javagdbnative

Native Image Debugging from Java Source Code

This demo is intended to be used to demonstrate how to debug a Java application, built into a native executable, using the GraalVM Tools for Java extension for Visual Studio Code.

Note: The extension is no longer in active development and is in maintenance mode. The latest version of the documentation that includes the GraalVM Tools for Java extension support is GraalVM for JDK 17 (23.0.0).

Prerequisites

1. Linux OS with GDB 10.1
2. Visual Studio Code
3. GraalVM Tools for Java: Open Visual Studio Code, navigate to Extensions activity panel in the left-hand side Activity Bar (or use the Ctrl+Shift+X hot keys combination). Search for “GraalVM” in the search field. Find "GraalVM Tools for Java", press Install. Reload will be required.
4. GraalVM runtime environment in VS Code: Navigate to Gr activity panel in VS Code and install some of the latest GraalVM Enterprise Edition versions available from the list.
5. Native Image: Upon GraalVM's installation completion, the “Install Optional GraalVM Components” window pops up in the right bottom corner. Install Native Image.

Building the Sample

1. Clone Download or clone the GraalVM Demos repository:

   git clone https://github.com/graalvm/graalvm-demos

2. Open the demo folder, graalvm/demos/javagdbnative, in VS Code.

3. Open VS Code Terminal window and run following command:

   mvn -Pnative -DskipTests package

The mvn -Pnative -DskipTests package command will package a Java application into a runnable JAR file, and then build a native executable of it.

Debugging the Sample

1. Select Run and Debug activity panel in VSCode
2. Add a new launch configuration named Native Image: launch into launch.json which should look like this:

   {
       "type": "nativeimage",
       "request": "launch",
       "name": "Launch Native Image",
       "nativeImagePath": "${workspaceFolder}/target/javagdb",
       "args": "100"
   }

3. Then run debugger using Launch Native Image from RUN... menu. It will start debugging a native image binary in VSCode using Java source code.

References

• GraalVM Tools for Java
• Native Image Debug Info Feature