Cantera/Debugging Cantera from Python

This page explains how to run Cantera in debug mode via Python.

Creating a Cantera Debug Build

Before following this guide, you'll probably have to rebuild Cantera to include debugging symbols. See the Debugging Cantera page for instructions.

The Relation between Cantera and Python

Cantera is, at the core, a C++ library. When you download a copy of Cantera and build it, you are compiling C++ code into libraries of executable code. So, what does this have to do with Python?

Cantera has a Python interface - essentially, Python classes that are wrappers for the C++ interface. You have much of the same functionality with the Python and C++ libraries, but instead of a Cantera developer rewriting everything from C++ to Python (and probably making it run a lot slower in the process), the wrapper classes provide Python bindings for the underlying C++ code.

To run Cantera in debug mode through Python, what we'll do is run a Python driver, attach GDB to that process, and when Python calls the C++ library, GDB will follow the execution thread into the C++ library. At that point, GDB can halt, hit breakpoints, print stack traces, etc.

Running Cantera Through GDB and Python

Create Your Driver

Now that you have a debug build of Cantera, you'll need to create a driver, in Python, that uses the Cantera libraries.

...