🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan22.135940.9828@msdrl.com> ball@msdrl.com (Richard Ball) writes:
>MATOVICM@QUCDN.QueensU.CA () writes:
>: I'm fed up with dbx (SGI, IRIX 3.3.2, IRIX 4.0.1) when debugging fortran
>: programs. Examining arrays is pain in a neck unless you deal with the
>: size a(3,3) or similar. Is there any way to say e.g.
>:   print a from 155 to 175 (and possibly to specify the increment).
>: Or, is there any other UNIX (public domain) debugger that can handle
>: arrays frinedly?
>
>your dbx should let you do
>&a(155)/20f
>to print the 20 elements of a in floating point format starting at element
>155. It's not the most friendly way but it is better than listing the whole
>thing.

Yeah, but sadly this only allows contiguously stored array elements to
be displayed.  It would be nice to be able to display _logically_ contiguous
elements, even when they are not stored contiguously i.e. "print A(1,7-15)",
or some such syntax.

More generally speaking, dbx is a relentless headache when debugging
fortran code.  In its incarnation on sun4's, locating trapped floating point
exceptions requires laborious procedures that work haphazardly, at best.
Often operation which might be expected to generate floating point
exceptions (logs of negative numbers, for example) generate segmentation
violations instead, and dbx appears to halt in a part of the code unrelated
to where the problem occurred.

Case sensitivity is another hassle.  dbx may be set to be case insensitive
if required, but for reasons that defy comprehension this affects the
way dbx understands filenames as well, so that after a "dbxenv case
insensitive" it is impossible (for example) to change to a directory
with a partially capitalized name.

I'm no expert on the subject, but I suspect that the problem has to do
with the fact that dbx was not designed as a fortran debugger, and that
it was "fortranized" by a series of awkward patches.  Unfortunately, I
am aware of no alternative available for Unix workstations.  I feel that
this is a serious limitation in the developement environment offered by
vendors of fortran packages for unix.

I can't say I miss working on a VAX, but I sure do miss the VAX fortran
environment.

Carlo

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Carlo Graziani           |   Warning:  some of the above may not be a fully  |
Dept. of Physics         |   correct representation of profound cosmic truth.|
University of Chicago    |                                                   |
                         |  "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how!"|
carlo@nu.uchicago.edu    |                           -The Cat in the Hat     |
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