vimpdb 0.4.5

Python code

Using vimpdb is easy – just insert a call to set_trace in your code almost as usual:

import vimpdb; vimpdb.set_trace()

Then start your python application/script.

When the python interpreter hits that line, vimpdb will launch a VIM instance. VIM should get the focus; it loads the source file at the right line.

VIM commands

In VIM, you may now use the following commands:

Standard pdb hook

If you find it hard to change habits and keep on typing

import pdb; pdb.set_trace()

you can add the following line to the .pdbrc file sitting in your home folder:

import vimpdb; vimpdb.hookPdb()

This way, the command v(im) mentioned above is added to your standard pdb and you can switch to vimpdb at any time.

Short story

vimpdb tries to avoid depending on any user configuration. If it cannot detect the right configuration by itself, it will ask a few questions which you should be able to answer easily.

Long story

When launched, vimpdb looks for its RC file : ~/.vimpdbrc. If it does not find it, vimpdb creates that file for you from default values.

vimpdb tries a set of default values that should work. It checks if those default values are appropriate. If the default values do not work, vimpdb asks for other values interactively until it has checked that the values provided actually work.

The default values per OS are listed hereunder.

For Linux:

vim_client_script = vim
vim_server_script = gvim
server_name = GVIM
port = 6666

For MacOSX:

vim_client_script = mvim
vim_server_script = mvim
server_name = VIM
port = 6666

For Windows:

vim_client_script = vim.exe
vim_server_script = gvim.exe
server_name = VIM
port = 6666

See below for details about each option.

You are obviously allowed to create and tune that RC file. Nevertheless, the RC file should hold values for all 4 options. If one of them is missing, vimpdb breaks and complains accordingly.

VIM client script - vim_client_script

To communicate with the VIM instance where debugging happens, vimpdb needs to launch another VIM instance in client mode.

vim_client_script option holds the script used to launch that VIM instance with clientserver support.

On Windows, it should hold vim.exe, not gvim.exe. Furthermore, do not include quotes in the value to take care of whitespace in the path.

VIM server script - vim_server_script

In case no VIM instance is running, vimpdb launches a VIM instance in server mode.

vim_server_script option holds the script used to launch that VIM instance with clientserver support. As debugging in the VIM instance is written with python, that instance must have python support.

On MacOSX and Linux, vim_server_script and vim_client_script can hold the same value.

On Windows, only the graphical VIM can be used as server, reason for the two separate default values as seen above.

Server Name - server_name

The VIM instance in server mode has a name.

By default, vimpdb speaks to the server named VIM, which is the default servername used by VIM.

If you want vimpdb to use another server name, modify the server_name option. It should hold the name of the VIM server you want to be used for debugging.

You may list the currently running VIM servers using:

$ vim --serverlist
VIM

Or, on a Mac:

$ /Applications/MacVim.app/Contents/MacOS/Vim --serverlist
VIM

When a VIM instance with clientserver support is running, you can find its name by issuing the following command at the VIM prompt:

:echo v:servername

UDP Port - port

VIM communicates to vimpdb through a UDP socket. By default, the socket is opened on port 6666.

If that socket is not available in your system, you can specify an available port number with the port option.

0.4.5 (2011-04-28)

• fix highlighting of current line.

0.4.4 (2010-11-29)

• tests cleanup : get rid of helper class and functions.

• code cleanup : improve imports style.

• after c(ontinue), key mapping was broken (again :-().

0.4.3.2 (2010-11-27)

• fix Linux default values in documentation.

• document PDBxx commands.

• less noise on VIM command-line.

• better highlighting of current line.

0.4.3 (2010-11-26)

• fix launch of VIM server when server names collide like VIM and GVIM.

• fix detection of VIM support.

• fix vimpdb buffer creation.

• fix and tune Linux default values.

0.4.2 (2010-11-26)

• PDBEval (mapped to ? key) to ask for a Python expression to evaluate.

• PDBClear (mapped to B key) to clear a previously set breakpoint.

• open new tab only if there is already an opened file in VIM.

• close vimpdb buffer when continue (c), reset (x) or quit (q).

• launch VIM server also if another server is running.

0.4.1.2 (2010-11-26)

• polish documentation.

0.4.1.1 (2010-11-26)

• tune documentation.

0.4.1 (2010-11-26)

• check python and clientserver support; gives a chance to provide right configuration if support is missing.

• try to launch a VIM server instance if none is running.

0.4.0 (2010-07-29)

• tested with Python 2.7.

• UDP port is now an option.

• configuration through ~/.vimpdbrc instead of environment variables.

0.3.8 (2010-06-17)

• fix: some versions of VIM need explicit import of vim module even though most don’t. (http://github.com/gotcha/vimpdb/issues/issue/5)

0.3.7 (2010-05-20)

• fix: could not go down after switching from pdb to vimpdb after having gone up. (http://github.com/gotcha/vimpdb/issues/issue/4)

0.3.6 (2010-04-17)

• fix: continue command was broken after breakpoint has been set. (http://github.com/gotcha/vimpdb/issues/issue/3)

• fix: Key mappings were left broken after continue command. (http://github.com/gotcha/vimpdb/issues/issue/2)

0.3.5 (2010-03-22)

• better documentation, especially for Windows.

• fix: capture of output was broken for Python 2.5 and 2.6.

• Windows compatibility (at least XP)

0.3.4 (2010-03-15)

• close socket to allow debugging session to start again.

0.3.3 (2010-03-04)

• avoid leaving mappings in debugged buffers.

0.3.2 (2010-03-03)

• more documentation

0.3.1 (2010-03-02)

• fix setup.py metadata so that it does not hold non ascii chars. This avoided actual release to PyPI.

0.3 (2010-03-02)

• fully rewritten.

0.2.1 (2008-06-27)

• added vimpdb script.

• added “exit” callback.

0.2 (2008-06-17)

• first release to PyPI.