Debugging Concepts

SAP 264992601.
docGuide
SAP Debugging Guide
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SAP 264992601.docGuide
Contents
Debugger 04
Debugging Techniques.. 04
Starting the debugger.... 04
Debuggers Views... 05
Debugger Screen.... 06
Breakpoint..... .07
Static Breakpoint... 07
Dynamic Breakpoint.. 07
When a static breakpoint is used?.... 07
When a dynamic breakpoint is used? ..07
Watchpoint..... 07
When a watchpoint is used?.. 07
When to use watch points......... 07
Key word (statement) or event breakpoints........... 08
When to use breakpoints at Keywords (statements) or Events............ 08
Setting Static Breakpoints.......... .08
Setting Dynamic Breakpoints......... 08
Setting Watchpoints............ 10
Setting Breakpoints at (statements) keywords or subroutines................ 12
Deleting Static Breakpoints............ 13
Deleting Dynamic Breakpoints........... 13
Deleting Watchpoints.......... 14
Ways of viewing the code............ 15
Displaying the field contents...........17
Displaying the Internal table.......... 18
A View of internal table display..... 19
Changing contents of fields and internal tables........ 19
Changing Internal Tables at Runtime....... 20
Deleting a row........... 20
Editing a row............. 20
Adding a row..........21
Debugging a BSP application using SICF tcode............21
Debugging Tips and Tricks..................... 31
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Skip breakpoints.............. 31
Check sorting before READ BINARY SEARCH..... 32
System Debugging. 34
Update debugging..36
Debugging a Popup Window........................................36
External breakpoints.................................................... 38
Saving breakpoints........................................................ 40
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Debugger
The Debugger is a programming tool that you can use to execute ABAP programs, by line or
by section. With this tool, you can display data objects and check the flow logic of programs.
The ABAP/4 Debugger lets you stop a program during runtime and examine the flow and
results of each statement during execution. Stepping through a program with the debugger
helps you to detect and correct errors in your code.
Debugging Techniques
Starting the Debugger
On running a program in the debugging mode the following steps can be followed.
In the object browser ,

Select a report or transaction.
Choose debugging in the ABAP/4 editor initial screen.
Choose Program Execute Debugging or choose debugging.
From any screen, Choose SystemUtilities Debug ABAP/4.
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Debuggers views
We can have different views in the debugger by selecting appropriate view name by PushButtons, in debugger.
These Push buttons have following specific meaning.
Overview
- Displays the structure of the program to be debugged.
Call stack
- Displays an active event chain and the call sequence up to the
current breakpoint.
Fields
- Displays the field content and technical characteristics.
Table
- Displays the content of an internal table.
Break-Points - Displays the Break-Points set in the program.
Watchpoints
- Displays the Watch-Points set in the program.
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DEBUGGER SCREEN
We can set breakpoints in a program and then start the program within the debugger.
Alternatively, we can run the program in the debugger without any breakpoints.
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Breakpoint
A breakpoint is a signal that tells the debugger to temporarily suspend execution of your
program at a certain point. When execution is suspended at a breakpoint, your program is
said to be in break mode. Entering break mode does not terminate or end the execution of
your program. Execution can be resumed at any time.
Following are the types of breakpoints.
Static
These are user specific, set directly into a programs code with the editor. These breakpoints
are user-independent.
Dynamic
Set within the ABAP/4 debugger or editor. This type is visible when the program is displayed
in the editor. We can set up to 30 dynamic breakpoints.
When a static breakpoint is used?
Static break points are generally user-independent. On setting this breakpoint, every use who
executes the program encounters the breakpoint. This is used when several developers are
working in the same program, and all wants to the program to interrupt at the same place
during execution. These breakpoints are visible in the programs code.
When a dynamic breakpoint is used?
Dynamic break point is user-specific. If we want to interrupt a program when we execute and
while others are running, we use dynamic break-point. Dynamic breakpoints are more
flexible than static breakpoint , they can be removed or deactivated during runtime.
Watch points
Set within the ABAP/4 debugger .Watch points are field-specific. This is used to observe
changes to a particular field.
When to use watch points
We can set watchpoints only from within the debugger.
The debugger interrupts the program when fields content change.
Key word (statement) or event breakpoints
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Set within the ABAP/4 debugger. The debugger interrupts the program when the ABAP/4
processor comes in contact with a specific key word (statement) or event in programs
code.
When to use breakpoints at Keywords (statements) or Events
From within debugger, we can allocate breakpoint for specific ABAP/4 keywords or events.
Setting Static Breakpoints
To set a static break point use BREAK-POINT keyword.
Place the break point on the line where to interrupt the program:
REPORT ZDEBUG.
IF SY-SUBRC NE 0.
BREAK-POINT.
ENDIF.
We can number breakpoints like BREAK-POINT1, BREAK-POINT2,for identification.
Setting Dynamic Breakpoints
Place the cursor on the line where to position the breakpoint.
Choose Utilities Breakpoint Set OR press the stop pushbutton on the
application tool bar.
Utilities Breakpoint Set/Delete.
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(OR)
STOP pushbutton on the Application tool bar.
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A display of all breakpoints in a program can be obtained by selecting

