22
Fri, Nov
1 New Articles

Is a Graphical Debugger for IBM i Really an Improvement?

Development Tools
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

You can try one at no charge since it's already included with the operating system.

 

A study a few years ago concluded that software bugs cost the U.S. economy alone more than $59 billion annually and that more than a third of that waste could be avoided through better testing. Newer development models, such as Agile, frequently employ test-driven development, which means the developer is being asked to shoulder an increasing portion of the testing before software is sent to the team of formal testers. 

 

Having a good debugger is highly important to today's developer, and the availability of a quality tool for a given language or platform sometimes can be a deciding factor in whether that platform is selected for a project. The debugger is a critical component for application development as it can isolate problems, shed insight into code paths, and help evaluate the effects of changes to the code. Having a good debugger can also leverage a programmer's efficiency. Not having a good one can be a serious disadvantage in today's production-oriented environment.

 

The green-screen debuggers available on IBM i have performed faithful duty for decades, but most would probably agree they offer little in the way of ease of use or the galloping productivity that is more likely found in a modern graphical debugger. We make do sometimes with what we have, but it may be of interest to learn that you needn't purchase IBM Rational Developer for Power just to get a good graphical debugger. The IBM System i5 Debugger is an integrated graphical debugger with IBM i and is even included with the operating system at no cost—and has been since V5R1!

 

In an article last month on IBM developerWorks titled "Debug IBM i Programs Graphically" by IBM software engineers Jin Jiang Zhang, Li Jiu Yu, and Shuang Hong Wang, the authors explain where to find the IBM System i5 Debugger, how to install it, and even how to use the tool they casually refer to as "the graphical IBM i debugger." While they concede it's not quite as robust as the debugger found in IBM Rational Developer for Power, the graphical IBM  i debugger takes far less disk space—about 5 MB—than the Rational debugger (which consumes about a GB), has powerful modern features, and comes free with the operating system. The only way to get the Rational debugger is to purchase the entire Rational IDE product, but the graphical IBM i debugger is free (or more accurately, included in the price of the operating system license).

 

The graphical IBM i debugger is contained in two JAR files in the IBM Toolbox for Java or can be found bundled with IBM System i Navigator, the Windows client packaged as part of iAccess for Windows. The GUI System i Navigator management console presents the user with a graphical user interface (GUI) instead of the traditional green-screen to better manage your IBM i systems. In addition, it also includes the graphical IBM i debugger for developers. So if you have the IBM System i Navigator client installed on a workstation, all you have to do is follow these steps to start the debugger:

 

1. In the navigation tree, find My connections > your system name > databases.

2. Right-click a database and select the Run SQL Scripts task.

3. In the Run SQL Scripts window, choose the Debugger task from the Run pull-down menu.

 

To retrieve the graphical IBM i debugger from the IBM Toolbox for Java, you can either download the open-source JTOpen package to your workstation or locate the pertinent JAR files on a system that has IBM Toolbox for Java installed. JTOpen is the open-source version of the IBM Toolbox for Java, has the same files as the Toolbox, and can be found on SourceForge.

 

To check if your system has the IBM Toolbox for Java installed, enter the licensed programs command: go licpgm. Then choose Option 11, Install Licensed Programs. Type 1 in the Option column on the entry named Extended Base Directory Support to install the Toolbox. Once you are certain the Toolbox is on the system, copy two JAR files, jt400.jar and tes.jar from /QIBM/ProdData/HTTP/Public/jt400/lib/ on the IBM i (or from the JTOpen package) and add the path of the two files to your CLASSPATH environment variable.

 

Congratulations! You've completed the installation of the graphical IBM i debugger. However, in order to run the debugger, you will need the right version of the Java Development Kit or Java Runtime Edition installed on your workstation. This depends on your version of IBM i. The minimum Java version is 1.3.1 for OS/400 V5R4 and Java V1.4 for IBM i 7.1. If you think you'll need the help files for the graphical debugger, you will also need to have the jhaul.jar file added to your CLASSPATH. From your workstation command prompt, type in java utilities.Debug, and you should get the sign-on screen for the graphical debugger.

 

On your workstation, the debugger is composed of three components: Debug Manager, System Debugger, and OS/400 PASE System Debugger. On the server side, the debugger depends on the Debug Hub and Debug Server elements. On the client, Debug Manager helps manage settings by adding or removing systems or users and is responsible for registering clients with the Debug Hub on the server. Since the Debug Hub component stores your user information, it knows to automatically launch the graphical debugger when you issue the Start Debug (STRDBG) CL command. Debug Hub also activates the Debug Server when it receives a request from a remote workstation. The PASE System Debugger is for programs that run in the PASE environment.

 

In order to learn more and get detailed instructions on how to utilize the graphical IBM i debugger, read the complete IBM article "Debug IBM i Programs Graphically." If you have been a loyal user of the IBM i green-screen debugger for a few years, you may be surprised by what the graphical IBM i debugger can do for your productivity.

Chris Smith

Chris Smith was the Senior News Editor at MC Press Online from 2007 to 2012 and was responsible for the news content on the company's Web site. Chris has been writing about the IBM midrange industry since 1992 when he signed on with Duke Communications as West Coast Editor of News 3X/400. With a bachelor's from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in English and minored in Journalism, and a master's in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris later studied computer programming and AS/400 operations at Long Beach City College. An award-winning writer with two Maggie Awards, four business books, and a collection of poetry to his credit, Chris began his newspaper career as a reporter in northern California, later worked as night city editor for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and went on to edit a national cable television trade magazine. He was Communications Manager for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, Calif., before it merged with Boeing, and oversaw implementation of the company's first IBM desktop publishing system there. An editor for MC Press Online since 2007, Chris has authored some 300 articles on a broad range of topics surrounding the IBM midrange platform that have appeared in the company's eight industry-leading newsletters. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: