DevOps
Explore the Top Software Debugging Tools recognized for their code analysis, error identification, and troubleshooting features to streamline the software development and debugging process.
Last updated on Jun 26, 2024
Written by Alex Zawalnyski
Technical review by Laura Iannini
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The Top 5 Software Debugging Tools include:
- 1. GDB
- 2. Google Chrome DevTools
- 3. LLDB
- 4. Microsoft Visual Studio Debugger
- 5. Valgrind
Debugging Tools play a crucial role in software development, making the task of identifying and resolving coding issues easier. Debugging involves a process of detecting, assessing, then eliminating errors within a computer program. It may come as no surprise that the time spent debugging can be significantly reduced with the right set of tools. A powerful debugger can speed up the process, providing functionality such as stepping through code, setting breakpoints, inspecting variables, and tracking exceptions.
The market is inundated with numerous debugging tools, each with their own unique insights into your code’s behavior. These tools are generally paired with an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), supporting various languages, frameworks, and methodologies. The right debugging tool can save developers countless hours that mightotherwise be spent combing through logs, enabling them to work more productively and proficiently.
This guide will present the top debugging tools and consider their unique features such as real-time monitoring, breakpoint management, interface intuitiveness, and language flexibility.
1
GDB, or the GNU Project Debugger, is a tool that allows users to track the activities within a program as it executes, or in moments of crash. Essential to numerous software developers, GDB permits the launch of programs under specific parameters, provides the capability of pausing program operation under determined conditions, allows examination of instances when a program halts, and facilitates necessary changes in the program, thereby enabling developers to understand, debug, and correct errors.
GDB functions on several UNIX and Microsoft Windows variants and macOS. It serves as a platform for a variety of languages, including Ada, Assembly, C, C++, D, Fortran, Go, Objective-C, OpenCL, Modula-2, Pascal, and Rust. GDB’s simplified interface assists in parsing complex code snippets and enables variable printing and stack inspection.
Not only does it effectively aid in debugging C and C++ code by printing backtraces upon encountering fatal errors like segfaults, but it also assists in unravelling synchronization issues in multithreaded applications. GDB delivers core dump analysis post-program crashes, shedding light on the root problems. Consequently, GDB contributes to businesses through the identification and resolution of coding errors that could potentially affect application performance, improving the bug fix process, thereby reducing time spent on software testing and accelerating the delivery of high-quality applications.
In terms of usability, GDB is a versatile tool with strong debugging capabilities, and flexibility across multiple platforms and programming languages. While it does not claim to be a comprehensive solution, GDB’s range of powerful features make it an invaluable tool in the software development life cycle.
Google Chrome DevTools is a suite of web development tools integrated into the Google Chrome browser. Its main purpose is to assist in editing web pages in real-time and promptly diagnosing issues, contributing to a more efficient and enhanced website development process.
This toolkit allows for quick task execution, giving developers accessibility to specific shortcuts for running commands, opening files, and other actions. The JavaScript disable feature visualizes how a web page appears and operates when JavaScript is not enabled.
The toolkit offers various features for better web development. These include simulating mobile devices for building mobile-first websites, searching across loaded resources, viewing and editing a page’s DOM and CSS, logging messages, and running JavaScript. It also provides features for evaluating site performance and identifying memory issues that could impact page performance, such as memory leaks and bloat, as well as frequent garbage collections.
Its additional functionalities include inspecting, modifying, and debugging web apps, recording, replaying, and measuring user flows, as well as detecting and fixing website problems. The tool also ensures a website’s full protection by HTTPS through its security panel. Overall, Chrome DevTools offers a comprehensive and user-friendly development environment within the Chrome browser which supports a variety of functions that cater to different aspects of web development.
