A Perspective on D from game industry
Nick Sabalausky via Digitalmars-d
digitalmars-d at puremagic.com
Wed Jun 18 22:34:54 PDT 2014
On 6/18/2014 5:39 PM, Joakim wrote:
>
> Software pumps data in,
> operates on it, and pumps new data out: why don't we have proper
> visualization tools for those data flows? Only being able to freeze
> program state and inspect it at repeated snapshots in time with a
> debugger is so backwards:
That's why I inadvertently learned to love printf debugging. I get to
see the whole "chart" at one. Granted, it's in a bit of a "The
Matrix"-style "only comprehensible if you know what you're looking at"
kind of way. Actual GUI graphs would certainly be nice. But all the
data's there at once, so no need for constant fast-fowarding and
rewindi...oh wait, that's right, debuggers can't rewind either. ;)
Honestly, I *have* used and loved debuggers, and I still appreciate
them. I do think they're great tools. But...I rarely use them anymore:
After several years of being forced into printf-debugging (or worse!!)
for various reasons, every time I go back to a debugger I feel like I'm
debugging with my hands tied behind my back. Or rather, finding a needle
in a haystack using only a microscope that's stuck on max magnification
and can only ever move to the right. And it's exactly because of the
debugger's "temporal blinders" - the inability to ever see more than one
*instant* at a time.
More information about the Digitalmars-d
mailing list