*debugger.txt* For Vim version 8.2. 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|.
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