Using breakpoints

A breakpoint causes the execution of the XSL transformation to suspend at the location where the breakpoint is set.

A list of all breakpoints (for all debug sessions) is displayed in the Breakpoints view, unless you use the filter by debug target action or link the Breakpoints view to the Debug view. To filter out breakpoints that are not related to the current debug session, click the Breakpoints view Show Breakpoints Supported by Selected Target push button. To link the Breakpoints view with the Debug view, click the Link with Debug view toggle - when this toggle is selected, only those breakpoints that are associated with the selected debug target in the Debug view will be displayed in the Breakpoints view.

Note: Filtering by debug target does not filter out breakpoints for debug targets that are similar to that of the current debug session.

The breakpoint entries in the list indicate which file the breakpoint has been set in and provide you, in brackets, with a summary of the breakpoints' properties. With pop-up menu options, you can remove breakpoints, enable or disable breakpoints, and go to the location of the breakpoint in the editor source file. And, with push buttons in the Breakpoints view, you can remove breakpoints. In addition, you can right-click on a breakpoint in the Breakpoints view and select Properties - or right-click a breakpoint in the editor marker bar and select Breakpoint Properties from the pop-up menu. This will invoke the Breakpoint Properties dialog box, where you can view details of the breakpoint. This dialog box also indicates if the breakpoint is persisted. Breakpoints that are not persisted are removed when the debug session terminates. Breakpoints are not persisted when they are set on generated source files. Source files are generated for transformation input that is in DOM or SAX format.

Breakpoints can be enabled and disabled by way of pop-up menus in the Breakpoints view or the editor and by check box in the Breakpoints view. When an enabled breakpoint is hit, the thread that the transformation is running on suspends. When a breakpoint is disabled, it will not cause threads to suspend. For further information about enabling and disabling breakpoints, see the related topic.

In the Breakpoints view, there are two indicators to the left of a set breakpoint. To the far left is a check box which indicates if the breakpoint is enabled (when enabled, the check box contains a check mark). To the near left, a filled indicator indicates the set breakpoint (when the breakpoint is disabled, this indicator is not filled).

While in the Breakpoints view, the source editor will open to the location of a breakpoint if you perform one of the following tasks:

Related concepts
Breakpoints
Related tasks
Controlling program execution and working with breakpoints
Running XSL transformations during a debug session
Stepping through a program
Setting a line breakpoint
Enabling and disabling breakpoints
Removing breakpoints

Feedback