Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!brunix!sdm
From: sdm@cs.brown.edu (Scott Meyers)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Which C++ compiler?
Message-ID: <55427@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 5 Nov 90 19:02:45 GMT
References: <1990Nov2.164530.1862@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
Sender: news@brunix.UUCP
Reply-To: sdm@cs.brown.edu (Scott Meyers)
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
Lines: 31

In article <1990Nov2.164530.1862@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> ecl2v@Virginia.EDU (Edmond C. Loyot) writes:
>We are trying to decide which C++ compiler to purchase.  Our hardware
>
>	1) Does the product include a debugger (that doesn't use mangled
>	   names)?

Demangling names is just the tip of the iceberg.  When you look at a C++
debugger, ask your vender these questions:

    - Can the debugger print the dynamic types of pointers and references?
    - Can it set breakpoints and/or step through:
        - inline functions?
        - virtual functions, including pure virtual functions?
        - member initialization lists?
    - Can it display all the members of an object, including those that are
      inherited?  
    - Can it display members of an object when those members are inherited
      from a virtual base class?

For what it's worth, the only debugger that I know of that can do all these
things is the HP C++ debugger, and I'm not even sure that the version that
does all this stuff is available to customers yet.  Information on the HP
C++ debugger can be found in the paper, "C++ Symbolic Debugging," presented
in September at C++ at Work-'90, pp. 109--120.

This isn't an ad for HP, I don't work for them, I don't even have their
software.  If there are other debuggers that do everything listed above,
please post that information to the net -- I'm sure many people would be
interested. 

Scott