Breakpoints
Apart from direct execution of an ABAP program in the Debugger, it is also possible to start the Debugger call by the exact setting of a breakpoint. This is achieved by setting one or more of these breakpoints in the program. A breakpoint is a signal at a particular point in the program that tells the ABAP runtime processor to interrupt processing and start the Debugger. The program runs normally until the breakpoint is reached.
There is also a special kind of breakpoint called a watchpoint. When you use watchpoints, the Debugger is not activated until the contents of a particular field change. For further information, refer to
Watchpoints.Breakpoint Variants
The Debugger contains different breakpoint variants:
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Static |
The BREAK-POINT statement in an ABAP program. Static breakpoints are not normally user-specific. However, you can make them user-specific. |
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Directly-set dynamic breakpoints |
Can be set in the ABAP Editor or the Debugger. Dynamic breakpoints are always user-specific, and are deleted when you log off from the R/3 System. |
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Breakpoints at statement |
The Debugger stops the program directly before the specified statement is executed. |
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Breakpoints at subroutine |
The Debugger stops the program directly before the specified subroutine is called. |
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Breakpoint at function module |
The Debugger stops the program directly before the specified function module is called. |
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Breakpoint at method |
The Debugger stops the program directly before the specified method is called. |
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Breakpoints at system exceptions |
The Debugger stops the program directly after a system exception, that is, after a runtime error has been intercepted. |
Static Breakpoints
Static breakpoints are not normally user-specific. Once a user has inserted the statement
BREAK-POINT or BREAK name in an ABAP program, the system always interrupts the program at that point for that user or only for the user name. This procedure is only useful in the development phase of an application, when the program execution is always to be interrupted at the same place. For further information, refer to Static Breakpoints.In HTTP sessions, a static breakpoint is skipped if you did not set additional dynamic HTTP breakpoints in the editor of a BSP page. Instead, a corresponding system log entry is written, which can be checked using transaction SM21.
Dynamic Breakpoints
Dynamic breakpoints are user-specific. Therefore, you should use them if you only want the program to be interrupted when you run it yourself, not when it is being executed by other users. All dynamic breakpoints are deleted when you log off from the R/3 System.
Dynamic breakpoints are more flexible than static breakpoints, because you can deactivate or delete them at runtime. They have the following advantages:
Special dynamic breakpoints are useful when you want to interrupt a program directly before a particular ABAP statement, a subroutine, or an event, but do not know exactly where to find it in the source code. Event here is used to refer to the occurrence of a particular statement, for example, or calling up a method. Special dynamic breakpoints are user-specific. You can only set them in the Debugger. For further information, refer to
Dynamic Breakpoints.In HTTP sessions, the system stops both at static and dynamic breakpoints if a dynamic breakpoint was set in the editor of a BSP page before program execution.
Lifetime and Transfer of Breakpoints
A static breakpoint remains intact as long as the
BREAK-POINT or BREAK-POINT name statement is not removed from the source code. Without saving, dynamic breakpoints only remain intact in the relevant internal session. However, they are effective during the entire user session, if they are saved by choosing Breakpoints ® Save in the ABAP Debugger. For more details on the subject of sessions and user sessions, refer to Modularization Techniques in the ABAP keyword documentation.If you call an HTTP session during a user session, only the HTTP breakpoints are loaded when the HTTP session is started. You activate HTTP debugging in the ABAP Editor by choosing Utilities
® Settings ® HTTP Debugging. Depending on the setting, the system then displays either the HTTP or standard breakpoints in the Editor.If you call an update session during a user session, breakpoints that were defined beforehand in the calling processing unit are copied to the new update session, where they can be displayed under Breakpoints. If, in the ABAP Debugger, you check Update Debugging under Settings and then, for example, call the update module func using CALL FUNCTION func IN UPDATE TASK, a new window is opened in which you can debug this function module in the update session. All the breakpoints that were set in the calling processing unit can also be processed here.
For further information on special breakpoints, refer to:
Breakpoints at Statements Breakpoints at Subroutines Breakpoints at Function Module Calls Breakpoints at Methods Breakpoints at System Exceptions