Specifications

9
Debugging and Testing Tools
This chapter describes the debuggers and testing tools supplied with the
OpenVMS operating system and some optional testing tools, as shown in
Table 9–1.
Table 9–1 Debugging and Testing Tools
Name Built-in or Optional Where Described
OpenVMS Debugger Built-in Section 9.1
OpenVMS Delta/XDelta Debugger Built-in Section 9.2
‡OpenVMS AXP System-Code Debugger Built-in Section 9.3
System Dump Analyzer Built-in Section 9.4
Crash Log Utility Extractor Built-in Section 9.5
DEC Performance and Coverage
Analyzer
Optional Section 9.6
DEC Test Manager Optional Section 9.7
‡OpenVMS AXP
DEC Performance Coverage Analyzer (PCA) and DEC Test Manager are
components of DECset, an integrated programming tool set that supports
software developers’ coding, debugging, testing, and maintenance activities.
The DEC Language-Sensitive Editor/Source Code Analyzer (LSE/SCA), another
optional testing tool and also a component of DECset, is described in Section 5.3.
9.1 OpenVMS Debugger
The OpenVMS Debugger (debugger) is a symbolic debugger and is the preferred
debugger for debugging user-mode code. It enables you to reference program
locations using the symbols you defined in the program. You do not need to keep
track of program addresses. To enter commands with the debugger, you can
use the keypad, the command line, or an input file (to enter a lengthy series of
commands). The debugger has a screen mode that allows you to view several
lines of source code at one time, the commands you enter, and the output from
the commands you enter. It also provides a robust error message facility.
The debugger helps you locate run-time programming or logic errors, also known
as bugs. You use the debugger with a program that has been compiled and linked
successfully but does not run correctly. For example, the program might give
incorrect output, go into an infinite loop, or terminate prematurely.
9–1