Basics

Crystal Debugging

Debugging Crystal Code

Crystal debugging uses puts and crystal spec for tracing.

Introduction to Crystal Debugging

Debugging is an essential skill in any programming language, including Crystal. It allows developers to identify and resolve errors or unexpected behavior in their code. In Crystal, debugging is often accomplished using simple yet effective methods, such as puts statements and the crystal spec testing framework.

Using puts for Simple Debugging

The simplest form of debugging in Crystal is to use puts to print values to the console. This technique helps you trace the flow of your program and inspect variable states at different execution points.

Here's an example of using puts for debugging:

In this example, puts is used to output the length and width values and to display the calculated area. This allows you to verify that your function is working with the expected inputs and outputs.

Advanced Debugging with crystal spec

For more advanced debugging and testing, Crystal provides a built-in tool called crystal spec. This tool is used to write and run test cases for your code, helping you ensure that it behaves as expected.

Here's a simple example of how to use crystal spec:

In this example, we used the spec module to define a test for the calculate_area method. The test checks if the method returns the expected area when given specific inputs. Running crystal spec in your terminal will execute these tests and report any failures, making it easier to pinpoint issues in your code.

Conclusion

Debugging in Crystal can be effectively managed using puts for straightforward scenarios and crystal spec for more comprehensive testing. Mastering these techniques will significantly enhance your development workflow and help you build robust Crystal applications.

Basics

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