The Debugging Process

Debugging an application is an iterative process in which application errors are identified and corrected. In general, quickly identifying and locating errors in code is essential to successfully debugging your application.

The methods of monitoring and debugging code in an application are:

The first method enables you to debug code before runtime whereas the other two methods enable you to debug code while the application is running.

In particular the third method, using the debugger, enables you to monitor and modify the runtime environment while the application is running. You can also set breakpoints to analyze the application state at specific points.

Debugging an application using the integrated, interactive PL/SQL debugger in the Builder could involve the following stages:

  1. Run the application in debug mode.
  2. Pause the application at a certain point in its execution to examine the runtime environment.
  3. Set breakpoints in the code to suspend its execution at specific locations.
  4. Modify variable values and form item values to test the effect.
  5. Step through the code to examine how each line affects the environment and the application.

Note: Breakpoints can be set before you run the application in debug mode. Also, breakpoints set in a Builder session are discarded when you exit the session.


About Starting the Debugger

Creating a Breakpoint

Stepping Through Code

Suspending Application Execution During Debugging

Terminating a Debugger Session