javaeclipsedebuggingjpda

Which Java debugger do *you* use


I spend a lot of time debugging applications in Eclipse using JPDA. There are a few issues with the Eclipse debugger which really annoy me. Can anybody recommend plug-ins, better debuggers or perhaps tricks that I don't know of yet?


Solution

  • I have been using the Eclipse debugger for a while now and share some of your concerns. However some of the points you mention have been solved/addressed in the Eclipse debugger:

    Data structures: The variables view already has the option to show the "logical structure" of lists/sets/arrays etc. There is a button at the top left corner of this view to enable this. You can also add your own custom representations through the Java->Debug->Logical Structures preferences.

    Exceptions: The debugger lets you set exception breakpoints (Add Java Exception breakpoint button in the breakpoints view). These breakpoints are triggered when a particular exception is thrown.

    Source code: If you install a plugin (Eg. asm byte code plugin http://asm.ow2.org/eclipse/index.html) that has a viewer for bytecode, the debugger will step through the bytecode when source code is missing.