Xcode Debugger: Why is it only showing me assembler?

Question

I\'m just starting out with Cocoa development in Xcode, doing the hello world example. I\'m up to step 6 of the section \"runtime debugging\", which is

Answer 1

I know this article is a hundred years old, but in case anyone is wondering how to address this issue in more recent Xcode versions (as opposed to Xcode 3), you'll find the appropriate setting labeled Always Show Disassembly under Debug>Debug Workflow in Xcode 6 and up. Ensure the option is NOT checked.

In Xcode 5, the option was labeled Show Disassembly When Debugging under Debug>Debug Workflow. Ensure that "Show Disassembly When Debugging" is unchecked.

Back in Xcode 4, the Show Disassembly When Debugging setting was found under Product>Debug Workflow. Again, ensure that the option remains unchecked.

This was driving me crazy, too.

NOTE: The information above is still valid for Xcode 12+. I've applied updates to this answer as new versions of Xcode have been released. Fortunately, the option has remained unchanged since Xcode 6 (so far).

Answer 2

I actually figured this out before I posted, but I wanted to save others potential future headaches, (and also in case I forget later) as I could not find the answer to this by searching stack overflow, but I did find that I'm not alone.

From the run menu, select "Debugger Display" > "Source Only", or "Debugger Display" > "Source and Disassembly"

Answer 3

There are two other things to make sure of:

1. That you're looking at one of your own functions/methods. If the stack frame you're looking at is a function or method from one of the frameworks, you're going to see assembly no matter how you have Xcode configured.
2. That you are running a Debug build. Strip debug symbols (as in a Release build), and you'll be looking at assembly even for your own code, no matter what.