Debug Points. Breakpoints, but better!

Talk from ESUG 2024

Debug Points Breakpoints, but better! Steven Costiou

PDF: http://archive.esug.org/ESUG2024/day1/08-steven-debug-points.pdf

1. Steven Costiou
Debug Points
Breakpoints, but better!

2. •
Breakpoints
•The tool to interrupt executions
•
Debug Points
•A framework to implement breakpoints
Vocabulary

3. •
Breakpoints
•The tool to interrupt executions
•
Debug Points
•A framework to implement breakpoints
Vocabulary

4. •
Breakpoints become…

•Configurable

•Composable

•Extensible

Debug points
(if you need…)

5. •
Breakpoints become…

•Configurable

•Composable

•Extensible

Debug points
(if you need…)
Better user
experience

6. •
Breakpoints become…

•Configurable

•Composable

•Extensible

Debug points
(if you need…)
Better user
experience
More precision

7. •
Breakpoints become…

•Configurable

•Composable

•Extensible

Debug points
(if you need…)
Better user
experience
More precision
Domain-specific 

breakpoints

8. Debug points

9. Debug points

10. Debug points

11. Debug points

12. Debug points

13. Debug points

14. Configuration

15. Configuration

16. Configuration

17. Configuration

18. Configuration
General information

19. Configuration
General information
Source code

20. Configuration
General information
Control
Source code

21. Configuration
Configuration
General information
Control
Source code

22. Composition
Breakpoint behaviors

23. Composition
Breakpoint behaviors
contextual access

24. Composition
Breakpoint behaviors
contextual access

25. Object-centric breakpoints

26. DEMOS

27. DEMOS

28. DEMOS

29. DEMOS
when does ‘value’ 

variable change?

30. DEMOS
when does ‘value’ 

variable change?
and what is the

value?

31. DEMOS
when does ‘value’ 

variable change?
and what is the

value? I only want to know

when ‘value’ > 7

32. DEMOS

33. DEMOS
when are we
arriving in m4 from m3?

34. DEMOS
when are we
arriving in m4 from m3?
break here

35. DEMOS
when are we
arriving in m4 from m3?
break here
then step…

36. DEMOS
when are we
arriving in m4 from m3?
break here
then step…
or break here

37. DEMOS
however other paths
can go through m3!

38. DEMOS
however other paths
can go through m3!
I only want
this path!

39. DEMOS
however other paths
can go through m3!
I only want
this path!
break here

40. DEMOS
however other paths
can go through m3!
I only want
this path!
break here
only if break
here first

41. Building breakpoints
•
Why?
•Recurring needs
•Problem or domain specific needs
•New debugging tools (transfering research)


42. Building breakpoints
•
Why?
•Recurring needs
•Problem or domain specific needs
•New debugging tools (transfering research)

•
How?
•Subclass and specializes the breakpoint model
•Subclass and specializes the breakpoint behavioral
model
•Build presenters for automatic tool integration

43. Simplified model

44. Simplified model
types of 

breakpoint

45. Simplified model
types of 

breakpoint
what any breakpoint can do

46. Simplified model
types of 

breakpoint
what any breakpoint can do
Spec presenters

47. DEMO: building a replay point

48. DEMO: building a replay point
I want to control the
value of the condition
to deterministically choose
which branch to execute

49. DEMO: building a replay point
operation

50. DEMO: building a replay point
operation
replay 

point

51. DEMO: building a replay point
operation
replay 

point
replace the operation
by a custom value

52. DEMO: building a replay point
operation
replay 

point
replace the operation
by a custom value
inject the value into
the conditional

53. DEMO: building a replay point
ReplayPoint

54. Status
•
Integrated into Pharo 12
•Replaces the breakpoint implementation
•Works (it should…)

55. Status
•
Integrated into Pharo 12
•Replaces the breakpoint implementation
•Works (it should…)
•
What’s next?
•Model improvements
•GUI improvements
•Archive and remove the old breakpoint model

56. Acknowledgments
•
Main developers
•Max Zurbriggen (UHZ) — original idea and implementation
•Adrien Vanègue (Inria) — Pharo implementation and integration
•Steven Costiou (Inria) — design and integration

57. Acknowledgments
•
Main developers
•Max Zurbriggen (UHZ) — original idea and implementation
•Adrien Vanègue (Inria) — Pharo implementation and integration
•Steven Costiou (Inria) — design and integration
•
Supervision
•Marcus Denker (Inria)
•Steven Costiou (Inria)
•Alberto Bacchelli (UZH)

58. Thank you!