to debug RPGLE and RPGSQLLE programs, I was so frustrated that I admit I punted. It was the first time I had tried to debug an RPGLE program I had written. When I attempted to start the ISDB debugger (using the STRISDB command), nothing happened. The STRISDB command wouldn't even open the program.

To make matters worse, a co-worker of mine said that ISDB could not be used to debug RPGLE programs and I was left wondering what I was going to do. I managed to fix my problem without the use of the debugger and moved on. How could I have used the debugger to have solved this problem much sooner?

--Dave

It's all in the options, Dave, but not in the options for the debugger. If you take a hard look at the options for compiling an RPGLE program, you will notice a compiling parameter "debugging views." The simple approach for debugging is to change this parameter to '*ALL' and then try the STRISDB command again. It will work.

In short, here's the trick:

To use ISDB to debug LE program, when compiling, make sure that the "debugging views" parameter is set to *SOURCE or *ALL.

To use ISDB to debug SQLLE programs, when compiling, make sure that the "debugging view" parameter is set to *SOURCE.

--Brian and Joey

Editor's Note: Four Hundred Guru would like to welcome Brian Kelly to the ranks of the contributing technical editors of this publication. Kelly retired as a 30-year IBM midrange systems engineer in 1999, having cut his eye teeth in 1969 on the System/3. While with IBM, he was also a Certified Instructor and a Mid-Atlantic Area Designated Specialist. When IBM began to move its sales and support to Business Partners, he formed Kelly Consulting in 1992 as an IT education and consulting firm. On this tip, Kelly got a little help from a local colleague up in Scranton, Penn.: Joey Maniskas, who is a programmer/analyst for book publisher WW Norton & Company. He says she is sharp as a tack, and we hope to hear more from her, too.