FlowStorm vs Perl Debugger

FlowStorm is a tracing debugger for Clojure and ClojureScript. It records execution without requiring breakpoints or code changes, then provides tools to step through code, inspect values, explore calls and functions, and investigate exceptions. A timeline displays execution events so users can follow how instructions from different threads interleave. The debugger also supports customizable real-time visualizations and plugins for specialized ways to examine recordings. Values shown in its interface can be sent to the REPL with one click, and recordings can be analyzed using Clojure. The guide covers ClojureScript in browsers, Node.js, and React Native, as well as remote debugging configurations and integrations for Emacs through Cider Storm, VS Code, and IntelliJ IDEA. FlowStorm is free and open source at free, and is listed for Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosted use. Minimum requirements are JDK 17 or later and Clojure 1.10.0 or later. Vanilla FlowStorm does not support async/await introduced in ClojureScript 1.12.145; the guide points to ClojureScriptStorm as an alternative.

Perl Debugger is an interactive debugger included with Perl, not a separate program. Running Perl with the `-d` flag loads the debugger and adds source information, allowing users to inspect code, set breakpoints, view stack backtraces, and change variable values. The program must compile correctly before debugging.

Debugger commands support stepping into subroutine calls, stepping over them, and tracing execution. Conditional breakpoints and watches on global expressions can pause a run when specified conditions or changes occur. The `x` command can pretty-print nested data; displaying lexical variables requires PadWalker version 0.08 or higher. Options can be set interactively, through `PERLDB_OPTS`, or in `.perldb` files. Documentation also describes a GUI option through Devel::ptkdb. The debugger does not provide stack-frame information for functions not compiled by Perl, such as C or C++ extension functions, and compile-time executable statements are not stopped, though some can be traced with AutoTrace. Perl is listed for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and the debugger is free.