UtilitiesBreakpointDisplay, in the ABAP editor.
Setting Watchpoints
On the Debugging editor, enter the table-field.

Press the pushbutton Watchpoint on the top left.
A dialog box appears, asking for the local watch point, relational operator. Fill in
as per requirement.
Fill the appropriate value in the Comparison field or value, as per preference in
the given check box or text field press the tick.
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A display of watch points can be viewed by Goto-->Control Debugging-->

Watchpoint or by pressing Watchpoint pushbutton in the ABAP editor.
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Setting Breakpoints at (statements) keywords or subroutines.
Choose either Breakpoint Breakpoint at Statement or subroutine or function

module in the menu.
The system will display a small screen prompting to enter statement keyword or
subroutine etc., as per selection in the menu.
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The system will set a breakpoint each time the statement or subroutine appears in
the
program.
For break point in form routines, it is possible to access the current program, not
external subroutine calls.
Deleting Static Breakpoints

It is necessary to remove the breakpoints after debugging .Use function Utilities Global
search to help in locating break-points in larger programs.
Deleting a dynamic Break-point
To delete a dynamic breakpoint, place the cursor in a line and choose BreakpointSet/Delete
or Delete in the ABAP editor screen.
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Temporary deleting of Dynamic breakpoint is possible by selecting the appropriate line and
select Breakpoint Deactivate/Activate in the ABAP Debuggers menu bar.
Deleting Watchpoints
From the debuggers menu bar ,
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Choose Goto Control debuggingWatchpoint or click Watchpoint pushbutton in the

editor.
A display of the watch points occurs, and can be deleted by pressing delete checkbox at the
end (last column) of each Watchpoint display.
Ways of viewing the code
F5 Single step: Execute a program statement by statement. If single step is

chosen while on a line that calls a FORM routine, for example the next mouse
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click carries to the called routine. After stepping the way through the subroutine,
returns to the line of code directly following the subroutine call.
F6 Execute: Process a program line by line. On choosing Execute while on a line,

that calls a FORM routine, the debugger executes the subroutine subroutine and
halts at the line of code directly following the call.
Thus this skips over the lines of the subroutine itself.
F7 Return: Returns the debugger to where a calling program resumes control.

Can be used from within a subroutine call.
F8 Continue: Processes the program up to the next active dynamic or static break
point. If no further breakpoints exist, the system executes the report in its entirety
without stopping.
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Displaying the field contents:

While debugging, display of contents of the fields (up to eight fields) are possible.
This can be performed by selecting the Fields Push button in the view options buttons.
Enter the field names directly in the spaces provided or double click the field in the code
display and the system lists it as a variable automatically.
Deleting the fields are possible by an appropriate push button placed just above the field
names table.
To display fields defined in the ABAP/4 Dictionary can be performed by defining the
relevant table in the TABLES statement.
Additionally the contents of the fields from external programs can be displayed by placing
the name of the external program in brackets in front of the field name.
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Displaying internal tables.

