Separate debug information

Note: AIX does not support separate debug information.

Some recent versions of OS/2 and Windows VisualAge compilers support debug information stored in a separate file from the class file. When you compile your applications for debugging, debug information is stored in a separate file from the class file by default. This debug information file has an extension of .DBG. The debugger supports executables with separate debug information files, as well as older executables that contain the debug information themselves. In most cases, whether the debug information is separate or not should not affect the debugger's behavior.

If the debugger cannot find the correct debug information file, the only view available from the Source window for the object is Disassembly view. This happens in the following situations:

Note that renaming the executable has no effect on whether the debugger finds the .DBG file. The .DBG file name is stored in the executable, and the debugger uses this stored file name, not the current name of the executable, to locate the .DBG file.

If the .DBG file has been renamed or is stored in a different directory from the executable, you can obtain a source view by doing the following:

  1. Rename the .DBG file to its original name, or move it from its separate directory to the same directory as the executable.
  2. Restart the debug session, by selecting Debug > Restart from the menu bar.

If the .DBG file is out of synch with the executable, you can obtain a source view either by recompiling so that the two files are in synch, or, if the correct version of the .DBG file is stored elsewhere, by replacing the out-of-synch .DBG file with the correct version, then selecting Debug > Restart from the menu bar.