You can try to setup Notepad++ Integrated Perl Debugging, but not being familiar with Windows it may be more trouble than it's worth. LanX above mentioned Devel::ptkdb and I use that with Notepad++ 64-bit since the dbgp plugin for 32-bit isn't available on 64-bit Notepad++.

I also prefer Strawberry Perl as a longtime Windows user FWIW.

Never used it on win, never had to deal with expect.

See Devel::Ptkdb

The only free IDE I know with debugger integration is Emacs, but I doubt that's what you are looking for.

Thanks so much for your reply! Yeah I have never used Perl in Windows (previously in a unix VM) or the Expect package. I will keep looking out online and see if I find anything - otherwise it might just be trial and error.

My previous position I was actually doing test case development in Perl and this time around I am maintaining some already existing scripts so it will just be a bit of an adjustment getting to the point I'd like to be with a debugger and being able to execute the script so I can see output at each step of the code.

I appreciate the timely response!

I suppose you already tried a normal debugger run on the console and it fails because expect blocks STDIN and STDOUT.

Ptkdb is your best try then, all IDE use the same approach to communicate to the debugger via sockets.

If Ptkdb fails, all will fail.

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language :)
Wikisyntax for the Monastery FootballPerl is like chess, only without the dice}

Is the Expect module required by Eclipse? Or is it a component of the GUI app you are debugging?

If the latter then Expect won't install on non-POSIX systems anyway due to IO::Tty (see cpanm log below), so you would need to be able to install the GUI using (cygwin|msys2|bash for windows).

If the former then you should be able to run your GUI code through a non-GUI debugger. The GUI IDEs just provide a nicer interface for stepping, setting breakpoints and so forth.

Another option is to get a trial license for a commercial IDE. Maybe the trial will last long enough for you to solve the issue.

-----

cpanm log:

cpanm --verbose IO::Tty
cpanm (App::cpanminus) 1.7044 on perl 5.028000 built for MSWin32-x64-m
+ulti-thread
Work directory is C:\BERRYB~1\528~1.0_6\data/.cpanm/work/1556599810.22
+408
You have make C:\berrybrew\5.28.0_64_PDL\c\bin\gmake.exe
You have LWP 6.34
Falling back to Archive::Tar 2.30
Searching IO::Tty () on cpanmetadb ...
--> Working on IO::Tty
Fetching http://www.cpan.org/authors/id/T/TO/TODDR/IO-Tty-1.12.tar.gz 
+... OK
Unpacking IO-Tty-1.12.tar.gz
Entering IO-Tty-1.12
Checking configure dependencies from META.json
Checking if you have ExtUtils::MakeMaker 6.58 ... Yes (7.34)
Running Makefile.PL
Configuring IO-Tty-1.12 ... This module requires a POSIX compliant sys
+tem to work. Try cygwin if you need this module on windows
OS unsupported at Makefile.PL line 6.
N/A
! Configure failed for IO-Tty-1.12. See C:\BERRYB~1\528~1.0_6\data\.cp
+anm\work\1556599810.22408\build.log for details.
[download]

It's honestly a pretty simple script (not necessarily a GUI script), I am just most familiar using Eclipse with the Epic perl plugin to debug (and like you said step through code, set breakpoints, etc)

The expect module is just required by the perl script I am debugging (which I haven't encountered/used in my previous Perl development work). I will try the Cygwin/Strawberry Perl method and see if that helps as far as getting Expect to work on windows. Otherwise I will return to this thread and try some of the other suggestions or just use the non-GUI debugger method! I really do appreciate everyone's replies.

I was just trying to see if there was a simple, straightforward approach that someone else has found with getting Perl + Eclipse to work on Windows

What you are describing is very obscure in many dimensions

Windows   X   Expect.pm   X   Debugger   X   EPIC/Eclipse

My guess (???) is your real problem is remote debugging . °

Like already said does the perl-debugger allow bidirectional communication via sockets.

Like this you can run your script with Expect.pm on a Linux machine, even in a VM, and debug it from Windows.

I'd be very surprised if EPIC didn't allow that.

If that is not the answer you are seeking for, please try to split your general question into more specific parts

i.e. tell us what's wrong with

• Expect.pm
• Windows
• Perl Debugger
• Eclipse / EPIC

I'm afraid, there is no IDE which will help you overcome conceptional problems.

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language :)
Wikisyntax for the Monastery FootballPerl is like chess, only without the dice}

update

°) Another guess is that you just need to install Expect.pm inside cygwin's Perl installation. This has nothing to do with debugger or IDE.

“...the best free GUI IDE that I can debug Perl scripts...„

undef. Regards, Karl

I saw that too - did they take down that page?