Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Debugging and Troubleshooting

Debug listing files

A debug listing file contains a line-numbered listing of a procedure with all preprocessor directives expanded and all include files inserted. The Debugger displays this listing in the source code pane to indicate breakpoints and the next line to execute in the current procedure.

You can generate a debug listing in one of two ways:

Automatic listing generation — Running a procedure during a debugging session.
Manual listing generation — Compiling a procedure explicitly using the COMPILE statement from the 4GL or the Application Compiler from the ADE Desktop.

Automatic listing generation

Automatic listing generation is appropriate for most debugging situations where you are working with new source procedures you have not yet compiled. Automatic generation creates temporary listing files that OpenEdge removes when you end your session and exit to the operating system. These temporary listing files have alphanumeric names based on the following naming convention (without an extension):

"dbg_" + procedure-filename + "_" + 8-character unique-id

OpenEdge stores temporary debug listing files in either your current working directory or the temporary directory specified by the Temporary Directory (-T) startup parameter. For more information on how and when OpenEdge automatically generates debug listings, see the "Procedure files and listing generation" section. For more information on the Temporary Directory startup parameter, see the reference entry in OpenEdge Deployment: Startup Command and Parameter Reference .

Note: There might be occasions when a session terminates leaving temporary debug listing files in your directory. This can occur during a system crash or during any other abnormal termination of your application. You can safely delete these temporary debug listings from your directory since the Debugger creates them automatically.

Manual listing generation

Manual listing generation can save significant time in a debugging session, especially when debugging very large procedures. To generate a debug listing file manually, use the DEBUG-LIST option with the COMPILE statement to compile your procedure. For more information on the COMPILE statement and the DEBUG-LIST option, see OpenEdge Development: Progress 4GL Reference . For information on the Application Compiler, see OpenEdge Development: Basic Development Tools .