HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Overview Animator uses windows to display information about your program during execution, along with the corresponding part of your source code. The base Animator does not provide windows functionality; it displays information about your program at the bottom of the screen. Both Animators provide functions to enable you to control the pace at which your program runs, interrupt execution to examine and change data items, alter the sequence of execution or enter COBOL statements for immediate execution before your program continues. These facilities enable you to debug your programs quickly and easily. Executing the Program A flexible set of execution functions enables you to execute the code at the speed to suit the problem you are examining. You can Zoom (execute at maximum speed) through code you do not wish to see execute, manually Step through each statement or set a convenient automatic execution speed in a problem area. Breakpoints can be set throughout the source code by marking each statement where you want a break to occur or by defining a condition that should give rise to a break. This lets you define exactly when to get manual control of your program when it is executing automatically. A backtracking facility can show you the path that has been taken through your code to arrive at a specific point. Querying, Monitoring and Changing Data Items Debugging a program often involves monitoring various data values in order to detect unexpected results. As the values of the data change during program execution, the monitored items are highlighted as they are updated. You can view the various data items in a variety of shapes and sizes. For example, you can view a block of data organized in sets of seven characters as a group of seven characters wide. A data item within the program can be queried and displayed in either text (ASCII) or hexadecimal format. The contents of the data item can be changed, and this will have immediate effect in subsequent program execution. Test data items that you use during one Animator session can be saved for use in subsequent sessions. Special watch windows enable you to see the before and after states of data values as each statement is executed. You can simply overtype the monitored data items if you want to manually set a new value in order to change the logic flow of your program. Watch windows are not available with base Animator. Logic Testing "Do" functions enable you to execute additional code without having to interrupt your testing session. These COBOL statements can be executed when you enter them, or they can be associated with a statement and executed with that statement. The latter are saved in a file so that they can be incorporated into your source code once you have decided they correct a problem. "Reset" functions enable you to bypass code that you do not want to be executed. Cooperative Animation In addition to animating a program in the same session as Animator, you can animate a program in a different session on the same machine (on OS/2) or a program running on a separate machine.(DOS and OS/2) The On-line Reference You can access the On-line Help System directly from within Animator. This enables instant access to the Help in the On-line Reference and any other on-line Help files supplied with this system. To invoke the On-line Help System, press the hot-key Alt+1. The On-line Help System will look at the current screen. If a text cursor exists, it will look at that. If a text cursor does not exist, it will look at the mouse cursor. If no cursor exists, it will start up at the home topic of the On-line Reference. If the cursor is on a word, then that word will be used as a topic name. If it is on a space, then the word immediately following it on the line will be used. If there is none, the word immediately preceding it on the line will be used. If the line is blank, the system will display the home topic. Once you have entered the On-line Help System, you can use it as described in the chapter On-line Help System Access and Display Utility (Hyhelp) to look at any files that are available. To return to Animator, press Escape from the On-line Reference Main menu.