Remote Debugging Protocol: Difference between revisions

Remote Debugging Protocol (view source)

Revision as of 01:23, 19 July 2010

17 bytes added , 19 July 2010

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 = Actors =
-The Mozilla debugging protocol is an actor-oriented protocol. An "actor" is something on the server that receives and replies to JSON packets from the client. Every packet from the client specifies the actor to which it is directed, and every packet sent in reply indicates the actor that sent it.
+An "actor" is something on the server that receives and replies to JSON packets from the client. Every packet from the client specifies the actor to which it is directed, and every packet sent in reply indicates the actor that sent it.
 Each server has a root actor, with which the client first interacts. The root actor can explain what sort of thing the server represents (browser; mail reader; etc.), and enumerate things available to debug: tabs, chrome, and so on. Each of these, in turn, is an actor to which requests can be addressed.
-For example, a debugger might connect to a browser, ask the root actor to list the browser's tabs, and present this list to the developer. If the developer chooses some tabs to debug, then the debugger sends requests to begin debugging to the actors representing those tabs. JavaScript objects, stack frames, breakpoints, and other entities encountered in the course of debugging are all actors with which the debugger can interact.
+For example, a debugger might connect to a browser, ask the root actor to list the browser's tabs, and present this list to the developer. If the developer chooses some tabs to debug, then the debugger sends "attach" requests to the actors representing those tabs, to begin debugging. Both artifacts of the program being debugged, like JavaScript objects and stack frames, and artifacts of the debugging machinery, like breakpoints and watchpoints, are actors to which packets can be addressed.
-Each actor (other than the root) has a parent actor; closing communications with the parent closes communications with all its descendants. This establishes a lifetime for actor names, which allows the server to free associated storage, remove breakpoints, and so on. The root actor has no owner, and lives as long as the underlying connection to the client does.
+Each actor (other than the root) has a parent actor; closing communications with the parent closes communications with all its descendants. This establishes automatic limits on lifetimes for actor names, and allows the server to free associated storage, remove breakpoints, and so on. The root actor has no owner, and lives as long as the underlying connection to the client does.
 = Packets =