But can't you instead just set a breakpoint next to wherever you are gonna put that print stmt and inspect value once code hits? print stmt seems like extra overhead
Debuggers allow you inspect stuff forward in time, while print statements allow you to debug backwards. (There was a lot of academic work on reversible debuggers at one point; to be honest I haven’t kept up on how that turned out.)
If you can detect a problematic condition and you want to know what will happen next, a debugger is a great tool.
If you can detect a problematic condition and you need to find out what caused it, it’s printf all the way.
My theory is that different types of programming encounter these two types of problems at different relative rates, and that this explains why many people strongly prefer one over the other but don’t agree on which.
While also avoiding having to re-run cases to get new introspection when you forgot to add a print statement.
I tend to do both, print statements when I don't feel I want to be stepping through some cumbersome interplay of calls but diving into the debugger to step through the nitty gritty, even better when I can evaluate code in the debugger to understand the state of the data at precise points.
I don't think there's a better or worse version of doing it, you use the tool that is best for what introspection you need.
zb|8 months ago
If you can detect a problematic condition and you want to know what will happen next, a debugger is a great tool.
If you can detect a problematic condition and you need to find out what caused it, it’s printf all the way.
My theory is that different types of programming encounter these two types of problems at different relative rates, and that this explains why many people strongly prefer one over the other but don’t agree on which.
teaearlgraycold|8 months ago
piva00|8 months ago
I tend to do both, print statements when I don't feel I want to be stepping through some cumbersome interplay of calls but diving into the debugger to step through the nitty gritty, even better when I can evaluate code in the debugger to understand the state of the data at precise points.
I don't think there's a better or worse version of doing it, you use the tool that is best for what introspection you need.