7

Debugging and OutPut

Throughout this book, we have compared EasyLanguage to some of today's powerful programming languages. The power of the language is somewhat diminished by the integrated development environment (IDE) in which it is encapsulated. Today's contemporary programming environments usually consist of three elements: (1) editor, (2) compiler, and (3) in-line debugger. TradeStation has two out of the three. Guess which one is missing. If you guessed debugger then you are absolutely correct. You have already seen the editor and compiler in action. If you are coming from a nonprogramming background, this may not seem like a big deal. First off, let us explain what a debugger is. A debugger is a program that allows a user to step through each individual line of code and evaluate the program statements as they are executed. Why on earth would you want to do this? you may ask. Unfortunately, most programs don’t work properly the instant you finish typing them. Even though your program may compile or verify, this doesn’t mean it will work in the way you intended. Usually the most difficult part of the process of programming starts after you have carefully typed your ideas into the PowerEditor and verified your program. The Super Combo system that we programmed in the last chapter required about an hour to pseudocode, an hour to type the program in, and a couple of hours to debug. Even with careful planning and typing, we didn’t initially get the Super Combo to work in the ...

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