A generator for language-specific debugging systems

Abstract

We present a system which generates interactive high-level debugging systems from formal language definitions. The language definer has to specify a denotational semantics augmented with a formal description of the language specific debugging facilities. The generated debugger offers the traditional features such as tracing programs, setting breakpoints, displaying variables etc; interaction with the user is always on language level rather than on machine level. The concept has been implemented as part of the PSG-Programming System Generator, and has successfully been used to generate debuggers for Pascal and Modula-2. The core of the implementation consists of an interpreter for a functional language, which has been extended with the language-independent mechanisms needed in order to allow interaction with the user during program execution.