Debugging IronPython scripts in hosted (embedded) environment

Question

I'm writing a C# application which has IronPython (2.0.1) embedded in it. The idea is to expose portions of the application to the IronPython scripts, which the users write.

I want to provide the ability to the users to be able to debug the scripts written by them, using the Visual Studio Debugger. Note that the scripts are run in the hosted environment and not through the IronPython executable (ipy.exe).

After a bit of Reflector magic on the IronPython assemblies, I came up with something which lets me do that, but I'm not sure if this is the prescribed way. Basically what I do is create a "ScriptRuntime" object with the "DebugMode" property set to true and then create a python based "ScriptEngine" from the "ScriptRuntime", which I use for hosting. Code below.

        ScriptRuntimeSetup setup = new ScriptRuntimeSetup();
        setup.DebugMode = true;
        setup.LanguageSetups.Add(Python.CreateLanguageSetup(null));

        ScriptRuntime runtime = new ScriptRuntime(setup);
        ScriptEngine engine = runtime.GetEngineByTypeName(typeof(PythonContext).AssemblyQualifiedName);

Now when I execute the scripts in the hosted environment, using:

            ScriptSource script = engine.CreateScriptSourceFromFile(path);
            CompiledCode code = script.Compile();
            ScriptScope scope = engine.CreateScope();
            script.Execute(scope);

I can place breakpoints in the script files and they get hit, when the script is executed.

So, is there a better/easier way to do this?

Thanks

Answer 1

OK, got it. There is an options dictionary which "Python.CreateEngine" can take as an argument. One can specify the debug mode in that.

        Dictionary<string, object> options = new Dictionary<string, object>();
        options["Debug"] = true;
        engine = Python.CreateEngine(options);

I think this is straightforward enough.

Answer 2

Harry Pierson (DevHawk) has a blog post on this subject that will help you get started:

Microsoft.Scripting.Debugging