[vim/vim] Can I use termdebug.vim on Windows ?? (#2882)

[Linwei]

Tried it on linux, and want to use it on windows. but there is an

E492: Not an editor command: Termdebug

on windows gvim.

The command is still unusable after :packadd termdebug

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[Christian Brabandt]

when exactly do you encounter that? You started with vim --clean? do you have termdebug in your local $VIMRUNTIME?

[Linwei]

I encountered this after packadd termdebug and :Termdebug. Weird, termdebug.vim is not included in gvim_8.0.1806_x86.exe, but included in gvim_8.0.1806_x86.

[Linwei]

If you decompress gvim_8.0.1806_x86.zip, there is a termdebug.vim located in:

vim80\pack\dist\opt\termdebug

But if vim is installed from the win32 installer, you can't find the termdebug package.

[K.Takata]

We need to update the filelist in gvim.nsi.
If we can use File /r, the list can be made simpler.

[mattn]

Vim on Windows support communicating via pty But gdb command provided for Windows doesn't support "new-ui mi" command with pipe. So TermDebug not to work on Windows correctly.

[Linwei]

But why does https://github.com/cpiger/NeoDebug work on windows while termdebug not ?

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[mattn]

Because it just use "set new-console on" command. not communicating via tty.

[Christian Brabandt]

so could we make the termdebug workable on Windows? I don't understand gdb good enough to guess what needs to be changed or what set new-console on does differently.

[mattn]

set new-console on create new cmd.exe for the target process. This behavior mean that termdebug can't communicate to mi2 interface. it should communicate to gdb prompt directly. I guess.

[Linwei]

So, Termdebug has three windows: the source window, the gdb console window and the output window. Can we just disable output window on Windows, and redirect the stdout/stdin of debugging process to the gdb console window ?

The output window of gdb-mode in emacs doesn't work on Windows too. But gdb-mode is still useable on window and the program output will be displayed in the gdb console window directly.

[Bram Moolenaar]

> `set new-console on` create new cmd.exe for the target process. This

> behavior mean that termdebug can't communicate to mi2 interface. it
> should communicate to gdb prompt directly. I guess.

I used this with an older tool. It sort-of works, but it is a bit hacky.
Still, better than not working at all.

Alternatively, perhaps a gdb can be built with the mi2 interface?

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[Bram Moolenaar]

> So, Termdebug has three windows: the source window, the gdb console
> window and the output window. Can we just disable output window on
> Windows, and redirect the stdout/stdin of debugging process to the gdb
> console window ?
>
> The output window of `gdb-mode` in emacs doesn't work on Windows too.
> But `gdb-mode` is still useable on window and the program output will
> be displayed in the gdb console window directly.

This can work for some debugging. But won't work well for debugging
Vim, since it uses cursor positioning.

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[Linwei]

And can we use a standalone cmd.exe window for the process which is been debugging, just like debugging console applications in visual studio ??

[Linwei]

NeoDebug can also have a separate console window on Windows:

Is this an alternative way to debug TUI programs on windows ??

[Bram Moolenaar]

> NeoDebug can also have a separate console window on Windows:
>

> 

>
> Is this an alternative way to debug TUI programs on windows ??

Ah, so it uses an actual console window, instead of a terminal window
(with winpty). I wonder how to start that from gdb on Windows.

AFAIK NeoDebug only uses jobs and channels, not a terminal window.
It's a little bit limited, but it does work on MS-Windows, which the
Terminal debugger can't do (yet).

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[Linwei]

GDB has a set new-console on windows, similar to tty command on linux:

set new-console on

In this mode GDB will start the debugged program in a new console. The output of the program will be shown in a separate window that will be closed after the program exits.

see the documentation:

http://visualgdb.com/gdbreference/commands/set_new-console

[Linwei]

And I can use tty command to specify a terminal for NeoDebug:

1. start NeoDebug and open a new terminal in vim.
2. use bash command tty to display the current tty file name.
3. use tty /dev/pts/0 in NeoDebug
4. run the process.

