A Node.js command-line debuger that doesn't suck (as much)

https://www.npmjs.com/package/trepan-ni

2 1 8 years ago

Author here...

The v8 debugger protocol rocks. The standard cli interface to it less so. For example, missing is simple frame-motion commands like "up", "down", with attendant evaluation in that context are possible from the protocol.

This tradition of cool debugger protocols with crappy CLI interfaces I first noticed in jdb. Creating a decent CLI isn't all that hard.

You might think well, no one uses CLI interfaces any more. As I watch my colleagues work, especially those who work in cloud and container-based systems, I am seeing that they are still using command-line interfaces quite a bit.

Finally, for those would-be command-line debugger interface writers, instead of inventing a new interface, why not pick an existing one to work off of? Here I selected gdb (as I've done in the 6 or so other debuggers I've done).

By doing this, as you learn any of the debuggers, you'll most likely be able to apply to the other debuggers, including gdb and vice versa.

What I have come to learn, especially with the stock node inspect, is that most people don't really know how to use the full power of what's already there. This is partly due to its differentness. But it is also partly due to its sparse documentation

A Node.js command-line debuger that doesn't suck (as much)

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