crafterm 2002/12/11 10:55:28
Modified: src/documentation/xdocs/howto book.xml index.xml
Added: src/documentation/images flow-debugger.jpg
src/documentation/xdocs/howto howto-flow-debugger.xml
Log:
Initial version of the flow debugger howto.
Revision Changes Path
1.1 xml-cocoon2/src/documentation/images/flow-debugger.jpg
<<Binary file>>
1.12 +1 -0 xml-cocoon2/src/documentation/xdocs/howto/book.xml
Index: book.xml
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/cvs/xml-cocoon2/src/documentation/xdocs/howto/book.xml,v
retrieving revision 1.11
retrieving revision 1.12
diff -u -r1.11 -r1.12
--- book.xml 1 Nov 2002 13:17:12 -0000 1.11
+++ book.xml 11 Dec 2002 18:55:28 -0000 1.12
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
<menu-item label="Web Syndication"
href="../userdocs/generators/wsproxy-generator.html"/>
<menu-item label="Chaperon" href="chaperon/howto-chaperon-intro.html"/>
<menu-item label="i18n XMLForm" href="howto-i18n-xmlform.html"/>
+ <menu-item label="Flow Debugger" href="howto-flow-debugger.html"/>
</menu>
<menu label="Documentation">
<menu-item label="Author How-To" href="howto-author-howto.html"/>
1.12 +1 -0 xml-cocoon2/src/documentation/xdocs/howto/index.xml
Index: index.xml
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/cvs/xml-cocoon2/src/documentation/xdocs/howto/index.xml,v
retrieving revision 1.11
retrieving revision 1.12
diff -u -r1.11 -r1.12
--- index.xml 1 Nov 2002 13:17:12 -0000 1.11
+++ index.xml 11 Dec 2002 18:55:28 -0000 1.12
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
<li><link href="howto-html-pdf-publishing.html">HTML-PDF
Publishing</link></li>
<li><link href="chaperon/howto-chaperon-intro.html">Chaperon Text
Parser</link></li>
<li><link href="howto-i18n-xmlform.html">i18n XMLForm</link></li>
+<li><link href="howto-flow-debugger.html">Flow Debugger</link></li>
</ul>
</s2>
1.1
xml-cocoon2/src/documentation/xdocs/howto/howto-flow-debugger.xml
Index: howto-flow-debugger.xml
===================================================================
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='ISO-8859-1'?>
<!DOCTYPE document PUBLIC "-//APACHE//DTD Documentation V1.0//EN"
"../dtd/document-v10.dtd">
<document>
<header>
<title>How to use the Cocoon Flow Debugger</title>
<authors>
<person name="Marcus Crafter" email="[EMAIL PROTECTED]"/>
</authors>
</header>
<body>
<s1 title="Overview">
<p>
This how-to describes how to enable and start the flow debugger
in Cocoon Web Applications that use the JavaScript based flow engine. The flow
debugger allows you to visually debug flow scripts using breakpoints, tracing,
variable watches, etc, similar to other common visual debugging environments
currently available.
</p>
<p>
For a full description of how to use the debugger itself,
please refer to the Mozilla Rhino debugger <link
href="http://www.mozilla.org/rhino/debugger.html";>page</link>.
</p>
</s1>
<s1 title="Purpose">
<p>
The process of writing and debugging flow script can be tedious
and repetitive. JavaScript is a language that features typed objects but
untyped references, which means at times it can be difficult to locate
programming errors until runtime.
</p>
<p>
The flow debugger intends to ease the development, debugging
and maintenance of flow scripts by allowing you to visually inspect and
influence your flow script, while it's running, without having to resort to
many superfluous print or log statements.
</p>
</s1>
<s1 title="Intended Audience">
<p>
This document is intended for Cocoon web application developers
who are using the JavaScript flow engine inside of their Cocoon application.
</p>
</s1>
<s1 title="Prerequisites">
<p>
Until Cocoon 2.1 is released, to use the flow debugger you will
need a CVS <link
href="http://cvs.apache.org/viewcvs.cgi/xml-cocoon2/";>version</link> or
development <link
href="http://xml.apache.org/from-cvs/xml-cocoon2/";>snapshot</link> of Cocoon,
at least as recent as 7th December 2002.
</p>
<p>
You will also need a JavaScript flow based web application, for
example the flow webapp samples that are currently shipped with Cocoon, and you
will need to be running Cocoon on a server that has a display attached (either
local or remote).
