Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

Topic
Prev Next

Run the Debugger

Enterprise Architect provides a number of ways to start and control a debug session. There is the main Debug window, as well as a Debug toolbar and the 'Run' panel in the 'Execute' ribbon. It is always best to display the Debug window whenever you are running a debug session, as this is where all debug output is captured.

Access

Ribbon

Execute > Analyze > Debugger > Open Debugger

Execute > Run

Keyboard Shortcuts

Alt+8 (displays the Debug window)

F6 (begins execution of the application being debugged)

Other

Right-click on Project Browser caption bar menu | Analyzer Toolbars | Debugging

Using the Debug window

Action

Detail

See also

Start the Debugger

When an Analyzer script has been configured to support debugging, you can start the debugger in these ways:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Run > Start'
  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Analyze > Debugger > Start Debugging'
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the button, or
  • Press F6

You can also launch the debugger for any script through its context menu in the 'Analyzer Script Window', or press Shift+F12

If you have no Analyzer Script, it is still possible to debug a running application by attaching to that process directly:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Analyze > Debugger > Attach to Process', or
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the (Attach) button and choose the debugging platform manually
Debug Another Process Analyzer Script Editor

Pause/Resume Debugging

You can pause a debugging session, or resume the session after pausing, in these ways:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Run > Pause'
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the button

Stop the Debugger

To stop debugging, either:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Run > Stop'
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the (Stop) button
  • Press Ctrl+Alt+F6

The debugger normally ends when the current debug process terminates; however, some applications and services (such as Java Virtual Machine) might require the debugger to be manually stopped.

Breakpoint and Marker Management

Step Over Lines of Code

To step over the next line of code:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Run > Step Over', or
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the (Step Over) button, or
  • Press Alt+F6

Step Into Function Calls

To step into a function call:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Run > Step In', or
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the (Step In) button, or
  • Press Shift+F6

If no source is available for the target function then the debugger returns immediately to the caller.

Step Out Of Functions

To step out of a function:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Run > Step Out'
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the (Step Out) button, or
  • Press Ctrl+F6

If the debugger steps out into a function with no source code, it will continue to step out until a point is found that has source code.

Show Execution Point

While the debugger is paused, to return to the source file and line of code that the debugger is about to execute:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Run > Start > Show Execution Point'
  • On the 'Debug' toolbar, click on the (Show Execution Point) button.

The appropriate line is highlighted, with a pink arrow in the left margin of the screen.

Output

During a debug session, messages display in the Debug window detailing:

  • Startup of session
  • Termination of session
  • Exceptions
  • Errors
  • Trace messages, such as those output using Java System.out or .NET System.Diagnostics.Debug

If you double-click on a debug message, either:

  • A pop-up displays with more complete message text, or
  • If there has been a memory leak, the file is displayed at the point at which the error occurred

Save Output (and Clear Output)

You can save the entire contents of the Debug output to an external .txt file, or you can save selected lines from the output to the Enterprise Architect clipboard.

To save all of the output to file, click on the (Save output to file) button.

To save selected lines to the clipboard, right-click on the selection and select the 'Copy Selected to Clipboard' option.

When you have saved the output or otherwise do not want to display it any more, right-click on the current output and select the 'Clear Results' option.

Switch to Profiler

If you are running a debug session on code, you can stop the debug session and immediately switch to a Profiling session.

To switch from the Debugger to the Profiler:

  • From the ribbon, select 'Execute > Analyze > Debugger > Switch to Profiler'
  • On the Debug window, click on the ' | Switch to Profiler' option, or
  • On the Debug toolbar, click on the ' | Switch to Profiler' option

The Profiler attaches to the currently-running process.

This facility is not available for the Java debuggers.

Getting Started

Learn more