IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Troubleshooting > Use the integration debugger for problem determination

Breakpoints in the integration debugger

In the integration debugger, you can add, disable, enable, or remove breakpoints. Breakpoints in the integration debugger are conceptually similar to breakpoints in the Java™ development tools (JDT) debugger. They are set at specific locations in a component where you want the component instance to pause so that you can determine the status of the component.

In the integration debugger, you can set breakpoints on one or more elements of a component. You can also set breakpoints in the source code of Java snippets and conditions. When a component thread pauses at a breakpoint, you can control program flow or alter the state of the running component.

Depending on the kind of component that you are debugging, you can set a breakpoint, entry breakpoint, or exit breakpoint on a component element. If you set an entry breakpoint on an element, the breakpoint will pop before the element is invoked. If you set an exit breakpoint on an element, the breakpoint will pop after the element is invoked.

The effectiveness of a breakpoint in stopping code execution when it is reached depends on whether it is enabled or disabled. An enabled breakpoint causes normal code execution to stop and the integration debugger to be invoked if an attempt is made to invoke the instruction at the location of the breakpoint. By comparison, a disabled breakpoint will not stop code execution.

If you are debugging a business process, a breakpoint that is set in a process will automatically be set in all instances of the process.

If you create new instances of the process, they will inherit all of the breakpoints. However, you can choose to restrict a breakpoint to one or more specific threads of a process. Any breakpoint that is removed from a process is also automatically removed from all other instances of the process.

In the Debug perspective, you can work with breakpoints in both the component editors and the Breakpoints view. The elements that you can set breakpoints on are listed in the following table:

Component editor Business integration components Elements that you can set breakpoints on
Business process editor Business processes Activities, Java snippets
Business state machine editor State machines States
Business object map editor Business object data maps Transformations, Java snippets
Business rule set editor Rule sets Rules, templates, conditions, actions
Decision table editor Decision tables Conditions, actions, values, terms
Visual snippet editor Visual snippets Nodes, custom visual snippets, Java visual snippets
Mediation flow editor and mediation subflow editor Mediation flows Mediation primitives, nodes
XML map editor XML maps Transformations

If that when you use the Refactor menu item to change a component, all breakpoints associated with the component are either automatically modified or deleted. Also, if you change a component file outside of the IBM Integration Designer environment, any associated breakpoints may also be modified or deleted automatically.

Use the integration debugger for problem determination