See, I can debug my program in a vim terminal.

for more information about tty command in gdb:
https://sourceware.org/gdb/onlinedocs/gdb/Input_002fOutput.html

The only side effect is that I can't find a easy way to fetch tty filename of a terminal buffer. have to type tty command in the terminal.

[Linwei]

update: tty doesn't work in a vim terminal buffer if the program reads data from stdin.

[Linwei]

And neodebug is a little bit unstable now, could termdebug.vim emit a set new-console on command automatically on windows, and at least we can debug TUI programs in a separate console window on windows ??

[Bram Moolenaar]

> And neodebug is a little bit unstable now, could termdebug.vim emit a
> `set new-console on` command automatically on windows, and at least we
> can debug TUI programs in a separate console window on windows ??

Opening a console window would be easy to do, but the "new-ui" command
is still missing in MS-Windows gdb builds, right? Not sure if it would
be possible, since it also requires a tty.
NeoDebug uses another UI mode, which is much more complicated to use.

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[mattn]

but the "new-ui" command is still missing in MS-Windows gdb builds, right?

Yes, it doesn't work on Windows. also passing named pipe also not work. new-ui mi con or new-ui mi CONOUT$ are not work too.

[Linwei]

I have tested set new-console on with termdebug.vim on windows, in spite of some error messages, it seems work:

And of course, the "program window" cannot be used, but since we have a separate console window, do we still need "new-ui" and the "program window" on windows ??

[Yegappan Lakshmanan]

Hi,

On Fri, May 18, 2018 at 7:48 AM, Linwei <vim-dev...@256bit.org> wrote:

And I can use tty command to specify a terminal for NeoDebug:

1. start NeoDebug and open a new terminal in vim.
2. use bash command tty to display the current tty file name.
3. use tty /dev/pts/0 in NeoDebug
4. run the process.

See, I can debug my program in a vim terminal.

for more information about tty command in gdb:
https://sourceware.org/gdb/onlinedocs/gdb/Input_002fOutput.html

The only side effect is that I can't find a easy way to fetch tty filename of a terminal buffer. have to type tty command in the terminal.

You can use term_start("NONE") to start a terminal without a process running

in the terminal. You can use term_gettty(bufnr("%")) to get the tty for this

terminal. You can then pass this terminal to GDB.

- Yegappan

 

[vim-dev ML]

Hi,

On Fri, May 18, 2018 at 7:48 AM, Linwei <vim-dev...@256bit.org> wrote:

> And I can use tty command to specify a terminal for NeoDebug:
>

> 1. start NeoDebug and open a new terminal in vim.
> 2. use bash command tty to display the current tty file name.
> 3. use tty /dev/pts/0 in NeoDebug
> 4. run the process.
>
> [image: neodebug2]
> <https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/3035071/40241153-d996d61e-5aec-11e8-8f8d-a2ff99f85622.png>

>
> See, I can debug my program in a vim terminal.
>
> for more information about tty command in gdb:
> https://sourceware.org/gdb/onlinedocs/gdb/Input_002fOutput.html
>
> The only side effect is that I can't find a easy way to fetch tty filename
> of a terminal buffer. have to type tty command in the terminal.
>
>
>
You can use term_start("NONE") to start a terminal without a process running
in the terminal. You can use term_gettty(bufnr("%")) to get the tty for this
terminal. You can then pass this terminal to GDB.

- Yegappan

[Bram Moolenaar]

> I have tested `set new-console on` with termdebug.vim on windows, in spite of some error messages, it seems work:
>

> 

>
> And of course, the "program window" cannot be used, but since we have
> a separate console window, do we still need "new-ui" and the "program
> window" on windows ??

But can you do anything with the source code window, such as set a
breakpoint, display the current location, etc? I expect not.

I believe what NeoDebug does is run gdb using a channel, and piping the
I/O using a Vim window. Perhaps it's possible to do something similar
in the Terminal debugger, thus not opening a separate (hidden)
communication window, but setting the interpreter to mi2 and converting
commands to/from it. That's a lot of converting though...

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[Linwei]

That’s a reasonable point. And a little pity.

[Linwei]

Closed #2882.