HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Overview Animator uses windows to display information about your program during execution, along with the corresponding part of your source code. The base Animator does not provide windows functionality; it displays information about your program at the bottom of the screen. Both Animators provide functions to enable you to control the pace at which your program runs, interrupt execution to examine and change data items, alter the sequence of execution or enter COBOL statements for immediate execution before your program continues. These facilities allow you to debug your programs quickly and easily. Executing the Program A flexible set of execution functions enables you to execute the code at the speed to suit the problem you are examining. You can Zoom (execute at maximum speed) through code you do not wish to see execute, manually Step through each statement or set a convenient automatic execution speed in a problem area. Breakpoints can be set throughout the source code by marking each statement where you want a break to occur or by defining a condition that should give rise to a break. This lets you define exactly when to gain manual control of your program when it is executing automatically. A backtracking facility shows you the path that has been taken through your code to arrive at a specific point. Monitoring and Changing Data Items Debugging a program often involves monitoring various data values in order to detect unexpected results. Because the values of the data change during program execution, the monitored items are highlighted as they are updated. You can view the various data items in a variety of shapes and sizes. For example, you can view a block of data organized in sets of seven characters as a group of seven characters wide. Special Watch Windows allow you to see the before and after states of data values as each statement is executed. You can simply overtype the monitored data items if you want to manually set a new value in order to change the logic flow of your program. Watch Windows are not available with base Animator. Logic Testing "Do" functions allow you to execute additional code without having to interrupt your testing session. These COBOL statements may be executed when you enter them, or they may be associated with a statement and executed with that statement. The latter are saved in a file so that they may be incorporated into your source code once you have decided they correct a problem. "Reset" functions allow you to bypass code that you do not want to be executed. Data items may be viewed and modified in either text or hex format. Test data items that you use during one Animator session may be saved for use in subsequent sessions.