New ABAP Debugger Tips and Tricks

Posted by Olga Dolinskaja in ABAP Testing and Troubleshooting on Nov 10, 2010 12:51:37 AM
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The New ABAP Debugger was first released by SAP with NetWeaver04. As of release
NetWeaver 7.0 it fully replaces in the scope of its functionality the "old-fashioned" Classic
ABAP Debugger. During the last SAP TechEds I learned that more and more people use the
New ABAP Debugger (that is a great news!) but still many are not aware of some of its
useful features. The purpose of this blog is to point you to these features so that you can
make the most of the New ABAP Debugger.

Some useful debugger settings

How to handover a debugger problem - Use Debugger Variants
How to display all loaded programs and global variables - Use the Loaded Programs Tool
How to test a function module in the debugger and pass parameters
Helpful hints for analyzing variables
How to debug a program which is running in an endless loop
How to debug a background job which is running in an endless loop
How to debug a finished or crashed background job
How to compare ABAP variables - Use the Diff Tool
How to debug HTTP requests
Helpful debugger ok-codes

Some useful debugger settings

The New ABAP Debugger settings dialog lets you activate special debugging modes and comfort
options that can speed up your troubleshooting scenarios. Here you will find some helpful debugger
settings with instructions on when and how to use them. You can access debugger settings in the
debugger by using Settings->Display/Change Debugger Settings:
System Debugging: if you have problems that involve system programs (such as a function
that can't be accessed in the debugger), turn on this setting (or use menu Settings->System
debugging On/Of " or the command /hs in the debugger command field). You can declare a program
as a system program by setting Statusto "System Program" in its attributes in the ABAP Editor (SE38)
(check the radiobutton Attributes and pressChange button).

Update Debugging: turn on this setting if you need to analyze asynchronous updates, which
are functions that are called as follows: CALL FUNCTION ...' IN UPDATE TASK. These functions are
executed asynchronously in a special update work process (after the next COMMIT WORK statement).
The debugger can't follow them since it is attached to a single process. Set a breakpoint in the function
that is called IN UPDATE TASK, start debugging, turn on this setting, and the debugger will reach the
breakpoint in your update function.

TRFC (In Background Task): Block Sending: turn on this setting if you need to analyze
transactional Remote Function Calls (TRFC), which are called as follows: CALL FUNCTION ...' IN
BACKGROUND TASK. These functions are called asynchronously, along with other TRFC functions of
this logical unit of work (LUW), after the next COMMIT WORK statement. The debugger can't follow
them since it is attached to a single process. When you turn on this setting, these TRFC functions are
stored in the system for debugging instead of being sent. Use the TRFC Monitor (transaction SM58) to
analyze the unprocessed LUWs and select Edit->Debug LUW to debug them.

Close debugger After Continue' (F8) and Roll Area End: usually after you
press Continue (F8) in the debugger session, the debugger session remains available but inactive
when the program is finished. If you switch on this setting, then the debugger will be closed
automatically after pressing Continue (F8), when the roll area (internal session) is ended.

Always Create Exception Obj.: turn on this setting if you need to analyze exception objects
(if you catch ABAP exceptions in your program via the CATCH CX_MY_EXCEPTION without specifying a
reference variable to which the exception object can be assigned). You can then examine the created
exception objects in the debugger viaDisplay Exception Obj. magnifier button.

How to handover a debugger problem - Use

Debugger Variants
Imagine that you have had to reproduce and troubleshoot a problem in a rather complicated
environment. You have finally found the function module which doesn't work properly under certain
conditions. You may need to hand over this debugging session for further analysis to a colleague who
has expert knowledge of this function module.
In order to ensure that your colleague can reproduce the problem, you must create a very detailed
description: the source lines at which to set breakpoints, the debugger settings that must be active,
and so on. This is time consuming and there is still a chance that you might forget critical information.
In such situations, use a debugger variant (menuDebugger->Debugger Session->Save) to store your
debugger session. You can choose which parts to store: current layout (customized desktops),
debugger settings, options and breakpoints. Then you can save the variant either in the database or
in a local file and send it per email to your colleague.

Afterwards your colleague can load the saved variant from a file or the database after starting a
debugging session (menu Debugger->Debugger Session->Load). All settings and breakpoints will
become active immediately. Of course he can choose which components of the variant to load: layout,
settings, options, breakpoints, or all of them.

How to display all loaded programs and

global variables - Use the Loaded Programs
Tool

A double-click on the variable name in the source code leads to the Variable Fast Display Tool where
you get information about variable: type, value, etc. On the Locals tab you get all parameters
(including parameter kind) and local variables of the current function module, on the Globals tab, you
can display all global variables of the current program. But sometimes this local and global information
is not enough; you maybe need to display all currently loaded programs and their global variables as
well. For this purpose, use the Loaded Programs Tool (button New Tool, Special Tools->Loaded
Programs).
Loaded Programs shows you two tabs. On the Loaded Programs tab you see the attributes of all loaded
programs and their program groups. On the Global Data tab you get global variables of each global
program just by double-clicking the program in the navigation tree.

How to test a function module in the

debugger and pass parameters
Imagine you want to test a function module in the test framework of the Function Builder (transaction
SE37) in the debugger, and you need to pass as a parameter a big internal table with many entries. It
would be very time consuming to enter the input data for such a table manually in SE37. But you don't
have to do this. If you access the function module from the debugger, then you can download its
parameters to the SE37 test framework. Select the parameter and use the right mouse button context
menu Save Parameters as Test Data (SE37). Please consider that this download is restricted to the
data types which are allowed in the SE37 test framework: you cannot download objects, nested
internal tables or data references. After that just open the function module in a separate SE37 window
and run it in the test framework. You can access your downloaded data in SE37 via Test Data
Directory button.

