To debug your application, you must use a development environment
like the IBM® Rational® Application Developer
for WebSphere® to create a Java™ project.
You must then import the program that you want to debug into the project.
About this task
After following the steps in this topic you can import
the WebSphere Application Server examples into
a Java project. Two debugging styles are available:
- Step-by-step debugging mode prompts you whenever the server
calls a method on a web object. A dialog lets you step into the method
or skip it. In the dialog, you can turn off step-by-step mode when
you are finished using it.
- Breakpoints debugging mode lets you debug specific parts
of programs. Add breakpoints to the part of the code that you must
debug and run the program until one of the breakpoints is encountered.
Breakpoints actually work with both styles of debugging. Step-by-step
mode just lets you see which web objects are being called without
having to set up breakpoints ahead of time.
You do not need
to import an entire program into your project. However, if you do
not import all of your program into the project, some of the source
might not compile. You can still debug the project. Most features
of the debugger work, including breakpoints, stepping, and viewing
and modifying variables. You must import any source that you want
to set breakpoints in.
The inspect and display features in
the source view do not work if the source has build errors. These
features let you select an expression in the source view and evaluate
it.
Procedure
- Create a Java Project
by opening the New Project dialog.
- Select Java and Java Project.
- Click Next and specify a name for the project, for
example, WASExamples.
- Click Finish to create the project.
- Select the new project, choose File > Import > File
System, then Next to open the import file system dialog.
- Browse the directory for files.
Go to the following directory: profile_root/installedApps/node_name/DefaultApplication.ear/DefaultWebApplication.war.
- Select DefaultWebApplication.war on the side of the Import
dialog and then click Finish.
This imports the JavaServer
Pages files and Java source for the examples into
your project.
- Add any JAR files needed to build to the Java Build
Path.
Select
Properties from the right-click menu.
Choose the Java Build Path node and then select
the Libraries tab. Click
Add External JARs to add the following
JAR files:
Click
OK when you have added all of the JARs.
- You can set some breakpoints in the source at this time
if you like, however, it is not necessary as step-by-step mode will
prompt you whenever the server calls a method on a web object.
Step-by-step mode is explained in more detail later in this
topic.
- To start debugging, you need to start the WebSphere Application
Server in debug mode and make note of the JVM debug port.
The
default value of the JVM debug port is 7777.
- When the server is started, switch to the debug perspective
by selecting Window > Open Perspective > Debug. You can also
enable the debug launch in the Java Perspective
by choosing Window > Customize Perspective and selecting the Debug and Launch checkboxes
in the Other category.
- Select the workbench toolbar Debug pushbutton and
then select WebSphere Application Server Debug from
the list of launch configurations. Click the New pushbutton
to create a new configuration.
- Give your configuration a name and select the project to
debug (your new WASExamples project). Change the port number if you
did not start the server on the default port (7777).
- Click Debug to start debugging.
- Load one of the examples in your browser. For example:
http://your.server.name:9080/hitcount
What to do next
To learn more
about debugging, launch The IBM
Rational
Application Developer for WebSphere, select Help > Help Contents and choose the Debugger
Guide bookshelf entry. To learn about known limitations and problems that are associated with
the IBM
Rational
Application Developer for WebSphere, see the IBM
Rational
Application Developer for WebSphere release notes. For current information available from IBM Support on known
problems and their resolution, see the IBM Support
page. IBM Support
has documents that can save you time gathering information needed to resolve this problem. Before
opening a PMR, see the Must
gather documents page for information to gather to send to IBM Support.