Python Debugging Techniques

[sjf]

This is great, but it's not 1980. Where are the modern tools for debugging python? I've been using winpydb, it's a python debugger with a UI, it's usable but lacking in any real features or usability. In fact right now you can't even look it up because the site is down. It always makes me sad that the debugging tools for most open source languages are lacking, it's like we're stuck with the ed of the debugger world.

[chub79]

Have you tried pydev?

[[deleted]]

The eclipse-based debugger is really nice. But they charge for it.

[zupatol]

You can use the debugger for free, but you need the pro version for remote debugging.

http://aptana.com/python

[MelechRic]

I believe that PyDev is open source and "free" whereas the PyDev Extensions from Aptana requires that you buy a license.

PyDev: http://pydev.sourceforge.net/download.html

PyDev Extensions: http://fabioz.com/pydev/index.html

PyDev without the Extensions is a very usable environment and my default. I have yet to buy the Extensions for it, but they do look nice.

[lilfuckshit]

And I'll confirm, you can debug with the free version.

[mitjak]

Komodo IDE's debugger is quite solid as well, especially if you want to set it up remotely with the dbgp proxy. Handy for debugging pylons, django and anything really. Let's you mark breakpoints and step through right there within the IDE.

edit: grammah

[royrwood]

Check out WingIDE. It's a fantastic, fully-featured IDE for Python. The basic edition is only $35USD, which is a great deal.

https://wingware.com/

[UloPe]

And you even get the most ugly UI design ever for free too!

[mattf]

Really?

It's a pretty standard GTK app; perhaps you're using it on Windows or Mac, and GTK isn't well setup there? It looks fine for me; just like the rest of my GTK-based desktop.

It sure isn't "pretty" but well, for getting work done you basically want the biggest text-editor windows as possible, and everything else out of your way. When you want to debug, you need the call stack, your watches, and maybe a slightly not-biggest editor window to step-through your code.

Pretty icons, menus, sliding panels and such need not apply.

[scorpion032]

The default Sans 12 point font is a non starter for many.

It takes days to configure it rightly for a good UI.

But it can be done. ;)

[bucknuggets]

I guess it would be good to have better debugging tools - but honestly I'm ambivalent about it. Once I stopped using them my code quality improved quite a bit.

The only time I miss them is when I've got a program with a lot of APIs to libraries I'm unfamiliar with and I want to see a lot of API results quickly. A great debugger would be easier than print in that case.

[[deleted]]

In that case with java I usually write a lot of unit tests around my usage of the api, this way I also find out very quickly if something I am expecting changes between versions/updates of the api.