The ILE Source Debugger

The ILE source debugger is used to detect errors in and eliminate errors from program objects and service programs. Using debug commands with any ILE program that contains debug data you can:
  • Debug any ILE COBOL or mixed ILE language application
  • Monitor the flow of a program by using the debug commands while the program is running.
  • View the program source or change the debug view
  • Set and remove conditional and unconditional breakpoints
  • Set and remove watch conditions
  • Step through a specified number of statements
  • Display or change the value of variables, records, group items, and arrays.
Note: The ILE COBOL COLLATING SEQUENCE is not supported by the ILE source debugger. If you use the ILE COBOL COLLATING SEQUENCE clause in your ILE COBOL program to specify your own collating sequence, this collating sequence will not be used by the ILE source debugger.

When a program stops because of a breakpoint or a step command, the pertinent module object's view is shown on the display at the point where the program stopped. At this point you can enter more debug commands.

Before you can use the source debugger, you must specify the DBGVIEW parameter with a value other than *NONE when you create a module object or program object using the CRTCBLMOD or CRTBNDCBL command. After you have started the debugger, you can set breakpoints or other ILE source debugger options, and then run the program.