What I'd Like to See in PureBasic

[oldefoxx]

"! int 3" as the first line in your source code?

Another puzzlement. What do you mean when you ask that? Does including "! int 3" have some special significance? I stuck it in to test what it does, and it does something, but nothing good that I can see. I get a brief console window, and that's it. The small red X and light blue background indicate the program is running, and a darker blue highlight appears over the ! int 3 line, but the Debugger's stop and kill buttons don't work. I can now click on a line and set a breakpoint, but I can't get the program go go any further. No Continue or Step buttons enabled. And if I kill the program, any set breakpoints go away

You have to be more specific about what to do, and maybe a bit of why to do it as well.

Wait. I tried something. I used the ! int 3 and compile with debugger, then set a breakpoint by clicking on a line and going to Debugger >> Breakpoint. Then I kill the program (click small red X) and comment out or remove the ! int 3 line,

Next step I go under Compiler, click Restart Compiler, then Click Compile with Debugger, and the program stops executing where I had set the breakpoint. The breakpoint shows up as a darker blue highlight. I can now step the program or have it continue. And I only have to do this once, as the breakpoint will show up again each time I do a Compile with Debugger, until I tell the Debugget to Clear Breakpoints. An odd way of doing things, but it gets the job done

What it doesn't do is automatically scroll your view of the source file to keep the line to execute next always in sight. Stepping into a procedure likely means going to the right panel, finding the procedure there, and clicking on it. Nope, not here at this time. You have to go under Tools >> procedure Browser, and change the right panel view first. But this program lists no procedures. And none of the programs I checked under examples had procedures embedded in them. So it is a guess on my part.

Under Tools you also have a file viewer, but it come up blank. You need to be able to browse for a file to view, and that is not included. I looked to see if you could pick a different program for the jobm but could not find that as an option. It's a learning experience.

[oldefoxx]

I can confirm that F9 lets you set, actually toggle, a breakpoint. It shows up as a small blue rectangle just left of the line. That's a much better way than having to resort to adding and using ! int 3. PowerBasic's Debugger used to demand use of the mouse with Step icons, and keeping the mouse on target and repeatedly clicking with your index finger was a chore, especially as your eyes were focused on the highlighted line. Having keys to do the job is a much better way,

The F9 option is clearly visible, if you know to look for it. With my eyes, small font gray on gray characters are hard to make out. So are light colored characters against a light background. To really read a source file, I have to copy it into LibreOffice Writer, jack up the size and make it all bold, and then I can make it out. I haven't found a color scheme for the PB Editor that is of much help to me.

Obviously I don't read or study much any more. My eyes are always clouding over, and keeping them clear and my glasses clean is an ongoing thing. Not trying to win sympathy, because I've had a good life, but it does help explain why I seem to miss what is obvious to others.

Back to my original reason for starting this thread, which is the present console and text are too small for my aging eyes. I could lower the screen resolution, but then most of the wide 1600x900 17" svreen is left dark. And the screen limits cuts off much of the bottom of forms, so much so that I may not be able to see or click the buttons at the bottom. Maximizing screen size helps. but then the Console images and fonts are so small because they are fixed to old standards, like characters that only needed 8 to 10 pixels for display purposes.

This is a problem that others have to deal with as well. Eyes get older and weaker, and screen resolutions go up, which compounds the problem. With handhelds, you can add in much smaller screen sizes as well. It's just a problem to be dealt with. Now fonts and sizes is not a key issue anymore, but the software to make good use of them does come into play a this point. To make that apparent, I started this thread. That's my reason for bring here.