Within the debugger, we can display the contents of an internal table by choosing the Table
pushbutton.
The system displays the Table view with the table rows numbered.
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Specify a table name in the internal table field or double click on the table. If the internal
table contains a header line, this line appears before the actual table contents.
A View of internal table contents display
Changing contents of fields and internal tables

1. Go to the variable display screen.
This is the Debuggers default view.
2. Double click on a variable to place it in the variables display.
3. Enter a new value in the field contents row.
4. Choose the Change field content button.
If we forget to click on the Change field content push-button, the system ignores the values
we entered.
Old Debugger:
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New Debugger:
Changing Internal Tables at Runtime

The debugger allows to manipulate the contents of an internal table during runtime. We can
delete, edit or add a row to an internal table.
Deleting a row
To delete an entry from an internal table:
1. Go to the table display screen
2. Enter the table name in the internal table field.
3. Choose Enter.
The system displays the tables contents.
4. Place the cursor on the line you wish to remove from the table.
5. Press Delete pushbutton.
The line disappears from the table and the system adjusts the line numbering accordingly.
Editing a row
1. Place the cursor on the row and field we want to edit.
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2. Choose Change.
3. Enter a new value for the field.
4. Choose Enter.
The system updates the line and displays the new contents in the table.
Adding a Row
We can add a new row to an internal table by using either Append or the Insert function.
Append places the new line at the end of the table.
Insert lets us to position the line anywhere.
To add a new row to the end of the table, the following steps will do.
1. Choose append.
2. Enter a value for the first field in the line.
3. Choose Enter.
The system adds a line to the table and fills in the first field.
To insert a new line anywhere in the internal table, position the cursor on the line directly
following the line where we want the new row to appear.
Then, Choose Insert button and proceed as we want to append the line.
Debugging BSP using SICF transaction code:
Step1:
Go to Se80 ABAP Workbench.
Choose BSP Application in the drop down and enter the name of the BSP application.
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Double click on .htm page which is under Pages with flow logic.
At the bottom of the properties tab there is a field named URL. This is the link of the portal
page.
For this BSP application the link is:
http://blade23.wipro.com:8000/sap/bc/bsp/sap/zbsp_download/first.htm
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Step2:
Go to SICF tcode and execute.
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Expand each node according to the link.

That is default_host -> sap -> bc -> bsp.
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Now select bsp. Go to menu item Edit -> debugging -> activate debugging.
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Now we get a pop up. In this pop up screen check the field System debugging.
Click on Activate.
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Step3:
Place an external breakpoint in the BSP application where ever necessary according to
functionality.
Step4:
Now execute the URL. This can be done either by directly using internet explorer by entering
the URL or by right clicking on .htm page and clicking on Test.
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Now the control goes to debugger. Now we can step into the code and check how the code is
working. Accordingly changes can be made.
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On executing,
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This is how we can debug a BSP application.

After debugging is done, delete the external breakpoint and deactivate the debugger as shown
below.
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Debugging Tips and Tricks

SAP provides a very powerful debugger, knowing all its features would make debugging fast.
Below are a few.
Skip breakpoints
The new ABAP debugger gives an option to skip the first n occurrences of a breakpoint; this
would be useful while debugging loops as we might want to skip the first n executions of the
loop. Or the first n times a function module / subroutine is called. The below screen shot
shows where we can enter the number of times the breakpoint should be skipped.
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Check sorting before READ BINARY SEARCH

