[m-dev.] debugger naming (was: a big step towards the trace-based debugger)

[Tyson Dowd]

On 02-Apr-1998, Fergus Henderson <fjh at cs.mu.OZ.AU> wrote:
> On 01-Apr-1998, Zoltan Somogyi <zs at cs.mu.OZ.AU> wrote:
> > 
> > [Tyson wrote:]
> > 
> > > I don't particularly care for the name "mmd".  How about "mdebug",
> > > "mercury-debug"?  I know we want to leave namespace for an Opium-style
> > > debugger, but I don't think the way to do it is with "mmd".  I'm
> > > happy for you to commit mmd for the moment, but I'd like to find a
> > > better name for a release.
> > 
> > mmd stands for Melbourne Mercury Debugger. The opium-style one could be
> > rmd, the Rennes Mercury Debugger :-)
> > 
> > The other name I thought of was mdb, in analogy to gdb.
> > 
> > Better get your votes in fast.
> 
> We need names for the following debuggers:
> 
> (a)  The Melbourne Uni single-process debugger that Zoltan (and Tyson) have
>      been working on.

I am tempted to institute a metallic naming scheme -- this debugger
would then be "barium", because it's a tracer.

> (b)  The Opium-style external-process debugger that Erwin will be
>      working on.

Well, in the metallic scheme, this would be "lithium", because it it
helps cure insanity in your program (although maybe we should keep
this name for a declarative debugger).  

If we are to use the Opium drug-induced scheme, the obvious name for the
Mercury debugger is "speed".  Perhaps we should instead show respect for
the law and call it "copper"!

> (c)  The Melbourne Uni bytecode debugger that Bert has (not?) been working on.
>      I believe the current prototype is a single-process debugger but
>      that the intent is to eventually use two-process model.

Since it's a half-bytecode half-mercury compiled code, it's got to
be called "amalgam".  But as you point out below, the bytecode isn't
essential, so perhaps this isn't such a good name.

> 
> Note that the issue of debugging bytecode versus debugging native code
> could in fact be orthogonal to the choice of debugger; i.e. all three
> could eventually allow both.
> 
> I suggest that we provide a front-end script called `mdb' which,
> with appropriate options, will invoke any one of these.
> The default would be whichever one happens to be best -- currently (a).
> And since (b) and (c) are not yet implemented, `mdb' would currently
> just be a trivial front-end to (a).

Consider mdebug.  But I'll settle for mdb.

-- 
       Tyson Dowd           # So I asked Sarah: what's the serial number on
                            # your computer? She replied:
     trd at cs.mu.oz.au        #          A-C-2-4-0-V-/-5-0-H-Z
http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~trd #