Re: contrib/vscode/: debugging with vscode and gdb

[Matthieu Moy <Matthieu.Moy@univ-lyon1.fr>]

On 4/3/22 22:18, Guillaume Cogoni wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> We don't know if we can revive this topic, but we still think that
> it's a good idea
> to talk more about "how it can be useful to use the debugging tool that gives
> VS Code".
> 
> So, we make a patch about it.
> We retrieve what Derrick Stolee did and add what we said in our previous mail.
> 
> Thanks,
> Cogoni Guillaume and Jonathan Bressat
> 
> --------------------->8-----------------------------------
> 
> Subject: [PATCH 0/1] contrib/vscode/: debugging with VS Code and gdb
> COGONI Guillaume (1):
> contrib/vscode/: debugging with VS Code and gdb

How did you generate this patch? It doesn't apply with 'git am', I 
suspect you copy-pasted incorrectly into your mailer. Using 'git 
send-email' helps sending properly formatted patches.

 > Remove "externalConsole" line in contrib/vscode/init.sh because it
 > seems to not work for everyone, and after a discussion with Matthieu
 > Moy and Derrick Stolee, we agreed that it is better to let the user 
choose
 > what to do with this line

I usually explain the problem first, and then the solution.

The externalConsole=true setting is broken for many users (launching the 
debugger with such setting results in VS Code waiting forever without 
actually starting the debugger). Also, this setting is a matter of user 
preference, and is arguably better set in a "launch" section in the 
user-wide settings.json than hardcoded in our script. Remove the line to 
use VS Code's default, or the user's setting.

 > (Add his own configuration).

Avoid using gender-specific formulation when not needed. It's easier to 
do in English than in French.

 > Add useful links in contrib/vscode/README.md to help the user to
 > configure his VS Code and how to use the debugging feature.

Likewise.

 > Add a mention to the README in Documentation/MyFirstContribution.txt
 > and a part "To convince a newcomer that VS Code can help him".

Why use double-quotes here? You're not quoting anything, right?

> --- a/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/MyFirstContribution.txt
> @@ -1265,3 +1265,15 @@ against the appropriate GitGitGadget/Git branch.
> If you're using `git send-email`, you can use it the same way as before, but you
> should generate your diffs from `<topic>..<mybranch>` and base your work on
> `<topic>` instead of `master`.
> +
> +[[Bonus-useful-tools]]
> +== Bonus - useful tools
> +
> +=== VS Code
> +
> +To see "how to use VS Code" read contrib/vscode/README.md.

Double-quotes look weird here too. And the document is not really about 
using VS Code, but more specifically on how to use VS Code on Git's 
codebase.

A set of scripts and instructions to use VS Code on Git's codebase is 
available in `contrib/vscode/README.md`.

?

> +If you want to try to understand "how git works internally", the debugging
> +feature of VS Code can help you. It will not give you all the keys to
> fully understand it, but
> +it can give you an idea of "how the information travels inside the code".
> +It can help you to isolate some parts of code, with this you are able
> +to ask more precise questions when you are stuck. (See getting-help sections).
> \ No newline at end of file

I'm reluctant to adding general programming tips in a Git-specific 
document. Perhaps shorten it to eg. just "Using the integrated debugger 
can be particularly helpful to understand how Git works internally"?

> --- a/contrib/vscode/README.md
> +++ b/contrib/vscode/README.md
> @@ -8,6 +8,11 @@ code editor which runs on your desktop and is available for
> [Linux](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/setup/linux). Among other languages,
> it has [support for C/C++ via an
> extension](https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode-cpptools).
> +To understand "how works the debugging part" read:

"How the debugging part works" to get words in the proper order.

But the flow would be more natural continuing the previous sentence IMHO:

   it has [support for C/C++ via an 
extension](https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode-cpptools) with [debugging 
support](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/debugging).

> +To get help about "how to personalize your settings" read:
> +[How to set up your
> settings](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/settings)

Why not, but I don't think it's necessary here. People familiar with VS 
Code don't need such link, and people not familiar at all with is would 
better read a tutorial.

Cheers,

-- 
Matthieu Moy
https://matthieu-moy.fr/