>>EVERY routine should be self-contained.
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>No. Every routine should have everything self-contained within itself where it makes sense to do so, but PUBLIC variables exist for a reason. They're a tool in the developer's toolbox, and it is inappropriate to avoid them categorically. For example, ON ERROR is a global feature of Visual FoxPro, and its demands are that variables related to its use also be of the same scope.
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>To debug global variables easily, use SET COVERAGE TO file.log, and then parse that log file through a tool, such as Martina Jindrova's awesome CVP ( see http://gorila.netlab.cz/cvp.html and http://gorila.netlab.cz/download/cvp/ ), which can take the log file and search for source code references, or even convert it to a log file with source code on each line (such as for documenting all of the program steps involved in doing some process, such as saving a customer record -- and just by running it), allowing the original source code variable name to be searched for in the converted log, to find the exact location where it's being populated.
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>The right tool for the right job.

@ SAY ... GET was the right tool for the job. Things change as knowledge is gained.