Questions about debugging techniques, using the built-in debugger, and/or the Wolfram Workbench debugger.
21
votes
1answer
272 views
which is better, using Assert[] or manual checks on arguments and other computations?
I never used Asserts in Mathematica, but trying to see what advantage they have over just argument check and additional definitions of the function to capture unwanted input.
For example, which one ...
20
votes
1answer
169 views
Why Trace[] shows some internal warnings on a standard Plot command in V9?
For fun, I like to use Trace with option TraceInternal->True to see if I figure how some of the commands work internally.
I ...
18
votes
2answers
757 views
Debugging memory leaks
I've written my incredibly complex, incredibly elegant analysis function, that works great on small test data. But when I run it on my real (bigger) data set it keeps running out of memory. It turns ...
18
votes
2answers
563 views
Is it possible to Print expressions in reverse order?
Let's say I'm debugging a program step by step and want to Print some expressions (using ShowIt, for example).
Is there a way to output the result of ...
17
votes
2answers
604 views
Mathematica Debuggability
One of the things that I really dislike about Mathematica is its lack of debuggability compared to many other programming languages. Some of the problems arises from the functional nature of ...
14
votes
2answers
555 views
Debugging Mathematica Code
In various integrated development environments, such as Microsoft Visual Studio, there is an integrated debugger where you can step through code sections, examine the state of variables and figure out ...
11
votes
5answers
1k views
Wolfram Workbench - Mathematica Development Alternatives
Are there any alternatives (IDE or other workflow) to Wolfram Workbench for development and debugging?
Elaboration: An open source alternative.
10
votes
1answer
108 views
Inspecting non-variable state from a breakpoint in Workbench
Suppose I'm stopped at a breakpoint in Workbench, say at one of the y = ... lines in:
...
10
votes
0answers
221 views
How can I trace a functional expression's evaluation visually?
Ok, so the goal is to visualize the execution of this expression
foo /@ {3 + 1, bar /@ {1 + 2, {4 + 7}}}
in the following fashion using nested rectangles with ...
9
votes
1answer
316 views
A debug utility to print or extract intermediate data from a program
Is there a way to print variables using their names, or to extract the corresponding information for later analysis ?
9
votes
0answers
73 views
How does the built-in debugger decide what to highlight?
How does the built-in debugger decide which definition to highlight in the notebook when Break on messages" is enabled?
Here's an example to illustrate what I mean. First, enable the debugger ...
7
votes
1answer
65 views
6
votes
1answer
81 views
MUnit test debug breakpoints in Workbench not working
When I create a breakpoint in Workbench 2 for an MUnit test, and run a debug build, the breakpoints are not breaking execution. The MUnit output is updated like a normal run without breakpoints. Why ...
5
votes
3answers
130 views
Metaquestion: how to find out why (e.g.) MatchQ[42, _?Function[x, True]] is False?
Suppose you run into a bewildering Mathematica result (which happens to me several times per Mathematica session, even after a 20-year acquaintance), such as, for example:
...
5
votes
1answer
128 views
How to find the name of the current function
I would like to know the name of the current function from within that function. For example, consider the following code
...
5
votes
3answers
482 views
Solution for equation system with piece-wise defined functions
As I could swear this worked just yesterday, I am probably just doing something stupid here and I am sorry to bother you :)
I am trying to find the point where a curve crosses a line. In this case, ...
5
votes
1answer
71 views
how to print stack trace when TimeConstrained times out
According to the documentation, TimeConstrained generates an interrupt which interrupts the computation. This interrupt is treated just like an abort, at least in ...
5
votes
1answer
230 views
How to Debug Missing[NotAvailable] error for Social Media Data
I get a Missing[NotAvailable] error message when trying to access Social Media Data using SocialMediaData["Facebook", "Friends"] ...
4
votes
1answer
130 views
Help with Permutations
I am currently trying to generate a list of permutations of length 2 of elements of a list of strings. For example:
...
3
votes
1answer
53 views
local logfiles for remote kernels
I'd like remote slave kernels to produce log files on my local machine, subject to the following constraints:
1) I don't want to install a distributed filesystem or do other administrative work on ...
3
votes
1answer
183 views
Debugging graphics
All the examples I am seeing on internet are related to normal functions that carry out loops and assignments but I have not seen one example where I can see a graphics based program being debugged. ...
3
votes
0answers
88 views
Dealing with errors and resuming the code after one
How can I write my Mathematica code so that it resumes at a specific place if any Message is displayed during the execution of an expression? For example, in Visual ...
3
votes
0answers
198 views
Catching and debugging numerical errors in compiled functions
I have a compiled function (that was created using the second method of this question). Basically it's using a compiled closure. The problem is that for some parameter values it does not evaluate. ...
2
votes
2answers
283 views
Unexpected result of summation
I wrote small module that gives me incorrect output-set, it should be a single number!
I don't understand what went wrong.
This is the form of summation used:
$$\frac{1}{2} (b-a) \sum_{i=1}^n ...
0
votes
1answer
199 views
(N)Solve does not solve equation
I am trying to calculate where a beam hits a mirror.
The mirror is described by this curve (two facing spherical mirrors):
...
-1
votes
0answers
40 views
Function call instead of list access: Fast-fail [closed]
This question is related to the slow-to-fail nature of Mathematica. I am always switching back and forth between Java, C++, Python, ..., and Mathematica.
One common mistake that I make when I am ...
