Re: Capturing counts on an UPDATE stmt...

[Ray Ontko <rayo@ontko.com>]

> Ray,
>
>    I've never heard about an SQR toolkit. I'd sure like some
> information. Are there any plans for a REAL debugger in the near future
> or will I have to put up with show and display until I quit using SQR?
>
> Paul Hickert

Paul,

Thanks for asking;-)

We have a collection of tools that we've used over the years that
we've integrated into a single SQR program that we call SQRSH
(short for SQR SHell).  It can be used interactively (as the name
implies) or it can be used in "batch" mode.  It is highly extensible
and is written entirely in SQR (of course).

At present, it includes a trace utility, a crude "pretty printer"
(code beautifier), a library tool (which makes clever use of
#ifdef to include only those modules you need from an #include file),
a feature for inserting a documentation header, a module that
extracts documentation from a program or #include file, a help
facility, and many other features.  Best of all, it provides a
mechanism for adding your own favorite tools.

I've prototyped an interactive debugger, but it is not yet ready
for prime time.  It allows you to step through the code line by
line, set break points, trace points, and watch points, and examine
or modify variables at any point in the execution.  It works by creating
a copy of your program in which MANY additional statements have been
added.  Of course, the debugger version of a program runs much more
slowly, but it does work with only a few side effects.

SQRIBE would, of course, be in a much better position to produce
a better debugger, one that is integrated with the SQR execution
engine.  Presumably, they have other priorities.

As for SQRSH, we've been hoping to put it out for general use, but
just haven't been able to find the time lately.  We're thinking of
distributing it under terms similar to the Gnu Public License, which
would allow it to be freely distributed, source included, and others
could modify and enhance as long as it retained the original license
terms (free distribution, with source, etc.)

If there is sufficient interest, I'll see if I can wrap it all up
into some sort of package and put it on the net soon.

Ray
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ray Ontko       |  Ray Ontko & Co  |  "Ask me about our SQR Toolkit"
rayo@ontko.com  |  Richmond, In    |  See us at http://www.ontko.com/