How do I debug a module I’m building?

Apache NetBeans Wiki Index

Note: These pages are being reviewed.

Once your module is installed all error messages are sent to your (NetBeans user directory)/var/log/messages.log; use that for watching what’s going on.

You can use java.util.logging.Logger (or org.openide.util.Exceptions) to report exceptions and informational messages to the log file.

You can debug your own module from within NetBeans just like you would any other project. However, if you want to step into NetBeans code then you need to download the NetBeans source. You do not need to build it; just tell NetBeans where your NetBeans source code lives using Tools > NetBeans Platform Manager > Sources.

If you still have strange problems stepping into NetBeans code, try the following:

  • Open the NetBeans project that contains the code you are trying to access - for example, if you are stepping into the editor, open the NetBeans editor project.

  • Now run the debugger again then open the debugger sources window (Window > Debugging > Sources) and ensure all the checkboxes are ticked.

  • Now there is no reason why NetBeans debugging should fail!

To launch NetBeans in debug mode manually:

netbeans/bin/netbeans -J-Xdebug -J-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=n,address=5858

then use Run > Attach Debugger and then choose Connector = SocketAttach, port = 5858 and timeout = 5000 and press OK.

Note: if you run the debugged NetBeans instance on the same machine as your development IDE, do not forget to add _'--userdir xxx' parameter to the debugged instance’s command line. Otherwise the debugged process might try to reuse the default userdir, which is most probably already taken up by the development IDE. The debugged NetBeans instance then terminates right after start with very undescriptive message or no messages at all._

Applies to: NetBeans 6.5+