What compiler do you use?

[kevinchkin]

Anyone have any opinions on debuggers?

Although I am a gdb user, but since you are starting up, you can try DDD

[Duthomhas]

Coding without a debugger is like driving a car without sight

It depends. Personally, I've never had much use for one.

_{[edit] A debugger, that is. I like my sight. And my car. ;-)}

[firedraco]

I would say it is more like driving a car without your headlights.

[chrisname]

I would say it is more like driving a car without your headlights.

In broad daylight...

I don't use them except for fun (I like how they can read through memory and disassemble programs). Occasionally I use gdb to see what my pointers are doing and to find out what signals I'm being sent (usually SIGSEGV ;] )...

[kevinchkin]

I don't use them except for fun

I can't believe how you guys never use debuggers. Never had any Segmentation faults?

[chrisname]

Never had any Segmentation faults?

Yes I have, that's what a SIGSEGV is (it's notification that your program has caused a segfault), but I can usually figure out what piece of code is causing it without looking at a backtrace.

In the case where I can't figure out what's causing it I do use gdb; but not often.

[PanGalactic]

Kdevelop, GCC 4.4, Sun Studio.

You can definitely write new code without a debugger. A debugger for new code is a crutch for those that have not switched to TDD. I find TDD much more generally useful.

I do frequently need to use a debugger for OPC (other people's code).

I will fall back to using a debugger on my code one in a while. But I consider it a failure on my part when I do.

[iw0XoG1T]

what is TDD?

edit: ignore me that information was easily found on Wikipedia.

[chrisname]

I relent. I just had a segfault and GDB helped my find it. It was something to do with the pointer-to-member operator and strcpy and I got a segfault; used a debugger and then solved it. So you were right, they are useful.

I still don't use the debugger often.

[JCED]

I've actually never used GDB, but I do use valgrind a lot.

[helios]

pointer-to-member operator

The... what? Do you mean the dereference-and-access-member operator? It could also be called member of [object from pointer].

[JCED]

The... what? Do you mean the dereference-and-access-member operator? It could also be called member of [object from pointer].

This thing? "->"

[chrisname]

Yeah, that's the one.