Debug Properties

Start Action

Start project/ Start project output

Specifies that the project is to be debugged by launching its output.

For projects that compile to multiple output files (.exe, .int or .gnt), you can specify which output file should be launched. You can only choose a file generated by the build in the directory specified in the Output field. Your choice is saved in the project properties.

Note: This setting does not apply to managed class library projects that build to multiple .dll files. For these project types, you must specify a different start action.

Start external program

The path to a file to be debugged. You can specify a path relative to the project directory.

This setting is typically used when your application is a library.

Start browser with URL

Starts debugging by opening a web page.

The following setting is specific for native COBOL projects:

Wait for debuggable attachment

The debugger waits for the program to start in a separate process before attempting to attach to it. Check this if you need to manually launch your process. You can set the following options:

• Wait for any program - waits for and then attaches to the next COBOL program that calls CBL_DEBUGBREAK, or is launched with the COBSW environment variable set to +A.
• Wait for directory - waits for and then attaches to the next COBOL program that is launched with its working directory set to either the folder specified on the Debug page in the project properties under Start Options, or a subfolder of it. If no working directory is specified then the project output path is used.
• Wait for ID - waits for and then attaches to the next COBOL program which calls CBL_DEBUG_START with the identifier you specify in the ID field as an argument. You set the identifier in the source code - see CBL_DEBUG_START.

Start Options

Command line arguments

Program arguments to be passed.

Working directory

The directory from which the program is launched.

Note: If Start Action is set to Wait for debuggable attachment, then the path you specify in this field is used with the Wait for directory option.

Use remote machine

Check this to enable remote debugging. Specify the remote machine by entering its name over the network or its IP address in the adjacent field.

Port

Specify the port number that is used by the cobdebugremote or cobdebugremote64 process.

Debug Options

The following properties apply to native COBOL projects only:

Enable multiprocess debugging

If the process you debug starts a new process using the CBL_EXEC_RUN_UNIT call, this setting allows the new process to be debugged in a separate instance of Visual Studio.

Return to waiting state when debugging

Check this to enable debugging of CGI programs when invoking them multiple times.

The following properties apply to managed COBOL projects only:

Enable SQL Server debugging

Enables the Microsoft SQL debugger.

Enable mixed mode debugging

Check this to enable debugging of C/C++ code alongside managed code.

Redirect standard output

Value of true or false, to determine whether or not standard output (such as System.Console.WriteLine) should be redirected to the debugger's output window. For Console projects, this is initially set to False, and for Windows projects it is initially set to true.

Note: This feature does not work for 64-bit applications and on 64-bit machines it is supported only by a x86 platform type.

CICS, JCL, IMS, Web Service and Core Dump Debug Properties

The following debug properties apply only to applications that run on an Enterprise Server. They appear on the Debug page of the Mainframe Subsystem Applications.

Click the tab for the type of service or application that you want to debug and enter its details.

Choose Active Settings

Specify whether you debug a CICS, a JCL, an IMS application, a Web service, or a coredump file.

Region

Note: These settings are available only for Mainframe Managed Subsystem Applications.

Specify details for connecting to a database server.

Database Server Instance

The name of the database server that hosts the application to debug.

Region Name

The name of the region that hosts the application to debug.

Properties on the CICS tab

User

The CICS user id used to start the application.

Terminal

The CICS terminal id used to start the application.

Transaction

The CICS transaction for the application.

Link-level program

The CICS invoked program at which to start debugging.

Properties on the JCL tab

Job name

The name of the job.

Job number

The number of the job in the held queue.

Step name

The step that you want to debug.

Top-level program

The program id of the program that you want to debug.

Properties on the IMS tab

User

The user id to be used when debugging this application.

Terminal

The logical terminal ID to be used when debugging this application. This is the eight-character name of the TN3270 connection within Enterprise Server that is either allocated dynamically or specified by the TN3270 client emulator.

Transaction

The transaction to be used when debugging this application.

Top-level program

The start program to be used when debugging this application.

Properties on the Web Service tab

Client IP Address

Leave this field empty to enable debugging from any IP address. Specify an IP address to allow debugging only from it.

Service

Specify the address of the web service to debug. Enter the address and any specific operation that is part of the web service in the following format - http://namespace/ServiceName#OperationName

Properties on the Core Dump tab

File Name

Specify the name and the path to the core dump file to use for debugging your application.