debugging techniques using the say() function, pipes and libreoffice writer

[handsource-dyko]

Here's a handy debugging technique for those cases where you need to analyse a lot of data.

Currently I'm working on malvado's attract(demo) mode, wich still has some weird glitches with platforms and multiple player processes.
To help diagnose the problem I pipe the output of the say() function wich is normally printed in the dos promt, to a textfile.

I then copy the contents into open/libre office writer and reformat the text with colors, to mark lines with suspicious debug otput. One of the handy features is that you can insert virtual post-it notes to add remarks. I find this a very usefull technique when crunching through a lot of data or when I need to analyse a sequence of processes.

So I attached a zip file with some examples of this process. Maybe this technique can help you out if you're really stuck with something. (provided  you put a lot of debug text in your program).

I also included some screendumps with some of the glitches, can you spot them? Also look for bgdi memory usage in the task manager, I still have to track that memory leak....

[FreeYourMind]

Thanks , karma up