</p>
<p>
No special files need to be installed to use the debugger,
support for the debugger is included in the Rhino jar file which is part of
Cocoon.
</p>
</s1>
<s1 title="Steps">
<p>
The process of enabling and starting the debugger is quite
simple. Essentially, all you have to is enable support for the debugger in the
JavaScript interpreter's configuration section of the cocoon.xconf file, and
start your application. The debugger will be instantiated by the next request
that invokes <code>map:call function</code> or <code>continuation</code>.
</p>
<p>
Once the debugger is up and running, it should look similar to
<link href="images/flow-debugger.jpg">this</link>. So, let's
get started.
</p>
<s2 title="Configuration">
<p>
By default, the flow debugger is disabled. To enable it, you
will need to modify the cocoon.xconf file to include one element named
<strong>debugger</strong>, which contains the value <em>enabled</em>, as
follows:
</p>
<source>
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<flow-interpreters default="JavaScript" logger="flow">
<component-instance name="JavaScript"
class="org.apache.cocoon.components.flow.javascript.JavaScriptInterpreter">
<load-on-startup>resource://org/apache/cocoon/components/flow/javascript/system.js</load-on-startup>
<reload-scripts>true</reload-scripts>
<check-time>4000</check-time>
<strong><debugger>enabled</debugger></strong>
<!-- JavaScript Debugger support -->
</component-instance>
</flow-interpreters>
</source>
<note>If you are using the debugger with the Cocoon flow
samples, you will need to modify the <em>cocoon.xconf</em> file in
build/cocoon/webapp/WEB-INF, or the <em>flow.xconf</em> file in
src/java/org/apache/cocoon/components/flow/, which is merged into the
cocoon.xconf file at build time</note>
</s2>
<s2 title="Compile and start your environment">
<p>
Compile and start your application as normal.
</p>
</s2>
<s2 title="Start the flow engine">
<p>
Once your application is running and awaiting requests,
attempt to access a page that calls a flow function. The invocation will take
longer than normal, but on your server's display you should see the visual
debugger being created and populated with your flow script.
</p>
<note>Portions of Cocoon's flow script management <link
href="http://cvs.apache.org/viewcvs.cgi/xml-cocoon2/src/java/org/apache/cocoon/components/flow/javascript/system.js?rev=HEAD&content-type=text/vnd.viewcvs-markup";>code</link>
will also be viewable in the debugger.</note>
<p>
A debugger instance is created per JavaScript interpreter.
This means if you make another request to a different sitemap for example, a
new debugger instance will be created alongside the previous one. This allows
you to debug flow scripts locally to the sitemap they are defined in.
</p>
</s2>
<s2 title="Use the debugger">
<p>
At this stage, the debugger is in control. By default, all
entry points into the debugger result in an automatic breakpoint being set at
that entry point (ie. at the beginning of each call function and handle
continuation invocation). To continue processing, press any of the
<em>step</em> buttons to trace through your code.
</p>
<note>Pressing <em>Exit</em> from the <em>File</em> menu will
not actually exit the debugger or JVM, but will make it invisible. It will be
automatically made visible again upon entering a new
call-function/handle-continuation frame.</note>
<p>
Using the flow debugger, you will be able to trace through
your code at any level of detail your require. Continuations are also
supported, when a <code>sendPageAndWait()</code> is invoked, the debugger will
become inactive until the interpreter is called upon to continue that suspended
flow.
</p>
</s2>
</s1>
<s1 title="Improvements" >
<s2 title="Remote debugging">
<p>
Currently to use the flow debugger you really need to be
working on the same machine where your Cocoon application is running, either
via a remote login or locally on the system. The ability to remotely attach to
a running system and debug flow would be nice.
</p>
</s2>
<s2 title="Enable/disable without restart">
<p>
Currently to enable/disable the debugger one has to modify
the cocoon.xconf/flow.xconf files, perhaps it would be good if this was
possible dynamically, ie. without a restart of the servlet environment or
Cocoon.
</p>
</s2>
</s1>
<s1 title="Comments">
<p>
Do you have an idea about how to improve the Cocoon flow
debugger? Please post it to the <link href="mailto:[EMAIL
PROTECTED]:">cocoon-dev</link> mailing list. Care to comment on this How-To?
Help keep this document relevant by passing along any constructive feedback to
the <link href="mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]:">cocoon-docs</link> mailing list.
</p>
</s1>
<s1 title="Revisions">
<p>
11-12-2002: Content originally submitted by Marcus Crafter.
</p>
</s1>
</body>
</document>
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