Re: [Caml-list] Do you use a debugger with OCaml? If not, why not?

[Anton Bachin <antonbachin@yahoo.com>]

Hi,

I always use prints and never debuggers when I have access to the
source, in any language. I use debuggers when reverse-engineering
binaries, however. As for why – setting up breakpoints, trying to
examine values usually takes more time for me than adding some
prints and reading and understanding the resulting trace. Perhaps
it only seems that way, but that has been my habit for a very long
time.

Best,
Anton

> On Nov 25, 2015, at 06:49, John Whitington <john@coherentgraphics.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Like, I suspect, many people, my method has always been to insert Printfs, and stare at code until I find the problem. In fact, the ocaml.org page on ocamldebug says:
> 
> "In fact, for complex programs, it is likely the case that the programmer will use explicit printing to find the bugs, since this methodology allows the reduction of the trace material: only useful data are printed and special purpose formats are more suited to get the relevant information, than what can be output automatically by the generic pretty-printer used by the trace mechanism."
> 
> So, I ask: What do you use for debugging small and large OCaml programs? If not a debugger, why not? What problems prevent it? How does your debugging process differ when writing OCaml compared with other languages you use?
> 
> John
> 
> -- 
> John Whitington
> Director, Coherent Graphics Ltd
> http://www.coherentpdf.com/
> 
> 
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