Glossary Updates6 new terms added to the glossaries · October 11, 2026, 13:38 CEST
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Glossary · 5 · Hardware SDKs and devices

Debugger

Also known as: Debugging tool, Source-level debugger

German: Debugger

In software engineering, a debugger is a tool that lets a developer start, stop and step through a running program, set breakpoints and watchpoints and inspect variables, memory and registers, in order to find out what the program is doing or what it was doing when it failed.

  • Hardware SDK
  • Developer tools

In one sentence

A debugger lets developers control a running program, set breakpoints and inspect variables, memory and registers to find out why it fails.

Example

A developer stops a firmware build at a breakpoint in the interrupt handler, steps through it line by line and watches a status register change in the debugger's register view.

How it applies

  • Hardware SDKs: Every hardware kit includes or names a debugger. For embedded targets the debugger runs on the development computer and reaches the target through a debug probe or a debug server; the GDB manual describes this remote debugging for systems that cannot run the debugger themselves, such as small embedded systems or an operating-system kernel.
  • What it does: The GDB manual sums up the purpose of a debugger as letting the developer see what is going on inside another program while it executes, or what it was doing when it crashed: start it, make it stop on specified conditions, examine what has happened and change things to test a fix.
  • On-target vs. host debugging: Host debugging runs the program on the development computer, often on an emulator or in a simulation of its environment. On-target debugging runs it on the real hardware, where timing, peripherals and memory limits are real. Both are usually needed.
  • Developer and platform SDKs: Editors and IDEs connect to debuggers through protocols such as the Debug Adapter Protocol, which defines an abstract protocol between a development tool and a debugger so that one editor integration can serve many debuggers. Platform SDKs document how to attach a debugger to an extension running inside the host.
  • Documentation: Debugging guides name the debugger and version, how to connect it, which build settings keep debug information and where symbols come from. Debugging as an activity also uses logging and tracing; the debugger is the tool for interactive inspection.

Debugger vs. debugging

Debugging is the activity of finding and removing faults. A debugger is one tool for it. Faults are also found through logs, traces, tests and code review, especially where stopping the program is not possible, for example in a running machine or a production service.

External references

By knowledge.aitechdoc.world · Published October 11, 2026 · Last reviewed

Source: GNU Project, “Debugging with GDB”; Microsoft, Debug Adapter Protocol

Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Knowledge and are not part of any standard.

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