[m-dev.] Suggestions for mdb

[Zoltan Somogyi]

On 25-Aug-2000, Mark Anthony BROWN <dougl at cs.mu.OZ.AU> wrote:
> We could allow the following options to 'print':
> 
> 	-f	portray in "flat" format (it currently does this)
> 	-p	portray in "pretty" format
> 	-v	portray in "verbose" format

> i) Keep the 'set size/depth n' commands, and have them apply to the
> current format.
> ii) Add commands like 'set verbose depth 9', etc.
> iii) Both of the above.

I agree with Fergus; both proposals are good. I would however suggest that
instead of 'set verbose depth 9', you should using consider 'set -v depth 9',
for consistency. The default should probably affect the given parameters in
all the formats.

I also suggested to Mark in personal conversation that the debugger should
have different sets of parameter values for different commands. By this
I mean that it should be possible to set things up so that for "print *" you
get e.g. a two-line limit for each variable, but for "browse Var" you get
ten lines in each display.

We could have a second set of options to the set command, one drawn from
the set APB, standing for three sets of parameters values: A applied to
"print *" (all), P applied to "print Var", and B applied to "browse Var".
If you specified any of these options, the command is performed on the
parameter values from the sets you mentioned, otherwise it is performed
on a default set of sets. If the default set had all three of APB, the
system would appear simple to novices while still giving experts flexibility.

(I apologize for the number of different senses in which the word "set"
is used in that paragraph :-)

Any opinions?

Zoltan.
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