Connection and Invocation Details

Transports
Connectors
Sun VM Invocation Options
Debugging Plug-in Applets
Connecting with JDB

Transports

A JPDA transport is a form of inter-process communication used by a debugger application process and the virtual machine that is being debugged (often called the target VM). JDI and JDWP admit the existence of transports and refer to individual transports by a unique name, but the JDI and JDWP specifications do not require specific transport implementations to exist. Transport implementations can allow communications between processes running in a single machine, on different machines, or either.

In establishing a connection between a debugger application and a target VM, one side acts as a server, listening for a connection. At some later time the other side attaches to the listener and a connection is established. JPDA transports allow either the debugger application or the target VM to act as a server. During the establishment of a connection, transport addresses are used to identify the other side of a connection. Transport addresses are strings; their format depends on the transport implementation.

The JPDA reference implementation on Microsoft Windows provides two transports: a shared memory transport and a socket transport. The JPDA reference implementation on the Solaris operating environment provides a socket transport. Future versions of the JPDA reference implementation may include additional transports, Future versions of the JPDA specification may provide an interface for plugging additional transports into an implementation.

Socket Transport

The JPDA reference implementation provides a socket transport on both the Solaris operating environment and Microsoft Windows platforms. The socket transport uses standard TCP/IP sockets to communicate information between debugger applications and target VM. With the socket transport, the debugger application and target VM can reside either on the same machine or on different machines. The socket transport is identified through a unique string, dt_socket. This name can be used to select the socket transport when invoking the target VM and when selecting a JDI connector.

In contexts where a client is attaching to a server, socket transport addresses have the format "<name>:<port>" where <name>is the host name and <port> is the socket port number at which it attaches or listens. In contexts where a server is waiting for a client to attach, the address consists of the port number alone (the host name is implicit).

Shared Memory Transport

In addition to the socket transport, the JPDA reference implementation provides a shared memory transport on the Microsoft Windows platform. The shared transport uses Microsoft Windows shared memory primitives to communicate information between debugger applications and target VM. With the shared memory transport, the debugger application and target VM must reside on the same machine. The shared memory transport is identified through a unique string, dt_shmem. This name can be used to select the socket transport when invoking the target VM and when selecting a JDI connector.

Shared memory transport addresses are simply names that can be used as Microsoft Windows file-mapping object names.The name string can consist of any combination of characters, excluding the backslash.

Connectors

A connector is a JDI abstraction that is used in establishing a connection between a debugger application (written to the JDI) and a target VM. Different JDI implementations are free to provide different connector implementations to match the transports and VMs they support. The connector interfaces are very general, to allow JDI to be used with varying connector implementations. Connectors are configured through a set of name/value pairs. Specific connectors accept different name/value pairs.

A good JDI client application will allow users to choose and configure any connector that may be present, but it can be beneficial to incorporate knowledge of specific connectors into the debugger to make their configuration a more pleasant user experience. The example JDB implementation provided with the JPDA illustrates this approach.

The JDI reference implementations provides several connectors which map to the available transport types and the modes of connection (launching, listening, and attaching). These connectors are described in the following sections.

Sun Command Line Launching Connector

This connector can be used by a debugger application to launch a Sun VM or any other VM which supports the same invocation options with respect to debugging. The details of launching the VM and specifying the necessary debug options are handled by the connector. The underlying transport used by this connector depends on the platform. On Microsoft Windows, the shared memory transport is used. On the Solaris operating environment, the socket transport is used.

This connector is uniquely identified by the name "com.sun.jdi.CommandLineLaunch".

Sun Command Line Launching Connector Arguments
name	required?	default value	description
`home`	no	current `java.home` property value	Location of the Java 2 Runtime Environment used to invoke the Target VM.
`options`	no	""	Options, in addition to the standard debugging options, with which to invoke the VM.
`main`	yes	""	The debugged application's main class and command line arguments.
`suspend`	no	true	True if the target VM is to be suspended immediately before the main class is loaded; false otherwise.
`quote`	yes	"\""	The character used to combine space-delimited text on the command line.
`vmexec`	yes	"java"	The VM launcher executable. This can be changed to javaw or to java_g for debugging, if that launcher is available.

Raw Command Line Launching Connector

This connector can be used by a debugger application to launch any VM. The entire command line must be specified and it is not edited in any way. The details of launching the VM with the given command line are handled by the connector. The underlying transport used by this connector depends on the platform. On Microsoft Windows, the shared memory transport is used. On the Solaris operating environment, the socket transport is used.

This connector is uniquely identified by the name "com.sun.jdi.RawCommandLineLaunch".

