Debugging Tests With Eclipse and Maven
Here are two techniques for debugging tests for Java Maven applications running Tomcat as you work in Eclipse. There’s usually a problem with having two processes running — your test and then your production code (Tomcat) in two different processes.
These tests are integration style tests that run code against something running in a Tomcat container that is started by Maven (along with a database). Throw your breakpoints in your test code AND your production code. Also, during the debug process you might have to attach your source code for your production code; it’s not difficult. You might have to restart the test after that . . .
Method One — Everything in One Process
You can run everything with a Maven configuration in eclipse, but it takes a bit longer for it to run. Setup a new Debug Configuration–>Maven Build in Eclipse. Mess around with the setup, but this works for me:
Notice in the goals I have
-Dtest=IntegrationTest_1_Test -DfailIfNoTests=false clean install
If you have a more complex parent/submodule Maven pom setup like I do, you’ll need the failIfNoTests so that the entire thing can build before Tomcat kicks off. (Also depends on your project setup in the pom).
Method Two — Remote Process
This method has a few steps but works a bit faster.
1. Start up your maven tomcat process in DEBUG mode from a command line. You used to have to set a bunch of MAVEN_OPTS (and still can), but i Maven 3.0.5 and higher you can do this easily with a default port of 8000 by running mvnDebug instead of mvn:
start mvnDebug compile tomcat7:run
You get something like this as it waits:
2. Create a DEBUG configuration for the remote port in Eclipse with port 8000, then start it with the Debug button:
3. Run your test like you would in the IDE normally — no need to run it via Maven. If you Debug your test — then you can throw breakpoints in the test and the code running in Tomcat. If you just Run your test you will only hit the Tomcat breakpoints.
