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https://github.com/notfoundry/ppstep

Interactive C/C++ preprocessor macro debugger
https://github.com/notfoundry/ppstep

Last synced: 21 days ago
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Interactive C/C++ preprocessor macro debugger

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README 

        
# ppstep

The C and C++ preprocessors are famous for allowing users to write opaque, hard-to-follow code through macros. These downsides are tolerated because macros also allow code to have a high level of abstraction, which can reduce software complexity and improve developer productivity. Doing the good parts takes dicipline; eliminating the bad parts takes refactoring, and importantly, debugging. PPstep is the debugger that macro writers can use to do that.








  preprocessing a sequence into a tuple, visualized!




## Features

- Visually single-step through macro expansion and rescanning until preprocessing is complete

- Set breakpoints on macros for specific preprocessing events, and continue preprocessing between them

- Show backtrace of pending macro expansions, and forward-trace of future macro rescans

- #define/#undef macros mid-preprocessing, and interactively expand macros at any time

- **TODO:** Reverse stepping to rewind preprocssing and view steps from an earlier point

- **TODO:** visualizing #if/#elif/#else branches to explore conditional compilation



## Building

1. `git clone` this repository to get the source code

2. make sure you have a C++17-supported compiler (GCC 5+, Clang 5+, etc.)

2. build a relatively up-to-date [Boost](https://www.boost.org/users/download/), or install it from your package manager of choice

3. `cd ppstep && cmake . && make` to build the `ppstep` binary



## Usage

To try it out, run `ppstep your-source-file.c`. `ppstep` supports common preprocessor flags like --include/-I to add include directories, --define/-D to define macros, and --undefine/-U to undefine macros, if you need to do any of those things too.



#### The Prompt

You should see a prompt that looks like `pp>`. From here, you can step forward through preprocessing steps using the `step` or `s` commands, and see visually what each step does. You will notice that the prompt will have a suffix added to it to show what the current preprocessing step is, such as `called`, `expanded`, `rescanned`, or `lexed`. Newly-encountered macro calls, finished macro expansions, and finished macro rescans are each color-coded in the visual output so you can see where changes were made. When you are done, you can use the `quit` or `q` commands to exit the prompt.



While stepping, if you want to see the history of pending macro expansions, you can use the `backtrace` or `bt` commands. You can also look into the future to see what the anticipated macro rescans will be by using the `forwardtrace` or `ft` commands.



#### Breakpoints

If there is a specific macro and preprocessing step that you are interested in visualizing, you can set a breakpoint on that macro using the `break` or `b` commands. To break when a specific macro is called, for example, you could enter `break call YOUR_MACRO` or `bc YOUR MACRO`. Similarly to break when that macro is finished expanding, you could enter `break expand YOUR_MACRO` or `be YOUR_MACRO`. To continue preprocessing until one of these breakpoints is hit (or preprocessing is finished), use the `continue` or `c` commands.



Deleting a breakpoint has a similar syntax to setting them: the complements to `break call YOUR_MACRO` or `bc YOUR_MACRO` are `delete call YOUR_MACRO` or `dc YOUR_MACRO`.



#### Interactive Evaluation

If you choose to, you can also use preprocessor directives mid-preprocessing. For example, you could say `#define NEW_MACRO(x) x` to create a function-like macro named `NEW_MACRO` in real-time. `#include` and `#undef` also work as expected (though undefining a macro in the process of being expanded without then re-defining another macro under that name can have terrible consequences!) Macros can also be expanded mid-preprocessing with the `expand` or `e` commands. For example, `expand NEW_MACRO(1)` would open a nested prompt allowing you to step through each of the expansion stages of `NEW_MACRO`.