Method for multi-language debugging

• US 7,299,454 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2004
• Issued: 11/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Eckels, Joshua Moll, Pugh, William A.
• Primary Examiner(s): STEELMAN, MARY J
• Application Number:
  US10/784,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20050034104A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,366 Days
• Field of Search: 717/214
• US Class Current: 717/125
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software

Abstract

Software developers working on multi-language systems can utilize a multi-language debugging environment. The debugging environment can be uniform across languages, and can seamlessly perform debugging between one or more languages in a multi-language environment. Such a system can have a number of attributes intended to help developers facing debugging problems in multi-language environments.

Claims

1. A method for debugging in more than one programming language with a multi-language debugger, comprising:

debugging a source code file which contains multiple nested languages;

interpreting multiple nested languages within a single source file and displaying each of the multiple nested languages in a debugging frame;

editing each language in a debugging frame; and

wherein the multi-language debugger uses a standardized interface for a script engine and all communications with the script engine will be through calls to a script debug controller.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multi-language debugger is extensible and a user can add language definitions to support additional languages.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein if more than one language appears on a stack, a user can see a debuggable frame for each language and the user can inspect variables for each language.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a proxy is used between executing code being debugged and a debugger.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a script engine interface can be used by a debugger to communicate metadata to a proxy.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a debugger interacts with a runtime messaging environment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein debugging is performed on a server side of a runtime messaging environment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a runtime messaging environment interprets language interactions and performs debugging.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the script engine has a static constructor load the script debug controller.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the script debug controller receives information from the script engine, comprising:

a) language extensions for each language;

b) classes that implement the script engine;

c) information on optional capabilities for each language; and

d) language name.