Overview - Debugging Programs

Your COBOL development system provides an editing and debugging environment.

When debugging an application, the source code of each program is displayed in a separate window. When you debug the code, each line of the source is highlighted in turn as each statement is executed, showing the effect of each statement. You can control the pace at which the program executes, and can interrupt execution to examine and change data items. The features available while debugging include:

Running all or part of the program, and stepping through the program one statement at a time
Executing the program until it reaches a specified point, such as the end of a procedure or a breakpoint that you specify
Skipping statements you do not want to execute, such as a procedure call and the corresponding procedure.
Examining and manipulating data items while debugging
Examining the threads that are running and switching execution between them

There are a number of ways to debug code, such as compiling the source yourself first or letting it happen automatically or making available the necessary files created during an earlier compilation. For example you can:

Automatically start debugging when the application fails
Debug non-COBOL programs in mixed language applications
Debug a remote program that is running on a different computer
Debug services and applications that are running on a local or a remote enterprise server

Many of the options for controlling the way debugging works are available by using Debug configurations.

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