Perl Debugger Pocket Reference (Paperback)

Most Perl programmers know about the Perl debugger--the nifty little built-in utility that you can use to fully debug any programs that you write. Inside the interactive debugger environment, you're prompted for commands that let you examine your source code, set breakpoints, dump out function call stacks, change values of variables, and much more. It's so convenient that some programmers run it just to test out Perl constructs as they create a program. But although it's on their radar, not many Perl programmers take the time to master the debugger. That's where the Perl Debugger Pocket Reference comes in.

This little book provides a quick and convenient path to mastery of the Perl debugger and its commands. Written by a core member of the Perl debugger development team, it's an ideal quick reference to debugger commands, as well as a detailed tutorial on how to get started. The Perl Debugger Pocket Reference provides complete coverage in a conveniently small package.

Maybe you write code so clean you never have to look at it twice. Or perhaps you'd rather focus your energies on writing clean code, rather than learning about the debugger. But if you need to learn about the Perl debugger in a hurry, the Perl Debugger Pocket Reference is the book you'll want to have close by. And you can always keep a copy on hand to share with programmers who need it more than you do.

O'Reilly's Pocket References have become a favorite among programmers everywhere. By providing a wealth of important details in a concise, well-organized format, these handy books deliver just what you need to complete the task at hand. When you've reached a sticking point in your work and need to get to a solution quickly, the new Perl Debugger Pocket Reference will get you back on the right track.

Table of Contents

      What Is the Perl Debugger?  


      Why Use the Debugger?  


      Unfamiliar Territory  


      About This Book  

                The linecounter.pl Script  

                Shell  

                Truncated Output  

                Versions of Perl  

                Delving Deeper  

                Conventions  

                Acknowledgments and Disclaimers  


      Before You Debug  

                Check Your Syntax  

                Use strict  

                Warnings  

                Diagnostics  

                Taint Mode  


      A Debugger Tutorial  

                Starting a Session  

                A Simple CGI Debugger Session


      Debugger Commands  

                Help and Quitting  

                Examining Data  

                Listing Code and Searching  

                Motion  

                Actions, Breakpoints, and Watchpoints  

                Perl, Pre-Prompt, and Post-Prompt Commands  

                Shell and Debugger Commands  

                Setting Options  


      Debugger Variables  

                $DB::* Variables  

                Environment Variables  


      Debugging Options  


      DB and Devel Namespaces  

                Runtime Sequence  

                DB::DB()  

                DB::sub ()  

                Devel Namespace (-d)  

                Useful Modules  

                -DDEBUGGING  


      References  

                perldoc  

                Books  

                URLs  

                Online Articles  

                History  

                GUIs-Graphical User Interfaces  

                Debuggers  

                Text Editors  


      Quick Reference  


      Index