The SCL Debugger

Establishing the SCL Debugging Environment

Before you can use the SCL debugger, you must compile your SCL programs with the DEBUG option. This directs the SCL compiler to collect information from the programs that will be used in the debugging session.

You can activate the debug option in the following ways:

Issue the DEBUG ON command from the SOURCE or DISPLAY window of an open application. After you issue this command, it remains active in all currently running tasks, and all subsequent compiles will collect debugging information.
Specify the DEBUG option in the COMPILE statement of the BUILD procedure:
```
proc build c=libref.catalog.entry.type;
     compile debug;
run;
```

Specify the DEBUG option in the FSEDIT procedure:

proc fsedit data=data-set
            screen=screen-entry debug;
run;

SelectBuild Debug Debug On
In the Explorer window, select from the pull-down menuTools Options Build Debugger Change Debugger status to On or Off.

Note: If you specify the DEBUG option from a procedure statement, the option is active only for that procedure or task. [cautionend]

In the BUILD procedure, using the DEBUG option in the COMPILE statement compiles all the specified programs with the DEBUG option. For example, the following statements compile all the FRAME entries in the catalog with the DEBUG option turned on:

proc build c=mylib.mycat;
     compile debug entrytype=frame;
run;

By compiling specific SCL entries with the DEBUG option, you can debug pieces of a larger application.

The debugger session terminates and exits the current stream when you issue the QUIT command in the MESSAGE window, or when you end the procedure session. If the current stream is nested, then the last window in the previous stream will be activated. Otherwise, control returns to the point at which the application was started. A stream contains information about the entries and windows that are used in the application.

Because compiling with the DEBUG ON option results in a larger code size, you should subsequently recompile your programs with the DEBUG OFF option before installing your application in production mode.

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