3
LLDB, a high-performance debugger, serves as a next-gen innovation that is constructed with reusable components. Integrated with various libraries encompassed within the larger LLVM Project, such as the Clang expression parser and LLVM disassembler, LLDB provides a significant debugging solution. As the default debugger on macOS’ Xcode, LLDB supports debugging for C, Objective-C, and C++ on desktop, iOS devices, and simulators. Access to all LLDB coding rests under the Apache 2.0 License with LLVM exceptions.
LLDB not only provides an accessible command interface for debugging, but it also integrates well with other software operations. The debugger transitions debug information into Clang types, leveraging the Clang compiler infrastructure. This ability enables LLDB to incorporate the most up-to-date C, C++, Objective-C, and Objective-C++ language features and runtimes in expressions with no need for functionality duplication. Additional benefits include multi-line expressions capacity, JIT utilization for expressions, and evaluation of expression Intermediate Representation when JIT is inapplicable.
As part of its reusability feature, LLDB offers access to its debugger APIs as a C++ object-oriented interface in a shared library. The LLDB API can be adopted for debugging as well as symbolication, disassembly, as well as object and symbol file introspection. The API can be used within the LLDB embedded script interpreter and in any python script that incorporates the lldb.py module in standard Python script files.
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is a desktop source code editor. It is usable across Windows, macOS, and Linux as well as being equipped with built-in JavaScript, TypeScript, and Node.js support. The application also offers support for numerous languages and runtimes via its extensions like C#, Python, PHP, Go, and .NET. Key features of the Visual Studio Code include IntelliSense that delivers intelligent completions based on variable types, function definitions, and imported modules. This goes beyond the regular syntax highlighting and autocomplete functions.
The Visual Studio Code simplifies debugging process and lets you debug your code directly from the editor, without reverting to print statement debugging. This is facilitated by features like break points, call stacks, and an interactive console. Another built-in feature is the Git command function. This makes working with Git and other SCM providers easy as you can review diffs, stage files, and make commits straight from the editor. You can also push and pull from any hosted SCM service.
To expand its capabilities, you can install extensions and add new languages, debuggers or connect to additional services without slowing down your editor. It also offers easy deployment using Microsoft Azure.
Debugging support is a highlight of Visual Studio Code. It comes with built-in debugging support for Node.js runtime, allowing you to debug JavaScript, TypeScript, or any other language transpiled to JavaScript. There are also numerous extensions to add debugging support for other languages like PHP, Ruby, Go, C#, Python, C++, and PowerShell.
5
Valgrind is a suite of debugging and profiling tools that incorporate several different programs to provide a full-rounded verification of a business’s system. It features a variety of useful tools including – Memcheck, Cachegrind, Callgrind, Massif, Helgrind, DRD, DHAT, Lackey, Nulgrind, BBV, and SGCheck.
Memcheck is one of the popular tools, mainly designed for programs written in C and C++ that checks memory-management problems by supervising all memory reads and writes, plus intercepting calls to malloc/new/free/delete when a program runs. Its pinpoint accuracy and detailed reports of error locations making it useful for identifying and rectifying issues quickly.
Valgrind also offers Cachegrind, a cache profiler that simulates detailed I1, D1, and L2 caches in your CPU. By doing so, it identifies the sources of cache misses in your code, indicating the number of mismatches in each line of source code. The callgraph information provided by Callgrind, an extension of Cachegrind, is useful for visualizing data and understanding its behavior.
Massif, a heap profiler, delivers regular snapshots of a program’s heap, providing an illustrative graph showing the heap usage over time. It highlights the areas responsible for maximum memory allocations.
The Valgrind toolset also comprises specialized tools like Helgrind for thread debugging, DRD for detecting multithreaded program errors, and DHAT for examining heap allocations. The BBV tool is used for generating basic block vectors, while SGCheck can detecting overruns of stack and global arrays also form an integral part of Valgrind’s offering. Its experimental tools like Lackey and Nulgrind are useful for testing and demonstration purposes.
Everything You Need To Know About Debugging Tools (FAQs)
What Are Debugging Tools?
