You cannot debug and application using Merlin b49+ in a leading IDE such as JBuilder or Intellij IDEA (or perhaps Forte for Java if I can figure out how to swap the JDK). Previously, JDK 1.4 b48 worked fine in this environment.

In IDEA (www.intellij.com/idea), the message reported to the console when attempting to debug an application is:

"Unrecognized option: -classic
Could not create the Java Virutal machine."

The IDE also reports more detail in a message box:

VM initialization failed for: D:/ws/merlin/build/win32/bin/javaw.exe -classic -classpath D:/ws/merlin/build/win32/classes:.... 0Xdebug -Xnoagent -Djava.compiler-NOETe -Xrunjdwp:transport-dt_shmem,address=javadebug,suspend=y WindowsTest

The console output (which started the application) contains the following output when the message box is dismissed:

com.sun.jdi.connect.VMStartException: VM initialization failed for: D:/jdk1.4\bi
n\javaw.exe -classic -classpath D:/jdk1.4/jre/lib/rt.jar;D:/ws/w2000/lib/jlfgr-1
_0.jar;D:/ws/w2000/classes -Xdebug -Xnoagent -Djava.compiler=NONE -Xrunjdwp:tran
sport=dt_shmem,address=javadebug,suspend=y WindowsTest
        at com.sun.tools.jdi.DLauncher$a.try(Unknown Source)
        at com.sun.tools.jdi.DLauncher.launch(Unknown Source)
        at com.sun.tools.jdi.DLauncher.launch(Unknown Source)
        at com.intellij.debugger.a.a.if(Unknown Source)
        at com.intellij.debugger.a.a.a(Unknown Source)
        at com.intellij.debugger.ui.impl.DebuggerUIImpl.eB(Unknown Source)
        at com.intellij.debugger.actions.DebugAction.actionPerformed(Unknown Sou
rce)
        at com.intellij.jd.actions.l$1.run(Unknown Source)
        at java.awt.event.InvocationEvent.dispatch(InvocationEvent.java:154)
        at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(EventQueue.java:317)
        at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEvent(EventDispatchThread.java:10
3)
        at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:93)
        at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(EventDispatchThread.java:84)

I can demonstrate this quite quickly. I can also provide a copy of IDEA in which you can use to test the debugger.

After years of searching and evaluating builders, IDEA was the perfect one. This IDE works so well that I can actually use it to debug the underlying JDK that I'm workin on. My days of System.outs and printStackTrace() was over! My productivity soared. However, this bug (feature?) reared it's ugly head and my days of being a happy debugger user is over. I am now forced to fix the JDK using duct tape and chewing gum :-(

mark.davidson@Eng 2001-03-14