How to Debug a Web Service

Writing a web service can be a pain. Many times when you think that things are going to go easily you run across faults. It can be difficult because often the web service is deployed inside Tomcat making the bugs hard to track down. If you have written your web service in Axis2, then you can use Eclipse to debug your web service.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Choose an IDE with an web service debugger. A highly recommended IDE is Eclipse. It is free and works with several languages, making it an excellent choice.
2. Pick a tool that will monitor messages. A highly recommended messaging tool is TCPMon from Apache WS Commons.
3. Program Tomcat VM to work in the debugging mode. Do this by programming the Catalina_Opts environment. Enter the following code: -Xdebug -Xnoagent -DJava.compiler=NONE -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=8000.
4. Start Tomcat. This must be done before you configure Eclipse.
5. Make an Eclipse debug configuration. Do this by clicking on the little arrow next to the icon of a bug. A drop-down menu will appear in which you will select "Debug."
6. Click on "Remote Java Application." This will be positioned on the left pane. Click on "New" to add a configuration. Leave the default setting the same.
7. Select "Debug." This will run the debugging program.

Tips & Warnings

• Another quality debugger program is IntelliJ IDEA which has several extra configurations. Unlike Eclipse this program isn't free, but it is well worth the cost. You can download IntelliJ IDEA at jetbrains.com.