Debugging tools are software applications that will scan code to identify errors.
When writing a new piece of code – be it a patch, application, or other – errors can easily creep in. When a software engineer goes to run the code, these errors can prevent it from functioning properly. Without a debugging tool, the software engineer would have to reread every line of code to identify and rectify the error. This would be very time consuming as code can run into many thousands of lines.
Software debugging tools take this task out of human hands by identifying errors systematically, then allowing programmers to resolve the issues. This type of automation saves time and effort. Not only is it a much quicker process that having a human read the code, but it also allows the software engineer to save their focus for more important tasks. We should not underestimate the toll it takes to scan for errors – having to remain vigilant and focused for long periods.
One of the main use cases for debugging tools is to address errors that occur after code has been compiled. If multiple software engineers have been working on different sections, there may be a difference in syntax that prevents the code from executing when all the parts are combined. Debugging tools can identify these errors and highlight them for developers to resolve them.
How Do Debugging Tools work?
The concept of debugging is a relatively straightforward one. Software debugging tools will read code after it has been written, scanning for any errors or inconsistencies. In this section, we’ll break the process down into its three key stages: error identification, analysis, and fixing.
Error identification involves scanning the code to understand the point at which a failure occurs. This may be a simple typo within the code, or something much more complex. The effects of this error can be analyzed by monitoring state changes and data value fluctuations.
Is this a critical error? Or does it have a limited impact on performance? It is during this analysis stage that you can prioritize which errors need to be rectified most urgently. Software engineers will develop a fix for the error, then execute the software to confirm that the problem is solved. Depending on the point within the software development cycle that the error is identified, engineers may rewrite substantial amounts of code or design a patch to ‘cover’ the error.
Software debugging tools are not the only method of removing errors from code. Organizations can implement strategies and processes to eliminate errors as the code is being created. Some other methods of removing errors within code include:
- Unit Tests – this type of testing works by breaking large sections of code into smaller, more manageable ‘units’. By executing these units one by one, you can identify which ones function and which ones fail. This allows you to focus on a small section of code, making the whole task more manageable.
- Code Reviews – this test will send the code completed by one engineer to another, and vice versa. This second engineer can review the code and identify any errors, similar to the traditional author/editor relationship in publishing.
- Pair Programming – two programmers will work simultaneously on the same piece of code. This allows the code to be reviewed constantly. This method can also improve efficiency. If one programmer runs into any difficulties, there is a chance that the other programmer will identify a workaround.
What Features Should You Look For In Debugging Tools?
Software debugging tools will improve the effectiveness of your code, as well as reducing the human workload. When selecting the right debugging tool for your organization, Expert Insights recommends looking for the following features:
- Stack Traces – When your debugging tool identifies an error, fixing that incident may not fix your code overall. There may be other elements that were dependent on the broken piece of code. Your debugging tool should identify the primary error, then assess how that error affects the rest of the code.
- Memory Inspection – Your tool should assess how your code uses memory. This will include identifying the risk of overflows or memory leaks, which could impact the smooth execution of your code.
- Performance Analysis – Some debugging tools will go beyond identifying errors, to assessing how well your code will perform when executed. It can allow you to identify bottlenecks or other areas that could be optimized to improve performance.
- IDE Integrations – To make the software development process as straightforward as possible, your debugging tool should integrate with the IDE that you use.
- Efficient and Accurate – Your debugging platform should strike a balance between being quick and being accurate. If it is not accurate, then the tool fails in int primary objective. That being said, if it is too unwieldy, it will slow down productivity and have a negative impact on the software development lifecycle.
Alex Zawalnyski
Journalist & Content Editor
Alex is an experienced journalist and content editor. He researches, writes, factchecks and edits articles relating to B2B cyber security and technology solutions, working alongside software experts. Alex was awarded a First Class MA (Hons) in English and Scottish Literature by the University of Edinburgh.
Laura Iannini
Cybersecurity Analyst
Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.