Raw Command Line Launching Connector Arguments
name	required?	default value	description
`command`	yes	""	Full command line to invoke the target VM with the application to be debugged..
`address`	yes	""	Transport address at which to listen for the newly launched target VM to connect. This value is typically part of the raw command argument as well, but this is not required if the target VM has some other means of determining the transport address to which it should connect.
`quote`	yes	"\""	The character used to combine space-delimited text on the command line.

Socket Attaching Connector

This connector can be used by a debugger application to attach to a currently running target VM through the socket transport.. The target VM must have been invoked with options consistent with this connector's arguments described in the table below. For Sun VMs, the necessary options are described below.

This connector is uniquely identified by the name "com.sun.jdi.SocketAttach".

Socket Attaching Connector Arguments
name	required?	default value	description
`hostname`	no	local host name	Name of host machine to connect to.
`port`	yes	""	Port number on the `host` machine to connect to.

Shared Memory Attaching Connector

This connector can be used by a debugger application to attach to a currently running target VM through the shared memory transport. It is available only on the Microsoft Windows platform. The target VM must have been invoked with options consistent with this connectors arguments described in the table below. For Sun VMs, the necessary options are described below.

This connector is uniquely identified by the name "com.sun.jdi.SharedMemoryAttach".

Shared Memory Attaching Connector Arguments
name	required?	default value	description
`name`	yes	""	The shared memory transport address at which the target VM is listening..

Socket Listening Connector

This connector can be used by a debugger application to accept a connection from a separately invoked target VM through the socket transport.. The target VM must be invoked with options consistent with this connector's arguments described in the table below. For Sun VMs, the necessary options are described below.

This connector can accept connections from multiple target VMs.

This connector is uniquely identified by the name "com.sun.jdi.SocketListen".

Socket Listening Connector Arguments
name	required?	default value	description
`port`	yes	""	Port number at which to listen for a connection..

Shared Memory Listening Connector

This connector can be used by a debugger application to accept a connection from a separately invoked target VM through the shared memory transport..It is available only on the Microsoft Windows platform. The target VM must be invoked with options consistent with this connector's arguments described in the table below. For Sun VMs, the necessary options are described below.

This connector can accept connections from multiple target VMs.

This connector is uniquely identified by the name "com.sun.jdi.SharedMemoryListen".

Shared Memory Listening Connector Arguments
name	required?	default value	description
`name`	yes	""	A shared memory transport address at which to listen for the target VM connection.

Sun VM Invocation Options

This section describes the options necessary to invoke Sun VMs for debugging. If your debugger application uses the JDI Sun Command Line Launching Connector, the appropriate options are set for you. In other cases, when the VM is invoked manually, you will need to set them.

The Java HotSpot VM requires the -Xdebug and -Xrunjdwp options.

-Xdebug: Enables debugging
-Xrunjdwp:<sub-options>: Loads the JPDA reference implementation of JDWP. This library resides in the target VM and uses JVMDI and JNI to interact with it. It uses a transport and the JDWP protocol to communicate with a separate debugger application. Specific sub-options are described below.

-Xrunjdwp sub-options

The -Xrunjdwp option can be further qualified with sub-options. The sub-options are specified as follows:

-Xrunjdwp:<name1>[=<value1>],<name2>[=<value2>]...

The table below describes the options that can be used:

-Xrunjdwp Sub-options
name	required?	default value	description
`help`	no	N/A	Prints a brief help message and exits the VM.
`transport`	yes	none	Name of the transport to use in connecting to debugger application.
`server`	no	"n"	If "y", listen for a debugger application to attach; otherwise, attach to the debugger application at the specified `address.` If "y" and no address is specified, choose a transport address at which to listen for a debugger application, and print the address to the standard output stream.
`address`	yes, if `server=n` no, otherwise	""	Transport address for the connection. If server=n, attempt to attach to debugger application at this address. If server=y, listen for a connection at this address.
`launch`	no	none	At completion of JDWP initialization, launch the process given in this string. This option is used in combination with `onthrow` and/or `onuncaught` to provide "Just-In-Time debugging" in which a debugger process is launched when a particular event occurs in this VM. Note that the launched process is not started in its own window. In most cases the launched process should be a small application which in turns launches the debugger application in its own window. The following strings are appended to the string given in this argument (space-delimited). They can aid the launched debugger in establishing a connection with this VM. The resulting string is executed. The value of the `transport` sub-option. The value of the `address` sub-option (or the generated address if one is not given)
`onthrow`	no	none	Delay initialization of the JDWP library until an exception of the given class is thrown in this VM. The exception class name must be package-qualified.Connection establishment is included in JDWP initialization, so it will not begin until the exception is thrown.
`onuncaught`	no	"n"	If "y", delay initialization of the JDWP library until an uncaught exception is thrown in this VM. Connection establishment is included in JDWP initialization, so it will not begin until the exception is thrown. See the JDI specification for com.sun.jdi.ExceptionEvent for a definition of uncaught exceptions.
`stdalloc`	no	"n"	By default, the JDWP reference implementation uses an alternate allocator for its memory allocation. If "y", the standard C runtime library allocator will be used. This option is mainly for testing; use it with care. Deadlocks can occur in this VM if the alternative allocator is disabled.
`strict`	no	"n"	If "y", assume strict JVMDI conformance. This will disable all workarounds to known bugs in JVMDI implementations. This option is mainly for testing and should be used with care.
`suspend`	no	"y"	If "y", VMStartEvent has a suspendPolicy of SUSPEND_ALL. If "n", VMStartEvent has a suspendPolicy of SUSPEND_NONE.

