[Rd] [SoC09-Idea] Integrated debugger

[Romain Francois]

Hello,

Hello,

Here is an idea for a google summer of code project I am willing to mentor.

Romain


Summary: Create an integrated debugger.

Required skills: R skills. Experience of using a debugger. Front-end 
skills depending on the chosen front-end(s).

Description: Debugging R code usually involves a lot of work from the
command line with the use of functions such as browser, debug, trace, 
recover. The debug package provides additional debugging functionalities 
and concepts to R internal debugging capabilities: code display, 
graceful error recovery, line-numbered conditional breakpoints,
access to exit code, flow control, and full keyboard input.

The current front-end used by the debug package is based on tcltk, and
although tcltk offers universal portability wherever R is installed, it 
does not compete with current alternatives in terms of user-experience.

The goal of this project is to create an integrated debugger for R,
based on the debug package but coupled with another front-end. Possible
front-ends are listed below, ordered by current experience of the mentor.

- biocep [java,swing] : http://biocep-distrib.r-forge.r-project.org/
- sciviews-k [mozilla,javascript] 
http://www.sciviews.org/SciViews-K/index.html
- statet [java,eclipse,swt]: http://www.walware.de/goto/statet

If you are interested in the project: I you are coming
from an R standpoint, have a look at the debug package and make a few 
design suggestions about how the package could be modified to support 
alternative front-ends. If you come from a front-end standpoint,
make a few suggestions on how you would present the information.


-- 
Romain Francois
Independent R Consultant
+33(0) 6 28 91 30 30
http://romainfrancois.blog.free.fr