HOW-TO:Debug python scripts with WinPDB

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You can easily debug python scripts running inside XBMC in a few simple steps using WinPDB!

1 Requirements

XBMC installed on Linux or Windows (should also work fine on Mac)
Install WinPDB. Download the binary installer for Windows or Mac, use this command for Linux:
```
$ sudo apt-get install winpdb
```
On Mac, Windows and some Linux distros you will also need to install wxPython. If you are using 32-bit python, use the 32-bit version. Always get the unicode version

How to make a symlink in Linux

$ cd /home/<user>/.xbmc/scripts/Foo
$ ln -s `find /usr/lib/pymodules -name rpdb2.py`

How to make a symlink in Windows

For Windows 7

mklink "C:\Program Files (x86)\XBMC\addons\plugin.video.icefilms\rpdb2.py" "C:\Python27\Scripts\rpdb2.py"

For Windows XP, Vista

fsutil hardlink "C:\Program Files (x86)\XBMC\addons\plugin.video.icefilms\rpdb2.py" "C:\Python27\Scripts\rpdb2.py"

The first path makes the link in your addon folder, the second path tells the link to point to where the original rpdb2.py file can be found.

Edit /home/<user>/.xbmc/scripts/Foo/default.py and add the following code to the top

import rpdb2 
rpdb2.start_embedded_debugger('pw')

Linux: (Desktop Menu Bar -> Applications -> Programming -> Winpdb)
Windows/Mac: Execute winpdb.py. For a quicker launch, make shortcut on desktop for (example location:)

C:\Python27\Scripts\winpdb.py

From within XBMC, start your script (it will appear to sit there and hang)
Start WinPDB
In WinPDB, select File->Password and enter "pw" (no quotes)
Select File->Attach. You should see your running script in the list box along with its PID and filename.
Select your script and click OK. The debugger is now attached to your script.

TBD

Development: