[platform-debug-dev] Using Debug events to make label updates to objects

[boxall@xxxxxxxxxx]

I have run into a situation where I need to send a DebugEvent.CHANGE event
but the side effects cause the variable's view to lose the state of
variable expansion.

My IDebugTarget's label changes often during a debug session to reflect the
state of the remote debug engine.    To get the label updated I get the
IDebugTarget to send a DebugEvent.CHANGE event.

Unfortunately, sending a change event for the debug target causes the
LaunchView to refresh the whole debug target and this results in a nasty
side effect.  A selection event gets generated that results in flashing in
other views that are listening for selection events.    The Variables view
in particular will lose the current expanded state of the variables it is
showing because it clears its cached values if the input changes.

I would like to make 2 suggestions...

1) I would like to be able to send a DebugEvent.CHANGE with a detail that
indicates that only the label of the element needs to be updated instead of
the complete refresh that occurs today.

2) I would like to see the expansion state of variables in the Variables
view kept in the IStackFrame.   This would allow a user to run to a
breakpoint in the same stackframe and keep any variable expansion that they
requested.   It would also all the user to select between different debug
targets and their stackframes and the expansion would be preserved.

Alan Boxall - IBM Distributed Debugger