realbasic-plugins
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Re: Does no one write plugins anymore??

To: REALbasic Plugins <realbasic-plugins at lists dot realsoftware dot com>
Subject: Re: Does no one write plugins anymore??
From: Jonathan Johnson <jonj at realsoftware dot com>
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 08:16:17 -0600
Delivered-to: realbasic-plugins at lists dot realsoftware dot com
References: <158C2976-4E1D-11D9-8584-000D933B8900 at elfdata dot com> <4B46D45E-4E9F-11D9-8584-000D933B8900 at elfdata dot com>
To answer the question in the subject: Yes. I have 3 plugins I'm working on for a personal project -- one is Mach-O only written in Xcode, the other two are cross platform.

Theodore H.Smith wrote:
So, I can't debug a plugin, in RB .debug apps, anymore.

I can debug it in final builds (via a nasty hack of merge to file), or debug the code in RB's loading code, but not in .debug apps!!!!!

It's not a hack. It's the way it's accomplished.

This actually makes my development time at least 4x slower (at least), because there is so much switching, reloading, and generally getting frustrated and losing my track.

I need to be able to debug PROPERLY. Debuggers allow you to step into code. I CANNOT step into code, like this, because its either the RB code I can't step into, or the plugin code. I MUST be able to step into both.

While I cannot argue that my particular approach to debugging my plugins is a catch-all debugging technique, I can say that what I personally do is this:

- If I notice odd behavior that I don't have any idea why it's causing it, I immediately open a new project and try to reproduce it in something simple. - If I can't reproduce it right away, I will do a quick code inspection without the debugger just to ensure I understand what my code is doing. This step often catches most of my bugs. - If I still can't see the problem, I go back to my application and look to see what's different, seeing the causes more. I then repeat these steps. - If I can reproduce it, I build that simple application, and debug the plugin using the simple project as the host application.

Now, I realize that everyone debugs differently, which is why I said in my previous email that if anyone desires to have better plugin debugging support, please file a feature request at <http://www.realsoftware.com/feedback/>.

I thought RB was Mac dominated.

I thought Mac was OSX dominated.

If RB does not allow us to debug .debug apps, via CodeWarrior, and very few people complain, then it follows that very few people make plugins anymore :o(

Instead of only posting on this mailing list, I would suggest filing a feature request at <http://www.realsoftware.com/feedback/>. When it comes time to schedule a new version, we often don't remember the day-to-day conversations of our mailing lists, but we do see the reports in our feedback system.

Am I missing something, somewhere?

At least RS should tell us how they do it.

I already did, yesterday.

HTH,
Jon
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