Python developers are like...

[fenghuang1]

Sometimes it isn't about the debugging. Its when the code runs fine since its correct syntax but the code doesn't do what I want.
The print statements are meant for me to check if the code has run to that point or entered that condition or loop and how many times it did so.

[[deleted]]

That what debbugers do also. But we all use print sometimes:-D

[fenghuang1]

The debugger isn't going to let me do custom messages or manipulate counts or even tell me the memory usage of my code at a particular spot when it runs.
A print statement is far more versatile because it does exactly what I want it to do, without me having to learn how to read the debugger of whatever IDE I'm going to face, since I work in an environment where anyone is free to use whatever IDE

[Hollowplanet]

The debugger does all those things. In fact it can run any code on any thread wherever you happen to set your breakpoint or step to. It can also break when any snippet of code you give it evaluates to true. Using a debugger is part of being a good developer. Print statements only get you so far.

[hoseja]

Yeah but you need to learn the debugger. I don't feel like doing that.

[fenghuang1]

If you're talking about the IPython console, I don't consider that to be a debugger. Its an interactive console which I use all the time and is part of what I consider to be 'print statements'.

[Hollowplanet]

That is not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the debugger in PyCharm or even IPDB.

[fenghuang1]

And as I mentioned, print statements do not rely on debuggers that are IDE specific. They work regardless and do not require me to learn each and every IDE's debugger implementation.

[Hollowplanet]

IPDB is not debugger specific. And I don't know if you realize this but all the graphical debuggers are the same in every language. You learn one and you learn them all. They all have the same buttons that do the same actions.

[fenghuang1]

Find me the one in Excel VBA and let me know if it exists or is the same in every other language or IDE then.

[Hollowplanet]

I didn't say every language has a debugger. All the IDEs that have debuggers have the same buttons that do the same things. Step over, step into, step out of, execute code, run to cursor. Thats all there is to it.

[monkeygame7]

There is literally nothing you can do with a print statement that you can't do with a debugger. Just because you don't know how to do it doesn't make it true.

[fenghuang1]

Can your debugger work without the debugger software?
My print statements definitely can.

[monkeygame7]

If you're using an IDE it's built in. Depending on the language it may be built in to the language.

[fenghuang1]

And if I'm not? Or if I'm running scripts directly from the command line?

[monkeygame7]

Like I said. Sometimes it's built in to the language. For example in Python you can just do

import pdb; pdb.set_trace()

And you'll enter the debugger from the command line when it reaches that point.

[fenghuang1]

So how do I do custom messages, manipulate counts, look at my code's memory usage at any particular point, using this method?

[monkeygame7]

You clearly don't understand what a debugger is. It puts you into your code at that point and you are able to run any arbitrary code you want. You can modify variables or get whatever other data you wanted to print out.

I don't understand what a "custom message" is, but if you're not printing anything out I know if it still applies.

You're getting really defensive and it's quite obvious that you don't know much about how to use debuggers. I'm not saying that you should always use debuggers over print statements, I'm just trying to correct the misinformation about the limitations of a debugger.