-Xrunjdwp Examples

-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,address=8000: Listen for a socket connection on port 8000. Suspend this VM before main class loads (suspend=y by default). Once the debugger application connects, it can send a JDWP command to resume the VM.
-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_shmem,server=y,suspend=n: Choose an available shared memory transport address and print it to stdout. Listen for a shared memory connection at that address. Allow the VM to begin executing before the debugger application attaches.
-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,address=myhost:8000: Attach to a running debugger application via socket on host myhost at port 8000. Suspend this VM before main class loads.

-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_shmem,address=mysharedmemory: Attach to a running debugger application via shared memory at transport address "mysharedmemory". Suspend this VM before main class loads.
-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,address=8000,onthrow=java.io.IOException,launch=/usr/local/bin/debugstub: Wait for an instance of java.io.IOException to be thrown in this VM. Suspend the VM (suspend=y by default). Listen for a socket connection on port 8000. Execute the following: "/usr/local/bin/debugstub dt_socket myhost:8000".This program can launch a debugger process in a separate window which will attach to this VM and begin debugging it.
-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_shmem,server=y,onuncaught=y,launch=d:\bin\debugstub.exe: Wait for an uncaught exception to be thrown in this VM. Suspend the VM. Select a shared memory transport address and listen for a connection at that address. Execute the following: "d:\bin\debugstub.exe dt_shmem <address>", where <address> is the selected shared memory address. This program can launch a debugger process in a separate window which will attach to this VM and begin debugging it.

Debugging Plug-in Applets

Beginning with version 1.2.2 of the Java Plug-in, applets running under the Plug-in can be debugged. The required VM options described above can be specified in the Plug-In control panel, under the "Basic" tab, in the "Java Run-Time Parameters". The debug options under the "Advanced" tab should not be used as they will enable the old sun.tools.debugdebug support. In future versions of the Plug-in, these debug options will be changed to use JPDA.

JDI launching connectors cannot be used to debug Plug-in applets.

Connecting with JDB

The example implementation of JDB provided with the JPDA, provides an illustration of the usage of JDI connectors. There are "shortcut" options to JDB which assume the use of connectors known to it (that is, connectors present in the reference implementation). It also provides a way to establish a general connection using any connector. While JDB is hardly an example of a good debugger interface, it does provide a simple example of connectors in use.

In JDB, the -attach option provides access to one of the attaching connectors in the reference implementation (shared memory on Microsoft Windows, sockets on the Solaris operating environment). The -listen option provides access to one of the listening connectors in the reference implementation (shared memory on Microsoft Windows, sockets on the Solaris operating environment). A class name and arguments specified directly on the command line provide access to the Sun command line launching connector.

For example:

jdb -attach myhost:8000

is an easy way to attach to a target VM with the Socket Attaching Connector (on the Solaris operating environment), and

jdb Hello 1 2 3

is an easy way to launch a target VM with the Sun Command Line Launching Connector.

However, the -connect option is also provided by JDB to handle any connector by taking an connector name and a set of arbitrary name/value argument pairs. For example the command lines above have the following equivalents.

jdb -connect com.sun.jdi.SocketAttach:hostname=myhost,port=8000
jdb -connect "com.sun.jdi.CommandLineLaunch:main=Hello 1 2 3"

These command lines are more cumbersome than the ones above, but the -connect option can be used with any connector. This kind of operation is a primitive example of how a JDI debugger can deal with any kind of connector while providing a simplified interface for dealing with common, well-known connectors.

Please send comments to: java-debugger@sun.com