LibDebug is a tool to aid with debugging AddOns. It does the following:
- Throws errors when using undefined variables.
- Throws errors when setting global variables.
- Replaces the print function. Colours values by their type, escapes unprintable characters in strings, and turns tables into clickable links.
It does NOT do the following:
- Catch and display errors, use BugSack or Swatter for that.
To use it, call LibDebug() at the top of any lua file you want to use the above features in.
While LibDebug is embedable, you probably don't want to do that. You'll probably want to make it an optional dependency, then you can put
if LibDebug then LibDebug() end
at the top of a source file instead, and have it work properly whether or not the addon is available. If you want to go that route, then feel free to use LibDebug as a flag for enabling other debug features in your AddOn as well, which you can turn on or off simply by enabling or disabling LibDebug.
The purpose of catching the use of global variables is to detect misnamed variables and variables that were intended to be local, but not declared as such.
If LibDebug complains about something you actually intended, the correct thing to do is usually to access the variable directly through _G. For example,
my_global_variable = 42
function MyFunction()
print(my_global_variable)
end
should be written as:
_G.my_global_variable = 42
function _G.MyFunction()
print(my_global_variable)
end
Note that once you set a variable through _G, it become exempt from generating errors. This won't generate any errors:
_G.foo = nil
foo = "floor"
foo = foo.."caek"
You can generally use variables from the global environment without any errors, as long as they are not nil, or were set through _G. If you want to use a global variable created by another AddOn that might be nil, you need to use _G in this case as well.
Installation Guide
- Exit "World of Warcraft" completely
- Download the mod you want to install
- Make a folder on your desktop called "My Mods"
- Save the .zip/.rar files to this folder.
- If, when you try to download the file, it automatically "opens" it... you need to RIGHT click on the link and "save as..." or "Save Target As".
- Extract the file - commonly known as 'unzipping'
Do this ONE FILE AT A TIME!
- Windows
- Windows XP has a built in ZIP extractor. Double click on the file to open it, inside should be the file or folders needed. Copy these outside to the "My Mods" folder.
- WinRAR: Right click the file, select "Extract Here"
- WinZip: You MUST make sure the option to "Use Folder Names" is CHECKED or it will just extract the files and not make the proper folders how the Authors designed
- Mac Users
- StuffitExpander: Double click the archive to extract it to a folder in the current directory.
- Verify your WoW Installation Path
That is where you are running WoW from and THAT is where you need to install your mods.
- Move to the Addon folder
- Open your World of Warcraft folder. (default is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\)
- Go into the "Interface" folder.
- Go into the "AddOns" folder.
- In a new window, open the "My Mods" folder.
- The "My Mods" folder should have the "Addonname" folder in it.
- Move the "Addonname" folder into the "AddOns" folder
- Start World of Warcraft
- Make sure AddOns are installed
- Log in
- At the Character Select screen, look in lower left corner for the "addons" button.
- If button is there: make sure all the mods you installed are listed and make sure "load out of date addons" is checked.
- If the button is NOT there: means you did not install the addons properly. Look at the above screenshots. Try repeating the steps or getting someone who knows more about computers than you do to help.
Translations
When you download a mod, please be sure that the mod is compatible with your translation of wow. Some mods only work on the US versions, while some only work on some of the various European versions. These variations are called "Localizations".
TOC Numbers (Out of Date Mods)
When Blizzard patches WoW, they change the Interface number. This means that all mods will be "out of date" unless or until the author releases a new version for that interface. Some people go into the .toc files and update the numbers themselves, but this is STRONGLY advised against as it will cause problems locating possible incompatibilities addons. When you log into WoW after a patch, you DO NOT have to delete your interface directory. All you have to do is simply tell WoW to ignore the interface numbers and load all the mods anyway. All you have to do is, while at the "character select" screen, look in the lower left corner and click on the "addons" button. A window will pop up listing all your installed mods.
If you look in the upper left corner of that window there should be a box that says "Load Out of Date AddOns". You want to CHECK this box. Now simply go into WoW normally and all your mods should load. As of the 1.9 patch, you will have to do this after EVERY patch/update that Blizzard posts! If you encounter any problems with a mod after a patch, please be sure to let the author of the mod know so they can fix it.
See also: About "Out Of Date AddOns"
Mac Support
WoW addons are not platformed based. As such, they can be used on either Mac or PC. You can extract both .zip and .rar files on a Mac using StuffitExpander.
Directory Structure
World of Warcraft
|_ Interface
|_AddOns
|_*AddonName*
|_ *AddonName*.toc
|_ *AddonName*.xml
|_ *AddonName*.lua
|_ (possibly others as well)...
