The Debug Environment

See Also

The debugging workspace automatically loads when you start a debugging session. By default, this workspace includes three windows: the Debugger window, the Output window, and the Source Editor. You can perform the most common debugging actions by using the commands in the Debug menu or toolbar or by using the keyboard equivalents.

Debugger Window

The Debugger window provides different views of what is going on inside your program. The IDE supports multiple debuggers, and the set of views that is available is dependent upon the debugger that you are using. All debuggers provide a view of the currently running debugging sessions, along with views of the threads, call stack, and variables in the current session. Most debuggers also provide a view of the currently set breakpoints and watches.

You can hide and show the views in the Debugger window by using the toggle buttons in the View toolbar at the top of the window. If you are using the JavaTM 2 debugger, the Debugger window also includes a Filter toolbar. This toolbar enables you to control how data is shown in the views of the Debugger window.

Output Window

Once you start debugging, the Output window includes two views related to debugging. The Debugger Console view displays messages from the debugger for the current session. Some debuggers might include hyperlinks to the source code in the output. The Process Output view displays input and output from the process associated with the current session. You can input information in this view as you would on a command line.

Source Editor

The Source Editor highlights the line in the source code where the program is stopped. The Source Editor also highlights each line that contains a breakpoint. The Source Editor displays annotations in the left margin to relay debugging information, such as a conditional breakpoint on the adjacent line. You can evaluate a variable directly in the Source Editor by moving the mouse over the variable. If the variable is active in the current context, the value of the variable is displayed in a tool tip.

See Also
Debug Toolbar
Debug Menu
Debugger Window
Debug Output
Source Editor Debugging Features

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