Trace Table for Python Programs

Question

Is there a way to get the trace table for a Python program? Or for a program to run another program and get its trace table? I\'m a teacher trying to flawlessly verify the answe

Answer 1

This isn't a use case that the current Python tracing tool support, but it should be possible to build. I don't know how you decide what columns to output. In your sample, a and b are the only local variables, but larger programs would have more interesting ecosystems of data.

Updated: here's a simple proof of concept:

 1     import sys
 2
 3     def trace(frame, event, arg_unused):
 4         print event, frame.f_lineno, frame.f_locals
 5         return trace
 6
 7     sys.settrace(trace)
 8
 9     def foo():
10         a = 1
11         b = 2
12
13         a = a + b
14
15     foo()

when run, the output is:

call 9 {}
line 10 {}
line 11 {'a': 1}
line 13 {'a': 1, 'b': 2}
return 13 {'a': 3, 'b': 2}