Before delivering the code, we can use this option to make sure all internal tables are
properly sorted before READ BINARY SEARCH is performed on them. If the table is not
sorted a runtime error is generated. This ensures that the READ statement does not return
incorrect results.
Path (old debugger): Settings tab
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System Debugging
The System Debugging function enables the user to analyze system programs, in addition to
application programs, using the Debugger. This function is called or terminated through the
menu path Settings System Debugging On /Off. By selecting the menu Settings Save,
this predefined setting is stored to the database and thus activated again each time the new
Debugger is activated.
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In the program attributes we can designate a program as a System program. The debugger
skips the program if the system debugging is turned off.
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We can also turn on system debugging by entering /hs in the command field in the debugger.
Update Debugging
Update function modules do not run in the same user session as the program that is currently
running in the ABAP Debugger. These update functions are not called directly. They are part
of an LUW that is executed after the next COMMIT WORK statement. These function
modules are therefore not included in debugging. Only if you select the Update Debugging
option can you display and debug them after the COMMIT WORK.
Debugging a Popup Window

Sometimes we might want to start debugging from a popup window / information message,
in this case we cannot type /h as the OK Code box is not available.
Method 1: For this create a text file (say debugger.txt) on your desktop, and type the below
lines into the file:
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[FUNCTION] Command=/H Title=Debugger Type=SystemCommand

Now drag the file onto the popup window / information message and debugging is enabled.
Method 2: From any SAP windows press the Customize Local Layout button (Alt + F12)
and select Create Shortcut in the window that appears make the below changes and click
Finish.
A file is generated on your desktop or SAP workspace. Now drag the file onto the popup
window / information message and debugging is enabled.
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An icon with debugger name appears on your desktop.

External breakpoints
In order to debug ABAP code which is called via Portal or any external system you can need
to follow a two step approach. Firstly enter the user ID using which you would login to the
portal / HTTP application, this can be done in on of the workbench development utilities
(SE38, SE37, SE80, etc) choose Utilities -> Settings -> Debugging -> External Debugging.
Secondly set external breakpoint at the required position in the ABAP code using the
Set/Delete External Breakpoints button. Now when the external application is run the ABAP
debugger opens in a separate window.
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We can use debugging in order to carry out detailed troubleshooting. With the debugger, we
check a given section of code in the Request Handler or an ABAP function module for errors.
Basically, there are two different types of debugging:
With conventional debugging, we can analyze programs that we call up within our
own user session on the server, with breakpoints being set at corresponding points
in the coding.
With external debugging, we can analyze programs that are called up by an
external user with HTTP. For the purpose of external debugging, special
breakpoints (external breakpoints) are set on the target server.
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Two variants are available for conventional debugging: the classical variant and the new (2processor) variant, which creates a separate session for the debugger. At present, external
debugging can only be performed with the classical variant.
Saving breakpoints
If you need to debug the same code again and have a set of breakpoints in place, you can
create a Session to save the breakpoints and settings. Later this session can be loaded by any
user, and the same set of breakpoints is restored.
Path: New Debugger: Debugger -> Debugger Session -> Save
Classic Debugger: Debugging -> Sessions
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Thank You
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Debugging Concepts

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SAP 264992601.

SAP Debugging Guide

In the object browser ,

From any screen, Choose SystemUtilities Debug ABAP/4.

A display of all breakpoints in a program can be obtained by selecting

On the Debugging editor, enter the table-field.

A display of watch points can be viewed by Goto-->Control Debugging-->

Setting Breakpoints at (statements) keywords or subroutines.

Choose either Breakpoint Breakpoint at Statement or subroutine or function

Deleting Static Breakpoints

Choose Goto Control debuggingWatchpoint or click Watchpoint pushbutton in the

Ways of viewing the code

F5 Single step: Execute a program statement by statement. If single step is

F6 Execute: Process a program line by line. On choosing Execute while on a line,

F7 Return: Returns the debugger to where a calling program resumes control.

Displaying the field contents:

Displaying internal tables.

Changing contents of fields and internal tables

Changing Internal Tables at Runtime

Expand each node according to the link.

This is how we can debug a BSP application.

Debugging Tips and Tricks

Check sorting before READ BINARY SEARCH

Debugging a Popup Window

[FUNCTION] Command=/H Title=Debugger Type=SystemCommand

An icon with debugger name appears on your desktop.

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