Helpful hints for analyzing variables

Use the Data Explorer to view deep nested objects With the Objects Tool
(Objects desktop) you can examine object properties including visibility, inheritance, references to the
object (where-used list ). You can double-click on attributes in order to navigate to the subcomponents
of a class. But if you have to analyze deep nested objects, then the Data Explorer Tool is the better
choice. The Data Explorer lets you drill down into nested objects, structures, and references without
losing context of the upper levels.

Use Text Translation to display large hex strings and the XML Browser to display
XML data. It is very time consuming to analyze the content of a variable that contains 2000 bytes of
hex code. Therefore, the detail view (Detail Display desktop) for simple types and strings allows you to
translate hex strings into readable text using the appropriate code page (field View , choose Text
Translation). For binary XML data, there is the XML viewer (fieldView , choose XML Browser).

How to debug a program which is running in

an endless loop
Imagine your program is running in an endless loop and you need to analyze its behavior. In such
situations you can force the running program into the debugger simply by setting a session breakpoint
in a second ABAP Editor. InUtilities->Settings...->Debugging just choose the Session breakpoint
active immed. option. When you activate this option, all (running and waiting) sessions of your logon
session immediately inherit all session breakpoints set in any of those sessions. It is recommended
that you activate this option in development environments.

How to debug a background job which is

running in an endless loop
Now imagine that you have a background job that is running and running, and you want to analyze its
behavior. Just use the Process Overview (transaction SM50), select the running process, and choose
from the transaction menu Program->Debugging.

How to debug a finished or crashed

background job
Now just imagine that your background job finishes its execution so quickly, that you don't have a
chance to attach a debugger to it in the Process Overview (SM50), or even worse: it crashed with a
dump and you need to analyze what caused the dump. Just choose your job in the Job
Overview (transaction SM37) and type "jdbg" into the command field. The debugger will start, and you
just would need to press a couple of times Return (F7) to get out of the spool functions checks and you
can debug your finished or crashed background job online in dialog.

How to compare ABAP variables - Use the Dif

Tool
Just imagine you are in the debugger and need to compare two strings which are 2000 bytes long, or
you need to compare two nested objects to look for differences in deeply nested attributes. With
the Dif Tool (Diff Desktop) you can compare two compatible ABAP variables, e.g. two tables, objects,
structures or strings. The Dif tool provides differences concerning type and value. If you double click
on a hit in the diff result list, the variables are displayed in parallel, and the debugger navigates to the
difference.

In order to assure good performance of the diff tool, even for deeply nested variables no "deep diff" is
executed.
This means that if you have for example an internal table as the attribute of an object, then you can at
first only check if the tables of both objects are equal. You will not get details about where they differ.
To get the details of differences, you can run a diff for the unequal subcomponents (Dif button in the
corresponding result line). You can use the Historytab to get back to the first result list.

How to debug HTTP requests

Nowadays, distributed HTTP based applications (like BSP, Web Dynpro for ABAP applications) are the
reality in many IT scenarios. To troubleshoot such applications, you must be able to debug HTTP
requests.
Use transaction SICF to activate the debugger for a specific web service and a specific user
(menu Edit->Debugging->Acivate Debugging). Please keep in mind that your web application must run
on the server where you set user breakpoints and/or where you activate HTTP debugging via SICF.
Please refer to SAP note 668256 for the details on HTTP debugging.

After activating debugging, you will stop in the system code of the http requests in the debugger.
You can set new user breakpoints
or watchpoints to reach the point of interest. Don't forget
to save them before continuing.

Helpful debugger ok-codes

/h activate debugging
/hs activate system debugging
/ha skip dynpro (PAI, PBO) and directly debug ABAP code
/hx detach debugger
/hmusa create memory snapshot (can be used in the transaction S_MEMORY_INSPECTOR for memory
consumption analysis)
jdbg in SM37 restart of a finished or crashed background job for debugging
/ron start ABAP Runtime Analysis measurement (transaction SE30)
/rof stop ABAP Runtime Analysis measurement (transaction SE30)

http://scn.sap.com/community/abap/testing-andtroubleshooting/blog/2010/11/10/new-abap-debugger-tips-andtricks#jive_content_id_How_to_debug_HTTP_requests

ABAP New Debugger Skip

Breakpoints
By Naimesh Patel | April 29, 2013 | Concepts | 2,311 | 4

ABAP New Debugger has few more additions to the debugger as well. Since ABAP Release
731, you can skip the breakpoints.

Introduction
ABAP 731 which is available since SAP ECC 6 EhP6 has new addition in the Breakpoint
tab. Now, you can Skip breakpoints. This would be helpful when you just want to jump few

Skip Breakpoint
Whenever you have a breakpoint, once system brings you debugger, you can now use the
Skip field for each breakpoint. Whatever number you enter in the field, system would NOT
stop to the breakpoint for those many iterations.

Once the iteration is reached, system would STOP at the breakpoint.

After the condition is met, the breakpoint behaves normally means flow of execution
would be interpreted whenever the statement is executed.

Use Skip Breakpoint

This would be very handy whenever you know that you want to only stop for 5th record or
say last record Get the total number of records, Deduct 2 from that number and enter into
the Skip field. You would need to deduct 2 assuming, you are that point (1 iteration
complete) and want to execute the last iteration (another 1)
http://zevolving.com/2013/04/abap-new-debugger-skip-breakpoints/